All and all, Madeline was glad she had chosen to return with the children. She had a wonderful day and the time had sped. The time with the duke would have been fraught with too many complications.
The caravan of carriages crossed beneath the castle’s arched gate into a whirlwind of what could only be explained as chaos. Wagons of every imaginable size and shape vied for space to unload food, Christmas decorations, plants, and furniture. Horses whinnied and pulled at their bits as drivers struggled for control. Footmen shouted orders and directed the wagons toward a side entrance of the castle.
Madeline’s driver reined in his team of horses, and the carriage came to a full stop. The driver leaned down from the box. “Miss Mercer, Miss O’Brian,” he shouted over the din of activity in the courtyard. “My apologies, but this is as close to the entrance as I’m able to get. I’m assured someone will come along to help you disembark the carriage. But until then, please keep inside the coach till it is sorted.” He tipped his hat to Madeline and resumed his position on the driver’s box.
Miss O’Brian yawned and nudged the two sleeping girls awake. “Did I hear the driver?” She glanced out the window and yawned again. “We have arrived, children. We are a long way from the entrance steps, but a walk will do us good after the long journey. Please gather your belongings.”
“Mr. Welsh said we should stay inside the carriage until a footman arrives,” Madeline said.
After their last driver had died without Madeline knowing the man’s name, she had made it paramount to learn the name of their new driver and as much about him as he was willing to share. He lived outside of London with a wife and family and seemed pleased that Madeline had taken an interest. Mr. Welsh had known their former driver and agreed to give Mr. Tinker’s widow the drawing sketched of him before he had died.
Sophia rubbed her eyes, yawned, and leaned on the coach’s windowsill as though trying to gain a closer look outside. Her eyes widened in wonder and disbelief. “Is that a peacock?”
Her sister, Lydia, slid from her seat and joined Sophia with a squeal. Her eyes as wide as her sister’s, she turned toward Madeline. “I saw an ostrich!”
“Swans!” Lydia shouted. “What do you think it means, Miss O’Brian?”
Madeline and Miss O’Brian crowded to the window, as awestruck as the children. Cages containing swans, peacocks, and ostriches were being unloaded from one of the wagons.
“I do believe the duchess plans to host the grandest Christmas Ball Conclarton Castle has ever seen,” Miss O’Brian said, smiling as broadly as the twins.
A short distance away, the duke and Lord Oswyn turned their horses around and cantered over to Madeline’s carriage. A ripple of desire caught her off guard as she watched the duke ride toward her. The man rode a horse like he was born to it. They dismounted, but it was the duke who reached the carriage first and opened the door.
“I apologize that your carriage is unable to make it closer to the entrance. Do you mind walking?”
Lydia and Sophia scrambled out of the carriage. “We saw swans and ostriches,” they said at the same time.
“Is it true?” Lydia said. “Is Mama planning the grandest Christmas Ball we have ever had?”
“All true. I just met with Winfield, and he believes our mother has gone quite mad.” He winked. “Do you know what I think?”
They both bobbed their heads at the same time as he knelt before them. The duke glanced over at Madeline before turning his attention back to his sisters. “Our mother believes, as I do, that our new visitors from America have swept the old cobwebs from our castle and brought us the chance for a fresh, new start.”
“Sophia and I agree,” Lydia said. “We are glad Miss Mercer is here. She taught us how to draw. I made this for you,” she said. “Miss Mercer showed me how. It is a pony.”
The duke smiled. “And a very fine pony it is. Well done.”
“I drew a bunny eating lettuce in Mama’s vegetable garden,” Sophia said.
The duke accepted the drawings and examined them closely. “We must show these to Mama. She will want to frame them and put them in her gallery. My two sisters are exceedingly talented.”
Laughing, he held them close. “I am such a lucky man to have sisters like you. Cook has prepared her ginger biscuits and…”
He did not have time to finish his sentence. Lydia and Sophia took off running toward the entrance.
The duke laughed again and held out his hand for Madeline as Lord Oswyn rushed to help Miss O’Brian down from the carriage.
“How was your time with my sisters?” the duke asked as Madeline rested her hand on the arm he had offered. “They can be little terrors.”
“On the contrary, they are adorable and very talented. I am very fond of them.”
He nodded, as he leaned toward her. “As am I. Every day I learn more about you that endears you to me, Miss Mercer.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
With Madeline’s hand resting on his arm, Robert entered the main entrance, viewing the spectacle, not quite sure how to proceed. He had never seen his mother in this light. His father had abhorred parties of any sort, but it was not only the elaborateness of the party that was planned that drew his attention, it was also the person in charge. His father had been the one directing the servants to their tasks and his mother regulated as a bystander. That was not the case here. It was evident that his mother was in charge and doing a fine job of it. She stood in the center of the activity, directing traffic as calmly as a general directing his troops.
A continual procession of workmen and servants swarmed the entry of the castle as the duchess, her hair slightly out of place and the sleeves on her black crepe dress rolled up past her wrists, gave instructions to the servants. But while the generals of Robert’s acquaintance barked out orders, his mother instructions were given as though she were talking to old friends.
