CHAPTER2
Waking slowly and fighting sleep-heavy lids, Henry caught a glimpse of unfamiliar surroundings and was momentarily confused as to where he was. As sunlight pierced through the curtains and birds chirped in a nearby tree, his consciousness began to set in. With a groan, he remembered he was at Fitz’s country home, Geffen House. While he normally enjoyed relaxing with Fitz and his family, this occasion was for Fitz’s wife’s house party. Henry adored Moira and would do almost anything for her, but attending this party was stretching the limits of his good grace.
Henry was more than prepared for a trying and tedious week. Still adjusting to the fact that he was now a duke, which was preceded by the unexpected deaths of his cousin and father in quick succession, he found the transition into polite society after leaving mourning straining. The way people now looked at him and deferred to his judgment based on a label was disconcerting. Henry had not changed; however, the new title made others regard him in a different light, lending his words a weight he was unused to. Who he was and what he did suddenly mattered, and that left him feeling insecure.
Henry knew this week others at the party would treat him differently than they had before, and he was not prepared for it. Even Moira’s brother, Thomas—who had never treated him as anything special—deferred to Henry after hearing his new title last evening. It was the first time he had used his newfound clout to try and influence the actions of others, and while Henry was grateful it had worked given the situation, the quick deference had been unsettling.
Henry shuddered thinking about the young woman that Thomas had trapped in the library. He hoped she was alright after the unfortunate encounter and was glad he arrived when he did. Henry found Thomas’s attitude toward women reprehensible. He hated how easy it was for men to disrespect and disregard women in their society due to the established and unspoken rules of the aristocracy. Henry respected the role women played in running homes and social spaces and felt they should be treated with the utmost care. Maybe this was an area where he could try and use his newly elevated status to sway opinions for the greater good.
Stretching, Henry allowed himself one final moment to luxuriate in the warmth of the bed linens before rising. He seemed to have slept later than usual, but then again, he had arrived late the evening before and had to break up the troubling scene in the library. He realized he did not actually know who the woman was and wondered about her connection to Fitz and Moira. While a bit timid last evening, which was understandable given the circumstances, she still made an impression on him. He would need to ask Fitz about her at breakfast. With that thought, Henry heard a perfunctory knock on his door before Smyth, his valet, promptly entered the room to assist with his morning ablutions.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” Smyth greeted, all business, as he bustled toward the small dressing room holding a freshly pressed green jacket.
“Good morning, Smyth. Any worthy news this morning?” Henry asked, still abed.
“The chatter below is that most of the guests will arrive today and the party will commence officially this evening with dinner,” Smyth answered in a muffled voice, responding from the adjoining room. “Captain Claybourn has seemingly been held up with final government business in London as the legislative session closes but should be here in the afternoon, and Mr. Bright will join from Ravenswood next door.” Henry appreciated that Smyth mentioned the arrival of his friends, Reid and Sidney, as he would need their support to get through this party. It would be quite the week navigating mamas of theton, who were anxious for their unmarried daughters to make the acquaintance of a new and unattached duke. Just the thought made him want to stay in bed forever.
Groaning, Henry got up and made his way over to the dressing room to watch his valet at work. “Smyth,” Henry addressed him, leaning against the doorframe, “I don’t think I’m going to make it through this week, I feel like an utter imposter.”
“That’s what I’m here for, Your Grace,” Smyth replied. “I will make sure you look every inch the part of a duke and you will have one less thing to be anxious about.”
Making sure the duke was turned out in a manner respectable to his rank brought Smyth great pride, and he was working valiantly to try and educate Henry on such matters. Smyth firmly believed that clothes made the man. He hoped that draping Henry in finery could help him gain the confidence needed to succeed in his newly elevated position. But Henry felt too stiff and buttoned up as he stared at himself in the mirror—like he was wearing the costume of a duke. And he suspected that until he felt comfortable in the finery, any efforts to feign a level of gravitas through his appearance would be severely undermined. Sensing his unease, Smyth let out a sigh.
Even a year later, Henry still found it odd to have assistance with a morning routine that he had been doing for the past thirty-six years before becoming a duke. But this morning he welcomed Smyth’s help, as it allowed his mind to wander. This week would be a debut of sorts, as it had been fifteen years since he was an active member of high society, since before he enlisted in the army to halt the progress of Napoleon’s forces. While Henry had been working in the war department’s London office for the past few years, he had been too occupied to participate in polite society. If Henry had a failing, it was that he hated to do anything imperfectly, and he was still learning how to be a duke in society, so he supposed a few nerves about the house party were justified. But first he needed to find breakfast. The loud rumble of his stomach concurring as he finished buttoning his waistcoat.
“Thank you, Smyth. I believe I am set for the day. I will call you if I need to change for any of the activities later today.”
“As you wish, Your Grace,” Smyth said with a small bow before leaving the room. Henry shook his head at Smyth’s deferential gesture; he did not think he would ever become accustomed to such attendance. His Aunt Hester had insisted that he needed to honor the family name and legacy by maintaining the dignity of the dukedom. Scared about stepping out of place and letting her down, he had learned to appreciate the service of those who attended him and helped him keep up appearances. So, Smyth stayed, though Henry felt what he provided was frivolous. He also did not wish to put the man out of a job. More than any other of his inherited responsibilities, Henry felt the weight of providing for those who relied upon his estate and holdings for their livelihood. And on that weighty note, he took a deep breath to prepare himself for the week ahead and walked downstairs.
CHAPTER3
Grace made her way down to the breakfast room early the next morning, unable to sleep well after her encounter with Thomas. Making her way through the grand house, she thought about how nice it might have been to host such an event herself when she had been the Countess of Camden. It would not have been the same, however, as her husband’s house in Yorkshire had never really felt like home in the six years she had lived there. With how out of place she had always felt, she would not have wished to entertain even if her husband and his late mother, the dowager countess, had permitted it.
Arriving at the breakfast room, Grace smiled as she found Moira, Countess of Geffen, directing footmen with loaded platters of breakfast fare toward the buffet. She was happy to see her friend looking so at ease playing hostess. Even with a large group about to descend on her house for the week, Moira appeared unruffled.
Grace made her way over to the buffet and poured herself a cup of coffee, as she would need something stronger than tea to sustain her this morning. She needed to catch up with Moira and share some uncomfortable truths that might shorten her stay at Geffen House. As much as she was dreading the conversation, she owed it to her friend to be truthful regarding why she was there, even though she should still be in full mourning. Looking Moira’s direction, Grace caught her eye and felt both happy and guilty as Moira beamed at her in welcome.
Moira, who had always been beautiful with her masses of glossy, sable curls, looked even more resplendent than Grace remembered. Having grown into a woman and becoming a mother since Grace had seen her last, Moira now had soft, feminine curves. And she exuberated an uncontainable joy, almost seeming to glow, brightening every room she entered. Grace had desperately missed her in the eight years since they had last been together, the two having once been like sisters.
Grace first met Moira ten years before when they started at Lady Evelyn’s finishing school. Their fathers wanted the best for their daughters, and that meant preparing them for what lay ahead in their future, mainly marriage. Being in the lower level of the aristocracy as a baron, Moira’s father wished to provide his daughter with the best possible chance at a good match and hoped to elevate the family’s place in society. In the case of Grace’s father, he simply wanted her to be happy and hoped the school might fill the void of feminine guidance in her life. Thus, in the fall of 1809, both girls found themselves enrolled in a program to teach them the ways of the aristocracy and how to run a lord’s household.
Lying in bed that first night at school, sheets pulled tight beneath her chin, Grace didn’t know what to think or feel. At only fifteen, she felt extremely out of place being away from home for the first time. She was scared to leave her father, but as her mother had died when she was only five years old, she understood that he wanted her to have the education and influence that only a woman could provide, and Lady Evelyn was well regarded as the most genteel and elegant of ladies. Those who went through her school program were refined and well-spoken, even if soft and deferential in speaking, as they were taught to always defer to their betters. Along with those above their station, all men, regardless of title, were included in the category of “betters.” Grace wished to become like Lady Evelyn herself and make her father proud. However, the desire to please did not make her any less terrified of what may be involved in preparing for her coming-out in the next few years.
Unable to sleep with these thoughts in her head, she heard a voice the next bed over ask if she was also afraid. From that moment on, Moira and Grace were inseparable.
The two young women were so attached to one another that, through countless letters over that first year, they pleaded with their fathers to allow Grace to stay with Moira’s family for the first part of summer. This was where Grace met Thomas, Moira’s younger brother. Grace found him to be a nice young man, two years her junior, and he set out on adventures with them over the summer. They had all gotten along well—which was why his behavior in the library had come as such a shock. Much had changed for them in the intervening years, and Grace had lost touch with Moira as her life had changed, but she did not expect to find things so drastically different. She was unsure how Moira would react if she learned about last night’s encounter.
“Grace,” Moira exclaimed, “I am so glad you were able to join us this week and agreed to come a day early so we might catch up a bit before everyone else arrives! It has been too many years since we’ve had a chance to properly catch up with one another. I am so glad I ran into you at Hatchard’s last week.” Warmth shining from her eyes, Moira gripped Grace’s hands and looked happy to reconnect with her old friend. Grace returned her smile and clutched her hands just as firmly. Even amid her uncertainty about being here this week, the one thing Grace was sure about was how much she wished to reestablish their relationship.
“I’m grateful for the invitation, and I am so happy to see your sweet face again, but I must confess something to you,” Grace said nervously. “Is there someplace we may talk?”
“Of course,” Moira responded with a furrowed brow. “Give me a moment to finish setting up here and then we can take our drinks out to the veranda. It is such a lovely morning and already warming up.”
“Thank you. I don’t mean to impose, as I know you have much to organize, but it would really ease my mind if I could explain what has happened over the past several years. I really have missed you Moira,” Grace said.
“And I you,” Moira said with another smile. “Go on ahead and I’ll be out shortly with some tea and pastries.”
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