Alaina and Evelina slowly rose from their chairs to face the door as Arthur, the butler, announced, “Lord Wallace, the most honorable Duke of Ashford, his sister, Lady Ramsbury, the most honorable Countess of Carlisle, and Lord Kendall, the most honorable Marquess of Rochester.”
The last name nearly stopped Alaina’s heart. The duke had not mentioned bringing anyone other than his sister.
The three entered the room, the duke and marquess following Lady Ramsbury and executing crisp courtly bows to both Evelina and Alaina. Both men’s gazes rested on Alaina. The sisters were sure to execute curtsies in kind, acknowledging both the gentlemen and the lady who graced their parlor. Alaina forced her eyes to remain on the duke, but she could not ignore the weight of the marquess’s stare.
It was the duke who made the first greeting. “Lady Alaina, it is wonderful to see you on this fine day. I am happy you were able to receive us, and I hope you are ready for a ride. I do apologize for bringing along an extra guest,” he made a quick motion with his head to indicate the marquess. “But he is a dear friend and fancied a ride in Hyde Park this morning. I hope that is ok?”
“Most certainly,” Alaina said, a little too quickly, her throat just a bit tight, but not enough for her companions to notice, she hoped. “And may I present my sister, Lady Evelina. She is but a couple years younger than I and not out in society just yet, or I would have made the introduction last evening. We are so glad to have you, and as you can see,” she quickly motioned to her outfit, “I am ready for our ride.”
After a subtle clearing of Evelina’s throat, Alaina rejoined, “And this is Lord Wallace, Lord Kendall, and Lady Ramsbury.” Alaina motioned to their newly arrived guests, meeting Evelina’s eyes. Her sister quickly smiled, curtsied again for good measure, and gave a pert acknowledgement of the introduction.
Alaina met each of her guests with what she hoped was a bright and confident smile, ignoring the butterflies currently in her stomach, and the blue-eyed reason for their presence. “Thank you so much for coming. Lady Ramsbury, it is nice to make your acquaintance. It is nice to see you again, Lord Kendall.”
Alaina quickly met the eyes of the marquess, his stoic demeanor giving nothing away as to his mood, and Alaina could only hope that their interactions on their outing would not resemble their thorny conversations at the ball.
“How pleasant to make your acquaintance, Lady Alaina. I am so grateful to be able to join in on the ride today,” Lady Ramsbury bubbled as she crossed the room, a wide smile gracing her face. “I am just happy my brother decided to actually join us for the season this year after what happened last year. My mother is absolutely thrilled she was able to meet you last night, and is most hopeful my brother is able to settle down this year.”
An uncomfortable sound, a cross between a grunt of disapproval and a cough one might make if a piece of food was lodged in their throat, escaped the duke. Alaina turned her attention to the duke, finding his usually confident smile a bit lopsided. As she met his eyes, he shrugged. His sister raised her eyebrows and put her arms akimbo. “Well, she is in need of grandchildren!”
“Georgiana, I am embarrassed to say in such company that you could also provide her grandchildren,” Graham said.
“Hmph! You know what I mean,” Lady Ramsbury countered. “Heirs.”
Alaina continued to smile, forcing her attention to remain on the duke for a few moments before acknowledging Lady Ramsbury’s greeting.
Alaina thought the lady looked much like her brother and mother, with porcelain skin, dark hair and eyes which practically danced with delight. Each of her newly arrived companions were well dressed for the ride, Lady Ramsbury’s riding habit matching her own in flair and style, but in a deep peacock color, a feather of that bird gracing the pert hat sitting jauntily on her head. The duke looked resplendent, from his crisply starched and tied cravat, white to match his shirt, all the way to his shiny black knee-high boots. But it was the marquess that Alaina found holding her gaze, their eyes melding across the short expanse of the parlor.
Lord Kendall, the Marquess of Rochester, had hair with a hint of red in it, the sunlight catching it, almost making it shine. His eyes, between green and blue, caught the same morning light as his hair. His garb very much matched the duke’s, the only difference the color of his coat and breeches, a deep emerald which gave his hair an extra flair. As she had noted at the ball the previous evening, the marquess stood even with the duke, but his broad shoulders made the duke seem almost scrawny. Alaina found the marquess’s eyes inscrutable, and turned her gaze to Graham’s sister.
“Lady Ramsbury, I am most pleased to have met everyone at last night’s ball as well.” Alaina practically giggled, trying to ignore the exchange about providing heirs; she certainly understood precocious sisters, but was able to stifle her laughter, and merely return the duke’s regard with an amused grin. At the same time, she heard a chuckle just out of her range of vision, toward the door of the parlor. As she shifted her glance to find the source of the sound, she was presented with the slightly reddened countenance of the marquess, and the straight face of her butler, Arthur. Clearly, the marquess had not been able to contain his mirth in the slightest. Alaina certainly hoped the two friends had a good-natured relationship. If not, how cruel to laugh at a friend after such a gaffe from his sibling!
Trying to gain control of the room, Alaina quickly changed the subject. “Would you all like me to call for some biscuits and tea before we take our ride?”
“There is no need for refreshments before our ride. I am most eager to be outside and we had such a wonderful breakfast. I find that I am not hungry in the least, but thank you for the kind offer. Shall we be off?” Lady Ramsbury was first to respond, clearly used to being in charge of a household. The duke and marquess did not seem phased by the lady’s attitude, and simply both looked to Alaina for her assent.
“That is a wonderful idea. I will just call for my horse to be brought around front, and we can head out on our ride,” Alaina spoke with a little more ease now, having seen Lady Ramsbury’s confidence around both the duke and marquess.
“Have a wonderful ride, and maybe after, we can have refreshments and tea? I am confident you will all be hungry then,” Evelina said. Alaina and Evelina exchanged a sisterly glance, and Alaina could see she was eager to join in on the activity, but alas she was too young to be out and about without a parental chaperone.
The duke finally spoke. “Well, that is a wonderful idea, Lady Evelina. I look forward to our post-ride snack and tea. Georgiana, shall we?” He motioned for his sister and the marquess to precede him out the parlor door and toward the front of the townhome, each accepting their gloves from the butler on their way out. The duke presented his arm to Alaina, and smiled down at her warmly, meeting her eyes with a sparkle of mischief.
It was really quite a lovely day, and what better activity to enjoy it than a ride on horseback in the middle of Hyde Park. The four riders seemed at ease, grouped together with two horses in front and two in the back. As she had expected, Alaina was most comfortable in the back pair of horses, feeling quite inadequate as a rider next to the other three in the group. They truly seemed one with their animals, but Alaina was never able to fully relax, her hands gripping the reins with vice-like strength, and the legs in her sidesaddle never quite comfortable. The duke realized this early in their ride, and decided to fall back to meet her, requesting walks for his horse more often than needed to allow Alaina to rest a bit. While they walked their horses through a grove of trees, they were able to chat as a group.
“I hope you will see fit to call me Georgiana, no more of this lady stuff,” Georgiana shot over her shoulder.
“That is most kind. I will certainly do such and expect you to dispense with the formality as well. Please call me Alaina.”
“Well in that case, I guess I should give you leave to call me by my given name as well. Please call me Graham,” said the duke, cocking his head a little and glancing sidelong at Alaina with his charming lopsided smile. Alaina smiled back at the duke, pleased with Graham’s attention, having enjoyed the ride and conversation so far.
“I give you leave to call me Alaina, your grace, er, Graham,” Alaina said softly.
After what felt like an eternal pause, the marquess stated quite quickly, “And as a member of this little riding group, I give you leave to call me by my given name as well. Please call me Christopher.” His statement was almost gruff, and he seemed to be waiting for her acknowledgement.
“The same to you, my lord. Please call me Alaina.”
“Christopher.” The marquess corrected, this time adding a teasing grin to his face, one that actually reached his eyes.
“I apologize… Christopher,” Alaina responded, feeling as if she had a stone lodged in her throat. She was perturbed that Christopher’s eyes had such an effect on her, and hoped no one else in the group could sense her discomfort.
