To Find a Duchess

by Lisa M. Prysock

  Alexandra suppressed a bit of a giggle. The whole situation seemed somewhat surreal and … almost comical. She hoped William would soon come to her rescue... she felt like a fish on dry land.

  The Countess warmly clasped her arm around Alexandra's and responded to Ormsby's look and said, “You'll have to ask Hartford...” Last words that said a thousand things Alexandra was thinking as she watched the one they called Ormsby disappear up the staircase.

  He went off very briskly in search of Regina, at the request of the Countess, leaving them there in the main hall, wondering very much if he should wake the Duke. The new Duchess?! Perhaps disrupt the Duke's uncle's breakfast; ring the bells in the chapel on the grounds, he joked to himself. Why not have a look in on Lady Catherine's face when he announced the arrival of this particular guest while he was at it? Oh dear, the Duke and two female guests... this could prove interesting.

  Ceilings three stories high with domed insets; a palatial staircase; intricate crown moldings; column framed double doors; black and white marble tiled floors; glorious paintings; large ceramic potted ferns and plants; porcelain vases; and marble topped, gilded and French provincial furniture, caused Alexandra some additional shock, as if the Norman castle-like structure hadn't provided enough alarm. She had a few minutes to adjust to the entrance to Ivy Clifton when Ormsby returned and led them up the grand staircase. She felt as though she were looking in every corner for her beloved William, expecting him to come out at any moment from almost any direction. Her heart felt as though it would burst with expectation.

  They were soon announced properly and ushered directly into Regina's salon on the second floor. It felt odd indeed to hear herself introduced as the Duchess! Alexandra guessed at once that Regina was William's aunt. She had white perfectly coiffed hair and wore a lovely ruffled cap on her head and a pleasant rose colored morning dress. She greeted the Countess and Earl warmly from her favorite morning chair beside her tea table containing a tray with a light breakfast. “Good morning Countess! I understand Walter has driven you across half of England to find your daughter and bring our new Duchess home! Earl, you look positively heroic to me! Please do come in and rest. You must introduce me to Hartford's wife! I am pleased to hear he has found such a lovely bride... let me get my spectacles on... oh and so young and beautiful. Welcome, welcome Alexandra dear!”

  “I see you are having your breakfast. I do so hate to intrude upon you at this early hour in the morning and without notice... but it was a dreadful emergency... we just had to get here as soon as possible to see if our daughter was still alive after she disappeared. If it hadn't been for Duchess Alexandra here, we might never have known what had become of our Catherine.”

  “Oh you are never an intrusion to me Lady Grace. Please, make yourselves at home! Ormsby is having your rooms freshened this very moment... the same ones you have always liked when you stay with us, with a nice view of the courtyard from the East Wing. You must all be so tired after traveling all night!”

  “Yes, we are tired! Quite an ordeal!” the Earl interjected. The Countess sat down on the parlor loveseat and her husband beside her. Alexandra quietly slipped into the chair beside William's aunt, rather hoping to blend into the furniture until William located her, or she him, whichever might happen first.

  “We had a great deal of excitement going on here last night as well, or so I'm told! I don't know how I always seem to sleep through everything that happens that is interesting!” Aunt Regina said as a parlor maid wheeled in a tray of tea and served each unexpected guest.

  “What is James up to today?” the Earl inquired, accepting a plate of scones.

  “I believe he was planning to meet with the contractor we've hired to renovate the old Dowager house. You know we'll be moving there in a few short months. We want to have a cozier place in our golden years, something a little easier to manage.”

  “Then he won't be disappointed if I sleep the rest of the morning away...” the Earl said.

  “No not at all. You catch up on your rest. Why don't we plan on having tea at about four o'clock and dinner at seven?”

  “That sounds heavenly Lady Regina, if you'll promise to have our Lady Catherine join us for tea!” the Countess said. “I don't think she's even awake yet from her gallivant.”

  Aunt Regina agreed, “Certainly!”

  Soon Grace and Walter had finished their tea and excused themselves so Regina could talk to Alexandra alone. They had a most pleasant chat.

  “I'm so glad William has at long last found a bride! I now have a reason to throw a wonderful party which my husband James cannot refute! We have much to celebrate! How do you like married life so far?” Regina asked.

  “I like it very much,” Alexandra replied, thinking she was going to like Lady Regina very much indeed! She liked her direct questions and the calm, easy flow of conversation between them. “It seems to suit me well. I think I was born to it.”

  “What do you like to do?” she queried. “Do you draw, paint, or sew?”

  “I like needlepoint very much. I sew many of my own clothes. I like to play the piano. I enjoy drawing sometimes. I also enjoy being out of doors to take walks and go riding or work in the garden,” she said.

  “Wonderful! Those are all appropriate pursuits for a Duchess. I think we'll get along just fine. I am very pleased to hear you play the piano. We have several here but no one can play. It will be so nice to hear them being used.” Regina sipped her tea thoughtfully. “Does William know you're here?”

  “Oh no!” Alexandra replied. “He is most likely still catching up on his rest after the long journey yesterday.”

  “Well, we will soon have you installed in his chambers, unless you would prefer separate rooms...”

  “I would not,” Alexandra nearly choked on her tea. “I would not prefer separate rooms.”

  “Ivy Clifton Hall is daunting enough if you grew up here. I wouldn't want to be apart from my husband either as a new bride in a strange place! You can easily become lost here.”

  “I will try to be careful. I can see it is going to take some time to explore Ivy Clifton Hall. I seem to be good at that... getting lost, that is.” Alexandra said. “William rescued me once from being lost in the woods at Hanwell Farm.”

  “Ah, yes! I do remember those woods from our trips to the lake there. In some places they are very thick and seem to go on forever! How very romantic-- that he rescued you!”

  “Yes, I thought so too,” Alexandra agreed.

  “So you are the daughter of a Viscount and a vicar's daughter as well,” Regina said.

  “How did you know?”

  “We had a little visit one day from a Lady Dresden,” Regina smiled.

  “Oh dear! I hope I haven't caused you any trouble! I wonder how she knew who William was. I told her very little in my good-bye letter. I hope she wasn't too difficult. I meant to write to her when we were more settled. ”

  “She probably caught wind of a rumor and followed it through to here. Maybe she heard that our nephew was missing and she put two and two together from whatever information you gave her. Actually, she seemed quite pleased to hear you had landed a Duke,” Regina said. “Who could blame her? She couldn't have done any better to find a husband for you if she'd done so herself.”

  “It seems I am the last to know,” Alexandra said.

  “You mean, you didn't know William is a Duke?” Regina looked aghast. Her tea cup clanged as she set it down firmly on the saucer in her surprise.

  “Well, you see, I am a mail order bride. He hadn't mentioned it at all. I rather think he was testing my character. I found out when the Earl of Duncan knocked on my door last night.”

  “A mail order bride!” she exclaimed. “How romantic!”

  “Yes,” Alexandra nodded. “I think it has been rather romantic. We've fallen in love with each other, almost from the start. There was this immediate attraction between us when he interviewed me.”

  “He interviewed you... and you'
ve fallen in love with each other! Well, I'm very glad to hear that! He's had a very hard time finding a bride who wasn't after him for his title, connections or wealth. And then there is the whole matter of that blasted will... you do want children don't you?” Regina inquired.

  “Oh yes! As many as we can have I suppose...” Alexandra smiled. “Why? What does the will say?”

  “William has to be married and his wife must be with child by his twenty-seventh birthday before he can inherit the rest of his inheritance,” his aunt explained. “Until you came along, we'd almost given up hope of him finding a bride.”

  “He hadn't mentioned the will either... I can only suppose he didn't want to frighten me away. He promised me an annulment if things didn't work out between us.”

  “So it's true what Lord Marcus said. To protect your honor, he's been keeping you in hiding at Hanwell Farm?” Regina was trying to understand.

  “Well, yes. It's given us the opportunity to get to know more about each other and become a happy union without destroying my reputation ...” Alexandra explained.

  “That does make sense. It's very secluded there. He always liked that farm. It is a lovely place... so scenic. A perfect little honeymoon...”

  “But... a lot of hard work on my husband...” Alexandra said, thinking back to all the days her husband had worked sunrise to sundown. It hadn't been quite the honeymoon she'd imagined.

  “Oh, that's right... his brother, Marcus, said the manager wasn't on hand when he arrived. Only a small errand boy...”

  “Benjamin...”

  “Yes, that's right,” Regina said. “Benjamin is having his breakfast downstairs right now. Well, you won't have to worry so much about that ever happening again. You will have an entire staff at your command now. I hope you like meal planning and managing a household. The sooner I can pass these duties along to you, the sooner I can lead a life of relative peace and retirement.”

  “Maybe after a little more honeymoon time, if that's all right with you...” Alexandra said, “William has been working too hard. And it sounds like we need to get busy making a family right away.”

  “Yes! Grandchildren would make Uncle James and I very happy... and yes, William has always worked terribly hard... there's so much to manage as a Duke. I still can't believe he tried to manage that farm for almost two months without help for either of you! So you married my nephew thinking he was basically a farmer... and you've been cooking, cleaning, scrubbing, baking and gardening... hauling water... for about two months now? Without help....?” Regina looked horrified.

  “Well, the Lord is my helper,” she said. “He gives me strength every day to face whatever comes my way. Such as the problem we're facing right now concerning this alleged marriage contract.”

  “Well my dear girl, welcome to Ivy Clifton Hall. You are clearly a most capable young lady! William has certainly chosen the right girl!” Regina said. “As far as that contract... you must always face problems head on. William did the right thing by coming directly to James. I spoke to his uncle this morning. He filled me in on the whole story. You needn't worry about that issue any longer. There never was a contract of any sort. We of course hadn't met you yet... we'd had high hopes that he might marry Lady Catherine Duncan...especially her parents. He was running out of time and I suppose we resorted to applying a lot of pressure on him...which backfired, of course.”

  “What a huge relief to hear there isn't a contract!” Alexandra breathed a sigh of relief. “I worried about that through two shires! Such an alarming thought it raised... thinking she could contest our marriage in a court of law. It was very disturbing news.”

  “I can imagine you were distraught. You must be terribly drained and exhausted after this ordeal and traveling through the night! How were the roads?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact,” Alexandra replied. “I am very tired, but excited to be here and to finally meet you. My husband, your nephew, speaks highly of you. The roads--they were a bit bumpy.”

  “Well, I think we're going to get along splendidly! Let me ring the bell pull and we'll have you settled in no time!”

  “Good morning Aunt Regina!” William said cheerfully, smiling and leaning against one side of the frame of her open door, his long, muscular arm extended as if he were holding up the other side of the frame to the door. He nearly shocked them both when they heard his voice. They hadn't seen him standing there, nor any idea of how long he'd been listening. Then smiling, he said, “Have my wife settled in where, may I ask?”

  “William!” they both said in unison. He strode calmly into the parlor wearing brown breeches, a white long sleeved shirt and the first cravat Alexandra had ever seen on her husband. He looked terribly handsome and well rested.

  Regina recovered first to answer his question. “We were just discussing the matter of getting your wife settled into your chambers. You must have her things brought up at once. She's family now!” Regina said firmly, holding out her arms to welcome her nephew home. “Alexandra my dear, you may need to redecorate his rooms once you've settled in. William, how long have you been standing there in the doorway?”

  Alexandra's eyes were dancing with happiness and relief to see her husband as he crossed the room to greet his aunt. He bent down to give Regina an embrace and then turned toward Alexandra, wondering what kind of reaction he'd invoke if he kissed her square on the lips. He leaned down and put both of his strong arms on either side of the arms of her chair so she couldn't escape if she'd wanted to. She looked up at his eyes, smiling sweetly at him. His eyes seemed to say a thousand unspoken words and begged forgiveness for all that he hadn't been able to tell her about himself in person. He hadn't intended to fall asleep for long. Being in his childhood home and in his own bed had caused him to sleep more deeply than he had in quite some time. He had hoped to have arrived at Hanwell Farm right now telling her all that he'd held back from her for so long.

  His eyes never left hers as he answered his aunt, “Oh, I think I entered somewhere at 'you didn't know William is a Duke' and ... the part about her being my 'mail order bride'...”

  She tilted her head a little, lifted her chin toward him and pursed her lips. William ever so gently brushed her lips with a welcoming kiss. She clasped her arms around his neck when he was done and leaned forward for another kiss. He brushed her lips again. He wouldn't be able to stand much more ... He scooped her out of the chair and into his arms and carried her to the hallway. He looked over his shoulder at his aunt and said, “I will personally see to it --that the Duchess, is settled in. And we may, or may not, be at dinner...”

  Regina smiled as her nephew disappeared down the hall carrying his wife, “I'm sure you love birds have things to do...”

  He hadn't heard her, being too busy kissing his mail order bride as he carried her to his rooms. She was silently praying, thank you Lord for this wonderful husband... what a delightful surprise that He is a Duke!

  When they reached his door he fumbled around until he had been able to open the door and carried her inside, kicking the door firmly shut behind them. He looked down at the beautiful Duchess he carried gently in his arms, her eyes still dancing with excitement, soft giggles occasionally escaping her mouth as he kissed her, and her carefree smile when he released her from his kiss, and said, “Now, where were we, my sweet and darling wife?”

  She smiled up at him as he held her in his arms, her head close to his heartbeat, pounding in his chest. “My Lord Duke, if I may remind you,” she said, “the last time we spoke, you said there were some things you've been... putting off?”

  A Small Glossary of Regency Terms for “To Find a Duchess”

  by Lisa Prysock

  The Regency Time Period- In England/United Kingdom, the time period when King George III had been deemed unfit to rule and the Prince of Wales, his son, reigned in his stead as the Prince-Regent, from approximately 1811-1820. He became King George the IV when his father died.

  Almack's- An exclusive club for both men a
nd women of the social elite consisting of Assembly rooms for social gatherings where Wednesday night balls were held. A committee made decisions on who was admitted by granting vouchers which cost about ten guineas each.