The Wild Duchess/The Willful Duchess (The Duchess Club Book 1)

by Renee Bernard

  “What are you thinking in that lovely head, Miss Blackwell?”

  “I’m thinking that meeting a mysterious man in the greenery wasn’t…at all what one imagines and that the next time my mother lectures me about being braced for life’s surprises, I shall nod obediently and pay closer attention.”

  The duke laughed. “You are wiser for it already!”

  Whispers fanned out as Chesterton escorted her into the ballroom and when the band began to play, he led her out with a calm authority that needed no flourish or announcement. Scarlett held her head up proudly, wary of meeting too many eyes. The sound of Lady Beales gasping in shock was enough to make her knees feel strange but at that instant, the Duke of Chesterton leaned over to speak to her softly before they took their positions on the dance floor.

  “No rotten fruit, I see.”

  “Not yet, Your Grace. Mind you keep an eye out.”

  He laughed again and then the dance began. It was a simple waltz but for Scarlett, it was so much more. He was not the world’s most accomplished dancer but he was not unskilled either, and he was by far, the most considerate partner she had ever had. He guided her with utter care, using gentle strength to ensure that as they moved through the figures, she had no fears of a collision or squashed toes. He made her feel safe and very delicate in his arms, which was now that she thought of it, exactly what she wanted most.

  It was like a dream as they circled the entire room, growing more confident in their steps as they went until they were grinning like errant children.

  “What do you say now, Miss Blackwell?”

  “I am ashamed that I did not think of dancing with a duke before now, Your Grace. It is just the thing, isn’t it?”

  Elgin laughed, the years melting away from his countenance. “Yes, Miss Blackwell. It is just the very thing!”

  Chapter 2

  Talon Rush, the Duke of Stafford stretched out his legs before returning to a more gentlemanly posture as he spotted his old friend coming into the room at White’s. In anticipation of Elgin’s company, he signaled one of the footmen for brandy and prepared to settle in for a good game of cards. “Chesterton! You’re late this evening. What have you been up to?”

  Chesterton sat down with a slight wince. “I went to a ball and wore myself out.”

  “You never did!” Talon laughed. “You hate such social gatherings and once told me that you’d forsworn them completely.”

  “Did I? Oh, dear. Well, tonight I danced with a debutante at Aldridge’s and lost all track of time.”

  Talon dropped his cards and sat up straighter as if at the sound of a gunshot. “What? You…you never did!”

  “I did. Is it so incredibly impossible that I should, my young friend?” Chesterton smiled, picking up the cards that Talon had scattered on the table. “I danced with the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I think I heard somewhere that her father was one of the Jaded.”

  Talon’s eyebrows lifted to betray his open skepticism. “The Jaded are a myth, Elgin. My father said it was a fairy tale created after the Sepoy Rebellion in India to divert good society from the horrors in the newspapers.”

  “They are not a myth. You’re prone to dismiss them because you’ve never been invited to join but I understand that they are an extremely exclusive society related to the Templar Knights or was it a ring of spies for the Crown? Hmm. Wasn’t there a rumor that they were the Queen’s secret guardians of peace?”

  “Dear God. It’s probably a grubbier version of another reprise of the Hellfire Club and why are we talking about this? Oh, yes, I remember. You forgot yourself and made the dangerous mistake of dancing with a child in public and are now trying to distract me.”

  Chesterton smiled. “It nearly worked.”

  “Do you think so?” Talon sighed. “We’ve known each other too long. What were you doing at Aldridge’s?”

  “A moment of nostalgia the other day made me accept the invitation and what harm could there be in proving to my peers that I am yet living?” He began to shuffle the deck as brandy was poured for them both. “You do not approve of dancing?”

  “No one doubts your continuing existence and health. I wasn’t aware there was a debate on the topic but there may now be some speculation about your sanity. You’ve been too loud an advocate of your bachelorhood for far too long, Chesterton.”

  Elgin waved his hand dismissively and took up his brandy. “I am rethinking my position and considering the possibilities.”

  Talon nearly fell from his chair in shock. Elgin had been alone, a cheerful solitary and an example of how sweet life could be for a man unencumbered in this world. At twenty-nine years of age himself, Talon had been seated quite securely in his own choice to put off marriage for a little while longer with Chesterton’s example before him.

  It was not possible that Elgin would dally with some girl at a public social function, in front of his peers and risk ridicule at his age! Would he?

  Talon raked his fingers through his hair. “I am dumbstruck.”

  “Oh, shush! Why are you looking at me like that? Aren’t you engaged to marry the Earl of Gastonbury’s eldest? That bat-faced girl with ears like kites? Of course, she’s got blood so blue I am sure she sneezes diamonds and leaves polished marble in her—”

  “Don’t be crass. It isn’t becoming to a man your age.”

  “I’m not ancient, damn it!” Chesterton’s brow knit in frustration. “You mean to jest but I am in no mood for it. A year past fifty does not make me Methuselah.”

  “I apologize then, but I am not engaged to be married,” Talon said softly, wary of gossip reaching the wrong ears and offending an old family friend. “And not likely ever to be to Lady Lavinia! Don’t give me nightmares.”

  “You had best tell Gastonbury. The countess has it set in stone somewhere as fact that you’ll land at her daughter’s feet.”

  “If my mother and the Countess of Gastonbury liked to entertain themselves with fairy tales over my cradle, it has nothing to do with me.”

  “Agreed,” Chesterton said with a smile then held out the second brandy glass for Talon to take. “Here. Amends.”

  “Yes.” Rush took a small sip and accepted the truce. Chesterton had been more of a mentor and friend to him than any man and he regretted any rift between them. But the news of Chesterton’s dance warranted immediate attention. “So tell me of your evening, Chesterton. Who is this girl who draws you out to dance?”

  “One of the famous Blackwell Beauties.”

  “The twins I heard talk of? How…singular of you.”

  “Oh, don’t be a dullard! Miss Scarlett Blackwell is as unique and peerless as any woman walking. I was quite taken with her spirit and sweet nature.”

  “Quite taken? Goodness, such a choice phrase. Be careful there, but well enough if she enticed you into a dance.”

  “It was two dances. No…three! I did double back for that final waltz,” Elgin said as he took a thoughtful sip of his brandy. “Yes, I believe it was three.”

  It was only years of seasoned gambling that kept Talon Rush’s expression neutral at the revelation that not only had the Duke of Chesterton made a rare social appearance at a ball and danced but he’d made the incredible move of dancing with the same girl more than once. Twice would have been akin to declaring intentions to call on the chit but—three times? In one evening? It was like announcing his intentions to court and marry as far as the gossips were concerned!

  Talon took a slow measured sip from his glass before composing a reply. If there was one thing Talon believed in, it was the architecture of social order and personal responsibility. “I’m sure her family was awestruck and very grateful for the gesture. They would never have dreamt of their daughter enjoying that level of privilege and she’ll be giddy with it for weeks. It’s a story she’ll tell her grandchildren that she once danced with a duke.”

  Chesterton’s expression was equally difficult to read. “How generous of me.”

  “Y
ou know what I meant. You’ve had your fun, Chesterton. You’ll have made a fool of every acid-tongue snipe carrying false tales and can revel in a bit of subtle triumph as they scramble to comprehend your game. But I know you don’t mean to take this further.”

  “No? Why not?”

  “You aren’t that cruel. You cannot give this girl false hope, Chesterton.”

  Elgin set his glass down and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Hope is not a thing to be hollowed out and I would never do so lightly, Talon. Hope is the most precious thing we have.”

  “I’m…lost. Are we having a philosophical discussion? Over cards?”

  “I don’t want to play cards.”

  “Thank God. Because after the turns of this conversation, I might lose every farthing I possess if I attempted it you’ve so rattled my senses. Chesterton, you are beginning to trouble me.”

  “Is hope such a troubling subject? Now who’s the old man here?” Elgin sat back up, a more familiar cavalier attitude reappearing. “I thought you would be more encouraging.”

  “Encouraging?” Talon took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “The last thing you need is encouragement. I’m not familiar with the Blackwell family but that reveals a great deal already, does it not? They are not well connected and not…”

  “Go on.”

  “A debutante did you say? That makes her all of seventeen?”

  “She is nineteen, nearly twenty. Her father has been reluctant to let his daughters go if I guess rightly. Understandable when you see how delightful they are.”

  It isn’t getting better. He looks like a besotted boy in university over there and—while I wish him happy, there can be no good outcome. He’ll look like a fool being led around by some young ambitious creature without status or connections who is a fraction of his age! She sounds like a gold digger of the worst sort and he cannot be so blind!

  “If you are inclined to marriage, there are wiser ways to approach it and young women of high rank eligible and lovely enough for you to consider.” Talon shifted in his chair. “But, I’m still having trouble believing you. You’ve always seemed so content with your life and have made no hint of a wish for the matrimonial yoke.”

  “You are beginning to sound like a great aunt I once had. Every time I so much as glanced at a housemaid, she would threaten me with a lecture that lasted days on end. We are equals, Talon. I’m not interested in a lecture.”

  “Then I’ll do my best not to give you one.”

  “Stafford, you are still young. Yet when I think back, you have long been far more mature than your years and far more conservative than I should think possible for a man with your resources. No trips to the Continent, no unseemly vices, not a single toe over the line.”

  “Am I the one being lectured?” Talon set his glass down as well. “Are you chiding me for not being debauched?”

  “No. No, I only marvel—Stafford it is rare air we breathe but it can disconnect you from…” Elgin waved his hand in the air as if swatting away a fly. “God, I was about to sound like a man in a loincloth on a mountaintop! I need more brandy and a chance to recover my sense of humor!”

  Talon smiled. “All right, cards then. More brandy and let us speak of other things.”

  “Yes. Lighter topics while I empty your pockets and teach you a lesson about experience winning out over youth.”

  Both men laughed and true to his word, Talon left off the subject of inappropriate dance partners and the strange twists of an evening. The men settled back into the easy rhythm of banter and conversation that was the hallmark of their friendship.

  But Talon Rush had every intention of seeing the incomparable Scarlett Blackwell for himself and surveying what this creature could possibly have to lure his friend into abandoning his common sense.

  And ensuring that this daughter of the Jaded was no threat at all.

  The carriage lurched through the streets of London and the twins nestled next to each other as their exhausted chaperone, Sabrina Martin, did her best to stay awake on the seat across from them.

  “Well, that was a night to remember!” Starr squeezed her sister’s gloved hand. “Are you going to tell me how that manifested or is it all a great mystery? A duke! What was he like?”

  “He was very kind and there’s no mystery,” Scarlett answered quietly. “Please don’t make a fuss. Father will be anxious enough after missing out tonight and Mother…I don’t want her to be sad and think there was a vast development in her absence.”

  “Better to hear of your triumph than tales of your time in a greenhouse,” Starr said. “Not that I’ll betray my promise to keep your secret.”

  “You never betray me.” Scarlett put her head on her sister’s shoulder. “Let’s just tell them it was lovely.”

  Starr laughed. “Yes, let’s try that. It is not as if Father will ask a thousand questions and demand an accounting of every conversation.”

  Scarlett sat up quickly. “True. But I’ll deflect him with compliments and kisses and that will be that.”

  “You are a wicked pair,” Mrs. Martin interjected though her words had no bite. She was not any more immune to the twins’ charms than their father and understood completely how they worked. Familiarity only bred more endearment and she had accepted with everyone in the Blackwell house that it was simply easier to surrender. “And how is it that you are not exhausted? My goodness! All I long for now is my bed and you both look as bright and spry as squirrels ready for another adventure.”

  Sabrina Martin had once been the girls’ wet nurse and in the Blackwell family tradition, had simply been absorbed into the household as no one was willing to let her go. From wet nurse to nanny to governess, her education had improved along with her identical charges when tutors entered the frame. Caroline had come to rely on Mrs. Martin as Bellewood demanded more of her time and the respect between them was formidable as parenting twins seemed to demand more hands on deck than expected. And since Mrs. Martin was almost as dear to the twins as their own mother, it was natural that they counted her as a confidante and ally.

  “Did you enjoy yourself, Mrs. Martin? What did you think of your first grand ball?” Scarlett asked.

  “It was lovely.” The twins immediately started laughing as Sabrina Martin echoed Scarlett’s line and then Mrs. Martin was laughing along. “It was! It was lovely! I have never seen such finery and in all my days, I never thought to be in such company.”

  “Well, we are going to insist on you continuing as our chaperone then. Even Starr will enjoy it more now that we realize it’s put color in your cheeks, Mrs. Martin.”

  “Stop,” Sabrina blushed. “It isn’t nice to tease. I am in quite over my head! One of your mother’s friends would have suited better and been far more comfortable.”

  “You were wonderful, Mrs. Martin,” Starr said. “I thought you were very brave considering how you were thrown into the breach tonight without any real warning.”

  “I would walk into flames if your mother asked it,” Sabrina said softly.

  “She has that effect, doesn’t she?”

  The women all became quiet, the camaraderie of the household enveloping them again.

  Sabrina Martin leaned back against the cushioned seat and closed her eyes. “And because of how much I love your mother, I will say nothing of the game of hide-and-seek in the ferns and the mysteriously lost dance card eaten by carpets.”

  The twins shared a startled look and then wisely kept silent for the rest of the ride home.

  Never underestimate your chaperone. Apparently shyness did not nullify having the eye of a hawk or make her forgetful after nearly twenty years of twin mischief…

  Lesson learned.

  Chapter 3

  The following morning, Caroline Blackwell sat alone in her reading room. The elegant study was set up in a room connected to her bedroom as a compromise to her husband, Ashe, who disliked having her too far from him for too long. She’d given in after realizing that she’d eaten
so many meals in the ground floor library that she’d forgotten what the wallpaper looked like in their dining room. Now, as the late morning sunlight poured in through the windows, Caroline shook her head in wonder at the cascade of cards in her hand. On the table next to her was a tray full of even more calling cards that had appeared after a bewildering number of messengers had dropped by the Blackwell’s London residence.

  Mrs. Clark’s gentle knock on the door was a welcome sound and Caroline looked up instantly. “Oh, do come in! Mrs. Clark, look at this!”

  Mrs. Clark smiled. “Yes, Mrs. Blackwell. It appears our beloved girls made quite an impression last night.”

  Caroline sighed. “Yes. But exactly what kind of impression? I mean to say that when I first came to London, there was more than one jest about making me a great success but only for the fun of seeing an American drab in their midst. Not that my daughters suffer from any lack in their appearances but do you think these people are sincere?”

  “I believe they are and if I may correct you, Mrs. Blackwell, you were always a lady and you were never an American drab. You merely preferred sensible shoes and possessed an overabundance of tweed.”

  Caroline smiled. “I had been told the English loved tweed.”

  “Only when they are stalking game,” Ashe added as he entered the room and without apology, kissed his wife in front of their housekeeper. “You’re supposed to be resting, dearest.”

  “I am resting. See? My feet are up and I am leafing through calling cards. This isn’t exactly hard labor, darling.”

  Mrs. Clark withdrew discreetly and closed the door behind her.

  Ashe took a seat next to Caroline, picking up one of the cards from the tray. “What is this avalanche? Did delights—” Ashe straightened his back, his brow furrowing as he selected another card to try to take in what his eyes were telling him. “Why is the Marchioness of Tewkesbury leaving us her card?”