To Love A Duke: A Regency Romance (Finding Forever Love)

by Diana DeHaven

  Doris walked over to the dress on the table and examined it. “This is exquisite work, Emma.”

  “Thank you, Doris.”

  “You are a wonderful seamstress.”

  Emma smiled and her cheeks colored.

  “Emma is being rather modest today,” Alice said, cocking her head to one side.

  “Who taught you to sew like this?” Doris asked.

  “My mother. She made all our dresses herself. Even my older sister’s wedding dress. She looked beautiful.”

  “Does she need a job?”

  “My sister? No, she married a Baron.”

  “Your mother.”

  Emma lowered her gaze and answered sadly, “She passed away two years ago.”

  Doris frowned and shook her head. “I am terribly sorry. I did not realize.”

  “No harm done. You did not know.”

  Doris pursed her lips briefly. “You finish your bread, Emma. You can join me in the front when you are done.”

  “Thank you, Doris,” Emma said with a frown, and watched as Doris left the room with the gown she had been working on.

  Emma and Alice exchanged puzzled glances and Alice shrugged.

  “What on Earth?” Emma whispered. “She wants me to work in front?”

  “Eat your bread.”

  Emma scoffed, but she did as she was told.

  As the youngest seamstress in the shop, Emma was often given the menial jobs, and although she was grateful that she was employed, Emma longed to work with the finest fabrics, silks, velvets and lace.

  When she was a young girl, her mother had taught her everything she had known about fabrics, stitching and embroidering. Emma loved being a seamstress, despite the state it left her hands in, and her back for that matter, at the end of a long day. She did not mind at all. Doing what she loved, and what her mother loved, made Emma feel close to her mother, as if she had never left.

  Emma was the youngest daughter of Amelia and Kenneth Cooper, and she and her older sister, Catherine, had lived in Suffolk their entire lives. She had never traveled anywhere else and this was her home. Their father had passed away after an accident involving a horse and a few whiskeys when Emma was ten years old, and it had been the three of them ever since.

  After Catherine married a Welsh baron four years ago and moved to Wales, Emma and her mother had stayed in Suffolk, refusing to leave their home. Even after her mother passed, she still stayed, not wanting to leave the place she called home. Her friends were there, as well as her memories, which she cherished every moment of every day.

  Loud voices suddenly exploded at the front of the shop and Emma and Alice peeked through the curtain, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

  A young woman stood in the front of the store, tossing demands and accusations around like it was going out of fashion. Gillian, another seamstress, backed into the curtain dividing the shop from the back room in an attempt to escape and Alice and Emma quickly gave her the hiding place she needed.

  “What is going on out there?” Emma asked.

  “Titled people think they can do as they please,” Gillian muttered.

  “Who is she?”

  “Lady Josephine,” Alice muttered.

  “How do you know that?” Gillian asked.

  “I know of her. She is the daughter of the Lord and Lady Lincolnshire.”

  “The Earl of Lincolnshire?”

  “Indeed.”

  “What on Earth is she doing here?” Alice hissed.

  “She is visiting with the Duke of Leyton later this afternoon, and she needs a hem repair on her gown,” Gillian fumed.

  “All that fuss, for a hem?”

  “Indeed. Those people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They expect everything to be done at the drop of a hat.”

  “Who is doing the repair?”

  “Margaret.”

  “Who else,” Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes.

  “She has been here the longest,” Emma pointed out.

  “That certainly does not make her the best,” Alice countered.

  Emma pulled the curtain back slightly and glanced at Lady Josephine. She was certainly a beautiful young woman, but the way she looked down on the seamstresses was rather hurtful. She showed no respect or gratitude of any kind and this upset Emma very much. She had seen how her mother was looked down on, even though she always produced gowns that were fit for queens. Her talents did not make up for the fact that she was a seamstress, and untitled.

  Emma pursed her lips in anger and turned away. “I despise people like that.”

  “I think they despise themselves as well, Emma dear.”

  After the horrid Lady Josephine left, the shop went back to normal and later, as Emma swept the floor, she noticed a rolled-up sheet of paper on the floor, tucked underneath one of the stools. She glanced around, but no one paid her much notice. She grabbed the scroll and stuck in into the front pocket of her apron. Then she finished her duties and walked to the back room. There she unrolled the sheet and glanced at the intricate letters on the page. It was an invitation to a ball hosted by the Dowager Duchess of Leyton at their estate next week.

  “What do you have there?”

  Emma whirled around, her heart momentarily stopping as she glanced at Alice with wide eyes. “Nothing,” she whispered.

  “That does not look like nothing,” Alice answered, raising one eyebrow.

  “I found it on the floor,” Emma said and handed it to Alice.

  Alice’s eyes widened and she smiled. “This is an invitation to Rivenhall Estate.”

  “Lady Josephine must have dropped it.”

  “She will not even miss it,” Alice scoffed.

  “I must return it to her,” Emma said, and took it back from her.

  “Wait.”

  Emma glanced at her with a frown and waited.

  “Since you found it, it is now yours.”

  “What?”

  “Go to the ball.”

  “Have you gone mad?”

  “No. Think about it, Emma. You can wear a beautiful gown, be in the company of wealthy people who see you as one of their own, and perhaps you will even meet a dashing man who wishes to whisk you away to his castle and marry you,” Alice swooned.

  “That,” Emma groaned, and Alice glanced at her, “is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

  “Please, Emma.”

  “Why do you not go?”

  “Because Lady Josephine knows my face. She knows all the seamstress’ faces. Except yours.”

  “No, I cannot do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I do not have a gown.”

  “There are plenty of gowns in the back.”

  “Those belong to other people.”

  “Stop making excuses.”

  “I cannot. What if someone speaks to me? What would I say?”

  “We will create a name and a background for you.”

  “That is lying, Alice.”

  “It is only for one night, Emma. You never have to see those people again.”

  Emma bit her bottom lip and inhaled slowly. “I will think about it, but I am not making any promises.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It would be nice to wear a beautiful dress,” she mumbled, “and be spoken to as if I were an actual human being.”

  “Is that a yes?” Alice asked with excitement in her voice.

  Emma smiled slowly and nodded. “Yes.”

  Alice squealed and put her arms around Emma, as she slipped the scroll back into her apron pocket.

  “What on Earth is going on here?” Doris asked as she entered the room.

  “Alice is simply excited to be alive,” Emma answered dryly.

  “It must be the bread from earlier,” Alice chuckled.

  “Alright, enough of this joviality. Back to work, ladies.”

  Emma and Alice nodded wordlessly and made their way to the front of the shop, their eyes sparkling with excitement.
<
br />   Chapter Two

  The Day of The Ball

  Alice Palmer’s Home

  Belton, Suffolk, England

  “This was a terrible idea,” Emma called out from Alice’s bedchamber.

  Alice waited rather impatiently for Emma to come out, but the door remained closed.

  “Come on out. Let me have a look at you.”

  “No. I look ridiculous.”

  “It cannot be that bad,” Alice was annoyed.

  She and Emma had spent the last week preparing for the ball, and despite having to do so in secret, Alice had enjoyed very moment of it. They had borrowed – and by borrowed meaning they had taken without anyone’s knowledge – an emerald green gown with intricate beading on the bodice and a soft silk skirt delicately draped with matching lace.

  “Emma, the carriage will be here soon.”

  “I do not think this is a good idea at all.”

  “Why not?”

  “Those people will know I do not belong there. They will know I am a seamstress and they will chase me away.”

  “Emma, come out!”

  After a few moments of silence, the door finally opened. Emma stepped out and Alice gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

  Emma looked exquisite in the gown. Her skin glowed and the color complimented not only her skin tone, but her eyes and her hair as well. Her hair was swept to the side and pinned intricately off her shoulders.

  She cocked her head to the side, awaiting Alice’s verdict.

  Alice lowered her hands and smiled. “You look...”

  “As ridiculous as I feel?” Emma scoffed.

  “Not at all. You look like royalty, Emma. You do not even look like the same person.”

  “Pity I do not feel it.”

  “You better feel it soon. You must walk into Rivenhall with confidence.”

  “I do not think I can do this, Alice.” Emma was shaking with fear.

  “Of course you can. You deserve this. You deserve to dance in a beautiful gown with a handsome Earl, or a Duke, whomever asks first.”

  Emma smiled slightly. “I am nervous, so much that I fear I might faint, or vomit.”

  “You will be alright. Take deep breaths, and if you do not know the answer to a question, simply smile and walk away.”

  “Would that not be rude?”

  “You’re royalty. You are allowed to be rude.”

  “Just because I look like them does not mean I wish to act like them.”

  “Then why did you agree to go?” Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Emma hesitated for a short while and then shook her head. “I must go.”

  Alice giggled with amusement and the two women stepped out of Alice’s home, where a carriage was waiting outside.

  “Where on Earth did you get a carriage like this?” Emma asked in disbelief.

  “Someone owed me a favour.”

  Emma glanced at Alice and shook her head. “I am not even going to ask.”

  “Good, as I was not going to tell.”

  Alice watched as Emma climbed into the carriage and then she glanced at the coachman. “Please, do take good care of her.”

  “I will, Miss.”

  “And bring her back home safely.”

  The coachman nodded and Alice stepped back. Emma waved from inside the carriage and Alice returned with an over-exaggerated, and very enthusiastic, wave as the carriage began to move.

  Emma was still nervous as she glanced out the window of the carriage and watched as the scenery moved past her. She repeated everything she and Alice had agreed on; her title, her family, where she was from, but Alice had told her to be as vague as she could about details. She was only to be this person for one evening, and those people would be none the wiser.

  Emma still could not fathom that she was on her way to Rivenhall Estate, the home of the Duke of Leyton. The thought completely overwhelmed her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself when the coachman told her that they would be arriving at the estate shortly.

  Emma glanced out the window and gasped in awe. Never in her young life had she seen such a magnificent, stately home. It towered high above the trees and it took Emma a few moments to calm her rapidly beating heart and the butterflies that had taken over her stomach.

  The carriage came to a stop and the coachman quickly pulled her door open and held his hand out to her.

  “Thank you,” Emma said as he helped her out of the carriage.

  “I will have the carriage across the lawn, on that side,” the coachman motioned to a lane of trees on their right and she nodded. “Whenever you have had enough of those people, I will be here.”

  “Thank you. You are very kind.”

  The coachman nodded and motioned to the front of the estate, where two gentlemen were welcoming the guests as they entered.

  Emma took a deep breath and made her way towards them.

  “Good evening, My Lady. May I take your coat?” one of them asked politely.

  “Thank you,” she answered as he helped her out of her coat and folded it across his arm.

  “The ballroom is to the right, but you are under no obligation to go there immediately,

  although you may wish to mingle.”

  “I will do just that,” Emma responded and slowly made her way to the ballroom. Rivenhall was even more magnificent on the inside than she had imagined and the portraits that hung on the walls were truly marvelous. Emma felt as though she was in a dream, but it was even more overwhelming to realize that she was wide awake.

  She entered the ballroom and gasped in awe. The room was elegantly decorated in gold and dark blue, with large candlelit chandeliers filling the room with light. There was a small orchestra in one corner, filling the air with sweet melodies created by a skilled violinist and pianist.

  “Good evening, My Lady.”

  Emma glanced over her shoulder, saw a young man standing beside her and smiled. “Good evening, My Lord.”

  He smiled and took her hand in his, “Lord Whittle, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And you are?”

  “Lady Emma Dunlop.”

  “Dunlop?”

  “Indeed.”

  “I am not familiar with the name, My Lady,” he said.

  Emma raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. “Nor am I with yours.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Perhaps we can get better acquainted at the refreshment table?”

  “Perhaps.”

  *****

  The Duke straightened his formal jacket as he made his way down the main stairwell and glanced briefly into the ballroom through the large glass overhead panels. The ballroom was filled with guests wearing their finest garments and, although the Duke enjoyed these types of events, this evening lay heavily on his heart. or rather his patience. The Dowager Duchess had been constantly reminding him of why Lady Josephine would be a fine match for him, and he doubted this evening would be any different. He often wished his mother was not as persistent and relentless as she was but, more often than not, she was right, although the duke would deny it with his life.

  His mother knew the rules of society and lived by them completely and without hesitation, never straying from tradition. He understood she wished for their family to prosper but forcing him to propose before he was ready, and in the company of the entire county, was asking a little too much of him. The problem was that the more he had gotten to know Lady Josephine, the less fond he was of her.

  He entered the ballroom, cautiously glancing around him, trying his best not to be seen by his mother, Lady Josephine, or her parents.

  “Your Grace,” he heard a voice beside him and froze momentarily. He glanced over his shoulder but was rather relieved to find Lord Harrison, his lifelong friend who had been traveling through Europe for the last year, standing behind him.

  “You nearly gave me a heart attack,” the Duke said with a chuckle. “Welcome back. I thought you were returni
ng later this month.”

  “And miss your birthday again? You would never forgive me.”