by Lynn, J. S.
“You look beautiful, Jen,” she told me as she spun me around so I could get a good look at myself in the mirror. The sight of myself made me emotional. She had done an outstanding job on my make-up and she was right; I looked amazing. She got some tissues and started dabbing at my tears. “Stop it now, I just did your make up. Don’t mess it up.”
I chuckled, the wedding would be starting any minute now and I knew if I didn’t finish getting dressed Ashley would have a cow. Nancy placed the veil on my head and then helped me put on my shoes.
“Jenny!” Nancy called as she was walking down the hall. “Are you ready? I need you in posi…” She stopped as she saw me standing in the doorway. She looked as if she was about to cry.
“Oh my god, Jen you look so beautiful!” She exclaimed as she wiped a tear from her face. She took a deep breath and the let it out. “Okay, let’s get you out there before I breakdown.”
I met my dad at the back door of Luis’ house and prepared for my grand entrance. He was excited for my marriage. He was glad that he was finally going to get the chance to give his daughter away. I had taken Luis to meet my dad a few months before the wedding and he had given Luis his blessing back then. His exact words were “it was about time my Jenny found someone that was worth her love”, and he has been calling him son-in-law ever since. After today, it would be official.
The wedding song began to play and my dad and I made our way down the aisle. I saw Luis standing there watching me as I walked down the aisle with my father. Every time I saw Luis I still got the same sensation that I felt the first time I met him. I saw how perfect his face was, how his dancing excited and amazed me; now to see how far we had come from that little rendezvous in the park, it was truly a sight to see. My dad handed me over to Luis who grabbed both of my hands and held them firmly.
“You look amazing, my love,” he complimented. “Absolutely stunning.” He gently rubbed his thumbs on the backside of my hands as we stared into each other’s eyes, repeating our vows. We closed the ceremony with the traditional kiss and headed back down the aisle hand and hand. This had to be the best moment of my life. I finally had the family I had always dreamed of.
THE END
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“SEDUCED BY A GENTLEMAN”
NOTICE: This is a Regency Historical Romance story.
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CHAPTER ONE
"It is Lady Julia," he told me. "I’ve been seeing her for several years now. I wanted to tell you earlier, but just couldn’t. I am in love with her and she is pregnant."
Minutes before my world came crashing down, I was thinking that my wedding dress must have weighed a hundred pounds. It was a cold December afternoon and Lord William and I were ready to be married. I was sure that he was the one for me; he made me happy. Our families had arrived at our wedding ceremony at the small church in London. Whispers of how happy we would be were circulating around the room, but that was completely drowned out when I heard the words come out of his mouth that changed my life forever.
He told me right before we took our places. We were in a private room and I could not believe the news I was hearing. He had impregnated someone else while I was with him even though we had been together for years.
"I know it is bad timing, Annabelle," he said. "But she is having a child and I can’t leave her all alone. I do not think I can go through with this wedding. I would always wonder about my child; I would not be happy in this marriage. I just cannot go through with it, I’m very sorry."
I thought of his Lady Julia; I had heard of her and seen her a few times in passing. She had curly red hair that went past her shoulders and framed her porcelain face. Yes, she was a beautiful woman, but people whispered that she had been with husbands before. Nobody knew for sure if these scandalous rumors were true, but now I knew it was at least true for one man. Lady Julia was not at the ceremony, nor was she anywhere to be found. I wanted to see her, yell at her; yell at both her and Lord William.
I stood there for several minutes. I started to yell, but my eyes filled with tears and I started weeping, tears of devastation. We were at church on our wedding day and he was calling it off?
I looked at myself in the mirror. Mascara had started to run down my cheeks as I pushed back tears. My face had been painted a pale white color for the day. For my makeup, I had a natural peach glow and just a bit of blush to give myself color. I watched as eye makeup trickled down my cheek, ruining the perfect makeup that I had on my face.
My bridal gown was made of silver tissue and lace. It was carefully constructed and had many beautiful details that made me fall in love with it when I found it in a shop in Paris. When I saw it, I knew it was the perfect dress for my wedding day, something that would make me shine in the spotlight on the special day I got married. Silver shells and flowers were carefully embroidered at the bottom and the body and sleeves had lace imported from Brussels.
My soft brown hair was carefully constructed in a fancy style; curls in the back were laid on top of each other and formed a huge ball of delicate wavy curls. A few strands of curled hair fell against my face.
It was not common for people to get divorced, and it was especially not a good spot for women to be in. Thank goodness he did not call it off in public, I thought. But that did not keep us out of the public eye when the wedding was over. I heard news and gossip of us for weeks and did not want to go out for months afterwards. Everyone in town talked about the scandal and our broken relationship. When I did go out, it felt like people were whispering behind my back and talking about me.
Instead, I chose to stay in my home, resting in my bedroom where it was safe. I lay in bed, my wedding dress hanging up in the closet. I thought of how Lord William had left me and the news of us everywhere, spreading like a virus. There was no reason to live now. No one would ever love me.
I stood on the balcony outside of my room. The sky was dark on this breezy night. No stars were out, just the hint of gray clouds. I looked at my England town below. I leaned over the edge and felt the wind push against my face, blowing my hair out behind me. If I just slipped over the edge, I thought, nobody would even care. I put my foot over the edge of the balcony. I drew a breath in and looked down. I could feel my heart race. My other foot was still on the other side of the balcony.
All of a sudden, I heard a knock on the door. I quickly pulled my foot back on the balcony and went inside, closing the door behind me. I pushed the hair out of my face. "Come in," I said, trying to be joyful.
My father opened the door and stood before me. He had a stern look on his face. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked.
“Oh no, I am just getting ready for bed,” I said. I started to straighten my bed sheets and looked busy.
“I just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he said. “I know it’s tough with everything going on. It was a hard day for all of us. It will pass in time. Life will go on”
“Oh yes, I know,” I said, trying to keep a smile. “It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
I was so sure that he had been the one for me. My father, the Duke, was set on Lord William from the start. "He is a fine gentleman and he inherited a large property from his family,” he had told me. "He is a great match for you.”
My father had set us up. We met at Georgian Ranelagh Gardens, a place that became one our favorite places throughout the years. We would walk through the gardens together frequently. He was wearing a blue coat with a scarlet waistcoat when we were introduced. He had a top hat over his blonde hair. I had been attracted to Lord William the moment I met him.
He was quite an interesting man to date. We went out to many public events during the course of our relationship and everyone i
n town knew of us. We were popular in our circle of family and friends and a wedding was anticipated from the start.
One of his downfalls was that he had a bit of drinking problem. I watched him drink heavily several nights and the bit of anger that swept over him when he was drunk. This did not bother me too much though, as I was in love with him. He was a great match for me and we would have lived a comfortable life off of the money and property he acquired from his family.
The depression from the breakup lasted for months. It was like a dark cloud had swept over me and my life. I tried to move on doing the tasks I normally did. I went to the gardens, out to dinner, and out on the town more and more as the months went by.
***
It was at the beginning of summer when things started to look up again. I saw the sunlight shine through my windows and felt a sense of relief on June 19th, 1811. My depression had started to fade and I felt a glimmer of hope go through me. The town was going through great changes, greater than the scandal that I had been a part of. As social and political events swept the area, I started to forget about my problems.
My family and I were invited to the ornate Carlton House for the celebration of the Prince of Wales' new position as the Regent of England. His father, King George III, had grown ill and the Prince was celebrating his new place of power.
I put on a simple but elegant pink ball gown for the evening that complemented my skin. The fabric shimmered a little in a way that reflected the light and made it glow. It revealed my collarbone and had white ruffles on the sleeve. I put on my long white gloves, and finally, I added a gorgeous white head piece that covered my hair in a sophisticated and elegant way.
I looked at myself in the vanity mirror in my bedroom. I put on Milk of Roses cream to my face and added a Rose Lip Salve lip balm to my lips which made them stand out against my skin. I could slightly taste its rose flavor in my mouth. I had a perfume settled on my vanity. I sprayed it across my neck and on my wrists letting its flower scent sink into my skin.
On my vanity table, I lay out the makeup I was planning to wear on this evening. Foundation was first. I added foundation to my face that blended it in with my skin and made it look flawless. Its liquid felt silky smooth on my skin. I dotted concealer on my blemishes, hiding imperfections and my tired eyes. Afterward, I dusted on a fine talcum powder all over my face that made it glow. I dipped my makeup brush into a bright pink powder blush. I smiled to find my cheekbones and lightly dabbed it on both cheeks. It gave me a flushed look that made me come alive.
Now came the hard part, I thought. I mixed lamp black, a fine black spot product, with a touch of oil to form a paste. I had not done this technique since my wedding day. I applied this lightly to my eyebrows and then to my eyelashes to make them look longer and fuller. My long eyelashes made the rest of my eyes stand out and made me look wide awake. I added just a touch of eyeshadow to my lids; I wanted something natural and beautiful with not too much color. A light brown eye shadow worked perfectly. It had a slightly pink undertone that went with my dress. I worked a darker brown shadow in to my crease to give my eyes dimension.
Finally, I came my lips. I wanted something bright. I used vermilion, an opaque cochineal derivate, which gave my lips a painted look over the lip balm which had sunk into my lips and made them smooth. I looked in the mirror for several minutes and saw a bit of a glow beneath my eyes. I looked like my old self again.
“You look beautiful,” my father said, as he escorted me out of the room. I felt a sense of excitement for the night. There was something in the air, a sweeping feel of change that went through the town. It was a night to remember.
***
The front of the Carlton House was lit up as we entered. Crowds started to surround the area, bringing a feeling of excitement. The grass had a mat cover that created a courtyard. Under the Corinthian portico, there was a platform with a band getting ready to play. There were four open tents in the garden with food and tables decorated with garlands of flowers.
We walked inside. Guards stood on either side of us. There was an octagon shaped saloon that was near the grand staircase filled with flowers. There were chandeliers and candelabras everywhere. All of the rooms had candles as well as French furniture and porcelain, which I heard the Prince collected. It was all very elegant and extravagant; I felt like a princess in a fairytale.
At around nine PM, the Prince entered the room. Everyone applauded cheerfully as he entered. I had my eyes on another man though who has been sneaking glances at me all night. He had wavy, dark hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. I looked at him several times and gave him a smile. He smiled back at me. He seemed to stare at me during the entire Prince’s speech!
As the speech came to a close, I started to walk near the strange man. He looked at me and seemed to draw me in, like a rope was pulling me toward him. Who was he? Did my family know him? I did not see my father anywhere. He walked over to me when he noticed I was coming toward him.
“Hello, miss?” he said. Then to my surprise, he started to recite a poem.
“Your beautiful spirit, peaceful and bright
Brings beauty to my eye tonight
Innocent, pure, and smart
You uplift and move my heart.”
I laughed in a way I had not laughed in a while. I could feel butterflies in my stomach and a sort of lightness in the air. "Are you a poet?" I said. I had not talked or flirted with a man in a long time.
“Yes, I am a poet, drawn to you. And you are?”
"I am Lady Annabelle," I said, introducing myself.
“I am Lord Augustus”.
“Hello, Lord Augustus,” I said, repeating his name. I let myself smile. "Do you have more poetry for me?" In the background, I heard music start to play. It vibrated through me.
“For you, I have all the poetry in the world.” He grinned and put his hand out. I took it and let his body lead me. “Let us go dancing tonight, Annabelle. I hear this band is supposed to play beautiful music.”
He led me to the ballroom floor and we started dancing. Chalk arabesques were on the ballroom floor that laid under our feet. Many people started participating in a square country dance. I danced with this stranger, following the footsteps and music. It was an upbeat song that played, lively and festive for the celebration of the night. It was energetic and everybody seemed to be in a good mood as the music flushed over us.
A slow song suddenly started to play and I stopped dancing. He took my hand and wrapped his body around me. He started to waltz with me, a dance I did not know that well, but I had heard was not socially acceptable in some places. I followed his footsteps as the music played. The dance was a slow and a graceful dance. It was not too hard to pick up as I moved with his body. It was unlike how I was used to dancing, but came to love it quickly and never wanted the song to end. As we embraced the dance floor, the music seemed to move through us.
After a moment, looked around the room in sort of a nervous way; it almost looked like he was looking for someone else. He then looked at me. “You want to go outside? It is a beautiful night out,” he said with a smile and then started to lead me off the dance floor.
As we walked outside, there were hundreds of beautiful brightly colored lamps and lanterns. They outshone the stars in the sky making the whole place look bright and festive. I gasped as I took in the sight of beauty everywhere; the lights made the whole place look perfect.
Outside, there were a couple people walking. The music started to fade in the background as we walked away from the dance floor, following a line of lantern lights. We walked through the gardens and beautiful scenery. The weather was warm out, but not too hot with the sun gone. It was a nice night to be out.
We started to talk. We talked about our backgrounds, our lives, and a little about politics. He came from a large family and grew up in England. I wondered if knew about me and the wedding and how it was called off, but if he did, he didn’t ask. Mostly, he liked to recit
e lines of poetry he had written. He was a professional writer and had published several books. Both of his parents were well established and famous writers. He had decided to take their lead years ago and do writing of his own. He had written both works of prose and poetry, but said he preferred poetry as it let him express his emotions and took him in to a state of pure joy. I could not help but laugh and smile as he broke out in lines that can only be described as seductive:
“You are my treasure
I will write you lover's notes and letters
I dance with you on this evening just past eleven
Our meeting tonight is a gift from heaven.”
I had never met a poet before. They were so romantic and enticing. Did he mean the lines he was saying or was he just reading me poetry? We sat down on a bench. I felt so comforted by him; I started to feel like a school girl with a crush. We talked for hours.
