Bertrice Small - The Duchess

"Ohh, Ocky, that is so sweet," Sirena murmured happily.

After their meal the men decided to play at dice. The ladies insisted on being shown how to play.

"I am not certain that is a good idea," the Earl of Aston said.

"Afraid of losing to a lady, Marcus?" his wife murmured.

"Damnit, Eunice, there are some things a lady doesn't do," was the swift answer.

"Ladies play at gambling all the time," Allegra responded. "We play at cards, but this game you call Hazard looks like more fun."

"I thought you didn't like to gamble," Lord Walworth said.

"She doesn't, except among friends," his wife replied. "What is the harm, Adrian, in teaching us your little game?"

"Caroline!"

"Teach them," the duke said.

"What?" the earl cried. "You are encouraging this, Quint? You of all people?"

"I do not gamble for real stakes, and neither does my wife. I trust Allegra's good sense not to gamble with strangers, or for any real wager. I must assume that you trust your wives as well," the duke said.

"Bravo!" Caroline cried, and her female companions clapped.

The Earl of Aston laughed, and held up his hands. "I surrender, ladies. Very well, here is how you play the game. Hazard uses two dice. The caster who controls the dice throws until he, or she, scores five, six, seven, eight, or nine. Your first throw is called the main. Your second, which must equal the first cast, is called the chance. If your second throw equals your first then you have knicked it. If you throw crabs, which is a two, three, eleven, or twelve, you have thrown out, and lost. You must continue your play until you win or lose. It is simple enough."

Soon the Great Hall of Hunter's Lair was filled with noisy laughter as they all played Hazard. They made wagers such as a kiss, or a sip of port, or a sugar wafer. When Allegra suddenly realized that the tall clock in the hall had struck ten she called a halt to their game, reminding them of the time.

"What a wonderful evening," Caroline said enthusiastically. "We shall have such a grand time in London this winter. We really don't need any other friends but one another. And on our way home in March we shall all come to Pickford to pay our respects to the new heir, Sirena."

"And you will tell me of your adventures, and I shall be most envious. Ocky, we must not have another baby for at least two years."

They laughed, and hand in hand the four couples ascended the stairs once again to their bedchambers.

Allegra celebrated her eighteenth birthday on December ninth with her husband, her father, and her stepmother, as well as Sirena, Ocky, George, and his wife, Melinda. Melinda chose the occasion to smugly announce that she was expecting a baby in midwinter.

"The gel might have picked another time for her little proclamation," murmured Lady Morgan to her husband. "I believe the wench has delusions of grandeur. I heard her say it was to be the next Sedgwick heir. The nerve of her! Allegra had best put a stop to that nonsense! The gel's mother has obviously been filling her head with all matter of silliness. I should not have thought Squire Franklyn's daughter such a bold baggage."

"Allegra will mother the next duke, my dear," Lord Morgan said quietly. "Are you not the mother of a fine family?"

Lady Morgan blushed prettily. "I am," she agreed.

"Then we shall not worry," Lord Morgan said.

The duke gave his wife a pretty cart, painted green and silver, along with a fat black and white pony to draw it. "You may not always want to ride about," he told her. "And if the weather is inclement, and you wish to go over to Pickford, the cart will do nicely."

"I shall have to go to Pickford now that Sirena is limited in her travels," Allegra said, putting an arm about her cousin. "Thank you for coming today, darling. You have suddenly popped and are showing your belly, Sirena. It is most becoming."

"Your godson is thriving," Sirena laughed. "Ohh, Allegra, I shall miss you this winter when you are in London."

"I'd be just as happy to remain here," Allegra said. "I don't really like the city, but Eunice and Caroline insist we come. We shall only remain a few weeks, I promise."

"Where will you stay?" Sirena asked.

"At Papa's house," Allegra answered. "It is foolish of us to purchase another house as Papa's will belong to us one day. Besides we like Berkley Square, and it is quite conveniently located."

Sirena laughed. "I wish I could go," she said. "You will have so much more fun than when we were debutantes, Allegra. We had to be so prim and proper then lest we spoil our chances for husbands. There is the theatre, Vauxhall Gardens, fetes, costume balls, opera, and the races! I will think of you when you are gone, cousin."

***

The Season always began in March or April, but ended by mid-June, when everybody who was anybody returned to their country estates and homes. A Little Season began in September, but by November the town was deserted again by the well-to-do. In January when Parliament began, many of the fashionables returned to town and the country was deadly dull. The duke and his three friends, who usually did not involve themselves in politics, had decided to attend the government session while they were in London. The Earl of Aston and Lord Walworth would be renting the old Earl of Pickford's house during their stay as he was not coming to Parliament this year in anticipation of his grandchild's birth. He wanted to be there when his next heir made his debut.

Allegra and the duke traveled to London in a large, comfortable traveling coach drawn by six horses. The interior of the vehicle was well padded, and it was well sprung. The seats were upholstered in a soft beige leather. Beneath each seat was a metal box for hot coals so that the coach might be heated. The heat escaped through a brass latticework at the bottom of each of the two benches. There were small crystal oil lamps, banded in silver, for light. The windows were glass, and could be raised or lowered depending upon the weather. The windows had cream-colored velvet curtains that could be drawn for privacy. The back of the seat facing the rear of the coach could be drawn down. It held its passengers' food and wine. The coachmen's box held two men. There was a bench behind the coach for two footmen. The top of the vehicle was deep enough and wide enough for a goodly supply of luggage.

The weather was so cold that even the duke would not ride outside, but remained within the coach with his wife. His vehicle was followed by a second carriage in which Honor, and the duke's valet, Hawkins, rode with the rest of the luggage. This auxiliary vehicle had but one driver, the second undercoachman. It would be his duty in London to oversee the stables and ducal transport while they were there.

While cold, the weather held, though it was gray and cloudy. They stopped for luncheon, and then for dinner and lodging at inns that were expecting them. They did not have to change horses because the animals were well cared for, and well rested each night. Allegra was very grateful for the hooded beaver-lined velvet cape her husband had given her for Christmas. She unashamedly wore several flannel petticoats beneath her skirt. This was no time to be fashionable, and besides, who was to know, she thought, as she snuggled into the dark green velvet of the fur-lined and -trimmed cape.

It took them several days to reach London, but when they did, the servants hurried from Morgan House to help them out of their coach and escort them into the house. Marker, the family butler, came forward, bowing, a smile upon his face.

"Welcome home, Your Grace," he said. "Your father is here, and will see you and His Grace in the library when you are settled."

"Papa! Ohh, let us go now," Allegra said, unfastening her voluminous cape and handing it off to a footman.

"Very well, my dear," the duke agreed. He hadn't thought his father-in-law would be here, but then why wouldn't he? It was his house, and he certainly always had business in London.

Septimius Morgan arose from his chair by the fire to greet his only child and her husband. "I shall not be with you long," he reassured them with a smile. "I am anxious to return home as soon as possible. Your stepmother hasn't felt well of late."

"What is the matter?" Allegra cried, a worried expression crossing her beautiful face.

"Nothing more, my child, than a winter ague," her father assured her with a smile. "How it pleases me that you love Olympia as I do." He indicated a settee opposite his chair, and the couple both sat. "How long do you plan to remain in town?" Lord Morgan inquired as he seated himself.

"Only a few weeks," the duke replied. "Our friends, Aston and Walworth, are also here with their wives. We plan to make a time of it, Septimius. We shall visit the opera, the theatre, perhaps even Vauxhall if there is something of note to see. I should also like to go to Tattersall's. While I have an excellent stud, I could use some good blooded mares to improve my stock. We will certainly be gone before The Season begins."

"Do you intend to take your place in the house, Quinton?" his father-in-law asked him.

"Yes, I think I should like to see what is going on right now," the duke answered.

"I have never asked you this," Lord Morgan said, "but are you a Tory, or a Whig?"

"I think I am a little of each, sir, which is why I do not visit Parliament too often," the duke responded with a small smile. "Nothing in this life is only black or white, Septimius. I cannot become enthusiastic over a political party and cleave only to it. Politics are made up of men, and men, I have learned, are quite fallible."

Now it was Lord Morgan's turn to smile. "You have married a wise man, my child," he told Allegra.

"And you, sir," the duke said. "Are you fish, or fowl?"

"Like you, Quinton, neither. A man in trade such as myself, even with a Lord before his name, cannot afford to take sides. I leave that to cleverer heads than mine, and those whose passions run higher."

The duke chuckled, and turned to his wife. "You have a devious and clever father, my darling."

"As long as the country is well run," Lord Morgan said, "I am content." He looked closely at his daughter, and what he saw pleased him greatly. Sirena had written that Allegra had fallen in love with her husband, who was already in love with her, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he was happier. They had only been at Hunter's Lair overnight for his daughter's birthday, and he had had no real chance to observe the pair. Olympia would be delighted, for it was really she who had engineered the match with Lady Bellingham's aid.

"When will you leave us, Papa?" Allegra asked him.

"In two or three days, my child, but I am leaving Charles Trent behind to oversee my business. He will be a shadow, of course, but should you entertain, he will be an excellent extra gentleman for the table. He has offered to tuck in at my offices, but I said you would not hear of it."

"No, no," Allegra agreed. "He must remain here in his own rooms."

The next morning while her father and husband had gone off to the House of Lords, Allegra sat down with Charles Trent. "It will be expected that I give an at home," she said. "How long will it take to arrange the invitations? I assume you know to whom my cards should be sent? We do not intend to remain in London long, but I know that as the Duchess of Sedgwick I cannot come and not have an at home."

"The invitations are already engraved, Your Grace," Mr. Trent answered her. "It only remains for you to choose the day. Might I suggest the last day of February?"

"We intend leaving shortly afterward," Allegra said thoughtfully. "How ridiculous that we must give people a month's notice. Sirena and I went to several at homes last season. What a silly custom. You push into a huge crush of people, remain only fifteen minutes, and then leave. There is no food, no drink, no entertainment at all. And your levee is not considered a success at all unless at least one woman faints dead away, and the crowds are overwhelming. I do not see the point of it all. Still, it is the fashionable thing to do, and so I must. I would not want the gossips saying I was not worthy of my husband's name and title."