"We are going to Almack's tonight," Lady Abbott volunteered.

"I will be there," the duke promised her as he bowed over her hand. "I hope Allegra will be." Then he departed the garden.

Lady Abbott put a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with what had just happened. Then, her hand falling away, she said, "We have done it, Septimius! We have made Allegra a duchess! There hasn't been such a marriage coup since the Gunning sisters came over from Ireland with their father forty-four years ago! And Sirena, too! My baby will be a countess one day when old Pickford dies. It has certainly proved to be a very successful season so far, hasn't it?"

"Neither of them is at the altar yet, and Sirena will be far easier to get there than Allegra. She is in love. I am not sure that I do not feel a certain guilt about sending Allegra into a loveless union with the duke. Still, I cannot disagree with him regarding love. Look what love has brought me, too," Lord Morgan said sadly. "He seems a good man though. I have never heard anything untoward regarding his character. I believe he will be kind to my daughter."

"We must get Allegra to be kind to him," Lady Abbott replied with a small twinkle in her eye. "I do not envy you your duty, Septimius. You will have to tell her immediately."

"I know," he answered. "As soon as she returns we shall speak. Who was she with today?"

"Sirena and Pickford, of course, and young Rupert Tanner," Lady Abbott answered.

"I wasn't aware Rupert was in London," Lord Morgan said. "You know he had the cheek to ask for Allegra before we came to London. I don't like it that he's come sniffing about. His father cannot get the idea out of his head of marrying his second son to my daughter."

The day had suddenly grown overcast as spring weather was apt to do. Lord Morgan and Lady Abbott repaired indoors.

"When my daughter returns," Lord Morgan told Marker, "tell her I want to see her immediately in my library."

"Very good, my lord," the butler said with a bow.

"And you may tell my daughter I am in my rooms," Lady Abbott said.

"Yes, my lady," Marker replied.


***

Making himself comfortable in his study, Lord Morgan poured himself a whiskey and sat in an upholstered chair by the blazing fire. He considered how to best approach his daughter, but he knew there would be no easy way. A woman needed to be married in their society. Allegra had been raised to understand that. He knew of few love matches. Families arranged marriages to best suit themselves. The bride and the groom knew they had to make the best of it, and usually did. He had been foolish enough to fall in love with his wife, Pandora. It had made her betrayal all the more difficult.

He had told the duke he did not know why Pandora had not aborted the baby who had grown up to be Allegra. He had lied. He knew very well why Allegra had been born because he had overheard a conversation between Pandora and Olympia that he had not been meant to hear. It had been Olympia Abbott who had threatened her younger sister with exposure if she did not have the baby she was carrying.

"You have destroyed three of Septimius's children," Olympia said angrily. "I will not allow you to destroy this child."

"I have given him a son," Pandora whined. "What more is expected of me?"

"What if something happens to James Lucian?" Olympia asked. "You must give Septimius another child, and you are already ripening with this one. I do not understand how you could allow that awful woman to tear three of your babies from your body."

"Oh, Olympia, do not be so dramatic. She gave me some revolting potion to swallow and several hours later I passed those miserable little inconveniences with painful difficulty. I would never let old Mother Diggums put her hands on me. The creature is disgusting."

"You will have this child," Olympia said stonily. "If you do not I shall tell Septimius what you have done, Pandora. He will have every right to divorce you, and I shall encourage him to it, I swear! And do not think you can cozen me by pretending a miscarriage."

"I shall miss the hunting season," Pandora said irritably.

"We shall both miss it," Olympia replied. "I, too, am with child. Our children will grow up together, Pandora. They shall be friends, and you will be glad you didn't do away with this little one."

"Oh, very well," Pandora finally agreed. "Honestly, Olympia, the care you have for my husband. If I didn't know how much you loved your own, I should be very suspicious of you." Then she laughed.

"It is a tragedy you do not love Septimius," had been the response.

"But he loves me," Pandora said, a hint of triumph in her voice. "He will always love me no matter what, Olympia. I will agree to have this last child for him. But no more! I gained over an inch in my waist with our son. I don't want to look like those fat old sows who sit around the room at the local balls. I never want to grow old!"

The knowledge of his wife's perfidy had been a knife to his heart. He had known Pandora didn't love him. As far as he could see she loved no one except herself. But Allegra had been born. Then when his daughter was not quite two, Pandora had run away with her lover, an Italian count, Giancarlo di Rossi. Septimius had divorced her. The permission to do so hadn't been difficult to obtain. To his surprise she had written him afterward thanking him for making it possible to marry her lover. He had never heard from her again, although he suspected Olympia did now and again; but then Olympia had always had a good heart.

He heard the rain suddenly beating against the windows of his library and laughter in the foyer of the house. Then the library door opened and Allegra came in with young Rupert Tanner at her heels.

"Ohh, Papa! The most exciting thing has happened. Ocky has asked Sirena to marry him! They have gone to tell Aunt. And here is Rupert up from the country. What did you want to see me about?"

"I wish to speak with you in private, Allegra," Lord Morgan said. "Rupert, where are you staying?"

"Allegra invited me to stay here, my lord," he answered.

"I regret that will not be convenient. I'm certain that young Pickford will put you up. That house of his father's is more like a men's club right now. Actually you will be much more comfortable there."

"Papa!"

"Sit down, Allegra," her father said.

"Thank you, sir, for the suggestion," Rupert said politely. "Shall I see you tonight at Almack's? You do have tickets, don't you?"

"Yes," Lord Morgan replied. Nothing more.

"Then I bid you good day until the evening," the young man responded and departed, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"How could you refuse Rupert your hospitality, Papa?" Allegra demanded angrily. "He is our neighbor, and I have known him my whole life."

"It would not be appropriate for him to visit with us now, Allegra," her father said quietly.

"Why not?" Allegra's violet eyes were stormy with her disapproval.

"Because this afternoon I contracted a match for you with the Duke of Sedgwick," came the startling answer.

"No!"

"He has agreed to all my terms without a quiver-remarkable for a gentleman who is so prideful," Lord Morgan noted.

"And so poor!" Allegra snapped back. "He is a fortune hunter, Papa. Surely you must know it."

"Any man who looks to wed you is a fortune hunter, my dear daughter," Lord Morgan said. "I am, after all, the richest man in England. At least Quinton Hunter has something to offer in exchange for a fortune. His is the bluest blood in England, and he is going to make you a duchess, Allegra. His duchess. Your children will from their birth be at the pinnacle of society."

"The family are notorious gamblers, Papa," Allegra said.

"He has never gambled, my dear, and has an intense dislike of it, for it has brought him to the brink of poverty."

"And so he is forced by his circumstances to wed me. A young lady of less than peerless social standing and background. No! I will not do it, Papa. I shall marry Rupert Tanner, who at least likes me," Allegra declared defiantly.

"Do not be foolish, Allegra. I have already refused young Lord Ackerly's suit. I will not permit you to throw yourself away on a second son. You don't love Rupert in any event."

"We shall elope to Gretna Green," Allegra insisted.

"If you do I shall disinherit you, my dear, and I shall make certain both young Rupert and his father know it. You will not appear very attractive in their eyes without your fortune, Allegra. This is the harsh reality of your situation. Have I not taught you that marriages are arranged to better each family involved? In this instance you will take a huge step up the social ladder. The duke, on the other hand, will regain a comfortable income in exchange. It is not a difficult task to marry this man. You are merely required to behave like the lady you are, be a gracious hostess, and produce a nursery for your husband. He has given me his word you will be treated with kindness."

Allegra burst into tears. "I hate him!" she sobbed piteously. "And he hates me." She sniffed.

"You started off badly, I will agree," Lord Morgan said, "but that was your fault, Allegra. When he asked you for a dance at Lady Bellingham's ball and you refused him, he saw the empty dance card. He punished you by making certain everyone thought your card was full so you danced with no one except him. You are still angry that you have been unable to repay him in kind, but I know how you can revenge yourself," her father finished with a twinkle.

Allegra's look was distinctly interested. "How, Papa?" she asked her father.

"By marrying him, my dear. While I trust Quinton Hunter to keep his word to me regarding his behavior toward you, I know that it chafes him that he must take a wife to save his estates. Worse, that bride is not, he believes, his equal socially. That is your not so subtle revenge upon this man. Whatever he may believe, you are most certainly his equal, for his bloodline and your wealth balance each other out. You know it. He may never accept it, and that, my dear daughter, will give you an advantage over this man. But one day when you know each other better, you will, I suspect, soothe his pride so that he believes he has at long last won the battle between you."

The realization of Lord Morgan's words sank into her conscience. Suddenly Allegra smiled. "Ohh, Papa, how clever you are! I have been so angry I have not been thinking straight."

"The duke will meet us tonight at Almack's Rooms," Lord Morgan told his daughter. "I thought we would announce your engagement the night of your ball."

"When will we be married'?" Allegra asked her father.

"Not until the autumn. Your new home needs a great deal of renovation. I shall arrange to hire an architect and send him down to Hunter's Lair with a party of workmen next week. I think you will have to spend part of your summer overseeing the work and choosing your decorations. Where would you like to go on a honeymoon trip?"

"I must think about it, Papa. Just getting used to the idea of marrying the Duke of Sedgwick is enough for me now." She arose from her chair and kissed his cheek. "Forgive my earlier outburst," she said. "May I tell Sirena?"

"Not quite yet, my dear. Let your cousin have her moment in the sun. Hers is the more unusual of the two matches for she and young Pickford are genuinely in love. They are most fortunate."

"Am I not fortunate also, Papa?" Allegra asked him. "After all, I am to be a duchess, the wife of the man with the bluest blood in all of England."

"You are fortunate, Allegra," Lord Morgan assured his daughter. "Quinton Hunter has no stain upon his reputation. He will be a good husband to you, my dear. See that you are as good a wife."

"I will be, Papa. After I get used to the idea of it," she amended her promise.

"Wear one of your prettiest dresses tonight," Lord Morgan advised her. "And, I shall see that both you and Sirena have beautiful wedding gowns and trousseaux. You have both done very well for your families and I am proud of my pair of girls."