Deceived

Martha turned the girl about and looked critically at her garb. Apple- green silk gown with a petticoat panel of ivory brocade embroidered with multicolored butterflies; tight sleeves to just below the elbow with creamy engageants; a pretty rounded neckline modestly edged with a lace ruffle. She nodded, satisfied. 'Of course you're going to marry Mr. St. John, miss,' she said. 'That's what we come from St. Timothy for last winter. To find you a husband, and Mr. St. John will make you a fine one. Now, here's your shawl. It's not cold, so you'll not need a cloak.' She draped it over Aurora's shoulders, then handed her a pair of lace mitts and a reticule of pale green silk. 'There's a handkerchief inside, and a little painted fan if it gets too warm. Now, you hold still a minute while I affix the finishing touch.' She put a small bunch of little cream-colored silk flowers in the girl's hair and stepped back. 'Yes,' she nodded. 'It's just perfect. Now, go and join the dowager, and remember what I told you. A modest and mannerly demeanor and a gentle voice will impress Mistress St. John best.'

Mary Rose Hawkesworth stood with her grandson as Aurora descended the staircase. 'How pretty you look, my child,' she complimented her.

'Thank you, ma'am' came the response, and then Aurora looked at the duke and said, 'Do you think I look pretty, Valerian?'

'Conserve your flirtatious manners for my cousin, Aurora,' he sharply put her down. 'I am certain he will be delighted to see how boldly you have dressed for him.'

'Boldly? What in heaven's name is bold about my appearance?' she demanded angrily.

'The neckline on your gown is immodest,' he grumbled.

'It is edged in a lace ruffle, and Martha says it is quite decorous,' Aurora snapped back at him. 'You surely don't consider yourself an arbiter on women's fashions, sir?'

'Enough,' the dowager said, raising her hand, and then, 'Come, my dear, or we will be late to Primrose Court.' She gave her grandson a hard look and then took Aurora's arm.

He stood watching as the carriage drew away from the house. She had looked utterly adorable, and the thought that she had dressed with the idea of pleasing St. John was infuriating. Did his cousin love Aurora? Really love her? Would he make her happy, or would he break her heart when she discovered St. John's penchant for women? All women. St. John would do what so many of their contemporaries did. He would take a respectable wife with a respectable dowry and have several children, all the while keeping a bit of fluff hidden away. Valerian Hawkesworth knew his cousin's bad habits, although St. John had always been so utterly discreet that virtually no one realized what a cad he could be. Of course, the duke admitted to himself, he had taken a wife for precisely the same reasons they all did, and while he did not love Calandra, he had never been unfaithful to her except perhaps in the deepest and most secret place in his heart. With a sigh he returned to his library, and pouring himself a whiskey, sat down.

The ducal carriage quickly left Hawkes Hill behind. It would be almost half an hour's ride to Primrose Court, as the St. John home was known.

'Margaret St. John will be delighted to have Justin finally married,' the dowager remarked as they rode along. 'You are very fortunate, my child. Primrose Court has a dower house, and Mistress St. John has been eager to move into it. She has spent the last several years preparing it for her arrival. You'll have no mother-in-law in your house.'

'But, ma'am, I still have not decided whether to marry St. John or not. I hope the good lady is not presuming I will.' Aurora shifted nervously in her seat.

'Now, my child,' the dowager said, patting Aurora's hand, 'you must cease this maidenly dithering. It is not at all becoming to a girl of your intellect. Of course you will marry Justin St. John. He's an excellent catch, and your mama will be absolutely delighted.' She smiled encouragingly at the girl. 'I know you are a little frightened, but you do not have to be, Aurora. If your mama is in St. Timothy, the rest of your family is here with you, and everything is just going to be fine.' She patted the lace-mitted hand again.

The vehicle traveled on past orchards of apples and pears now being picked. The air was sweet with the scent of ripe fruit. Finally they turned off the main road, going through an open gate and down a narrow tree-lined way that led to Primrose Court. It was a lovely warm, pinkish brick mansion of Tudor vintage that had been modernized over the years to include large windows and a round pillared porch. The coach horses trotted smartly up the graveled drive, finally stopping directly before the house. Immediately servants were hurrying forward to open the carriage door, draw down the steps, and help the passengers out, escorting them into the building.

Justin St. John was awaiting them in the foyer. 'Welcome, your ladyship,' he said, kissing the dowager's hand. Then he turned to Aurora. 'Welcome home, my darling,' he told her, and she blushed.

'Oh, St. John, don't be such a fool,' she gently scolded him.

'Come into the drawing room and meet Mama,' he said with a small smile. How pretty she looked, he thought to himself. She seemed to have gone out of her way for him today. She was going to say yes. He just knew she was going to say yes! His heart raced, and for a brief moment he felt like a schoolboy again. Leading the two women into the salon where his mother was standing to greet their guests, he let his parent greet the dowager first.

Mistress St. John curtsied to Mary Rose Hawkesworth. 'How lovely that you could come for a visit, ma'am,' she said. 'I am so sorry that the ague kept me from your grand ball last May. The neighbors are yet speaking of it, and such a dramatic climax to have the young duchess faint, and everyone to learn she was with child. Is she well?'

The dowager smiled thinly. 'As well as any young woman in her condition, Margaret. I have brought the duchess's sister with me today. St. John! Introduce Aurora!'

'Mama, may I present Miss Aurora Spencer-Kimberly,' he dutifully said, drawing Aurora forward with a smile.

'How do you do,' Aurora said softly, curtsying politely.

'So,' Margaret St. John said, 'you are the girl who is to marry my son, Miss Spencer-Kimberly. You are going to marry Justin, aren't you?' Her gray eyes twinkled with humor at Aurora's surprised expression.

There was what seemed a long silence, and then Aurora said, 'Yes, Mistress St. John, I am. I hope that you will approve.'

Margaret St. John hugged Aurora warmly. 'My dear, I am absolutely rapturously relieved that some nice young woman has decided to settle Justin down. Come, now, let us sit down and have our tea.'

She was in a dream, Aurora thought. Had she really agreed to marry St. John? Yes, she had. The dowager was looking smugly pleased. Mistress St. John appeared delighted as she poured out the tea, and St. John was grinning at her like a fool. Why did I say yes, Aurora wondered to herself. Do I love him? Do I really want to marry him? She sipped her tea silently. Martha would very definitely approve her decorum. She was brought back to reality at the sound of St. John's voice.

'Let's be married at Christmas,' he said enthusiastically.

His mother immediately looked shocked. 'Justin,' she cautioned him, 'one cannot arrange a proper wedding so quickly, nor is it seemly. There would be talk at so swift a union, and it would reflect badly upon Aurora, I fear. People would be counting on their fingers, I regret.'

'Aurora and I have already discussed this matter, Margaret, and while it is a trifle soon, we thought next May would be lovely. Aurora has always wanted to be married in the springtime,' the dowager said.

'May? That's almost eight months away,' St. John groused.

'Oh, yes,' his mother said to the dowager, 'May would be just lovely, and the duchess will have recovered from her childbirth by then and can be at her sister's side. It's a trifle soon, of course, but no one would think badly of us if we arranged the wedding for May. The betrothal must be announced quickly, however.'

'Valerian is Aurora's guardian here in England. I will see that he gives a small, intimate dinner next week, and he will announce the engagement at that time. With the duchess enceinte, no one will consider it strange we are being so simple,' the