The Duchess

sipped her champagne.

Allegra giggled behind her hand, but when Charlotte glared at her she said bluntly, 'Sirena said you would say that, madame. As for being bereft, I suspect you are more relieved to have Aunt Mama and my cousin gone from Rowley. You will have Gussie all to yourself now.' She smiled sweetly at the Marchioness of Rowley.

'Allegra,' her cousin the marquess said chidingly but his mouth twitched with amusement. 'You must behave yourself, and practice more tact now that you are to become a duchess.'

'Oh, Gussie, I fear I shall never become that proper, and poor Quinton knows it. Do you not, my lord?' She looked to him.

'It will take time, I see, but I believe that eventually I can persuade Allegra to the advantages of diplomacy, sir,' he said to the Marquess of Rowley.

'That will be a battle worth observing,' Lady Bellingham murmured softly, and her husband chuckled at her words.

The remainder of the guests made their farewells. It had been a most satisfying and exciting morning to have been party to, and privy to, they all agreed. The Earl of Aston and Lord Walworth had both asked the duke to stand up with them during their upcoming nuptials. Now both of their fiancees made certain to speak with Allegra before they left.

'You will come to the wedding with the duke?' both young ladies asked. 'Mama will see you receive an invitation.'

'I shall be pleased to accept,' Allegra responded as she waved them both off. How odd to have friends who were girls, she thought. The only girl who had ever been her friend was Sirena. What was more, she liked Lady Eunice Tarleton and Caroline Bellingham. I really am growing up, she considered to herself.

'We will take the air in the garden,' the duke said. They were now alone. Her father and Lady Abbott had disappeared.

Allegra slipped her hand through his arm. 'The poor old house feels quite sad,' she sagely noted. 'Everything is coming to an end. The season is over. Sirena and Ocky are married. Our friends are all gone from London. Nothing will ever be the same again, will it?'

'No,' he agreed, 'but that is life, Allegra. The world changes about us constantly for good, or for ill.'

They moved out into the garden. The afternoon was warm for June. The roses perfumed the air, and there was barely the hint of a breeze.

'Perhaps the world does change with each passing minute,' Allegra said, 'but I have never before felt it as strongly as I do today.' She sighed a long, and wistful sigh. 'My life has, despite my mother's absence, charted a steady course, and has not deviated. I was raised and educated at Morgan Court. My best, my only friend until a few months ago, was my cousin, Sirena. The years have been a round of passing seasons marked by holidays, family, and schooling. It has always been the same.'

'What of your brother?' he asked her. She had never really spoken of her elder sibling.

A look of sorrow passed over Allegra's beautiful face. 'Ahh, yes,' she said. 'My world did change then, didn't it? I had put it from my mind for it is too painful to speak on, Quinton.'

'What happened?' he gently probed as he drew her down in the shade of an apple tree to a marble bench. 'I only know that he is dead.'

'James Lucian-we never for some reason called him anything other than his whole name-died in France. He was affianced to the daughter of the Comte d'Aumont. Because of the political situation it was decided he would marry immediately and bring his bride back to England,' Allegra explained. 'While he was there the family was arrested, betrayed by someone before James Lucian could wed his sweetheart. He would not leave Celestine. The authorities, if you can call that rabble in France by such a name, offered my brother his freedom as he stood upon the scaffold with her. She begged him to go, but he would not. James Lucian, it was said, knelt before his affianced, speaking gently to her of their eternal life together even as the guillotine fell. Her head rolled into the basket before him; and he was spattered with her blood. He then arose, and without assistance, knelt for his own execution.' Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.

Shocked by her recitation the duke said, 'He was a very brave man, your brother.' His arm went about her to comfort her.

Allegra shook off the arm. 'My brother was a fool!' she cried, and now the tears ran down her face. 'He wasted his life for what? For love! You say, my lord, that you shall never love me, for you would not commit the mistakes of your antecedents. Well, I shall not love you either, for love brings nothing to anyone but pain. But we shall have a good marriage for it shall be based upon sensible principles. Respect for one another and enough wealth to sustain us. And whatever love either of us can muster we shall lavish upon our children. The love of a parent for its child seems to be the only love that does not hurt.'

He wiped her tears away with his own linen handkerchief, but said nothing more. What could he possibly say that would comfort her? It was obvious that she had loved her brother greatly, and his death, three years before, had hurt her terribly. Finally he spoke. 'Is the loss of your brother the reason you learned how to manage your own funds?'

'Oh, no,' Allegra told him. 'I have been interested in Papa's businesses ever since I was a little girl. James Lucian and I used to compete to see who could manage the most successful ventures. We were fairly evenly matched, although I think I probably had the cooler head. My brother always allowed his emotions to carry him away. To his own detriment in the end,' she finished.

'When will you come to Hunter's Lair?' he asked, changing the subject lest she begin to cry again.

'When Papa's architect and his builder say my apartments are habitable. From all reports so far, however, I think I will be with you in just a few weeks. Do your friends live far?'

'No,' he told her. 'Aston's estate is just an hour away, and Dree's home, a charming little holding, less than an hour. It will please me to escort you to both weddings.'

'There will be a certain amount of gossip, I fear, when I come to live at Hunter's Lair before our wedding. Will you mind?'

He laughed. 'No. Will you?'

'No,' she replied, and her violet eyes looked directly at him.

'We are well matched,' he replied with a small smile.

'So it would appear,' Allegra agreed, and then she boldly leaned over and kissed his cheek. 'So it would appear, Quinton.'

Chapter 6

The morning after Sirena's wedding dawned as beautiful as had the day before. Lord Morgan's wedding to Lady Abbott would take place in the main salon of his house at nine o'clock in the morning. Then, after a small repast, the family would depart for home although they had originally planned to remain for another day. The duke would come with them most of the way before turning off the main road for Hunter's Lair. Allegra was glad her father had made the decision to leave London immediately. She was anxious to get home, although it would be lonely now without Sirena to keep her company.

There was something different about Sirena this morning. She and Ocky had arrived at quarter to the hour. Her cousin had been radiant with open happiness. She and her new husband kept touching one another with both their looks and their hands. She had little time for anyone other than Ocky. Allegra found it rather disturbing, and not just a little embarrassing. She was also hurt that Sirena had so few words for her.