“You have only to say the word, mignonne, and he shall be cast forth.”
“Respect be damned!” said Rupert. “I’ll have you remember you’re my sister now, child! Lord, where are my wits!” He sprang up, wineglass in hand. “I give you all a toast!” he said. “The Duchess of Avon!”
They rose as one.
“The Duchess!” Davenant bowed.
“My dearest sister!” Fanny cried.
“My wife!” said his Grace softly.
Léonie stood up, blushing, and taking Rupert’s hand, jumped on to her chair.
“Thank you very much!” she said. “May I give a toast, please?”
“Ay, bless you!” said Rupert.
“Monseigneur!” Léonie said, and made him a quaint little bow. “Oh, where is my glass? Rupert, hand it up to me quickly!”
The Duke’s health was duly drunk.
“And now,” said Léonie, “I drink to Rupert, because he has been very good, and useful to me!”
“Here’s to you, brave lad!” said his lordship gravely. “What now, minx?”
Still perched upon the chair Léonie said gleefully:
“Voyons, I get higher and higher in the world!”
“You’ll fall off the chair if you jump like that, silly chit!” Rupert warned her.
“Do not interrupt me,” said Léonie reprovingly. “I am making a speech.”
“Lord save us, what next will you be at?” Rupert said, unrepentant.
“Tais-toi, imbécile! … First I was a peasant, and then I became a page. Then I was made Monseigneur’s ward, and now I am a Duchess! I am become very respectable, n’est-ce pas?”
His Grace was at her side, and lifted her down from the chair.
“My infant,” he said, “duchesses do not dance on chairs, nor do they call their brothers imbécile.”
Léonie twinkled irrepressibly.
“I do,” she said firmly.
Rupert shook his head at her.
“Justin’s in the right of it,” he said. “You’ll have to mend your ways, spitfire. No more bouquets from Princes of the Blood, eh, Justin? Dignity! That’s the thing! You must let your hair grow too, and speak to me politely. I’ll be pinked an I’ll have a sister who tells all my friends I’m an imbecile! Politeness, my lady, and some of your husband’s haughtiness! That’s what you must have, isn’t it, Fan?”
“Ah, bah!” said the Duchess of Avon.
Colophon
These Old Shades
was published in 1926 by
Georgette Heyer.
This ebook was transcribed and produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Emma Sweeney,
and is based on digital scans from the
Internet Archive.
The cover page is adapted from
Madame Bergeret,
a painting completed in 1766 by
François Boucher.
The cover and title pages feature the
League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
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