Page 2 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke
“The girls shall require new dresses, Father,” Charles said, effecting a severe tone that all knew was not his true nature.
“Emma and I have just been discussing that very matter. That will be…arranged, I am sure,” Duncan acknowledged, his deep voice effortlessly calm and reassuring. The same voice he had used in his youth to bellow orders across the deck of a Royal Navy frigate. As he spoke, he was looking down the middle of the table, past the mismatched tea service and the silver-plated tray that concealed a patch in the tablecloth, toEmma.
She smiled, meeting Rosie's suddenly anxious eyes.
“Of course there shall be new gowns, Rosie. You would not be attending the ball of a Duke without a new dress. Do not worry. On a related note, Papa, I shall be going into Nettlebed today and could visit with Mrs. Spinnaker, the seamstress, and her daughter. I can ask her to call on us.”
A meaning to her words passed between father and daughter that was lost on the others. Rosie bleated excitedly about being measured for a new dress, but Josie seemed lost in her thoughts. Emma wondered what could be tarnishing the bright, silvery shine of an invitation from a Duke.
“Redmanehas quite the reputation, you know,” Charles murmured, picking up his teacup and sipping, “something of an eccentric.”
“He has not hosted a ball since he became Duke, though his father was at the heart of the county set,” Rosie nodded soberly.
“He was a fine man and well respected by all,” Duncan deduced, “perhaps his son has taken his time to emerge from Geoffrey's considerable shadow.”
“How can one be expected to maintain a social calendar if such events are announced without appropriate notice?” Josie wondered aloud.
“I am sure that the entire county will wish to cancel any conflicting appointments in favor of this one,” Emma reassured her.
IncludingSir Thomas Donovan, she thought, the man who had Josie's heart in his keeping. She did not say his name aloud, though.
“Yes, I suppose you are right, Emma. For example, I had been invited to afternoon tea at Brimley Park with Mrs. Donovan and her friends,” Josie said, coloring at the mention of the Donovan name.
“I am sure a family as prominent in the county as Sir Thomas will be invited,” Emma smiled.
The sisters exchanged a look. Emma tried to convey her calm reassurance, and Josie smiled nervously.
“Well,I, for one, am surprised at you all. I thought this would be the best news we have had for a long time. Attending a Ducal ball and a man who has the ear of the Regent, too, if the rumors are to be believed. And here you all are, finding reasons to be nervous. Your mother would be dancing a jig at such news.”
That brought a wave of genuine laughter to all. Emma smiled as she pictured her mother, fiery-haired and green-eyed, fierce in anger and even fiercer in joy. She was a woman who danced with servants and walked barefoot in the park, a commoner who had captured the heart of an Earl.
“Mama would not be at home to worry about social calendars,” Rosie shrugged.
“Nor to obtaining a new dress,” Josie replied.
“Or the reputation of her host,” Charles put in.
“Mama would be concerned only for the dancing and that we all enjoyed ourselves,” Emma finished, feeling the familiar twinge of sadness at the thought of her late mother,Catherine. There was a brief moment of quiet as all remembered her momentarily.
Duncan broke the silence with a loud throat clearing, blinking repeatedly.
“That should be most helpful, Emma. We should be glad to receive a visit from Mrs. Spinnaker. Perhaps you wouldn't mind taking care of her daughter while she tends to your sisters?”
“Of course, Papa.”
Fortunately, Emma possessed a bookish nature and an aptitude for children, while the town seamstress wished to ensure her daughter received an education. The two needs had dovetailed when the Montrose family could not afford to pay for fine tailoring.
“Where is your brooch, Emma?” Charles suddenly asked around a mouthful of toast.
Emma's hand instinctively went to the place above her heart, where she had become accustomed to wearing the brooch her mother had left her.
“Brooch?” she asked innocently.
“You know—the one with the jade stone and the ivory backing. You always wear it,” Charles added, half an eye on an item in the gossip rag that Rosie was pointing out to him.
“I must have forgotten it this morning,” Emma said brightly, “I will have Elsie fetch it down.”
“Wherever did you find it?” Josie asked, curious. “It looked so old and worn.”
