Page 1 of The Jilted Duchess
CHAPTER ONE
"Alexandra, please let me fix your gloves -" Evelina's clever fingers were already doing the work, straightening and neatening and tweaking things into place that Alexandra had already fixed perfectly well herself only moments before.
Despite being her sister, Evelina had long ago assumed the role of mother to her younger sisters, and it was amusing to see it fall back on her shoulders with the slightest provocation, such as a small wrinkle on the back of a glove.
"My dear, do not fret," Alexandra said warmly, as they waited for the footman opening the coach to help them alight. "I am perfectly respectable and sensibly attired. There is no cause for all this concern."
"You always have been sensible," Evelina agreed with a tiny sigh, her beautiful face marred by the frown on her forehead. "What is it that Penelope calls you sometimes?"
"Terminally sensible?" Alexandra asked with a laugh. Penelope was the frankest of her four sisters, prone to bursts of honesty which, when matched with her quick tongue, left either laughter or hurt feelings in her wake. For herself, Alexandra had always found Penelope's frankness refreshing. There was no time in life to pretend to be something one was not. She was serious and had every reason to be so.
The door to the coach was opened, and Gabriel, Duke of Dunmore and Evelina's husband, helped her to alight before coming back to assist Alexandra in getting down from the coach.
"You look so well tonight," Alexandra said to Evelina, admiring the way that the silvery gown complemented her perfect features and made her look like an angel. "My brother has wonderful taste in selecting jewelry, I see."
"Thank you, sister," Gabriel said, almost as terminally serious as she was. Only around Evelina had she seen his serious manner melt into a softer expression. As it should be. Three of her sisters were now married, each one deliriously happy with the love that they had found for themselves. She had been concerned over Louisa, the third of her sisters and only a little older than herself. Louisa had always been fanciful, a dreamer who liked to hide away in her books from the cold reality of their lives. When she had crashed the Earl of St Vincent's wedding, Alexandra had feared the worst might happen.
But instead of ruin, Louisa was now a happy Countess with two precious children to be an aunt for and a daughter of her own.
"Gabriel knows what I like most," Evelina said, smiling at him with a warmth that had been lacking from her life until she had found her husband. "It seems so easy for you to find new ways to delight me, Your Grace."
"It is not hard to find ways to delight you," Gabriel said firmly, his eyes sparkling. "You are easy to please."
"Not so, I am very difficult to please indeed. You are simply exceptional at doing so."
Alexandra sighed heavily. "Shall we go to the ball?" she asked, amused. "Then you can continue to compliment each other to a wider audience."
Evelina laughed and took Gabriel's arm. "I am looking forward to the dancing, so let's go. But I will have at least ten more compliments this evening, and my sister is not to stop us."
"As you wish, my dear," Gabriel said.
The two were beautifully matched, even to Alexandra's critical eye. Evelina wore a mask with silvery feathers, fashioned like a dove, while Gabriel's was dark and stern like a rook. With his dark suit and her silvery gown, they were startling and beautiful together.
Alexandra had worn a simple but neat gown of pale lilac and a simple mask - something with stars on it. Even though their family was not as badly off as it had been, there was still littleto spare on luxuries, and neither she nor Penelope liked to take too many gifts from their married sisters. She had done her long chestnut hair up neatly and had just enough vanity to be pleased the mask would cover her freckles and yet show off her eyes. Evelina had always said her eyes were most like their late mother’s, and it was one of her features that she was most proud of.
She wouldn't even be here tonight if she had been able to choose for herself. What was the purpose of a ball if not to look at the eligible gentlemen and try to find a match? Alexandra had no interest in anything of the sort. She was happy being in charge of the estate, keeping the household running, and being allowed to do as much as she liked in the way of numbers and sums.
"Come, sister dear," Evelina called to her. "There are people you must be introduced to, and I have heard that the punch tonight is very fine!"
Alexandra sighed a little and hurried to catch up with the love-struck couple. They had been married for some years but still acted as though they were freshly engaged. "I am excited about the punch, dear sister, but not as greatly excited about the introductions unless you intend to find for me some gentlemen who will discuss mathematics with me in the stars."
"I am sure there are some here who would be glad to do so," Evelina did not sound sure at all. "But even if there are not, you need a match, my darling, and I would not be doing my duty as your sister if I were not to help you to meet the eligible gentlemen of the season."
Alexandra sighed again, watching as Gabriel was drawn away into a conversation with several of his business acquaintances. The ball was being held in a long green room with glittering lights, beautiful people, and dancers already on the dance floor. She had been to plenty such occasions, more than enough to know her mind, even if those who loved her were reluctant to believe it.
"Evelina," she said softly, taking her arm and walking a little with her so they would not be in the way of those arriving. "I am so very glad for you, I have always been glad for you. You and Margaret and Louisa are happy, which is a beautiful and wonderful thing. Perhaps you have even married the only three decent men in the whole of England. I do not want a man," she took a deep breath, hoping that Evelina would finally listen to her and believe that she was sincere. "My dearest, love is not for everyone. I do not care for it. I am too practical, too sensible to believe that any man in this estate or perhaps even this country would want a woman with a small dowry, no great beauty, and a mind for sums entering her one-and-twentieth year. And I would rather not find any man at all. Please - do not press me."
Evelina's lovely face clouded with concern, and she grasped Alexandra's hands. "Alexandra - what do you mean by speaking of yourself like that? You are lovely and clever, any man would be lucky to have you at his side."
"Perhaps," Alexandra said softly. "But I am not interested in any of them. Do not worry about me, sister dear, enjoy the ball and your husband. I shall take the air."
With that, she turned and quickly headed towards the side door leading into the garden. Why was it so hard to believe that a woman might not want a man? Had any man in her life been worth wanting? Even her sisters’ husbands had been hard enough to love at the beginning, and while they treated her sisters well enough now, she knew that even the kindest husband could turn on his family.
All I want is to be free and alone, she thought, walking as quickly as she dared into the cool air and letting it fan her cheeks.Why can I not be left to myself? Why must everyone press me so?
Even Louisa started to speak to her about her husband Cedric's friends, who might be a fine match for her. Even Penelope didn't seem to fully understand her hesitation. She had always said they would grow old and be old maids together, yet when their sisters or father spoke of husbands, she just laughed and said, 'Well, Lexi, a husband would not be the worst thing to happen to a woman. '
Traitor.
