Duchess by Mistake (14 page)

After an hour, she heard someone enter Philip's chamber, and she put down her book and went to see if her husband had returned. As she reached their connecting door, their gazes locked.

"You waited for me." Though he looked tired, he still bespoke power and masculinity. The dark stubble on his square jaw accentuated the white of the well-tied cravat beneath it. Her gaze raked over him from his crown of dark hair to the toe of his black leather shoes. And she was ever so grateful women were not permitted in the House of Lords. What woman could look at him and not fall in love?

"I shall be most gratified if you will tell me of all the things you did today," she said, offering him a shy nod. "I've had a tray of cold meats brought up for you, and I thought perhaps we each could have a glass of port."

He regarded her with affection. "This will undoubtedly be the best part of an exhausting day."

His comment was like laughter to her heart. They went to sit side by side on her settee in front of the comforting fire, and she poured each of them a glass of port. He had already attacked the plate. "It's been hours since I've eaten. How good of you to see to my needs."

"I perceived—even though your note to me was decidedly uncommunicative—that you were held up at the House of Lords."

"Indeed I was."

"I shall want to hear everything about your day. It began at the Foreign Office, did it not?"

His masculine fingers combed through his head of thick, dark hair. "It did."

"You got your own office there?"

He nodded. "Right next to your brother's. He kindly shared some of his knowledge of cryptography with me and allowed me to start on a portion of his present undertakings."

"You can't expect to be an expert on your first day, dearest. It takes time to become proficient in such an unnatural method of communication."

His eyes looked black; his countenance, though, was playful. "As it happens, I've had a bit of experience in inventing codes. My brothers and I were mad over them as lads."

Her brows raised. "You met with success on your first day?"

He nodded sheepishly. "I shouldn't like to boast, but since you are my wife and since you appear to be interested in my duties, I will tell you that your brother said I had a talent for code breaking."

"Oh, my darling, that's wonderful! And do you enjoy it?"

"I do. The knowledge that I'm helping my country defeat that mad Frenchman is perhaps the most exhilarating thing I've ever experienced."

She understood how he felt for that kind of exhilaration is exactly how she had felt earlier that day when helping the widows. "There are many of us who should be grateful that you've returned to England."

He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. "It's I who am grateful." He took a sip of his port. "Oblige me by not telling anyone either about my functions at the Foreign Office or about my so-called skill. Not even the Marchioness Haverstock."

"I shall be an obedient wife," she said in exaggerated fashion. "Now you must tell me about sitting in the House of Lords."

He reached for a chunk of cheese and ate it before he began. "The last five hours were perhaps the most boring I've experienced since I sat through Dr. Fyne's mumbling three-hour lecture on astronomy."

"Why was tonight so boring?"

"Lord Beavers was speaking in opposition to the tax bill."

"The Lord Beavers who is ninety?"

He nodded.

"I should think his voice was not very powerful."

"You would be correct."

"Was he lucid?"

"Shockingly so for a man of his years. He effectively quoted from Smith's
Wealth of Nations
—not at all in a way in which I could agree—but to those of a like mind with him, most convincingly."

Oh dear, another book she needed to read. She made a mental note to ask Richie about Adam Smith when they met on the morrow.

"Knowing that Lord Beaver lost heavily on the 'Change, I would guess that he's not in favor of a tax increase," she said.

"Your guess, my love, would be correct."

"And your feelings on the matter?"

A grim look on his face, he formulated his reply before speaking. "Our country is at war. Wars are expensive. If we want to be victorious, we must not consider individual needs but must look to what's for the greater good."

She knew a bit about Jeremy Bentham's political philosophy. "Then my dukely husband is a Benthamite?"

"I will own, not many dukes would agree with me, and I would not necessarily call myself a Benthamite, but I will do everything in my power to see that this tax bill passes for I do believe in the
greater good
."

"You make me very proud," she said, her voice only barely above a whisper.

"That's because you dedicate yourself to helping others, and
you
make me very proud."

"When do you deliver your maiden address?"

He shrugged. "I would prefer to work behind the scenes rather that standing in front of everyone."

"What about before Lord Beavers spoke? Were you welcomed in the chamber?"

"I will own I felt . . . like I'd come home."

"I suppose many of your lifelong acquaintances were in the chamber with you."

He nodded. "A handful of them I was at Oxford with." He leaned back into the soft upholstery. "Even if it was an exhausting day, I know this is what I am meant to do. Speaking of which. . . how did
your
day go with the widows?" He popped another cube of cold mutton into his mouth.

She filled him in on what had occurred. "Your sisters are just as excited about this as I am. Margaret even offered a generous donation from her own pin money. It was enough to purchase food for a week. And Mrs. Leander is a talented cook."

"Mrs. Leander? Is that the one with five children?"

"The first one with five children! There's another. Now Caro has determined each child shall have his or her own bed, and she's on a quest to get beds donated because we won't have nearly enough."

"Good. Hopefully, that will keep my sister out of mischief."

"The only people under this roof who get into mischief are sitting in this room right now, your grace!"

He chuckled, then regarded her with stormy dark eyes. "Permit me to ask that you nevermore speak ill of my duchess." Her drew closer to her, setting his arm around her.

She flowed into his embrace and lifted her face to his. The sound of his heavy breathing and the faint scent of his sandalwood made her feel even more intoxicated than the port.

His head lowered. Their lips joined for a hungry kiss. She gloried in the feel of being swathed within his strong embrace, in the feel of his tongue touching hers, in the needy way in which they clung to one another.

He must want to be here with her as much as she wanted him to be there. . .

As Elizabeth and her sisters-in-law hurried in the following afternoon, Richie awaited her in the porter's hall at Aldridge House. It had been a hectic day for her, locating widows of the men who had served with James. "Oh dear," she said, eying her cousin as she untied her bonnet. "I'd forgotten I was to ride in the park with you today. I beg that you allow me to freshen my appearance."

Her cousin's eye lazily ran along the length of her, and a smile curved his lips. "You cannot improve upon perfection."

He himself, she noted, dressed impeccably in fine leather Hessians, well-cut breeches, snowy linen shirt with freshly starched cravat. His fine woolen coat of warm brown perfectly harmonized with his stylishly cut hair. Though he was considerably shorter than her husband, he was considerably taller than she.

She offered him a mock scowl. "I daresay my cousin needs spectacles."

He shook his head emphatically. "Please, Elizabeth, come just as you are. Nothing could be more pleasing."

She eyed the bonnet that was still in her hands. "I perceive your time is tightly allotted, and you merely do not want me squandering something so vastly important." She began to put the bonnet back on her head.

A moment later they were in his curricle on the way to Hyde Park. "What is it you're doing with Aldridge's sisters all day?" he asked.

"They are kind enough to assist me with our home for officers' widows. His grace has donated a large house on Trent Square for their home, and we're busy seeing that each chamber is put to the best possible use."

He pulled on the ribbons, lurching to a stop to allow a laden cart of potatoes to pass on the intersecting street. "How is it you even know of the plight of these widows?"

"It all began when James asked me to look in on Mrs. Hudson, whose husband had been a great favorite of his in the Peninsula."

"And what with the Marchioness Haverstock setting an inspiring example of charitable works, it's only natural you have your own."

"There's also Charlotte and Mr. Hogart's wonderful philanthropy to emulate."

"Oh yes, the bloody Methodist."

They had reached the park's main gate and had gotten in the queue behind a large, open barouche in which two couples faced each other. She nodded to Miss Shelton, the only one in the barouche she knew.

It only then occurred to her that this was the first time she had been to Hyde Park since her marriage. And she was not accompanied by her husband. Another disappointment. First, Almack's, then the theatre, and now, this. It stung that others would know Philip was not in love with the woman he had married.

Yet were she to choose between him being with her or him doing his duty to his country, she would not hesitate to encourage him to serve in Parliament and at the Foreign Office.

"I must ask something of you," Richie said.

Her brows shot up.

"Next Friday I should like to host a political dinner at Aldridge House. With you as my official hostess, of course."

His request was not unexpected. "Is there a purpose to this?" she asked.

"I plan to invite Members who are currently opposed to the tax increase."

"With the hope of changing their minds?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't ask you if I didn't believe I can count on your husband's support."

"I cannot speak for Philip, but I do believe he favors the increase."

"It's an uphill battle, you know."

"I know."

"But wars are costly."

She sighed. "I should like Parliament to pass a bill providing a generous pension to war widows."

"It is a pity that these men give their lives to our country, but our country turns its back on the dead men's families."

"Indeed."

"Are you endeavoring to sway your husband to your way of thinking?"

"Such a measure only just occurred to me, but you can depend on it that I will bring up the topic with my husband."

"When you see Aldridge—which it has been my observation is not often."

She stiffened. "In public, yes, we are not seen much together, but be assured we have private time with each other every day." Her heart fluttered at the memories of their intimacies.

They entered the park, and Richie doffed his cap at Lord Elsworth. A much younger, fair-haired girl was seated beside him in the barouche. Elizabeth wondered if she were the man's daughter.

"I will be happy to serve as your hostess next Friday, but don't forget what I'm asking of you."

He paused and turned to her. "You want me to educate you on political thought and how Parliament works?"

She nodded. "I am desirous of learning everything I can about government."

"It will be my pleasure to teach you." He smiled down at her. "Now I shall have a very good excuse for spending time every day with one of the loveliest ladies in London. I shall be the envy of all the bachelors."

A frown creased her forehead. She was not comfortable with the way Richie had been acting with her, almost as if he wanted others to think he was her lover. He must understand at the outset that she would never be unfaithful to her husband. Ever. And if he even tried to be too familiar with her, she would terminate her relationship with her cousin immediately. "I fail to see how you could be envied for spending time with another man's devoted wife."

"You must know there are many men who are attracted to neglected wives."

She whirled at him and spoke sharply. "I am
not
a neglected wife."

"It just appears that you are."

"If I must continue to be subjected to your ridiculous assumptions regarding my marriage, I will never ride with you again. The reason my husband is not in my pocket is because he and I both choose duty first."

He looked contrite. "Forgive me."

"Philip's chief reason for returning to England was to do everything in his power to crush Napoleon."

"I never meant to malign your husband." He turned his rig toward the Serpentine.

It was then that she noticed the vivid green buds dotting along barren tree branches. "Finally, a sign of spring."

"Still much chill, though."

"But fortunately not too cold for open carriages." The beginning of spring accounted for the never-ending conveyances winding their way like a giant ribbon through London's largest park.

"Why are you so eager to learn about the workings of government?" he asked.

She spun to glare at him. "Can you not understand?"

He shrugged.

"I mean to be the perfect wife. Philip is keenly interested in Parliament."

He pulled back his mare and eyed her, a look of wonderment upon his face. "Are you telling me this marriage of yours is a love match? You're in love with your husband?"

"Of course."

* * *

When she returned to Aldridge House, she was met with great excitement. All smiles, Margaret greeted her. "Clair's home!"

Elizabeth quickly raced up the stairs with Margaret to Clair's bedchamber. There, the two sisters were sitting upon the window seat, and Caroline was telling Clair about Number 7 Trent Square.

When Clair looked up and saw Elizabeth, she sprang from her seat and raced across the room to hug her new sister. "If anything could make me happier than having Aldridge back after so long an absence, it's his selection of a wife. He could not have done better." Were the hug not enough to convey her approval, Clair then took Elizabeth's hand and pressed it between hers. "I was unaware that my brother was possessed of such excellent judgment. Now do come and tell me all about this scheme that you are carrying out at Trent Square. It sounds terribly like something I should love to participate in above all things!"