The Emerald Duchess Read online

  Lady Quentin walked to the door. “You will allow me to know what becomes me, if you please,” she said in quite the sharpest tone Emily had ever heard her use. “And now you must excuse me, Bella. If you continue to drop in without notice, you will very often find me out, I’m afraid. And really, Bella, it is the outside of enough for you to claim that I am flitting about. Going for a sedate drive in the park with General Racklin’s wife? She must be sixty if she’s a day.” She left the room, forcing her sister-in-law to follow. There was a bewildered look in those hard brown eyes and a tiny frown between her brows as she was forced to take her leave.

  Still Lady Quentin did not take her maid into her confidence, but one evening she called Emily much earlier than she usually did. Emily discovered her sitting before the fire in her bedroom. As she curtsied and would have gone to fetch her nightgown, Lady Quentin said, “Sit down with me, Nelly. I have something of great importance to discuss with you.” Emily took the seat opposite, feeling confused. It was in no way usual for Lady Quentin to ask her maid to sit and chat, but she composed herself and waited quietly.

  Lady Quentin stared into the flames for a moment before she began to speak. “I have made up my mind to follow Tony,” she said finally. “Half of England is already in Belgium. Why should I not be too?”

  “But, m’lady,” Emily protested, “can it be wise?”

  “Perhaps not, but I am going to my husband regardless.” Here Lady Quentin rose to pace the room, and Emily was so astonished at her firm tones and air of decision that she forgot to rise as well. “I have been thinking a great deal since Tony left,” Lady Quentin went on. “And I see now that I should never have allowed my mother’s instructions on wifely behavior to rule my actions. I was wrong to have listened to her and pretended this stupid indifference to Tony. And I should have taken steps as soon as we were married to gently but firmly remove Bella’s talons from our lives.”

  She paused and came to sit down again, adding, “Now Tony is gone and I may never see him again. I cannot bear to remain here, letting the precious moments that we might be together slip away.”

  Emily’s head was reeling, for she had promised the captain to care for his wife, now it appeared she was to help her into danger. But her heart leapt at the news, for in her mind the little voice was saying, “And the duke is there too, isn’t he, dearie?”

  “I have quite made up my mind. And you shall come with me,” Lady Quentin was saying.

  She paused until Emily nodded, and then she confided, “I have made arrangements to travel with Lord and Lady Daggleston. We leave in three days’ time, so you see we will have to bustle about to be ready.”

  “But ... but what about Miss Quentin?” Emily could not help asking. “You know how angry she will be—”

  “But I will not tell her anything until the evening before our departure. I know Bella will try to stop me, although it is none of her business. And if I tell her before, she will insist on coming with me. She should, of course, be delighted to have me remove from Hubert Andrews’ vicinity. He has been forever on the doorstep lately, and Bella has remarked it. Besides, I am traveling with the Dagglestons.”

  “But she will object even so,” Emily could not help pointing out.

  “Oh, I know that. But I am more than a match for her in this case,” Lady Quentin assured her maid. And looking at her determined gray eyes and firm mouth, Emily had to admit she was probably right.

  She had certainly handled Lord Andrews very well. Emily knew of his constant visiting, but she herself had only seen him once, one afternoon when he called just as Lady Quentin was preparing to leave the house. Emily had retreated to the back hall at once, much to the young peer’s regret, but she had heard Lady Quentin scolding him and asking him, in exactly the same determined voice she had just used, to moderate his visits.

  Now she knew why Lady Quentin had bought such strange things, and in the following days she was very busy packing them, as well as the rest of her mistress’s clothes, and her own besides. Lady Quentin told her there were just as many amusements in Brussels as there were in London, so along with the waterproof and the stout shoes, fragile ball gowns and delicate morning dresses, satin sandals, cosmetics, and jewels went into the trunks and cases as well.

  The evening before their departure, Emily eased her aching back as she stood up after packing the last gown and checked her list to make sure she had not forgotten anything, especially the medicines Lady Quentin had purchased.

  Downstairs in the dining room she was entertaining her sister-in-law and the Dagglestons at dinner, and informing Bella of her plans at the same time. Emily, eating her own dinner in the kitchen, heard from Perry the footman what transpired every time he returned from the dining room with another tray.

  “Whew!” he said, wiping his brow. “Not ’alf ’appy, she ain’t I don't think. If looks could kill! ’Ere’s milady and those other two drinking to their journey, and there sits Miss, a black look on her face and not a word out of her!”

  “There will be,” Mrs. Goodwell said. “There will be!” And of course she was right. The Dagglestons took their leave early, and they were to begin their journey at eight the next morning. Emily was waiting at the top of the stairs, and she was surprised to hear her mistress invite Miss Quentin to come up to her room.

  “I see you wish to speak to me Bella. Let us be private,” she said calmly as she led the way up the winding stairs, and from what Emily could see of Miss Quentin’s pinched face and stern expression, she could tell the interview was not going to be at all pleasant. She retired to the dressing room and shamelessly eavesdropped.

  “How could you, Alicia?” Miss Quentin began before she was even seated. She stared around the room at the traveling bags and trunks. “If Tony wanted you with him, he would have taken you along. How can you be so harebrained, and to go with the Dagglestons, too? I do not consider either of them suitable chaperons.”

  “Once more I have to remind you, Bella, that I am a married woman, and it would be perfectly in order if I decided to travel with only Nelly as my companion. In going with the Dagglestons I merely mean to ease my journey.”

  “But to tear off like this, with never a word to me! Why did you not tell me of your intentions? I would have done my best to stop you—”

  “And that is why I did not tell you, Bella,” Lady Quentin interrupted. “I did not wish to argue the matter. It is my decision, not yours.”

  “But if your mind is quite made up, I consider it my duty to go with you,” Miss Quentin argued. “In fact, I insist you stay until I can be ready to accompany you.”

  “You insist?” Lady Quentin asked in a calm little voice. “But it is not your place to insist. You have no jurisdiction over me, Bella. I think you forget yourself.”

  “How dare you?” Miss Quentin hissed. “I am Tony’s nearest relative, and if it were not for me, he would not be where he is today.”

  “We have all heard time out of mind of your generosity and concern for Tony,” Lady Quentin agreed. “And how it was your portion that bought him his commission, and how you have never married so you might remain by his side to help him. But there is no need for that now, Bella, for Tony is a married man, and as his wife and nearest relation, I am here to help him. Furthermore, I should be most happy to give you a draft on my bank and repay you for the money you so nobly advanced for my husband’s benefit. That would release us from the obligation and allow you to fashion a life of your own as well.”

  “How dare you,” Miss Quentin said again in a failing voice. “I did what I did freely out of love. And Tony depended on me long before you came along.” She tittered angrily. “In fact, I am sure he depends on me first even now, for you have so little sense.”

  Lady Quentin was silent for a moment, and then she said, “I cannot tell you, Bella, how tired I am of your continued interference. In fact, since we are finishing this bout with the gloves off, I must tell you I have often resented your constant attendance, you
r never-ending advice, and your sure assumption that both Tony and I would be helpless if you were not here to steer us right. Has it never occurred to you, Bella, that as newlyweds we would have preferred to be left alone?”

  “I did not think that I would ever hear such insults! You forget yourself, Alicia! Just wait till I tell Tony...”

  “I shall tell Tony myself, and what I shall tell him is that from now on I do not want to have you constantly living in our pockets. And now I must ask you to leave, for I have to get up very early. I shall give Tony your love, of course. Do you wish to pen him a few lines so I can carry your letter with me?”

  Emily waited breathlessly for Miss Quentin’s frigid reply. “There is no need, for I shall be writing to my brother tomorrow. And you, you ungrateful, ignorant little snip, will find out whose advice he follows.”

  Emily was amazed to hear Lady Quentin laugh. “Now, Bella, do not let us part in anger. May I give you some good advice for a change? Do not always be trying to come between Tony and me. I assure you you there are weapons in my arsenal that will vanquish you most thoroughly. But come! I have no desire to cause a rift in the family.”

  Miss Quentin did not deign to reply, and Emily heard her calling Mr. Goodwell to fetch the carriage as she went down the stairs. As she went in to Lady Quentin, she heard her muttering, “And I hate pink bedrooms, and crocodile legs, and seashell baths! And as soon as I return, I shall do this room over myself, without any help from you, dear sister. Ungrateful, ignorant little snip that I am!”

  4

  The following morning, May 15, was pleasantly warm and sunny. The Dagglestons had brought their maid and valet, as well as an equerry to assist them on the voyage, so there were two carriages to travel to the coast. Emily was glad the weather was fine, for she was nervous about Lady Quentin’s possible reaction to the crossing. As it turned out, it was Emily who succumbed to seasickness. She had eyed the whitecaps with trepidation when they finally reached Dover and the ship that was to carry them to Ostend. Even in harbor, the boat rose and fell in a sickening manner.

  “I don’t like the looks of it,” Lady Daggleston’s dresser murmured to Emily. “M’lady has such a delicate stomach.” She sniffed and added, “What a mad do, racing over to the war as if it were a raree show.”

  Emily nodded. At least Lady Quentin had a better purpose in traveling abroad.

  As long as they remained on deck, Emily was able to control herself by breathing deeply, but when she tried to unpack, the sailors began to thump about on the deck above her head. Looking out the porthole, she saw the quay sliding by. She held on grimly as the boat rounded the jetty and set sail for Belgium, but before many minutes, she knew it was no use. Lady Quentin, who had been calmly reading a book, took one look at her white face and insisted she lie down on the bunk while she went to call Miss Berry.

  And so they came to Ostend. Because of the fair wind, it had not been a long crossing, although it seemed endless to both Emily and Lady Daggleston. After a few minutes on dry land, however, Emily felt much better and firmly put from her mind the thought that sooner or later she would have to return the same sickening way.

  Even with the equerry’s help, the accommodations and the food they were served, as well as the old barge that was to carry them to Ghent, were not in the least what they expected. Emily heard Lord Daggleston taking the innkeeper to task, but the man did not seem to realize his great good fortune in having members of the English nobility grace his establishment. Most Belgians, uneasily aware that Napoleon might be in command of their country again before long, resented the presence of the English, come to fight a war on their soil.

  “Never saw the like of it,” Lord Daggleston complained. “Don’t seem to understand what’s required, silly sod! And he expects me to speak his barbarous language, too! Sorry we came!”

  “Oh, John, it does not signify,” his wife assured him. “We will soon be in Brussels. Think of the stories we will have to tell on our return. Why, you shall dine out for months on them, and everyone will clamor for your attendance so they may hear you firsthand.”

  Lord Daggleston brightened considerably. Up to this point, he had not been in the least sought-after, and the dream of finding himself the center of an admiring group of peers did much to smooth the way to Brussels.

  They arrived late in the evening, and as the equerry, Bertin, had ridden on before them, they found their rooms waiting in a small inn on the outskirts of the city. Mr. Bertin told Lord Daggleston that he was lucky to have found even these poor accommodations, for the capital was crowded with the army men of all the allies, as well as the lords and ladies of the nobility. “In the morning, m’lord,” he added, “I shall of course try to procure you a house in the best part of town.”

  Lord Daggleston had to be content, although he pouted all through the poor meal they were served in their private parlor.

  Lady Quentin remained cheerful through all adversity. “Every minute brings me closer to Tony,” she told her maid. “How could I not be happy? But these absurd Dagglestons! To be fussing about a small room, a simple meal. I do hope we shall find Tony without delay, however, for I have no idea how to go about acquiring a house. Brussels is an ant heap!”

  Emily agreed. From the little she had seen in the lamplights as they drove into town, there did not appear to be room for even one more visitor. She was up very early to ask the equerry to leave a message for Captain Quentin at the Guards’ headquarters when he should locate it, telling him of his wife’s arrival and present lodging.

  Unfortunately, Captain Quentin was in Antwerp, having ridden there with dispatches from his commanding officer, and so it was a long three days later before he appeared at the door of Lady Quentin’s room. They were still quartered at the poor inn, for Lord Daggleston had flatly refused to consider moving into a mean little house his equerry found.

  Emily was with her mistress, hanging up the dress she had worn that afternoon, and she had no time to excuse herself before the captain was in the door in two mighty strides, lifting Lady Quentin from her chair and clear off her feet to enfold her in his arms and kiss her soundly. She smiled up at him and held his face between her two hands as she exclaimed, “My darling, how glad I am to see you!”

  The captain kissed her again before he put her firmly back on the ground and asked, “And I you, Alicia. But what are you doing here, dear girl? I expected you to remain in London until my return.”

  “Now, why should I want to do that when half of London is here, from what I can gather? Why should I not be here, too? After all, I have a very good reason—you!”

  He smiled, but Emily saw that he was tired and disheveled, as if he had been riding hard all day.

  Lady Quentin noticed it too. “Come and sit down, my dear. Nelly, get the captain wine and some bread, meat, and cheese, if you please.”

  “Nelly here too?” he asked, staring with tired eyes at the maid. “And is Bella with you as well?”

  “No, she is not. But I will tell you about that shortly, after you have had something to eat. You look tired. Well, I will take care of you.”

  As Emily hurried to fetch the food, she saw Lady Quentin settle down happily on her husband’s lap. The captain looked bemused, for this new wife who so calmly crossed the Channel to be with him and gave such firm orders to both her maid and himself was a new come-out indeed. As Emily closed the door, she saw the captain’s red-uniformed arms reach out to pull his wife close.

  The Dagglestons departed the next day. They implored Lady Quentin to come with them, but she laughed and refused.

  “But I have just arrived. And Tony will take care of me. Thank you for your kindness in letting me travel with you.”

  “I shall never go abroad again,” Lord Daggleston said firmly. “It is not at all what I am used to, and not one of these foreigners seems to have the least idea of my consequence. Peasants, bloody peasants!”

  Lady Quentin took Emily with her and the captain to inspect the house th
at Lord Daggleston had scorned, and declared herself perfectly satisfied with it, much to her husband’s relief. The rooms were small and plainly furnished, and he had expected her to be as horrified as the Dagglestons. Instead, she pointed out how near it was to his headquarters, so that he would be able to come home whenever he was not on duty, and she promised to have a hot meal waiting for him whenever he wished, and for his fellow officers as well. He engaged a cook and a maid to do the scrubbing, and soon Emily felt as at home as she had in Charles Street.

  It was not so different, after all. Lady Quentin had calls to make on acquaintances, receptions and picnics to attend, as well as race meets and cricket matches, and she looked forward to many gala balls. It was very difficult to remember that just over the horizon that French army might be massing, and as May drew to a close and there was no sign of Napoleon, many people began to believe that he would never dare to leave Paris to take the field against Wellington again. The captain was not one of their number, and he worked long, hard hours, although he spent all his free time with his wife. Lady Quentin glowed with happiness whenever he was able to take her for a drive in the park, or a leisurely stroll through the crowded streets, to admire the steep slanted roofs and fat chimney pots, and the flowers that bloomed in every window box.

  Emily saw the Duke of Wrotherham one day when she and Lady Quentin were out shopping, but he was some distance away with a group of gentlemen, and he did not see them. She told herself she was glad. It was very strange, but she often found herself thinking of him, wondering if he had come to Brussels as he had planned, and if he were here still.

  Then she would ask herself why it was so easy to conjure up his handsome, aristocratic face with its black eyes and bored sneer, and the wide shoulders of his trim, masculine figure, which was always so beautifully attired. She knew that if he were anything like his father, he was a dangerous man, and what had Margaret Nelson, lady’s maid, to do with the Duke of Wrotherham, in any case? At these thoughts she would shake her head at her folly and resolve to put him from her mind ... until the next time he invaded it.