A Duchess Enraged (6 page)

"Can I make you
forget your worries, Adam?" she whispered, drawing his face close to hers.
She ran her tongue lightly over his bottom lip.

Adam looked down at
her, distracted. His thoughts had been on Allegra, but now he was very aware of
Louisa, her naked body covered by little more than a layer of lace, her
abundant charms openly available.

"What a good
idea, Louisa. How well you know me, darling."

Louisa smiled as she
slipped the robe off her shoulders, revealing her full breasts. "Perhaps
you can find something soft about me," she purred. "Forget her, Adam.
I will make you happy."

"I know you
will, Louisa." Adam's finger touched one of Louisa's nipples lightly, and
she moaned deep in her throat.

"Come darling, I
can't wait to have you inside me," she whispered, sinking back on to the
chaise, pulling Adam down with her.

Allegra returned from
the rout with a pounding headache. She did not know why, but her enjoyment of
the evening had been less than perfect. Perhaps it was because Mr. Berkley had
demanded that she dance with him a third time, or perhaps it was simply that
the rout was such a crush that she had felt she could scarcely breathe. And
Adam's behavior had been impossible. He had glowered at her dreadfully the
whole time he had been in attendance, and then had left abruptly, without even
offering his apologies personally. It was too provoking. So she had stayed very
late, dancing with all the finest gallants and flirting outrageously.

As her maid helped
her out of her sumptuous gown she stifled a yawn, thinking how welcoming her
bed looked. Then someone knocked gently on her door.

"Whoever could
that be?" she asked, denying the sudden jump of her heart.

The door opened, and
Emily stepped inside. "You were very merry tonight, Allegra," she
said.

"It was a fine
party and the company was amusing," answered Allegra. "It would have
been difficult not to be merry. Though I noticed that Adam looked excessively
grim. Has he always been so stern?"

"He said he was
still weary from travelling," said the dowager. "But I'm afraid that
you worry him, Allegra."

I worry him? I don't
see how I possibly could, when he pays not the slightest attention to me. He
did not approach me even once tonight, not even to ask me to dance."

The dowager sighed.
"The two of you seem determined to be at cross purposes. I wish you would
try to understand one another."

"I understand
him well enough," said Allegra. "He doesn't want me, and yet he
wishes to bend me to his will. He won't find that an easy task."

There was a soft step
outside in the hallway, and the unmistakable sound of the door to the duke's chamber
opening and closing again. Anger and disappointment flared in Allegra's eyes.

"You see! He
pleaded weariness and yet he is just now coming in. He preaches propriety to
me, but I can guess where he's been these last few hours. Weary indeed! I am sure
he is weary now!"

Emily hugged her
daughter-in-law. "You must try to be patient, Allegra. You are quite a
shock to him. Perhaps I should have prepared him better, but I was sure he
would be happy to see you so lovely. Please try to be more accommodating."

Allegra shrugged.
"I would do all I could for you, Mama, but I will not humble myself for
His Grace the Duke. He will have to understand me a little, too."

A Night at the Opera

The next days passed swiftly, as Adam and Allegra pursued
their personal interests, each to the disdain of the other. Adam sneered at the
constant parade of fashionable men who came in and out of the house and
clustered around Allegra at every gathering. Allegra pointedly ignored Adam's
wishes regarding her conduct and looked coldly upon his frequent visits to Half
Moon Street. Their conversation, to Emily's dismay, was limited to commonplaces
over dinner and the occasional quarrel in the drawing room afterwards. And the
door connecting their two bedrooms remained firmly closed each night.

One fine evening Allegra emerged from her boudoir
perfumed, with a toweringly elegant coiffure in which a tiny garden complete
with a miniature statue, perched among her powdered curls. She was dressed in a
stunning gown of deep blue silk over a gold-embroidered underdress. She carried
a fan designed expressly for the ensemble, and pearls were stitched across her
delicate satin slippers. Allegra was attending the opera with her husband and
the Dowager, and she had reason to think the evening might be less than
enjoyable, as Adam had expressed extreme annoyance with her that afternoon over
the matter of her lap dogs sleeping in his study. If she was not to have a good
time, she reasoned, she could at least look as elegant as possible. 

She entered the dining room to find that her husband was
its only occupant. He looked at her coldly, her magnificent toilette apparently
leaving him unmoved. "Where is Mama?" Allegra asked, hoping Emily
would be arriving soon so as to prevent her from having to spend much time
alone with her husband.

"My mother is suffering from a headache,"
answered Adam. "I'm afraid she won't be attending the opera with us this
evening." Adam was astounded to see Allegra's expression change abruptly
from distant politeness to one of great concern.

"A headache! Is that all that it is? Are you sure
she is not ill? Have you called for a doctor?"

"I didn't think a doctor was necessary," said
Adam. "And my mother didn't ask for one. I'm sure that she'll be well
soon."

"I must go to her!" Allegra tossed her elegant
fan heedlessly on the table and ran towards the door. "Perhaps I can be of
some help."

Adam, mystified, signaled to a servant to hold dinner and
followed in her wake. He was amazed by Allegra’s sudden metamorphosis from lady
of fashion to concerned daughter. He found his wife in Emily's room, kneeling
by her bed and pressing a perfumed cloth to her temples. His mother was gazing
at her fondly, and attempting not to laugh.

"Really, child, there's no need to fret. It's
nothing more than a headache, indeed, and I shall very soon be well
again."

"I wouldn't want it to be anything more than
that," said Allegra. "Please, let me send for Dr. Monson. I would be
much easier if he reassured me."

"There is no need for a doctor, Allegra. I'll be
fine in the morning. You mustn't hover so, child. Go out to the opera. Enjoy
the entertainment."

"Be entertained? As though I would go traipsing
about town while you are unwell. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep.
Adam, please ask the kitchen to send my dinner up here, and have them send some
toast and tea for your mother as well."

Adam silently obeyed her commands. This woman was unknown
to him; he had thought his wife interested in nothing but her own amusements.
And yet she continued to sit at his mother's bedside, attempting to feed her
toast, no matter how the older woman urged her to attend the opera.

"Adam can go without me if he wants," she said.
"I will take no pleasure in it if I think you are uncomfortable." 

Emily looked at her son. "Please Adam, make Allegra
go to the opera. She wastes all her finery here attending to me."

Adam smiled. "Her concern does her credit. Perhaps
we should stay until we're reassured that you're feeling better."

"You children," Emily said. "Carrying on
so. Very well, I'll try to go to sleep, and then you must leave." She
closed her eyes and leaned back on her pillows, and soon her even breathing
told Allegra that she slept. Adam looked at his wife as she sat clasping
Emily's hand. 

"She's asleep, I believe," he said softly.
"Are you easier in your mind about her now?"

Allegra looked up at him. She gently disengaged her hand
from the Dowager's hold and approached him. "You probably think I'm very
silly for carrying on so over a headache," she whispered. "But I'm
very attached to your mother, and this is how my own mother's illness started
two years ago, and she died of it. When your mother has pains, it frightens
me."

Adam bit his lip. He had not known that his mother-in-law
had died in his absence, nor had he bothered to ask about Allegra's parents
since his return. "I'm very sorry to learn of your mother’s death. But I
truly believe this is nothing more than a headache. My mother is a very strong
woman, and she would not hide something serious from me."

"Perhaps not," said Allegra, looking with
worried eyes at the bed where Emily slumbered. "But I can't help being
concerned. She's very dear to me."

"Come," said Adam, holding out his hand.
"You mustn't be so melancholy. Mother wants us to go out, and I believe if
we leave now we may be in time for the second act. Will you accompany me?'
Allegra hesitated. She was clearly reluctant to leave the Dowager's side.

"My mother will certainly ask for details of the
ladies' dresses, and if you cannot supply them, she may have another
headache," said Adam playfully. Allegra's mournful expression made him
wish to lift her spirits.

She smiled reluctantly at his remark. "Very well.
Since I'm already dressed and your mother is asleep, I'll go. But I wish to
return early. I'll worry until I know she is well."

"Come along them," said Adam. "We shall
sally forth in a quest for gossip to amuse my mother."

Allegra gave a gurgle of laughter and fell into step
beside him. "You are so gallant, sir." They swept down the stairs and
into the waiting carriage. 

They arrived at the opera in good humor, as Adam was
kindly disposed to Allegra because of her concern for his mother, and thus
Allegra found his manner to be unusually friendly. This was how she had thought
their marriage might be, she reflected as they rode in the carriage: Adam
sprawled easily in the seat across from her, telling her a tale about his stay
in Venice. Friendship could lead to affection, and affection to something more,
perhaps. Adam was so very handsome, and when he chose, he could be more than
charming.  It was only the presence of his mistress, and his propensity to
think that he could dominate his wife that came between them. At the thought of
Lady Manning, Allegra's heart sank. How could she compete with someone to whom
Adam was so clearly devoted? She knew that he had visited her every night since
his return to Gravesmere House. She would lay in bed awake, sometimes until
almost dawn, until she heard his footsteps in the next room. 

As Adam escorted Allegra into their box, many eyes turned
their way. It was unusual to see the Duke and Duchess of Gravesmere together
unaccompanied by his mother or one of Allegra's gallants. Many a whispered word
was exchanged behind a fan as the Duke politely escorted his wife to her chair,
seated her, and placed himself next to her with every indication of
attentiveness. He even leaned his head closer to her with a smile as she
addressed a remark to him. They looked stunning together, his length of limb and
handsome face setting off her dimpled beauty to perfection.

In a nearby box, Lady Manning, garbed in a remarkable
dress of brilliant green, watched in alarm. "My goodness," remarked
one of her companions, a sly-looking gentleman. "Our friend the Duke seems
to be dancing attendance on his wife this evening. How dull of him!"

Louisa feigned disinterest. "What is that you say,
Sir John? Is he indeed? I hadn't noticed their arrival. Well, Adam is always
very polite. But I have no doubt he's bored to death with his child-wife; he
has no patience for immaturities."

As Adam chose that moment to throw back his head and
laugh at some remark of Allegra's, Sir John tittered. 

"Perhaps she is not so immature as one would
think," he teased. "I have heard tales of the lady's charm. Perhaps
she works her spell on her husband as well."

Lady Manning's hand tightened on her fan, but she knew
better than to display unease. "As I said, he has beautiful manners."

"Well, he'll doubtless be in the box attending to
you during the interval," said another companion, Mrs. Crowley,
comfortably. "We all know how very attached he is to you, Louisa."

"I have no need to be uneasy about his feelings for
me, I believe," said Lady Manning graciously. "Nor do I need to
concern myself with his dealings with his wife. Wives are so very commonplace
after all."

She turned her attention back to the stage, but two spots
of bright color burned on her cheeks and her eyes wandered consistently back to
the Gravesmere box. She bit the inside of her cheek, almost drawing blood. How
dare that wretched creature smile at Adam so charmingly? Louisa barely managed
to keep herself from throwing her fan across the box when she saw Allegra lay
her hand delicately on Adam's arm. It was time to strike, she thought. She had
hoped that time would take care of the little Duchess, but now it seemed that
she would have to take an active role in her rival's destruction. 

Adam was enjoying himself, and hadn't even noticed that
his mistress was present. Allegra's wit kept him far more amused than the
singers, and so he told her. "I can't believe that an evening listening to
caterwauling could be so entertaining, Allegra," he said. "For the
most part I avoid the Opera like the plague."

"I admit I often feel the same way," said
Allegra. "Still, I have respect for the singers, having been put through a
dreadful series of tortures by my music master, who was convinced that a proper
lady should sing like a nightingale. Unfortunately, I am a mere sparrow in the
chorus."

"Perhaps your singing voice doesn't outshine others
here, but your beauty certainly does. You look very fine tonight, Allegra, and
it has been wrong of me not to tell you." Adam gave her a genuine smile.

"Thank you, my lord. You too look exceedingly
handsome this evening," Allegra murmured, feeling a sudden shyness. She
realized how seldom she was alone with her husband. He was very handsome she
thought again, tempted to reach out and touch his shining hair. 

"Do you care for this coat?" he asked, turning
towards her. His eyes met hers, and he paused, his thought disrupted by the
warmth he thought he saw glowing in their blue depths. After a long pause, he
collected himself and continued. "I was unsure about it when my tailor insisted
it was right for me. But if someone with taste as exquisite as yours approves,
then I must be in the mode."

"I assure you, I am attended by the finest gentleman
in the room," said Allegra, tapping his hand gently with her fan.

"As you know so many of the gentlemen, I must take
that as high praise, indeed," said Adam. Allegra looked at him to see if
he was being unkind, but saw only a questioning, almost vulnerable expression
on his face.

"Surely, Adam, you know that men gather around any
woman judged to be beautiful," she said quietly. "But you mustn't
suppose that I do more than amuse myself with them, or that any of them view me
as any more than a pleasant means of whiling away a few minutes. It's just a
game we all play."

Adam smiled at her warmly, and the two joined in the
applause as the act drew to a close. Soon, to Adam's dismay, the box was filled
with visitors; not merely Allegra's usual gallants, but also any number of
members of the ton anxious to gauge the mood between the Duke and the Duchess.
Lord Gresham appeared as well, and Adam frowned when he moved immediately to
Allegra's side and seated himself next to her. He folded his arms across his
chest and took step in their direction, scowling. But then Freddie Brocklehurst
appeared and bore down upon him, obviously intent on grilling his friend.

"Adam, have you decided to get along with that
lovely wife of yours? The whole of the Opera House is buzzing at your
attentions to her."

Adam scowled. "Has the world nothing better to do
than to worry about my conversation with my wife?"

"Tons of better things, my boy, but nothing as
amusing," said Freddie. "We are all agog to learn how the two of you
go on."

Adam broke into a reluctant laugh. "Then you'll all
have to wait a very long time. I'm not about to gossip about my marriage for
your entertainment." He paused, his gaze wandering back to where Allegra
sat. "What do you know of this Gresham fellow, Freddie?"

Freddie shrugged. "He's a bit older than us, so I
don't know him well. A gamester, one hears, but well-born. And the ladies love
him. They say he's dashed charming."

Adam's eyes rested on Allegra's laughing face as she
leaned towards Lord Gresham, amusement lighting her blue eyes. "Damn it, I
don't like it."

Freddie grinned. "Jealous, are you?"