Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (78 page)

*****

THE END

''Lord and Lady Ashington and their daughter Emily,'' the announcer shouted.

Emily stood with her parents at the top of the marble staircase and looked down into the ballroom. She noticed how everyone seemed to be looking at her.

''I hadn't expected there to be so many people,'' she whispered to her mother.

''As you know, your father and I always host the first ball of the season. We like to invite as many people as we possibly can. We find it gets the season off to a rousing start.
This is
the first ball you have been to here since your coming out. It's going to be a splendid occasion.''

''It all looks very spectacular,'' Emily whispered, just before her father led them down the stairs to their
eager
guests.

When they had reached the bottom of the stairs, Emily's mother turned to her, ''there are several eligible young men here this evening my dear. Please don't wander off with your cousins before I have had a chance to introduce you to some of them.'' Emily looked around, curious to see who her mother
could possibly
mean.

She was very familiar with her surroundings. Although this was the first ball she had been allowed to attend at Priory Manor, she had spent many a childhood hour in the ballroom with her sister and cousins, hosting pretend balls. Emily remembered how exasperated her mother had been when she had borrowed her pearls to dress
up in
. ''They are
priceless,
and you are swinging them around like you found them in a back alley,'' she'd told her.

The ballroom was the largest in the County of Yorkshire. Priory Hall had been the seat of the
Ashingtons
since the days of King John. It was one of the finest stately homes in the land. Emily was amazed at how
colorful
the event was. At her debutante ball the previous summer, all the young ladies had worn white. That was behind her
now,
and she was able to go to balls where the
ladies
wore splendid colors. She had chosen to wear a striking gold muslin dress with gilt edges and silk flowers
woven
into it.

''Cousin Emily,'' Beatrice exclaimed, enthusiastically. ''You look stunning. I adore your gown. Such beautiful silken flowers. And your tiara of pearls is
simply
exquisite. You are the most amazingly beautiful woman here this evening.'' She looked at her cousin, who she adored, and tried to see what was different about her this
evening
. Emily was tall and
slender,
and Beatrice thought her dress showed off her tiny waist to perfection. She noticed Emily's Mediterranean blue eyes sparkling under the light of the giant chandelier. Her blonde
hair
falling beautifully to her shoulders in perfectly manicured locks. Then Beatrice realized. It was her
makeup
that was different. In particular her lips. Emily had
voluptuous
lips, as perfect as was humanly possible and this evening she had used lip rouge. She looked stunning.

''Nonsense cousin, if anyone is the Belle of the Ball, it is you.”

''Well then, let these two beautiful women go and find
themselves,
two handsome princes. There are so many
unattached
men to choose
from;
we'd better
hasten,
or we will run out of time.”

''Oh cousin, I would like nothing more than to go with you but mummy has asked me to say here. Apparently she wants to introduce me to some eligible young men of her choosing. I am terrified. She has such poor taste. Every man she points out to me is so dreadfully dull. I am
young,
and I want someone handsome and dashing, not someone twice my age.''

''Well then, I will go and search for us while you are meeting these
dull
creatures. Come and find me when you have finished. You never know, I might have some success.''

Emily watched her walk down the side of the dance floor and strike up a conversation with a tall looking gentleman of similar age.

''Emily,
please come over here,'' her mother said. ''I would like to present the Duke of Bedford.''

The Duke took Emily's hand and pressed it to his lips. ''Enchanted,'' he said.

''My Lord, it is a pleasure to meet
you,
'' Emily replied as she curtsied. She looked at the man her mother presumably found to be of sufficient breeding to contend for her hand. She was pleasantly surprised. The Duke was not old and stuffy. He was young and handsome. ''Miss Emily, would you do me the honor dancing with me?''

Emily was
keen
to dance with the handsome Duke. She was relieved it was a country dance and not one of
the more
intricate dances. A country dance was simple and would allow her maximum time with him. A lot of other dances called for many more partner changes. She'd never seen the point of being asked to dance by a man, only to spend the rest of the dance in the arms of several other men.

As they undertook the required steps, Emily studied him. He
was, at least,
six feet
tall,
and he had a very
elegant
Roman nose. His eyes were
green,
and his hair was dark. How on earth did such a young man become a Duke, she wondered? She'd always imagined Dukes to be old. Emily recognized his uniform and was impressed to note he was an officer in the Dragoons, one of the bravest regiment in the British Army.

''Thank you, Miss Emily, you are indeed a very
fine
dancer. You have learned the art well. Now I promised to return you to your mother. I believe she has some more guests she would like you to meet.''

*****

''She
really
is the most impressive young lady. Her beauty knows no bounds,'' Robert Masters said.

The Duke nodded in agreement. ''She is indeed an amazing creature. Any man would give all he is worth to take her hand in marriage. What do you say Charles?''

''I
say
if she were in an auction only the richest men in the land need attend. She is a
very fine
woman I agree.''

Robert Masters, The Duke of Bedford and Charles Carrington were standing in the corner of the ballroom looking on as Emily endured a dance with one of her mother's less inspired choices.

''You mentioned an
auction,
Charles. That
really
is an interesting thought.'' Robert said.

''Yes, that's it,'' the Duke exclaimed. ''We all three admire her. Any one of us would take her as a wife at the drop of a hat. Instead of
competing with each other
and risking our friendship, why don't we three place bids for
her?
The highest bidder earns the right to court and
marry
her ahead of the lower bidders. We'll
bid
in five rounds. The last
bid
to be the final word. What do you say?''

''
A bid
a week for five weeks, Robert said.''

''Agreed,'' said Charles.

*****

''Emily, Emily, the most terrible thing has happened.''

''Beatrice, what on earth can be
so terrible
on this magnificent occasion?''

''I hardly want to tell you.
It is so shameful.''

''Really, Cousin. Tell me.''

''Alright,'' Beatrice took a deep breath. ''I believe the three men over there,'' she nodded her head clandestinely, ''have decided to buy you?''

''What? What do you
mean,
buy
me? I'm not for sale.''

''No, sorry, I don't mean buy, I mean
bid
for you.''

''Really, Beatrice, you are making no sense whatsoever.''

Beatrice was so enthusiastic to tell her cousin what she'd
overheard;
she had lost all clarity of thought. She took another deep breath and tried again. ''I heard the three men over there talking about you. They all like you, in
fact,
they would all marry you at the drop of a hat. The man in the uniform said it would be a pity if their friendship were to be spoiled by them falling out over you. To avoid
this,
they have decided to place bids. The highest bidder will win the
sole
chance to approach
you,
and they
assume marry
you. There are going to be five rounds of bidding, one each week.'' Beatrice let out her breath, relieved she had managed to convey the story accurately this time.  

''How very presumptuous of them. I wonder what makes them think I am interested in marrying any of them?''

''I
really
don't know cousin. But you must admit, they are all very handsome.''

''They are as you say, quite
handsome
. But they have rendered themselves much less so by entering into to this ridiculous activity. I have an idea.''

''Please tell me,'' Beatrice said anxiously.

''They are going to place bids for my hand in marriage. It is I, however, who will decide which of them I will
marry
if any of them. I will pretend to be interested in them all. I will
court
each one of them and find out what they
are like
. Then I will persuade the one I like the most to bid the highest amount so we may continue our courtship and see if we are suited enough to be married.” Emily paused. “There is just one difficulty. I
am acquainted
with the Duke of Bedford, but I don't know the other the gentlemen. Could you please find out for me?''

Beatrice obliged and at the end of the ball. Emily now knew the names, the Duke of Bedford, Robert
Masters,
and Charles Carrington.

*****

The Duke of Bedford's carriage pulled up outside Priory Manor. A footman opened the door. As the Duke climbed
out,
he looked up at the house. It was
very large,
indeed. He
estimated, at least,
fifty rooms. The front of the house had a stone staircase leading up the front door. The large windows
were arranged
symmetrically and the he noticed the clock in the facade. It was three pm. 

''The Duke of Bedford is here to see you, Miss Emily,'' the butler announced.

''Thank
you,
Jennings, please show him in.''

''Miss Emily, I was most surprised to receive your note yesterday. Pleasantly surprised, I might add. I do get a lot of invitations from young ladies but seldom from one as beautiful as your
good
self.''

''It is kind of you to say so. Please be seated,'' Emily pointed to a French sofa opposite her. A maid poured
tea,
and they studied each other.

''I do hope you don't think it forward of me to ask you to
tea
.''

''Not at all. I am, after all, a Duke. I assume it is not often that you have the privilege of entertaining such a titled man.''

Emily disliked the conceit of his answer. ''I will come to the point, my Lord. I much enjoyed our dance the other evening. It is not for a lady to ask, but I would like to know you better. Do you think me too forward?'' 

''Miss Emily, I am honored that you asked me. I am of course much in demand with young ladies throughout the whole country. It
seems
I only have to dance with one of
them,
and I am invited for tea very soon
afterward
. I have a
title,
and that is an attractive proposition for any woman. However, I must
say;
I am in awe of your
beauty,
and I would be delighted to give you the chance to know me better.''

''Splendid, that's settled. Tell
me,
my Lord, do you live alone?''

''Yes. I am the youngest Duke in the country. My
unfortunate
parents died two years ago in a boating accident at Newby Hall. I live alone in Aldborough Hall.''

''Then may I ask you to invite me, how shall I put it, to stay with you. For the sake of modesty perhaps you could invite me to a dinner party where there are other guests. It would be indiscreet to come to your house alone. I would please like to stay the evening in one of your rooms. A journey home so late in the evening would be ill advised for a young woman, on her own.''