Page 19 of A Duke in Autumn

Her eyes were alight with curiosity as she waited for him to explain.

“I would like to commission a gown to be made for a lady. But this may be a difficult request, as it is to be a surprise for her.”

Madame Bergeron eyed him with less favour than she had before, but her voice was carefully neutral when she spoke again.

“For a mistress, no doubt? Do you have a… style… in mind?”

“No! I mean, yes, I have a style in mind, but no, it is not for a mistress – nothing of the sort! It is for a respectable young lady, as a surprise gift – I am simply charged with arranging it.”

“Why you? Forgive me, Your Grace, but this seems remarkably out of the ordinary.”

“Because of exactly that. Who would suspect a gentleman of my standing to be ordering a gown for a respectable young woman? This way, the surprise will be as the giver hopes, and she will not suspect it in advance.”

Morris thought it was a rather good explanation, for one invented on the spot, especially as it contained so much of the truth. Madame Bergeron regarded him with an air of suspicion, but simply nodded.

“And which respectable young lady is this gown to be made for?”

“For Lady Eugenia Rutherford.” The modiste’s expression shifted slightly, and she raised an eyebrow. Morris pulled the sketch from his pocket and unfolded it, setting it on the counter top. “I was hoping that you could make a gown based on this. In a medium sapphire blue shade, perhaps?”

Madame Bergeron picked up the sketch and examined it closely.

“Lady Eugenia drew this, did she not?”

“She did, but she is not aware that I have it for this purpose. Can you do it? Can you make a gown that will fit her, with only this as a guide?”

“You are lucky, Your Grace. For Lady Eugenia has commissioned a gown from me, so I have, in my records, a note of her… dimensions… and with that, I can most definitely do as you ask. It will not be inexpensive, you realise?”

“I do, and the cost is immaterial.”

She nodded, sharply, once.

“As you wish, Your Grace – come, let me show you some fabrics and colours which I would suggest for the purpose.”

Half an hour later, Morris departed the modiste’s, well pleased with the result of his expedition. Madame Bergeron had even unwound towards him enough to have commented that she thought this gown would be far more flattering on Lady Eugenia than the one that the Lady had ordered for herself. Perhaps it was the prospect of charging him a quite obscene amount of money which had warmed her to his cause.

~~~~~

Lady Bellinghaugh ran her fingers over the soft fur of the tortoiseshell cat which had appropriated the cushion beside her, not really thinking of what she was doing at all. Her mind was on other matters as the early afternoon sun filled the room with warmth.

She was quite sure that Oakthorpe was developing a tendre for Lady Eugenia, even if he was not yet aware of the fact himself. The idea was pleasing. He was her favourite great great-nephew, the only one with a sensible head on his shoulders, even if he was also the most mischievous and rebellious of the lot. That his rebellion was expressed in regular subtle rejection of the ‘social rules’, done just obviously enough to cause the older ladies to mutter about him, but not ever consider cutting him, only increased her respect for him.

From her observation, Lady Eugenia was not unaffected by Oakthorpe, either.

They would, she thought, be a good match. But they were being irritatingly obtuse. Neither of them seemed ready to admit their attraction, and instead indulged in teasing and needling each other.

She sighed. It was definitely time to invite the Dowager Duchess and Lady Eugenia to tea. Perhaps, if she made sure that the two spent more time together, they would realise just how suitable they were. She reached for the bell pull, disturbing the cat, which lifted its green gold eyes to her and complained in a piteous meow, which she ignored.

When a footman came in response, she asked that he bring pen, ink, and paper, then wait for a moment.

Once the footman returned, she quickly scribed a note, inviting the ladies to tea, that very afternoon at three of the clock – for she knew that Oakthorpe would have returned by then, given what he had said upon his departure that morning. The footman took it from her hand, and set off to deliver it immediately.

She tried not to meddle in her relatives lives too often – but really, this situation absolutely called for it.

~~~~~

Morris returned to Lady Bellinghaugh’s with a smile on his face, feeling better than he had for some time. He had always treated society’s rules as things to be judiciously broken, and what he had just set in motion certainly broke quite a few of them. The very idea of it was enough to fill him with warmth. And picturing Lady Eugenia in the result filled him with another kind of warmth entirely.

If she would only allow her real self to show, she would be devastatingly attractive – not that she was unattractive now, but the thought of seeing mischief in her eyes, instead of that ‘good-girl’ look, was enough to heat his blood even further.