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Chapter Eighteen
The next day was sunny, warm. The perfect day for riding. Leah was prepared—she’d donned the riding habit that she rarely wore. It was dark blue, and it fitted her figure at the waist, showing it off to her best advantage.
She glanced at herself approvingly in the mirror, tying the bow of her black top hat beneath her chin. Her hair was pulled into a low chignon at the nape of her neck, and she’d had her maid frame her face with curls.
Downstairs, she ran into Selina and her lady’s maid, who was going to chaperone them. Selina wore a forest-green riding habit with a large dark green satin bow at the neck. It was stylish. Not to mention, it matched the Duke’s favorite jacket. Leah decided then and there that she would have one just like it for her own.
“Is that the new fashion?” Leah asked. Selina’s sleeves were fitted, and the skirt of the habit wasn’t as full as Leah’s was.
“Yes, it is!” Selina said, smiling at her.
“Of course.” Leah’s sleeves were ballooned out. The skirt was fuller, hiding her figure. She felt dowdy. Selina placed her smart hat on her head, tying it underneath her chin.
Leah eyed Selina. She was going to have to do better. She wished that her mother had the same inclination for the latest fashions, just like Aunt Araminta. It had given Selina the edge that Leah didn’t. And Selina didn’t need anything else going in her favor.
When Leah became Duchess, she would need to be more in tune with the latest fashions, and she supposed, riding habits, too. She sighed to herself. She was going to have to do it a lot—pretending to like things that the Duke was interested in, and she was not. They lacked similar interests entirely, but that wasn’t going to stop Leah.
Leah’s lady’s maid came bustling down the stairs.
“It’s about time you got down here,” Leah said, archly.
“Sorry, My Lady,” Maria said, tugging nervously at her habit.
“Come,” Leah said to Selina. “The carriage will be here any moment.” When the four of them stepped out the front door, it was just arriving, the elegant lacquered barouche-landau being pulled by the two Windsor Greys.
When they arrived at Gillingham Manor, the Duke was there to greet them, offering his hand to help them down.
“Good morning, ladies,” he said, bowing to each of them in turn. “Lord Sandbourne should be here at any moment.”
“What of Lord Munro? Is he accompanying us as well?” Selina asked.
“Unfortunately, my brother had an emergency to attend to,” he said. “He’ll be joining us for luncheon, however.”
“I do hope he’s well,” Selina said.
“He is. Very well. Something of import is happening down at his lodge, which he needs to attend to.”
Leah stepped over to him, pointedly. He stared back for a moment, before offering her his arm. To her disappointment, he offered his other arm to Selina.
“Right this way,” he said, trying to sound jovial, yet failing. He seemed tired.
“Are you well, Your Grace?” Selina asked before Leah could open her mouth to do the same.
“A little tired, is all, My Lady,” he replied. “The grooms are saddling our horses now.”
“How exciting,” Leah murmured, glancing at the Duke hopefully. “I hope you’ve brought me the best one.”
“They’re all very good,” he assured her. “I’ve chosen my mother’s mare for you. She’s very docile.”
“Ah, good,” Leah said. After all, what was good for the Dowager Duchess would be good for the soon-to-be Duchess, as well.
“For Lady Selina, there’s Aphrodite,” he said. “She’s new.”
Leah stared at the very-beautiful dark-blood bay mare with her sparkling dark eyes.
Selina stepped forward, pulling an apple from her pocket and offering it to the mare, who stepped forward to take it with her teeth. Selina murmured to her in a low voice as the horse munched the treat.
“Come, Lady Leah,” the Duke said, leading her over to a grey mare who was a little on the rotund side. Leah stood, a little disappointed. “This is Flora. My mother’s had her for years. She’s very even tempered.”
