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CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Edwina found herself nervous as she approached Mrs. Fenton’s house, making her first social visit as Duchess of Hillow. She had accepted the invitation for afternoon tea by signing her new title but received no response. She did not know how she would be received by the group of ladies or what they knew of her husband.
When she stepped up the stairs to the front door, the butler ushered her into the tearoom where several other ladies had already gathered. Leticia, Polly, Mrs. Fenton, and Miss Beasley. Edwina remembered them from the ball only just two weeks prior; however, there were also two other ladies that Edwina had not been introduced to.
“Lady Hillow, so good of you to join us!” Mrs. Fenton said. “Please, sit.”
Edwina sat down next to Leticia, who smiled at her coolly. “My, when I heard from Mrs. Fenton that you had married the Duke of Hillow, I could not believe my ears. I am simply dying to hear how you met the Duke.”
“I am sure we are all quite interested,” Mrs. Fenton injected as a footman poured tea for Edwina. “But may I be first to wish you congratulations?”
“Thank you,” Edwina smiled.
“Also, please meet Miss Wilshire, Leticia’s younger sister,” Mrs. Fenton continued, pointing to a pretty, young blonde to her right, then another, older woman next to Edwina. “And Lady Pembroke. I believe you recall the others?”
“Of course,” Edwina assured her. “A pleasure to meet the both of you.”
“What was your wedding like?” Miss Beasley asked excitedly, reaching for her tea distractedly. “I thought we might have heard about it in the papers, but we never saw anything.”
“We kept it a quick, quiet affair, speaking our vows at Hillow House,” Edwina answered.
“What did you wear?” Polly asked excitedly.
“I had a powder blue dress,” Edwina said. “We had a lovely wedding brunch after. The cook at Hillow House is exemplary.”
The ladies began taking cakes and sandwiches from various trays laid out on the table. They passed around jams and jellies and candied fruit. As they filled their plates, they continued to bombard Edwina with questions.
“Yes, it did seem rather sudden, did it not?” Leticia interjected before Edwina could add anything else. She turned to Edwina. “In fact, I only saw you three weeks ago, and you did not speak of an engagement.”
“It was rather sudden,” Edwina agreed, feeling frantic trying to think of how to explain her quick engagement and marriage. Her hesitation allowed the other women to interject, absolving her from having to respond at all.
“Is the Duke of Hillow the one with the terrible scars?” Polly asked, her eyes wide. “He was terribly deformed, was he not, Leticia?”
“Oh, terribly,” Leticia assured her, gasping. She turned to Edwina. “Did your father arrange the marriage without your consent? It must have been so horrible to find your husband so disfigured.”
“On the contrary,” Edwina said quickly, feeling like she had to fight to get a word in edgewise with these women. “Yes, he has some battle wounds from fighting in the war in France, but he is terribly attractive otherwise.”
“I would never get past it, myself,” Mrs. Fenton said politically. “But I admire your fortitude, Lady Hillow, and your kindness.”
“Such kindness, indeed,” Leticia said in a low voice, picking up a cake with her fingers. “He has not been out in society in many years, I believe. Should we expect him to attend my soiree in a few weeks?”
“I may try to convince him,” Edwina said, “but he is rather shy.”
“All the better,” Lady Pembroke chimed in at last. “When you go out to society events now you may be free to dance with whomever you wish and wander the gardens unchaperoned with whomever you wish, if you take my meaning.” Edwina gasped while Polly and Miss Beasley stifled giggles.
“What does she mean?” Miss Whilshire asked, frowning at her sister.
“You will understand when you are married,” Leticia told Edwina in a patronizing tone. “I cannot imagine conducting your wifely duties to your husband is terribly enjoyable.”
Edwina felt her face flush, thinking of the pleasures the Duke brought her. “I assure you, I am very happy with my marriage to the Duke. I do not see the need to wander the gardens, as you put it, Lady Pembroke.”
“Still in the honeymoon phase, I see,” she smiled. “That is all right, dear. I remember when I was newly married to my Philip, too.”
“Well, I have been married to Albert for several years now,” Leticia told the group. “And I quite adore him still, even if he is much older than me.”
“How much older is he, again?” Miss Beasley asked innocently.
“We will be celebrating his forty-fifth birthday at my soiree,” Leticia responded.
