her and Augusta, looking out of the window.
"I would not have come home on leave if his grace had not summoned me," he said. "Not when I knew that Staunton had been invited too. I have no thoughts on his arrival or on the fact that he has brought a wife with him. It is nothing to me."
If he had intended to speak with cold dignity, he failed miserably. His voice shook with youthful passion. Claudia reached out and touched his hand. He did not pull away, but neither did he turn his head to acknowledge her smile of sympathy.
"And what do you think of your eldest brother, Augusta?" Claudia asked.
"I think his lordship looks very like his grace," Augusta said. "I think he looks disagreeable. And I think her ladyship is very ugly."
The Earl of Twynham sniggered while his wife waved her handkerchief before her face again. " 'Out of the mouths of babes…'" she said. "You are quite right, Augusta. He looked very disagreeable indeed as if he were enjoying the whole dreadful scene. And she has no pretense to beauty or anything else either, I daresay. It would not surprise me to learn that Tony had found her in someone's kitchen—or in someone's schoolroom more like. One wonders if she is even a gentlewoman. I will find it extremely difficult to be civil to her."
"His grace will be civil, you may be sure, Marianne," Lord William said. "And he will expect no less of us. She is Lady Staunton, after all, whoever or whatever she was before Staunton decided to marry her."
"And she will be the duchess in time," his sister said in deepest disgust. "She will be the head of this family and will take precedence over Claudia, over me—over all of us. It will be quite insupportable. Twynham and I will come to Enfield very rarely in the future, I daresay. Well, there are ways and ways of being civil, Will. I shall be civil."
Lord Twynham sniggered again. "One wonders how Withingsby will manage things tomorrow," he said. "Tillden will not be amused, mark my words. And she already takes precedence over you, Marianne. She is Staunton's marchioness."
"We must all be civil today and let tomorrow look after itself," Claudia said. "Anthony has come home again and he has brought a bride of whom he is fond. He called her my love . Did anyone else hear him? I was touched, I must say."
Her husband snorted. "The Dukes of Withingsby and their heirs do not marry for any such vulgar reason as love," he said, "as you know very well, Claudia."
She flushed and lowered her face to kiss the top of Augusta's head. Lord William had the grace to flush too, but there was no chance for any more conversation. The doors opened to admit the duke. He crossed the room in the silence that greeted his arrival and took up his stand with his back to the unlit fireplace, his hands at his back.
"Staunton is not here yet?" he asked rather unnecessarily. "He is late. We will await his pleasure." The coldness of his words did not invite any response.
His family proceeded to wait in uneasy silence. The Earl of Twynham clearly considered gulping down the last mouthful from his glass, but he regretfully and unobtrusively set the glass down on the sideboard instead. Claudia hugged Augusta, for whom the chance to take tea in the drawing room with the adults was a rare and questionable treat, and smiled reassuringly at her.
----
Chapter 7
Charity was coming to expect magnificence at EnfieldPark. Even so, she found the drawing room quite daunting when she first stepped inside it. The drawing room at home was more in the way of a cozy sitting room, a place where the family gathered when they were all together in the evenings or when they were entertaining friends and neighbors. This room was like—an audience chamber was the only description that came to mind. The high-coved ceiling was painted with a scene from mythology, though she was not at leisure to identify which. The walls were hung with huge paintings in gilded frames—landscapes mostly. The furniture, heavily gilded
"I would not have come home on leave if his grace had not summoned me," he said. "Not when I knew that Staunton had been invited too. I have no thoughts on his arrival or on the fact that he has brought a wife with him. It is nothing to me."
If he had intended to speak with cold dignity, he failed miserably. His voice shook with youthful passion. Claudia reached out and touched his hand. He did not pull away, but neither did he turn his head to acknowledge her smile of sympathy.
"And what do you think of your eldest brother, Augusta?" Claudia asked.
"I think his lordship looks very like his grace," Augusta said. "I think he looks disagreeable. And I think her ladyship is very ugly."
The Earl of Twynham sniggered while his wife waved her handkerchief before her face again. " 'Out of the mouths of babes…'" she said. "You are quite right, Augusta. He looked very disagreeable indeed as if he were enjoying the whole dreadful scene. And she has no pretense to beauty or anything else either, I daresay. It would not surprise me to learn that Tony had found her in someone's kitchen—or in someone's schoolroom more like. One wonders if she is even a gentlewoman. I will find it extremely difficult to be civil to her."
"His grace will be civil, you may be sure, Marianne," Lord William said. "And he will expect no less of us. She is Lady Staunton, after all, whoever or whatever she was before Staunton decided to marry her."
"And she will be the duchess in time," his sister said in deepest disgust. "She will be the head of this family and will take precedence over Claudia, over me—over all of us. It will be quite insupportable. Twynham and I will come to Enfield very rarely in the future, I daresay. Well, there are ways and ways of being civil, Will. I shall be civil."
Lord Twynham sniggered again. "One wonders how Withingsby will manage things tomorrow," he said. "Tillden will not be amused, mark my words. And she already takes precedence over you, Marianne. She is Staunton's marchioness."
"We must all be civil today and let tomorrow look after itself," Claudia said. "Anthony has come home again and he has brought a bride of whom he is fond. He called her my love . Did anyone else hear him? I was touched, I must say."
Her husband snorted. "The Dukes of Withingsby and their heirs do not marry for any such vulgar reason as love," he said, "as you know very well, Claudia."
She flushed and lowered her face to kiss the top of Augusta's head. Lord William had the grace to flush too, but there was no chance for any more conversation. The doors opened to admit the duke. He crossed the room in the silence that greeted his arrival and took up his stand with his back to the unlit fireplace, his hands at his back.
"Staunton is not here yet?" he asked rather unnecessarily. "He is late. We will await his pleasure." The coldness of his words did not invite any response.
His family proceeded to wait in uneasy silence. The Earl of Twynham clearly considered gulping down the last mouthful from his glass, but he regretfully and unobtrusively set the glass down on the sideboard instead. Claudia hugged Augusta, for whom the chance to take tea in the drawing room with the adults was a rare and questionable treat, and smiled reassuringly at her.
----
Chapter 7
Charity was coming to expect magnificence at EnfieldPark. Even so, she found the drawing room quite daunting when she first stepped inside it. The drawing room at home was more in the way of a cozy sitting room, a place where the family gathered when they were all together in the evenings or when they were entertaining friends and neighbors. This room was like—an audience chamber was the only description that came to mind. The high-coved ceiling was painted with a scene from mythology, though she was not at leisure to identify which. The walls were hung with huge paintings in gilded frames—landscapes mostly. The furniture, heavily gilded
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