The Forgotten Duchess

Chapter Thirty-One | Parliament

VIVIENNE MADE SURE she was alone in the drawing room before she tugged on the newspaper beneath the crook of her elbow. Stumbling upon it after it had been discarded by the duke, Vivienne had asked Preston if she could take it. The butler, confounded by her question had merely stated that the duke no longer needed it, so she was free to read it.

Her fingers flipped passed the political section towards the end. Her eyes drank in the description of last nights evening at Almack's.

Like the start of every season, the young debutantes and their mamas descended upon Almack's like flock of sheep. Some seemed promising, while others looked as though it would be their first and last evening at Almack's. But besides the glitz and glamour that the Lady Patronesses bestow upon the ton every Wednesday, nobody could have predicted the arrival of the Duke of Lennox.

With a surprising twist to the evening, His Grace who had avoided every soiree thus far, graced the ballroom of Almack's to dance with a mysterious debutante—Lady Vivienne. Not much is known about the illustrious Lady Vivienne, only that she was coming out for the season under the tutelage of the Dowager Countess of Torrington. Now that, is something, we could not have predicted my dear reader. We will have more scoop on who exactly Lady Vivienne is, and how she ensnared the Duke of Lennox for a dance very soon.

But that was not the end of an eventful evening at Almack's. Our dear duke, once again made an appearance—this time, speaking to his former betrothed, Lady Cobham.

Vivienne gasped and the paper slipped from her fingers. Quickly picking it up, she continued reading.

It seemed like quite the chilly meeting between the two. Our dear readers will remember that last season the Duke of Lennox had been courting Lady Cobham, then known as Lady Madeline. Taking London by storm, they seemed headed for the alter until the lady jilted him and married Baron Cobham instead—much to the disgrace of her family. It seems like the poor duke's heart is still broken, but the possibility of Lady Vivienne mending it back delights us very much. 

Vivienne placed the newspaper on the ottoman beside her. Her mind was still shocked from everything that she had read. James had been courting Lady Cobham last year? It was hard to believe the two of them as a pair, but this was the missing piece of information she needed to better understand the bizarre encounter at Madame Joselyn's shop.

What she still didn't understand was how quickly James had left her last night. She had thought that he would not make it, and then she'd spun around to see him in his black waistcoat, powder white cravat, and tan knee-breeches. He had looked so handsome, that Vivienne was speechless until he kissed her gloved hand. She could still recall the tingles that went through her body when he had done so. James had led her through the dance and when it had ended, he had promptly disappeared, leaving her as confused as ever.

She hadn't seen the duke in the morning either. According to Preston, the duke had retired much earlier than her and Lady Torrington and he had promptly left the townhouse in the early hours of the morning.

"Lady Vivienne."

Vivienne quickly stashed the newspaper underneath the folds of her dress guiltily as Preston looked at her with raised eyebrows. She sighed in relief, she thought it had been Lady Torrington.

"You have a caller; would you like for me to let them in?"

Vivienne frowned; she didn't know that someone would be inviting themselves over. Last night, she had spoken to a few ladies, but they hadn't exactly been as welcoming as she had hoped they might be. She didn't expect them to appear unless it was for gossip. Suddenly feeling ill, Vivienne clenched her stomach—she hoped nobody was coming to ask her about James. It was the last thing she wanted. There was only one way to find out, "Let them in, and please ask the housekeeper to send a tray of biscuits and tea."