Regency Romance Collection: Regency Fire: The Historical Regency Romance Complete Series (Books 1-5) Read online

  “Yes, I daresay. But her beauty will not be enough to secure her a good marriage if she does not file the end of her sharp tongue.” Charles said with a shrug. “And it would be an awful shame, Hugh because I think her rather a nice young lady in truth.”

  “Yes, I think her rather a nice young lady also,” Hugh said, significantly. “In fact, I rather think her a young lady I should like to get to know a little better.”

  “When you say a little better …?” Charles began.

  “No, Charles,” Hugh said in a comical scolding tone. “I should like to get to know the lady better. Her character rather interests me, and I have found myself giving her some little thought in the intervening days.”

  “I must admit, I have never heard you professing actual interest in a young lady before. Beyond the obvious, that is,” Charles said and chuckled.

  “Well, I daresay there is a first time for everything,” Hugh said and drained the last of his sherry.

  “Another one, old boy?” Charles offered, already rising to his feet.

  “Well, since the offer of tea seems so very remote, I daresay I shall. But perhaps half the size of the original one, Charles.” Hugh laughed as he handed his empty glass to his friend.

  “Oh, how do you intend to find out more about Serena Edison? After all, you do not mix in exactly the same circles; otherwise, you would have known a little more of her before.”

  “Indeed, Charles, but you mix in the same circles, do you not?” Hugh said, raising his eyebrows.

  “I knew I would come in useful to you one day,” Charles said and boomed with laughter.

  “You are always useful to me, Charles. You know that,” Hugh said and laughed. “At least you appreciate the lighter side of life. We are friends, are we not?”

  “I daresay, my dear Hugh, that that is why we are friends in the first place.”

  “Then you will help me?” Hugh said, grinning.

  “Of course I shall, old boy. Presumably, you want to know where and when Miss Serena Edison might next be out and about in public?”

  “Indeed I should.” Hugh felt suddenly a little optimistic. With the help of Charles, he might very well see the beautiful young lady again one day very soon.

  “Well, there is to be a medieval sugar banquet at the end of next week. Lady Seaton is holding it, and I myself have been invited.”

  “A medieval sugar banquet?” Hugh said pulling a face.

  “It is a little fad of the moment, Hugh. An evening buffet which serves nothing but sugary treats. All sorts of sweet and dreadful confections made up by some person more akin to an artisan than a cook. Have you not yet been to one?”

  “I had not even heard of one, Charles, but I rather think it sounds like a dreadful idea. An idea which ought very much to have kept itself in medieval times. Oh, the fashion for dredging up the most appalling diversions from history,” Hugh said, and shook his head.

  “Appalling diversion or not, Hugh, I know fine well that Lord and Lady Edison are to be there. Furthermore, I am quite certain that the adorable Serena will be with them.”

  “I say, I rather think the idea of a sugar banquet seems somewhat more appealing than first it did,” Hugh said and raised his sherry glass in a toast to his friend.

  Chapter Four

  “Have you an engagement tonight, Hugh?” Daphne Farrington, the Dowager Duchess of Calgarth and Hugh’s mother smiled serenely at him.

  “Yes, Mama, I am going to a medieval sugar banquet,” Hugh said with a smile.

  “Oh dear, is that the thing again?” Daphne said and gave a pleasant laugh.

  “I am rather afraid so, Mama,” Hugh confirmed, brushing down the front of his immaculate black tailcoat. “How do I look?” he went on, knowing he would always get a good response from his mother.

  “As dashing and as handsome as always, my dear Hugh.” Daphne smiled. “Tell me, who is the hostess?”

  “How do you know it is a hostess and not a host, Mama?”

  “A man would never host a sugar banquet, my dear. Men rarely have such a sweet tooth.”

  “My dear mother, you always seem to know everything,” Hugh said, frowning lovingly at her.

  “That is because I am a mother, my dear. Mothers always know everything.” Daphne reached up to straighten the elaborate necktie of Hugh’s crisp white shirt. “Which is why I know there must be some motive in your attendance at this banquet. Tell me, are you chasing a young lady?”

  “Am I so very obvious?” Hugh said, smiling.

  “Only to me,” Daphne said. “Actually, no, you are probably obvious to more than me.”

  “Mama! You are teasing me,” Hugh said, grinning.

  “I only tease you, my dear boy, because I know how you love to be teased.”

  “Well, to answer your question, Mama, Lady Seaton is hostess of this evening’s medieval sugar banquet.” Hugh looked down to check that his black knee boots were shining brightly against his cream breeches.

  “I say, I rather think Lady Seaton is a little old for you.” Daphne chuckled.

  “Mama!” Hugh laughed. His mother had always had a wonderful sense of fun, albeit she knew exactly when to hide it away. However, her wit and humour were attributes that Hugh had inherited above all other things.

  “But she is rather a wealthy widow, Mama. I could do worse,” Hugh said, playing along.

  “Oh Hugh, you do make me smile,” Daphne said. “It is a great comfort to me that you are not quite so serious as you pick your way through this life. You do not make enemies, Hugh.”

  “Although Gabriel would have me do so, Mama,” Hugh said, somewhat more seriously. “And I have lately let him down rather badly. I was supposed to seek certain information, Mama, and I did not find what Gabriel would have wished me to find.”

  “Perhaps it was not there to find in the first place, Hugh,” Daphne said, clearly having no idea of the task that Gabriel had given him to perform.

  “In truth, I think not,” Hugh said with a shrug. “But nonetheless, Gabriel is determined.”

  “He is very much his father’s son, Hugh, and I think the responsibility of being head of the Duchy weighs very heavily upon him. He has always been so keen to fill his father’s shoes and fill them well.”

  “And so he does, Mama.”

  “Indeed he does, Hugh,” Daphne said, thoughtfully. “But that does not mean that you need to follow him into battle.”

  “I am afraid I must, Mama. As much as it does not incite the same passion within me, he is my brother and my Duke.”

  “Indeed he is, Hugh, but you are your own man. I would wish nothing more than for you to put your life and your happiness before any misguided need to throw yourself into the anger and bitterness of a little war that should have died years ago.”

  “I know, Mama. And I entirely understand your feeling on the matter. But I am simply one of five brothers, and one who must take his part when required. But I promise, Mama, that I shall do my best to seek to please you both. I shall do as Gabriel asks for his sake, but I shall not do it with too much gusto, for yours.”

  “That is very diplomatic of you, Hugh,” Daphne said with a laugh. “Your humour and your intelligence are a great comfort to me.”

  “As your love and care is a great comfort to me, Mama.”

  “You did not answer my question, Hugh,” Daphne said, changing the subject. “Are you chasing a young lady this evening?”

  “I am not chasing her as such, Mama, but I am rather hoping to find her there.”

  “You seem to be going to an awful lot of effort. Perhaps this particular young lady is special somehow?”

  “I do not exactly know the answer to that yet, Mama, but I rather think she might be,” Hugh said with a very appealing smile.

  “Well, enjoy your evening,” Daphne said and ruffled his hair as she turned to leave the drawing room.

  Hugh rather hoped that he would enjoy his evening. He had been thinking of Miss Serena Edison for days on end
and had the awful suspicion that he might have added good qualities to her in imagination only. Perhaps when he saw her again at Lady Seaton’s sugar banquet, she might not, in truth, be quite so beautiful. And perhaps she might not even be possessed of quite such a keen wit as he remembered her having.

  Hugh and Charles travelled together to Lady Seaton’s smart country mansion on the edge of the small village of Winterton. The carriage ride over took them more than half an hour, and Hugh found himself falling silent as he stared out across the rugged open countryside through the gloom of falling darkness. He widely noticed how the wind-tortured hawthorn trees grew bent, all facing east. No doubt their harshest winds came in from the west.

  “Have you been to Lady Seaton’s mansion before?” Charles broke in, obviously tired of the silence.

  “Once or twice, Charles. I like her well enough, but we are not terribly well acquainted. I have seen her out and about in the county more times than I have been a guest in her home. And I truly am not sure whether or not she has ever been to Calgarth Hall. I ought to have asked my mother before I came away. She would have known.”

  “Well, perhaps you will not find yourself too much in conversation with Lady Seaton tonight, and any ignorance on your part might not be too obvious,” Charles said, chuckling.

  “I hope not,” Hugh said in an amusingly gruff manner. “I have not travelled all this way to see Lady Seaton.”

  “No indeed,” Charles agreed and hooted with laughter.

  As soon as the greetings were over and done with and Hugh and Charles had been guided towards the great hall, Hugh felt himself quite alive with excitement and anticipation.

  The hall was vast, and perhaps disproportionately so, given the rather modest size of the country mansion. Furthermore, it was all rather grandly done with cream wood panels on every wall, each of them adorned with ornately carved scroll-work, all picked out in a rich golden paint.

  The hall boasted three chandeliers, the one in the very centre as large as anything Hugh had seen in his own home, Calgarth Hall. With the pale walls and the enormity of the chandeliers, the hall at Lady Seaton’s mansion seemed extraordinarily bright. The only contrasts to the whole thing were the deep, blood-red velvet drapes and great sweeping pelmets which hung above them. Every swathe of rich velvet was fastened with golden chords, each one heavily tasselled. The whole thing gave rather a regal sort of effect, and Hugh was torn between liking it and thinking it a little overdone.

  Hugh let his eyes roam the hall, keen for any sighting of Serena Edison. Somewhat taken aback, he was surprised to see none other than Nigel Pettigrew seemingly having a few words with Lady Seaton herself. Hugh had not realised there was any acquaintance there but then thought that Nigel Pettigrew’s list of acquaintances was likely to be extensive. Still, it mattered not now. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing more to be discovered about the man, and so he continued to look about him.

  At the very back of the hall stood several long tables, each and every one laden with sugar-based confections. Several people had gathered around the tables, all regarding the ornately crafted food with admiration.

  As he looked about him, he could see that Serena Edison was also surveying the table with interest, albeit she was not seemingly attached to any group.

  “I say, Charles, do excuse me,” he said, pulling his black waistcoat straight in a final preparation before setting off in the direction of Serena Edison.

  “Oh, do not worry about me,” Charles said with amusing sarcasm. “I daresay I shall find my own amusement.”

  Hugh grinned at him before striding off across the hall. Serena Edison, who had been standing sideways onto the tables as she surveyed them, turned sharply in his direction. She had spied him immediately and, as he approached, she smiled broadly at him.

  “I say! If it isn’t Hugh,” she said, clearly keen to remind him he had demanded she use his Christian name.

  “My dear Miss Edison,” Hugh said, choosing to be equally keen to remind her that she had not invited him to do the same. “How very nice to see you again.”

  “It is very nice to see you, Sir. Nice and somewhat surprising,” she said, her eyebrows rising suspiciously.

  Hugh could hardly believe that he had any cause to wonder if she was truly as beautiful in life as she had become in his mind. If anything, Serena Edison was more beautiful than ever.

  She was wearing an extraordinarily well-fitting gown in a very dark shade of blue. The short sleeves puffed prettily on her shoulder, and the band of blue satin beneath the bust-line was nicely pulled in. She wore long evening gloves which extended well above the elbow, and they looked extremely crisp and white against the deep, dark blue of her gown.

  Serena Edison’s hair was a wonderfully thick dark golden blonde, and Hugh could see strands of paler blonde running through it. Her eyes were blue but very much deeper and brighter than his own shade, and Hugh wondered that he had not noticed quite how mesmerising they were before.

  “Surprising but fortuitous, I think.” Hugh gave her what he thought was his most winning smile.

  “Oh, I shall not argue with that sentiment, Sir. But still, I had not known you were well acquainted with Lady Seaton.” As Serena began to smile, he noticed that one side of her mouth always turned up just a fraction of a second before the other. Something about it seemed so very natural, and he rather thought it a very far cry from the tight and practiced little smiles that other young ladies had given him over the years.

  “I have been in company with Lady Seaton here and there, although I must admit, it is true we are not terribly well acquainted.”

  “But I daresay dear Charles Lockhart is.” Serena’s smile was now broad and open, and Hugh found himself looking at beautifully white and straight teeth. She really had him under her spell.

  “Well, I am sure you know Charles and know well how popular he is in the county.”

  “If you do not own up in a moment, Sir, I am going to be forced to tease you mercilessly,” Serena said and suddenly began to laugh.

  “Whatever can you mean, My Lady?” Hugh said, laughing also.

  “I do believe that you understand my meaning very well, Hugh,” Serena said, shaking her head in a rather indulgent way, almost as if she were conversing with a naughty child.

  “Alright, I shall own up, Miss Edison. I had discovered that you would be here this evening, and I have bullied dear Charles into securing me an invite.”

  “Your honesty does you credit, Sir,” Serena said, clearly mocking him.

  “It is one of my finer qualities,” he remarked and gave her a bow.

  “That remains to be seen,” Serena said. “But then, perhaps you have other qualities.”

  “And now you truly are teasing me, are you not?”

  “Indeed, I am, Hugh.” Her shining blue eyes displayed the purest merriment and just a little mischief.

  In truth, Hugh found himself rather enjoying being tied in knots by the beautiful young woman.

  “You are a very clever young lady, Miss Edison.”

  “I thank you,” she said and inclined her golden head just a little.

  “I imagine you are a terribly good bridge player.”

  “Well, I would say I am a very passable bridge player,” Serena said with modesty.

  “And tell me, Miss Edison, do you play regularly?”

  “I play every week, Sir. And yourself?”

  “I occasionally play when I have the chance of it.” He smiled. “Tell me, where is it that you play every week?”

  “And why is that, Sir? Am I to take it that you and Charles Lockhart might suddenly appear at the bridge table opposite me?”

  “You are a little too good for me, Miss Edison. You see my plans, and you head me off at the pass every time.”

  “Only for my own amusement, Sir. In all other respects, I should very much like to play a game of bridge with you.”

  “So, you will tell me where it is that you play?” Hugh said and ga
ve her rather a wheedling sort of a look.

  “I might,” Serena said, airily. “Tell me, what do you think of this table set out here?”

  “Well, it is all really rather well done, is it not?” Hugh said, looking at an elaborate reconstruction of the very mansion they were in made entirely out of glass-like sugar that had been boiled and moulded. “Take this, for example,” Hugh said, pointing to the sugar mansion. “It would seem an awful shame to eat it. It rather looks like something that should be kept as an ornament for the housemaids to moan about dusting forevermore.”

  “I am inclined to agree with you, Sir,” Serena said, laughing rather heartily at Hugh’s observation. “It all looks rather ornamental, does it not?” Serena went on, “But I must say, I have taken not one bite. Every time I think I shall reach out and take something, I rather think my teeth begin to itch.”

  “I can quite understand why,” Hugh said, looking doubtfully at all of it. “I think one hour spent at this table might render one utterly toothless.”

  “I think I can quite understand why it is that the history books tell us of the people in medieval times proudly wearing teeth made of wood.”

  “Indeed?” Hugh said, raising his eyebrows.

  “It is true, Sir. I have read it in the past. Two or three hundred years ago, when sugar banquets such as this were the common fashion as a means of displaying one’s wealth, people’s teeth grew blackened with the sweetness. Many had them removed, only to be replaced with false ones crafted from wood. Or, worse still,” Serena said, wrinkling her face in disgust, “rows of false teeth made using the extracted teeth of others.”

  “Good Lord!” Hugh said, laughing and wincing all at once. “What an unusual thing for a young lady to know!”

  “I think young ladies should know far many more unusual things than they seem to currently. Without a few interesting facts along the way, I rather fear that we are all simply having the same conversation over and over again.”

  “I must admit to rather liking the way you seem to think, Miss Edison. It is a little unusual, but really rather interesting.”