Dame Durden's Daughter by Joan Smith

Author:Joan Smith [Smith, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1978-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Mrs. Hartford, the mother of Miss George, was passing by Durden Court that same day and stopped in for the sole purpose of seeing what she could discover about Edith and Helver Trebourne. Her interpretation of their meeting was that they had gone jauntering down the public road together, disappearing into an empty house. With such a story as this going the rounds, Dame Durden was happy to be able to say that Edith had just accepted an offer of marriage from Doctor Thorne, and the one meeting with the Duke of Saymore had been an accidental one at the public pavilion to escape the rain. She wondered if what Edith had told her was true. The fact was she no longer trusted her daughter one hundred percent, as she used to, especially where Helver was concerned. She couldn’t say that Edith had actually lied to her, but she had concealed the truth, which was nearly as bad. Mrs. Hartford’s news pleased the villagers, and it was of Edith’s marriage rather than her disgrace that they spoke the rest of the day.

Even a Duke of Saymore bent on getting engaged had his usual duties to perform; and it was not till late afternoon, after his round with Forringer, that he went to the Court. The Dame sat with her daughter in the parlour and was determined she would not move an inch throughout the visit. The book was given to her and dutiful thanks offered. A glance at the cover told her it was useless. How could anyone be so ignorant as to think Richard the Lionhearted, a Plantagenet, was a Tudor? The business and pretext for the visit over, Helver sought to put the meeting on a friendlier footing before broaching his real reason for calling.

“Here it is May first and no May Day revels, Dame Durden,” he ventured, smiling.

“I hope next year we may reinstitute them,” she said and forged on to let him know of the wedding. “Once Edith and Doctor Thorne are married we will have someone other than myself to take an interest in those historical events. Dorion is greatly interested in my project of restoring the past.”

Having heard as late as yesterday that the wedding was not definite, Helver asked, “Do you think they will be married by next year, then?”

“Long before that,” the Dame said firmly. “Edith has accepted his offer, and we mean to do it this spring.”

She hoped to surprise Helver but had not expected to shock him so that he started from his chair. “But you haven’t accepted!” he said to Edith in a very loud voice.

Edith just sat looking mute and miserable, and it was for the Dame herself to enlighten him. “Yes, his offer was accepted today. We have invited him back to the Court and mean to settle the time and all details immediately.”

“You said you hadn’t made up your mind!” Helver continued, listening to the Dame but addressing himself to Edith.

“She has made up her mind now,” Dame Durden said.

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