Never Forget Love by Barbara Cartland

Author:Barbara Cartland
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788672870
Publisher: Barbara Cartland Ebooks ltd
Published: 2020-01-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

When Nerissa came downstairs before dinner to join the house party, she was feeling embarrassed.

She wished that she could stay in her room and not have to face the Duke again, feeling that he would condemn her for being so foolish as to have gone into a sitting room alone with Sir Montague.

She knew that she would never be able to explain how difficult it would have been to refuse without making a scene.

And yet the scene that had ensued had been worse than anything that she could have anticipated and she felt humiliated by it.

She had chosen another of Delphine’s pretty gowns, this time of a pale blue gauze, and Mary had procured for her some small white orchids with touches of pink on their petals to wear in her hair.

They were so pretty that Nerissa could not help feeling that it was a shame to cut them and they should have been left to grow for as long as their natural life would last.

She felt, however, once again that, because she was wearing flowers in her hair, she did not look quite so drab beside the rest of the Duke’s glittering lady guests.

They were all clustered together under the chandeliers, the candlelight playing on their jewels, their lovely faces and sparkling eyes.

Nowhere, Nerissa thought, could there be a more attractive throng of people, because all the men looked so elegant in their high starched muslin cravats and black silk knee-breeches.

She moved quickly to her father’s side and only as she reached him did she realise that he was talking to the Duke.

“I am sure, Your Grace,” Marcus Stanley was saying, “that this is one of the Elizabethan houses that during the Elizabethan era held special Festivals of their own.”

“I don’t think I have heard of that before,” the Duke remarked.

“There was, of course, the Festival that always took place at the beginning of May, but there were many others,” Marcus Stanley explained, “including the Festival of Fruits, which I suppose now we would call it the Harvest Festival and there were Festivals of various Saints and I expect, although I am not certain, there was a Festival of Flowers.”

Before the Duke could reply Delphine, who had moved to stand beside him, exclaimed,

“What a lovely idea! Why do we not have one tomorrow evening? We could all appear in the flowers we resemble.”

She turned her beautiful face up to the Duke’s as she spoke and Nerissa was certain that Delphine was visualising herself as a rose, which was what she had always claimed that she resembled.

“It is certainly an idea,” the Duke surmised slowly.

Now several of the other ladies who had been listening joined in to say,

“But of course. It would be spectacular and where else could we have such a choice of flowers but from Your Grace’s garden and greenhouses?”

“They are at your disposal,” the Duke smiled, “but I must refuse to allow you to deplete my special orchids in the Conservatory.”

As he spoke, his eyes rested

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