The Duke's Governess Bride by Miranda Jarrett

Author:Miranda Jarrett
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-16T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

It took them the rest of the afternoon and visits to a half-dozen more shops before they were done, yet Richard couldn’t recall having enjoyed himself more thoroughly. It was all due to Jane, and he’d give her full credit for it. Jane’s company, Jane’s humour, Jane’s taste, Jane’s thoughtfulness when it came to helping him choose gifts for his daughters, and his new sons-in-law as well.

For Mary, who loved old things and the antique world as much as Jane did herself, they found a gold necklace and earrings set with classical cameos. For Mary’s husband John, who was a collector and connoisseur of fine paintings and art, a small bronze statue of a plunging horse. And for Diana’s Anthony, who liked to ride and hunt, an elegant fowling piece with a stock of curly maple, inlaid with a pattern of brass-wire flourishes.

By the time they were done, the short winter day had faded into early twilight. The shopkeepers had lit the lanterns outside their doors, and the bow windows themselves, lit from within, seemed to glow like larger lanterns themselves. Unlike in England, where most shops closed in the late afternoon, the narrow streets of the Mercerie remained crowded, the patrons merry and laughing, the way it seemed Venetians did most everything.

‘We should return home soon,’ Jane said, looking up beyond the overhanging rooftops to the narrow slip of starlit night beyond. ‘Signora della Battista will wonder what’s become of us.’

‘Let her wonder,’ Richard said. ‘We’ve one more stop to make.’

He’d purposefully saved the best for last, or so he hoped it would be for Jane. It certainly would be for him.

The furrier’s shop offered countless suggestions for a wealthy lady to keep away the damp chill of the canals, from squirrel-trimmed slippers to a magnificent gold-embroidered cloak lined completely in sable, worthy of the Doge himself.

‘I hope the young ladies have one of these as they travel,’ Jane said as she stroked the soft fur lining a rich carriage blanket. ‘This, and a box of coals at their feet and their husbands beside them. What a luxurious way to keep oneself warm!’

But Richard had happily found a clerk who spoke enough English to make himself understood. The woman had nodded and disappeared into the back room to hunt for his request.

‘What now, Richard?’ Jane asked as she joined him. ‘Surely even you have reached the limit of your generosity for one day.’

‘Not quite,’ he said as the clerk retuned with a flat box, draped over with a linen cloth. She set the box on the counter and lifted the cloth with a theatrical flair.

‘That’s it,’ Richard said, smiling with approval as the woman lifted a barrel-shaped muff from the box. ‘That’s it exactly. What do you think, Jane?’

‘I think it’s very beautiful,’ she said, her voice full of admiration and a bit of awe.

All the better for his surprise, thought Richard, his anticipation growing.

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