Virginia Henley by Unmasked

Author:Unmasked
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Wearing her prettiest green silk gown adorned with silver ribbon, Velvet sat across from Christian as the coach carried them to the Palmers’ house in King Street. She had waited all day for a reply to the message she’d sent Montgomery, and was both disappointed and annoyed that her wait had been in vain. Hell and furies, the dominant devil is punishing me and making me wait for an answer. No doubt it is his way of bringing me to heel! She was unaware that he had written to the dowager countess instead, informing her that he would be attending the Palmers’ entertainment. He’d asked Christian to accompany Velvet, but not divulge that he would be there.

“If you were a married lady, darling, you would be free to go wherever you fancied, without the inconvenience of dragging me along as chaperone.”

“I’m sorry, Christian. I enjoy your company and forget that sometimes you may not wish to be dragged out in the evening.” She remembered the king’s admonition. “I understand the Royal Court prefers that its ladies be married rather than unwed.”

“Maidens were the fashion at Elizabeth’s Court, but that was a century ago and times have changed.” Christian glanced out the window. “King Charles will marry soon, and his Queen’s Court will be made up of married ladies from the nobility, such as the Countess of Suffolk.”

Velvet sighed. She had always loved Charles, and when she was a child, she had believed that he would marry her. Still, the thought of being one of his queen’s ladies was most desirable. “Now that you have explained, I understand why the Royal Court prefers that its ladies be married.” I would be the Countess of Eglinton now, if only there hadn’t been that dreadful misunderstanding between Montgomery and me. A frisson of desire made her quiver and she quickly dismissed him from her thoughts before the aching longing overwhelmed her.

“There’s Whitehall. King Street is close by. I believe the Palmers’ mansion is quite impressive.”

As they stepped from their carriage, they joined other guests who were attending tonight’s entertainment. Liveried footmen opened the front doors, and they were greeted in the reception hall by their host and hostess, Roger and Barbara Palmer.

Three great chambers were open for their guests’ entertainment. The large drawing room with its brilliantly lit chandeliers served as a ballroom where musicians provided dance music. Next to that was a banquet room, its tables set in the French buffet style with sumptuous food, rich confections and imported wine. Finally, there was a cardroom, where gambling of every sort was encouraged. Of course, this room was packed with fun-loving courtiers, and money was won and lost at the speed of lightning.

To Velvet’s relief, Christian Cavendish seemed to know many of the guests and was able to introduce her to them. She met the Countess of Shrewsbury, the Countess of Maitland, Lady Anne Carnegie and Lady Elizabeth Hamilton. Velvet tried to remember that Lady Hamilton was a duchess, and Bess, Countess of Maitland, was married to the king’s Scottish friend John Lauderdale.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.