CHAPTER ONE 1870-1
2067 Words
CHAPTER ONE
1870The Duke of Sherbourne finished dressing and then called out to his valet,
“Did you remember to tell the grooms I wanted to drive my new team of horses today, Jenkins?”
“They’ll be round as soon as Your Grace’s finished breakfast,” the valet replied.
“I am looking forward to trying them out. When I bought them from their previous owner, he told me they were the fastest team he had ever handled.”
Jenkins, who was used to the Duke talking to him while he was dressing, merely nodded.
He knew that his Master was noted as one of the best drivers in London and that his stables were filled with horses that were the envy of every man.
“I suppose I am dining out tonight, Jenkins?” the Duke enquired.
“Yes, Your Grace.” Jenkins walked towards the writing table that stood in the corner of the Duke’s bedroom and glanced down at the book lying open on it.
He knew only too well that his Master would forget the engagements he had every night and therefore he was always ready to answer this question by looking in the diary before he called the Duke.
“Tonight Your Grace be dining out at Marlborough House with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.”
“Indeed I am. It’s a most important occasion as he wants me to meet some new friends who have just arrived in London.”
He turned round to face Jenkins.
“For goodness sake, Jenkins, see that I am on time, and don’t forget the present I have for the Princess, whose birthday it is tomorrow.”
“It be packed up and ready for Your Grace. Mr. Simmonds brought the coloured paper Your Grace wished it to be wrapped in.”
Mr. Simmonds was the Duke’s private secretary and he was adept at carrying out punctiliously any order given to him.
The Duke seemed satisfied and walked towards the door and Jenkins hurried after him to make sure he had put a handkerchief in his coat pocket. To his relief he saw he had not forgotten and it was just peeping out at the top.
The Duke walked down the corridor towards the top of the staircase.
Sherbourne House was one of the largest and most prestigious houses in Park Lane.
Everyone who served His Grace was well aware that once the horses were seen waiting outside with his new and up-to-date chaise, a small crowd would invariably gather to watch him drive off.
It was not surprising that people were interested.
The footmen rolling down the red carpet over the steps from the front door were wearing the full Sherbourne livery. It was not only stylish but very colourful.
The butler was waiting at the top of the steps to see the Duke off and he was naturally smarter than any servant in real life or on the stage.
The Duke himself was a hero to every man who was keen on racing, as his horses regularly won the Classic races. He, therefore, had the admiration and respect of the crowds whenever he appeared on a Racecourse.
Now two more passers-by joined the small crowd that had collected outside the house as soon as the horses and the Duke’s chaise drove into view.
They had almost instinctively stopped to admire the thoroughbreds and they knew their owner would appear in a few minutes.
In Hyde Park, which the Duke’s house faced, there were already people walking across from under the trees, as they wanted to see what was happening on the other side of the road.
When the Duke appeared in the doorway, a murmur came from the lips of those waiting.
The women, if they dared, would have applauded his appearance.
He certainly looked exceedingly smart and he was undoubtedly one of the most handsome men they had ever seen.
His dark, almost black hair, was brushed back from a square forehead and his features were classical.
At the same time he had a smile that most women found irresistible.
Holding his tall hat in his right hand, that had just been given to him by one of the footmen, he stood gazing at his horses.
He was thinking that they were the best buy he had ever made, all pitch black except for a white star on their foreheads and a faint touch of white on their back fetlocks – they were not only unusual but magnificent.
The Duke put on his hat and started to walk down the steps.
As he did so, the crowd pressed themselves even closer against the gold-tipped railings and the children put their hands through them to point at the horses.
They were waiting there as excited and expectant as their elders to see the team drive off.
Without hurrying, the Duke seated himself in the driving seat and picked up the reins.
The groom accompanying him then jumped into the small seat at the back of the chaise and, as the butler and four footmen bowed, His Grace moved off.
Instinctively, as if they could not stop themselves, the crowd now cheered and clapped.
The chaise reached the gate and the horses passed through it and the crowd cheered again.
By this time, more people coming up the street had increased the crowd and the Duke raised his hat to them as he passed and they cheered him again.
Then he was moving with an experienced hand through the traffic and, when he reached Hyde Park Corner, he turned right.
By now he had settled down to enjoy the long drive to Windsor Castle that lay ahead of him.
Only when he was out of London and leaving the houses behind him did the Duke begin to wonder again, as he had when he had received the letter last night, why Her Majesty Queen Victoria had asked for him.
He had been at Windsor Castle only a week ago, as he had been running two of his best racehorses at Ascot.
Out of politeness he had called on Her Majesty and she had been delighted to see him.
Yet, after they had talked on various subjects, she had not appeared to want him to do anything at all special for her.
Therefore this sudden summons to come as soon as possible to Windsor Castle had been a surprise.
He was always welcome there because Her Majesty liked to have young and handsome men around her and the Duke in particular was one of her favourites.
But he had the feeling when he read the letter Her Majesty’s secretary had written to him that she was going to ask him to undertake a special task for her.
What it could be he had no idea, but he decided it was a waste of time to speculate.
So he concentrated on driving his horses once they were out of the London traffic more quickly than he had ever driven before.
‘Oswald was right,’ he told himself, ‘when he said these were the best horseflesh he had ever possessed. I am sure he will miss them.’
He could understand that his friend Lord Longlow had been reluctant to part with such an outstanding team and the Duke had felt it was almost cruel to take them from him.
But he had learnt that Lord Longlow’s eldest son had run up a huge gambling debt and it was a question of parting either with the horses or with some of his collection of pictures and these he prized even more than his stable.
He had asked a considerable sum for the horses because he needed the money and the Duke had paid him willingly – not only because what he was now buying was exceptional but because he was fond of their owner and was glad to help him.
He thought that his son had behaved disgracefully and not for the first time.
It merely made him repeat what he had said so often, not just to himself but aloud, that he was glad he was not married.
‘I have no intention of marrying,’ he told himself now as the horses were moving even faster, ‘and it will be no use Grandmama, when she comes to stay tomorrow, wasting so much time, when we might be talking about the past, begging me to take a wife.’
He was now twenty-seven and his family had a long time ago decided it was essential that he should marry and provide an heir to his ancient title, his vast estates and his incredibly valuable possessions.
The Duke had been an only son and there was no near relative to inherit.
Yet, although he had no intention of dying if he could help it, the family invariably behaved as if he would soon pass away and there would be no one to take his place, or rather, as they thought of it – ‘his throne’.
Of course the Head of the Family, and it was quite a large one, was of tremendous stature.
The Sherbournes had played a significant role in the history of England ever since the reign of Henry I.
The Duke assured them all that he had no intention of dying for the time being and equally he had no intention of marrying.
He had no wish to be tied down to one woman, as he expressed it so vividly, and he wished to enjoy himself and continue to play the field.
It was not at all surprising that quite a number of beautiful women had already lost their hearts to the Duke.
And he had said to his grandmother the last time she had stayed with him that he had no intention yet of settling down and he would not take a wife until he met the right person.
“How can you talk like that, dearest David?” his grandmother had asked. “From what I hear, every young unmarried girl in London is at your feet.”
“If you said, ‘is gazing at my strawberry leaves’, you would be more correct,” the Duke replied sarcastically. “As you know, Grandmama, the ambition of every young girl is to be a Duchess.”
He paused before he added sharply,
“But I have no intention of marrying some giggling little debutante who wants to capture me as a prize with which to impress her contemporaries!”
“Really, David, you do talk nonsense. Of course women want to marry you for yourself and not entirely for your title.”
The Duke forced himself not to interrupt as she battled on,
“At the same time, if a girl is really beautiful, as your mother was and comes from a reasonably suitable family, it is exactly who you require in a wife and we will welcome her with open arms.”
“I realise that, but as you well know, Grandmama, I find it difficult to be attached to one woman for any length of time.”
He saw that she was about to argue with him and so he carried on hastily,
“Shall I say that I enjoy the pursuit, in the same way as I enjoy watching one of my horses race. But once it has passed the winning post, then I begin to think of what will be the next race to interest me.”
His grandmother looked exasperated.
“You know as well as I do, dearest, that you have to marry someone. I do think it is time you took life more seriously and more important than anything else provide us with an heir to the Dukedom.”
“I quite understand what you want, Grandmama, but remember that it is I who will have to live with the much acclaimed Duchess!”
He sighed.
“I find that women after only a short acquaintance invariably repeat themselves endlessly and tell me stories I have heard before. Then, although I know I should not say it, frankly they become unspeakably boring.”
His grandmother had flung up her hands.
“Really, David, you are impossible! How can you have been bored with Lady Emma who was, I thought, one of the loveliest girls I have ever seen?”
“I agree with you there, but apart from her beauty she has nothing to say and the last time I dined with her I yawned the hours away.”
He wanted to make his grandmother laugh, but she just wrinkled her nose.
“You are really impossible, David,” she repeated. “The trouble is that you are regrettably far too clever for the average woman, but it is essential for you to be married even if you don’t settle down.”
The Duke did not continue the conversation, simply because he had heard it so often and found it tedious.
Instead he insisted on taking his grandmother to see the latest objects he had collected on a journey to Africa and she had to admit they were unusual and interesting additions to his other treasures.
- Writer
