This year sees the start of a six books series about the Duke of Silchester and his five siblings. The first book – The Duke's Alliance, A Suitable Bride will be published on 15th January and the second follows in the summer.
Silchester Court
Hertfordshire
1812
Beaumont Edward
Peregrine Sheldon, seventh Duke of Silchester, had known from his birth that he
would one day take over the position of head of the family, so becoming a duke
was not a shock to him. However, finding the family coffers almost empty was
another matter entirely.
His father had been in his fifties and one
might have expected him to live for another twenty years at least, but he’d
taken a tumble down the stairs when in his cups and broken his neck. The
drinking had become an issue since Mama had died from the influenza five years
ago and it was a miracle the duke hadn’t met a similar end before this.
Beau shuffled the
pile of papers in front of him and put them down with a sigh. His siblings
would be horrified when he told them the parlous state of the Silchester
finances. He couldn’t put it off any longer – they would be together in the
butterfly drawing room, so-called because of the hand-painted wallpaper, and he
had no option but to give them the bad news.
There was no need
for him to take the documents with him, the miserable contents were etched on
his brain. He strode from the study, down the long corridor that bisected the
house, and headed for the chamber in which his family were waiting. Bennett,
who had now become heir to the dukedom, would be sitting with the twins, Aubrey
and Peregrine. His sisters, Madeline and Giselle would no doubt be perusing the
latest fashion plates from London.
There were no
footmen lurking about ready to open and close doors at Silchester as he
preferred to stand on as little ceremony as possible when only the family was
in residence. He stopped in the doorway and surveyed the room.
Bennett, at eight
and twenty, was two years his junior. His brother was staring morosely out of
the window no doubt regretting that he couldn’t return to his regiment. They
looked around, but none of them smiled. Despite his decline into a drunk they
had been fond of Papa and his loss was still deeply felt.
‘I’ve had time to
go through the documents that arrived from London yesterday. I wish to tell you
what I discovered.’
The girls put down
their journals, the twins put down their cards and Bennett turned and strolled
over to join the group in front of the fire. ‘Well, tell us the worst. From
your expression I gather the news isn’t good.’
‘Bennett, your
assessment is correct. The estates are returning sufficient to keep Silchester
Court running smoothly, however, unless we get a large input of cash from
somewhere I’ll not be able to open the London house for the Season next year.’
‘The anniversary
of our father’s death is not until December – we can’t come out of mourning
until then anyway,’ Madeline said. ‘I’m in no hurry to be paraded like a horse
in front of suitable husbands. What about you Giselle?’
The younger girl
smiled. ‘I prefer to be in the country as you know, so the longer it is to my
debut the happier I shall be.’
Bennett laughed.
‘There you are, Beau, nobody wants to go to London. As for a large injection of
cash, I can think of only one way that would be acceptable.’
His brother had
their full attention now. ‘Well, enlighten us,’ Peregrine said whilst
attempting to take a surreptitious look at his brother’s hand. Without looking
in his direction Aubrey snatched his cards away.
‘I shall find
myself an heiress – one of us must become leg-shackled and start filling their
nursery. As I’ve been obliged to resign my commission, I’ll be the one to sacrifice
himself. I’m sure there are plenty of debutantes who would be delighted to
marry into such an illustrious family.’
‘A noble thought,
brother, but not necessary. Mama was most insistent that we all married for
love, that duty must come second.’
‘You’re
practically in your dotage, Beau, and have still not met the girl of your
dreams – neither have Perry, Aubrey or I. Devil take it, man, you’re one and
thirty next anniversary and most men in your position would already have an
heir or two to secure the succession.’ Bennett looked at each one of them in
turn before continuing. ‘Therefore, I’ll bite the bullet for you. There’s no
need to open Silchester House as I’ll take lodgings in Albemarle Street.’
There was nothing
any of them could say to dissuade him from his course. Beau came up with an
alternative solution to his brother attending the London season on his own.
‘I shall host a
house party this summer. I’m sure between us we can come up with a dozen or so
families with eligible daughters and we shall invite them all here. It will be
perfectly acceptable to entertain at home so don’t raise your eyebrows at me,
Madeline.’
‘I shall bow to
your superior knowledge, sir, but whatever anyone else does, I shall not go
into colours but wear lavender and lilac.’
Giselle giggled.
‘You only want to do that so you can order a new wardrobe, I’m quite happy to
continue to wear whatever my maid puts out for me each day. I require no new
clothes.’
He left them
amiably bickering and drew Bennett to one side where they could speak without
being overheard. ‘I’m not happy with your decision, but accept I cannot change
your mind. However, you must give me your word you’ll not offer for a young
lady who will bore you within a month. You are a military man, used to giving
orders and making life and death decisions…’
‘You’re telling me
something I already know – what is this to do with finding myself a suitable
bride?’
‘If you must marry
then you have to select an intelligent girl, someone who can be your companion,
share your interests.’
‘If you can find
me a young lady who loves to ride, prefers to be outside and has no wish to
attend balls and parties and also has a magnificent dowry – then I’ll marry her
immediately.’
‘She must also
have an impeccable pedigree and not be bracket-faced.’
His brother
smiled. ‘I shall go at once to the study and draw up my list of requirements.
I’m sure your man of affairs will be able to root out all the girls on the
market this season.’
Madeline strolled
over to join them and overheard this last remark. ‘There’s one snag to your
brilliant scheme, brothers, the most eligible debutantes will already be spoken
for and those that are left will not be diamonds of the first water.’
Bennett shrugged.
‘Even better, those young ladies who have been overlooked will be all the more
eager to accept an offer from me. My estate brings in more than sufficient
revenue to provide for a wife and family. I don’t consider myself a wealthy
man, but my income combined with my title should be enough to find me what I
want.’
No comments:
Post a Comment