Chapter Nineteen
Not entirely sure how her mother would act at the dinner with both sets of parents, Harriet’s stomach flipped.
She hoped it would be the softer, quieter side, and not the obnoxious persona.
Her thoughts ran in a hundred different directions as she and Lucien returned to London.
Her husband was sitting next to her sound asleep.
She tried not to move so as to disturb him.
The day after tomorrow they would head to the coast to board a ship heading to Calais, where they would begin their wedding journey. She was excited having only been to Paris. This time, without her parents, Paris promised to be a special visit.
She felt her eyelids growing heavy. It wasn’t a long journey back to London, but it could be tedious. Deciding she needed to rest she let sleep take over. It had been a time since she’d traveled and wasn’t sure what was in store for her when they boarded the ship.
That was the last thing she remembered until she felt Lucien’s hand stroking her cheek, gently trying to wake her. She opened her eyes and was aware they were near London. Buildings were more frequent, trees were still plentiful; it wasn’t the same as farther out.
“Are you awake?” a deep baritone inquired. She loved the sound of Lucien’s voice. It was so masculine and with authority.
“Yes, getting there,” she replied.
“We made good time. There wasn’t as much of the usual traffic of merchants and such.”
“Do you have trouble sleeping on a ship?” Harriet asked her husband.
“No, but then I can pretty much sleep anywhere,” he snorted.
“So I’ve noticed,” she replied trying desperately not to smile. “I wish I had that gift.”
The sky seemed to look as though it was darkening. If a storm must pass through Harriet hoped it would do just that—pass through. A storm staying around would mean a longer and slower journey to Dover. Even coming through at night meant muddier, slicker roads.
“Perhaps this journey will change all that,” Lucien said.
“We’ll see. Sleeping in strange places has never been easy for me.”
“You seemed to sleep quite well in the country.”
“Perhaps because someone kept me awake for late hours on end,” she replied with a grin.
“Who is this scoundrel?” Lucien asked with a most serious look on his face.
Harriet giggled. “I have no idea as he only comes at night.”
“I’ll have to be more vigilant in the future.”
Looking out the carriage window, Harriet recognized in a second where they were. They’d arrived home. “We have arrived,” she said as the carriage ground to a halt.
The door opened and the steps were put in place. Lucien, not wanting anyone except himself to help his wife out of the carriage, rushed out and extended his hand to Harriet. She flashed him a smile as she stepped down.
Once she stepped down, Lucien patted her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. They began to walk forward, towards the house. In the grand entrance, Lucien removed his great coat, gloves, and hat and handed them to a waiting footman.
Harriet walked across the marble flooring and to the stairs with Lucien following her. In no time, they were in the sitting room of their suite. The fire made it warm and inviting. Harriet pulled off her gloves and removed her boots.
“I’m going to find Rex to get my things ready while I’m taking a bath,” she said.
“Very well. I’m going to change as well,” he replied. He neared and gave Harriet a firm kiss on the lips before she smiled, turned, and began walking to the bed chamber and bath.
Harriet found Rex in the dressing room fussing with a deep-sapphire gown. “If you’d help me get out of this, I can go take a bath.”
“Yes, of course, my lady.”
Harriet stepped into the bathtub moments later.
The water had been perfumed with a vanilla-and-orange scent.
Sitting back in the tub, she closed her eyes.
She was surprised her thoughts hadn’t gone to her mother and issues.
Instead, she found herself with thoughts about the ship and their short voyage to Calais.
She was excited they were going. They may not have another chance for the foreseeable future if they didn’t go.
Picking up a bathing cloth, Harriet filled it with orange scented soap and began to clean herself.
As much as she wanted to lounge around and enjoy her bath, Harriet knew she must be ready for her parents’ arrival.
It would be her last time seeing them for a few months.
Her father had always been the one consistent parent.
How he put up with her mother for as long as he had was simply a mystery.
He deserved a medal for enduring her. Perhaps with herself and Lucien being away, it might help her mother focus on other things that interested her.
She called out for Rex who immediately entered the bathing chamber quickly and helped her step out of the bath, handing her a nice fluffy towel to warm and dry herself. It felt good and she wrapped it around her once she finished. The hard part was done.
Once Harriet was dressed and ready, she found herself in their sitting room. Lucien was sitting in front of the fire with a glass of spirits in his hand. He turned, hearing her footfalls across the wood floor.
“Are we late?” she asked as she neared.
“You look breathtaking, my love. And to answer your question, no, we’re not late.”
He swallowed the remainder of his drink and put the glass on the mantel. Walking to her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard. “The color of that gown is meant for you.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Shall we get started downstairs?”
“Yes.”
They slowly walked downstairs to the drawing room. When they arrived, a footman opened the door. Inside both sets of parents were seated near the fire. The men drank an amber liquid Harriet assumed was whiskey, while the two mothers each drank a glass of wine.
Upon seeing her so close, Harriet’s mother was the first to acknowledge them. “My dear child. You look radiant. I would have never thought that shade of blue would look so good on you.”
“Thank you,” Harriet replied.
She accepted a glass of claret from Lucien before sitting in a cream-colored damask chair. Lucien took the chair next to hers. He wanted to be near in case her mother’s conversation and questions got too out of hand.
“Are you ready to leave for the Continent?” Harriet’s father asked Lucien.
Lucien nodded. “Yes, sir, we leave tomorrow morning, and the ship is scheduled to depart Dover the next day.”
“It’s the perfect time to go,” the duchess said.
“Yes, it is,” Lucien replied to his mother’s comment.
“Where all are you going?” Harriet’s mother asked.
“Paris, of course. Vienna, Brussels, Italy. We’re going to go to Provence after we leave Italy,” Harriet replied.
She glanced at Lucien for support. He slightly nodded his head to let her know she’d done well.
Her mother wasn’t easy to speak to on anything but the societal gossip and things.
Women, especially young women, weren’t supposed to know the ways of the world—at least according to her mother.
“You have a great-aunt who lives in Provence,” her mother said. “She married a Frenchman and has lived there all her adult life.”
Luckily for Harriet the butler chose that moment to announce dinner.
Everyone rose from their seats and walked to the dining room.
Lucien sat next to her mother, while Harriet was seated next to Lucien’s mother.
Harriet could tell by watching her mother that she’d much rather be seated next to her daughter rather than her new son-in-law.
She was sure the duchess did it on purpose, and with what society dictated her mother knew not to question the choice.
Dinner began, wine was poured, and the first course was brought out.
Harriet was grateful not to have to carry on a conversation with her mother.
She was getting ready to leave on holiday with her husband and didn’t need her mother to ruin it by trying to make her feel guilty. That wasn’t happening.
Conversation at the table consisted mainly of things they needed to see while on the Continent.
There was so much to see that Harriet figured she and Lucien would have to spend more than a year there.
That meant not spending any quality time in any one spot and she didn’t want that.
They would have to make more than one holiday there to be able to see each and every attraction.
Looking across the table at her husband, she noted he was engaged in what appeared to be a serious conversation with her mother. She imagined she was merely trying to get to know her new son-in-law better. Then again, her mother’s tone often came across a different way than how it was intended.
Her mother-in-law, the duchess spoke to her, dragging her attention back to where it should be.
“I’ll give you the names of some dressmakers and other places I’ve purchased or ordered from in Paris.
In fact, I’ll send a missive to my favorite dressmaker and let her know you’ll be reaching out to her.
She always has some remarkable gowns already made up you can look at if you don’t have time for a new commission. ”
“Thank you. That will be a tremendous help,” Harriet replied.
The main course was served. Scottish salmon in a dill sauce.
The fish had been poached, and the sauce made the flavor of the salmon pop.
The duchess had a remarkable cook, and Harriet hoped the one she had in the country was as good as this one.
Lucien had inherited the staff when he purchased the estate, which he thought to be a lifesaver because hiring an entire new staff would have been a huge task.
This way, everyone already knew the house and how it ran.
“The salmon is delicious,” Harriet said to the duchess.
“It’s one of Lucien’s favorite meals. He loves Scottish salmon,” she replied.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“He also enjoys a good roast. Beef, of course, and on the rare side.”
“I do know that. He enjoys it with roasted potatoes,” Harriet replied.
Smiling demurely at her husband across the table.
Her mother had him engaged in some sort of discussion and when he was able to glance in Harriet’s direction it was with an eye roll.
Maybe now Lucien would better understand why she reacted to her mother as she did.
That she wasn’t overreacting or imagining her mother’s actions.
As the meal finished, the three men stayed behind for port and cigars while the ladies retired to the drawing room for tea and dessert.
The duchess poured tea for them and encouraged the marmalade cake be eaten.
As Harriet picked up a slice of cake, she heard her mother clearing her throat.
A reminder she didn’t need a slice. Harriet chose to ignore her and picked up a fork and plate and placed it on a table in front of her.
Next, she sat down with a cup of tea and waited for the two older women to do the same.
Everyone engaged in small talk at first. That was fine because Harriet didn’t feel like listening to her mother give opinions on broader subjects. Once she got started, it was almost impossible to stop her.
“Have you spoken to Lucien about how long you’re going to be on the Continent?” her mother asked.
Harriet set her tea down and instead picked up the cake. “I know we’ve discussed this before, Mother. We’ll be there for at least two months. There’s no way to see all we want to do in any less time. It would be nearly impossible.”
“Personally, I would cut the time in half and go back later for the second half.”
“Lucien’s afraid if we did something like that, we might not have a chance to go back for a long time. Life would get in the way, so we’re doing it now.”
Her mother stayed silent. Lucien’s mother had been quiet, observing mother and daughter.
“You should see an opera either in Italy or France. It’s not the same as what comes to London,” the duchess said.
“Lucien mentioned that. I had no idea he was keen on opera.”
“Only the performances found on the Continent,” she replied. “He also likes music.”
“I hope you remember your French, because it is hard to find people speaking English,” her mother blurted out.
“Lucien says Paris has more English speakers than farther out in the country,” Harriet replied.
“That’s true with most of the Continent. The larger cities have more visitors; thus, their people learn a second language and sometimes English is taught in school,” Her Grace said.
Harriet stood and poured herself another cup of tea, refreshing the two older women’s cups before she sat back down.
“How is your sister?” her mother asked the duchess.
“She’s about the same. First, she’ll seem to improve and next you know she’s sleeping a lot and not responding to anyone.”
Harriet shook her head. “That is so heartbreaking to hear.”
“I plan to go relieve my sister in a few days. Stay a week or two like the last time,” the duchess said.
“At least the two of you aren’t too far apart,” Harriet’s mother said.
“True. Her husband has a couple of new doctors coming to see her. Perhaps with that they’ll be able to give us a better understanding of what she has.”
“That’s smart. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to look things over,” Harriet replied.
“I agree. My sister said she took her outside on one of her more lucid days and the sun and breeze seemed to be just what she needed.”
“There’s a lot to be said about going outdoors,” Harriet’s mother said.
“Yes, they open the windows in her room and let it air out. That helps.”
At that moment the men rejoined the ladies. Harriet noted that her husband had that look on his face. One that no one else would be able to read, but she knew him well enough now she knew a lot of what was going on with him. Smug.
She was attempting to figure out his mood when the duke, Lucien’s father, suggested cards, but Harriet’s father declined due to the late hour. She was glad her father had an escape and glanced at her mother; she was not too happy with having to leave. Late or not.
As they were saying their goodbyes, she felt Lucien draw closer. She felt his hand on the small of her back. Her mother was having a hard time of it, but Harriet wasn’t sure why.
After they left, the two couples said good night and Lucien and Harriet made their way upstairs to their suite.
Tomorrow would be an extremely busy day and require them rising earlier than usual.
They would be traveling most of the day to get to Dover and the ship that awaited to take them across the channel and to France.