Chapter 5
Leigh Chase, Leicestershire
Candles on the side table added to the dim light of morning. Still, Betts held the powder blue satin close to her face as she tacked the overskirt of snowflake sprinkled lace to the bodice. Over the objections of the Duke of Leigh—soon to be her brother-in-law--she was making her own wedding gown.
As the future bride of one of his nine brothers, he had already gifted her with a complete trousseau.
Trunks in which to carry said trousseau to her new home.
A maid to tend to her both here at Leigh Chase then at Yorkshire where she and Lord Tellus Leigh would live.
The duke had settled an annual income on her.
A far too large income, in her mind. He had housed herself, her brother, and two sisters for the past three months.
He would continue to pay for the governess and tutor who would journey to Yorkshire with them.
They only things the duke had not paid for were her new home—which had been in Tellus’ possession since birth—the honeymoon, and this dress.
She had purchased the satin herself. The snowflake lace had been a gift from her siblings, soon after they arrived at Leigh Chase this past September.
Tellus, who grieved Prescott’s loss nearly as much as she, had proposed in late October.
She’d thought about it for one week before accepting.
The banns were read in mid-November, and the date of the ceremony was set for December 25th.
From then on, the duke had made almost every decision regarding the wedding.
She hadn’t minded too much, save when it came to her dress.
That was when His Grace of Leigh learned just how stubborn Miss Elizabeth Feddleston could be.
It had been Tellus who finally convinced His Grace to yield on this one point.
She hadn’t wanted a winter wedding. The plan had always been for July. She would be married from her childhood home to Sir Prescott A. Drake on a warm summer day. A day that echoed in every way the warmth and easy comfort she felt with Prescott.
They’d made that decision on a July day years ago.
Prescott had driven up in a rented barouche drawn by four matched grays.
He was there to take Betts and her siblings on a picnic.
The carriage was spacious for four but crowded with five or more passengers.
After loading picnic trappings, her brother, two sisters as well as a maid and footman, no room was left for Betts.
She’d smiled at Prescott as he’d assisted her onto the driver’s perch. He’d grinned back. No words were needed to tell her the arrangement was deliberate. The drive would be entirely appropriate, but she and Prescott would have an opportunity to share some personal conversation.
They’d been engaged for all of three weeks. Prescott had visited nearly every day. On that sunny July day, he’d asked her when she wanted to marry.
“Today.” They’d both laughed. They had agreed not to wed until after Prescott sold his Captain’s commission. “Let us wed in July on a day so like today it would feel the same.” She’d explained.
“And how is it that today feels to you?” Prescott had asked.
“Like freedom.”
At that moment the breeze had attempted to steal her bonnet.
She’d neglected to tie the ribbons in her hurry to join her beloved.
Prescott performed an act of extreme dexterity. Reins all in one hand, he stood, and reached out with his free hand, snagging the end of one ribbon. Then he’d reeled in the bonnet and offered it to her as he sat.
She took it.
He resumed guiding the horses with both hands. What an excellent driver he was, she recalled.
The rest of the day had been the same. She and Prescott had played at hide and seek with the children. They’d stolen a kiss while waiting for her brother Phillip to find them.
He would have been a great father.
The food he’d brought was perfect and thoughtfully chosen with small hands in mind.
He would have been the perfect host.
However, Prescott was dead and gone. Tellus, a somewhat more sober and staid man would host parties with her, would father her children.
Try as she might she could not see Tellus at hide and seek.
Oh, he was kind to Phillip, Joy, and Grace.
He would never hurt them. He would teach Phillip how to manage estates, if that was what her brother wished.
He would see Joy and Grace well-prepared for their come out.
He would be generous and patient with her.
The one thing he could not do would be to replace Prescott.
Thank heaven Tellus understood. He’d said when proposing, “I do not want to supplant Prescott. I love him, not in the same way, but with the same depth of feeling as you. I hope that our marriage will bring us both comfort with our memories of a truly good man.”
That wisdom had played a great part in her decision to accept Tellus’ proposal.
That and knowing her siblings would never want or worry as she had for the past several years.
She’d accepted with her eyes open to the realities of marrying a man she called friend rather than beloved.
What she’d failed to consider was the consequence of marrying into one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most influential families in Britain.
She would live in comfort and ease beyond belief.
However, along with that comfort, came a degree of status and celebrity which she found far from comfortable.
Tellus and even the duke had assured her that her obligations as a Leigh would be minimal, but they wished her to be aware of what might be required, especially on State occasions.
She’d understood, and promised to do her duty.
’Twas the price she would pay, she’d told herself, to ensure her siblings’ futures.
A small price, compared to the sorrow she would carry for the rest of her life.