This Duchess of Mine(22)

Louise managed a good show of indifference. Of course, half of London knew that Jemma frequented the establishment of Madame Montesquieu, on Bond Street.

“I do hope to meet you again soon, Marquise,” Jemma said blithely. “We go to Vauxhall tomorrow night…well, I believe I’ve never seen you there. Do you not care for it?”

“In fact, I had long planned to pay it a visit,” the marquise said. “Does one not wear a domino there?”

“Always.”

“Then no one would note my odious clothing,” Louise said with a marked snap. “I look forward to it.”

Rather than curtsy, Jemma delivered the coup de grâce. She held out her hand to be kissed.

Of course Louise bent her head over her hand with utmost grace. But her eyes swore revenge. Jemma left smiling.

She couldn’t control everything. She couldn’t control her husband’s erratic heart. Elijah was important to the government and she was important to no one.

But she had her own rather particular skills.





Chapter Six




On the way back from the marquise’s house, Jemma remembered that she had one problem left to solve in Francesch Vicent’s 100 Chess Problems. She handed her pelisse to Fowle and headed directly for the library and her chessboard.

“Your Grace,” the butler said. “You have callers.”

But Jemma was already living inside the game. “I can’t talk now, Fowle. I’ll just be in the library for a bit.”

“Your gloves,” the butler said, a wry smile in his eyes.

“Oh,” Jemma said, pulling them off.

“The Duke of Villiers awaits,” Fowle said, to her back.

She turned about, feeling a pulse of extreme annoyance. “Villiers is here? What on earth is he doing here?”

“The duke paid you a call,” Fowle said. “Since the drawing room had a number of ladies waiting in it—and they are still there—he requested to be placed in the library. In front of the chess set.”

“Ah,” Jemma said, smiling. “I think those callers had better take themselves off, Fowle.” She paused for a moment. “Do they know of Villiers’s visit?”

“I believe not.”

“Excellent!” She turned to the library. “I am suffering from a terrible headache, Fowle. Do give my apologies to all my visitors. And you might bring a light luncheon in an hour or so.”

As she walked into the room, the Duke of Villiers rose from the chessboard. Villiers was an odd mix of fashionable and its opposite. He disdained the mania for wigs, wearing his hair tied back in a ribbon, unpowdered of course. And yet he dressed as magnificently as she did.

In some ways, Villiers was the opposite of Elijah. He had none of Elijah’s startling beauty: his face was too rough to be courtly, and his eyes too cold to be alluring. He cared nothing for the world’s opinion, let alone its salvation. He had never taken up his seat in the House of Lords; as far as Jemma knew, his sole passion was the one she shared: chess.

Jemma actually felt a pulse of envy at the sight of his coat, an emotion rarely inspired by men’s attire.

“You’ve outdone yourself, Villiers,” she said, by way of greeting. “Cream silk with interlocking chains in cherry embroidery. I’ve never heard of such a coat. No, I’ve never dreamed of such a coat.”

Villiers fell into a bow as magnificent as his garment. “I dreamed of it, though my tailor complained. It seems he feared I might become besmirched by dirt or spotted by rain.”

She laughed. “Rain would not dare spot His Grace, the Duke of Villiers?”

“Dirt is something that happens to others,” he said, with that wicked laughter in his eyes. “Like sin and bankruptcy.”

“Alas, if you hope to avoid the blemish of sin,” Jemma said, sitting down before the chessboard, “I am not the one to give you an education.”

“But that is one of the things I love about you,” he said amiably. “The only thing I am certain about is the art of dress. Since you dress exquisitely on your own, I need not bother with advice. I do like your wig this morning.”

“Delicious,” Jemma agreed. She was wondering whether to speak to him of Elijah’s heart. Better not. She might cry, a truly horrific thought.

She began swiftly rearranging the chess pieces. “The last time I spoke to you, Villiers, you flatly refused to play with me. I hope that your current position opposite me indicates that you have revoked your ban on the game?”

“Your husband tells me that you have decided to forfeit the final game in our match,” he said, sighing.

Jemma looked up quickly. “You discussed our match with Elijah?”