The Devil is The Duke

For fear of going out to meet her husband in bed, Emeera took the longest bath she had ever had in the manor. She thought of Nancy’s engagement and wondered if Nancy would have to tolerate the women who lunch too. It was Nancy’s worst nightmare. But Emeera knew even if Nancy joined the meetings, all attention would still be on herself and not only because she was the new duchess. She was also the child of nobody with a doubtful ancestry. Her mother was not lady Athelstan who held sway over the women’s meetings. Nobody will openly speak against Nancy Athelstan no matter what. But Emeera? That would be a different story, whether she joined the meetings or not.

But she also knew joining would be better than staying out. She may be young but she was the Duchess of Savoy, the highest titled female in the land. She was married to the Duke, the ruler of Savoy and second only to the King. Not showing up for the women groups will give rise to ugly rumours like the duke was ashamed of his lowly bride. Maybe the civilized world had seen many breakthroughs, in fact, the world even used telephones and cars but Savoy was still Savoy – a country Duchy with townspeople who knew everything about everyone.

This was not America where people minded their business in factories and everyone – except the blacks, were equal. This was Savoy where class still existed and nobles were not expected to marry down. Emeera straightened her shoulders. She was not going to hide before them. She was going to be in their faces and rule beside Albert, Duke of Savoy and not even Albert could stop her. She was after all, the duchess.

That night, lady Athelstan was on the telephone with Baroness Rhodes, her best friend. The Baroness was the worst gossip in Savoy. She was the one who started the ugly rumours about the duke having intercourse with Viscountess Bentham and her daughters. When she was finally confronted by the Viscountess, she denied with tears in her eyes. Now she was talking about Emeera and the duke.

“Why do you think the duke married so quickly?” Lady Athelstan asked her friend. “I am certainly surprised at this dishonourable match. I have always known Emeera to be a gold digger but if the duke could survive a scarlet woman like Kate De Luca even when she clearly had her designs on him, this child should have been an easier one to dismiss.”

Baroness Rhodes laughed. “Do you still need me to tell you at your age that the innocent looking sorts are the worst? I know things about that girl that will make your skin crawl with disgust. Do you know she had eyes on Lord Athelstan?”

“My husband?” Lady Athelstan asked, petrified.

“How many Lord Athelstans do you know?”

“What?!!” Lady Athelstan’s voice rang out.

“That is why I always smile whenever I see her being welcomed grandly into your home. An Arabian fugitive with no known parents became your ward just by becoming your daughter’s best friend, thereby crawling her way into Savoy’s highest society. What exactly do we know about the girl who mysteriously appeared in our lives some years ago?? Next thing she pinned her disgraceful pregnancy on the duke and forced the honourable man to propose to her. If she had any honour in her, when the duke offered her marriage and security, she would have said no.”

If the situation was not so serious, lady Athelstan would have laughed at the Baroness calling the duke honourable. The same Baroness who regularly called the Duke a rogue, a sexual deviant, a duke with no honour or fear of God. Was that the same man she dubbed honourable just because she wanted to slash Emeera to shreds? The Duke was the innocent angel who had been seduced by Delilah the devil.

“Pregnant? The girl is pregnant?” Lady Athelstan asked. Gossiping with the Baroness always left Lady Athelstan dazed because the woman could drop many shocking pieces of information in the middle of casual lines like they were nothing.

“You did not know? Of course she is pregnant! That’s why she is in hiding. She claims she is still in honeymoon but I heard he avoids her scheming self ever since he married her. Nancy did not tell you these things?” Baroness Rhodes asked and paused to gulp for breath. Lady Athelstan feared the woman would faint for not breathing in between all her gossip.

“Nancy does not talk about anything with me,” Lady Athelstan said with a voice laden with sadness. “She acts like talking to me is evil.”

“Let her just be careful with the desperate girl she took in as friend. Who would have believed that girl would fight her way into the highest position in these parts? Anyway, since she is hiding, we will have to officially inform her of our group and ask her to attend some women’s meetings. That will even give you the opportunity to see her pregnant body for yourself,” Baroness Rhodes said.

“Definitely. If she is indeed pregnant, I would like to see for myself.’

“She certainly is pregnant. What else do you think is powerful enough to rope a rake like the duke into matrimony?” Lady Athelstan did not remind her that just seconds ago, she said the duke was a honourable man.

The women talked for some minutes more before they hung up. Lady Athelstan decided there she wanted to see the new bride herself. Honeymoon be damned. What did a tainted girl need honeymoon for anyway? There was no need to act bashful if she was already with child before the wedding.

That weekend, the noble women went to the manor. It was their first time at the manor since the night of the ball. While they waited in the drawing room, Emeera carefully dressed and applied her makeup. She was going to make them wait until she was ready to meet with them. After twenty minutes of waiting, the women grew impatient but as well mannered ladies they smiled and waited. There were murmurs that if the girl was well-raised, she would have known it was rude to keep her guests waiting for that long.

And then, as if she heard them, Emeera appeared at the door. “Ladies of Savoy, welcome to my beloved home. I am grateful you all came to welcome me and even waited for me to finish my toilette.”

There are two kinds of speakers in the world. Those who raise their voices in order to be heard and those who keep theirs authoritative but low, so everyone has to observe absolute silence and even hold their breaths in order to grasp a word falling from the lips of the person whose speech held the place spellbound. Emeera belonged in the second category. Her voice was the lowest in the room, forcing even the grudging Lady Athelstan to pay attention.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Do make yourselves comfortable and ask the servants for anything you may need. I heard you wanted to talk to me about something….” Then she sat and the women looked at each other. Emeera was young in age but matured in authority. She was not the type they could easily intimidate. The only tan skin in the room but she dominated like it was her own. Indeed it was, but her confidence was surprising especially to those who had witnessed the altercation between Emeera and Kate De Luca at the ball.

The women murmured their thanks and sat. Emeera had sent home a silent message: “I am the Duchess of Savoy and mistress in my home. I rule over all I survey and I cannot be intimidated.” The women forgot about her pregnancy but focused on getting her to join their meetings. The girl was not going to hide her head in shame just because she got pregnant. She did not care. The world had surely come to an end.