A Principle of Honour

Chapter 23

'Oh, Harry,' Lady Harrington replied anxiously, 'do not say that. If the Duke thinks it is safe, then it must be safe.' Lord Harrington did not respond; he just motioned to the footman to refill his coffee cup. 'I have heard that tonight, the Gordon Highlanders are to dance Scottish reels as entertainment.' She then added, 'I do not know how her grace manages to organise such lavish entertainments. We are all aware that the family came over to Brussels to save money after their disastrous time in Ireland.'

'No doubt, she used her family connections,' Lord Harrington said, 'remember, her father was the Duke of Gordon.'

'And where is she going to host this grand affair. Their villa is on the Rue des Blanchisserie,' she said with disdain, 'and the actual villa is quite small, certainly not big enough. I have heard that she has invited over two hundred and fifty people.'

'Do not worry about her grace,' Lord Harrington said, 'if anyone is capable of organising a grand social event, in difficult circumstances, it is her.'

Later that evening Lady Harrington knocked on the door of Verity's bedchamber. 'May I come in?' she said as she peered around the door.

'Of course, Lady Harrington.'

'Oh, my dear, you look lovely,' Lady Harrington said as she slowly entered the room. 'The colour suits your complexion perfectly.

For the first time, Verity was wearing her new ball gown, the one that had been specially made for her by Lady Harrington's mantua-maker. The silk sage green dress had a fashionably high waist, and the bodice was decorated with intricate gold embroidery and inlaid with tiny sea pearls. The skirt was quite plain and worn over a sarsnet chemise. The neckline dipped down at the front, but it was not too low, and Verity did not feel embarrassed wearing it. Around her neck, she wore a single pearl drop necklace, and on her earlobes, she wore a matching pair of earrings.

'I am happy to see that you are wearing your mother's necklace and earrings,' Lady Harrington said as she walked over to Verity. 'I know I initially lent them to you, but I would like you to keep them.'

'I could not,' Verity said in reply, 'they are far too expensive.'

'My dear,' Lady Harrington said, 'your mother gave them to me for my eighteenth birthday. I never get the chance to wear them now. It is a shame to keep such lovely pearls locked up away from the world.'

'What about your daughters?' Verity said, 'would it not be better to gift the pearls to them.'

'My daughters,' she said with an air of disdain, 'only wear expensive, gaudy jewellery. They would turn their noses up at them. I want them to go to someone who will appreciate them.' She looked at Verity and put her hand on her arm. 'I want you to have something that once belonged to your mother. Over the years, I have given my daughters plenty of expensive gifts; they need no more. And, I believe every woman should have something that once belonged to their mother. I would like you to have these to remind you of the woman she was when I was her friend.'

'Thank you,' Verity said as she embraced Lady Harrington. They both had tears in their eyes. 'I will always treasure them. And when I wear them, I will think of my mother and her generous best friend.'

'Come, my dear,' Lady Harrington said as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, 'we will only make our eyes red and our cheeks blotchy. Then I will never be able to look her grace in the face again,' she said as she smiled at Verity, 'come, let us go downstairs and find his lordship.'

The road leading to the Richmond's, in the Rue des Blanchisserie, was crowded with carriages filled with smartly dressed ladies and gentlemen eager to arrive for the evening's entertainment. Lady Harrington was becoming a little impatient with the delay and was once more critical of her host. 'We have been at a standstill for nearly ten minutes,' Lady Harrington said impatiently. 'This queue of carriages is far too long. You would have thought that they would have had more servants out here organising them.'