Despite having rehearsed together only once, Daphne, Edwina, Francesca and Kate gave out a splendid musical performance after supper. Daphne sang like an angel, Edwina played her bansuri flute beautifully, Francesca was obviously excellent in her skills with the piano forte and Kate herself was handy with the sitar. After three songs the guests had applauded and whistled ardently, thrilled by this mix between traditional English music and an exotic gust from India.
Unfortunately their performance had encouraged Miss Prudence Featherington to sing as well, despite everyone begging her not to, which had led to a horrible out of tune version of Greensleeves, while poor Francesca had desperately tried to keep some sort of rhythm together and Prudence had loudly wailed on, not listening to the piano at all. Penelope Featherington had looked like she would melt from shame at any moment and Lady Featherington forced on a proud smile, while scanning the crowd for possible, perhaps deaf, suitors. Anthony and Benedict had such a hard time keeping themselves together and not burst into resounding laughter that they had to leave the room and Kate herself was hurtfully obliged to put on an encouraging smile towards poor Prudence and an apologetic smile towards all their other guests. To make matters worse, Kate was now in a hurry to get ready for the ball. She rushed into her bedchambers as soon as Prudence had finished and ripped off her dress that she was going to change into a posher gown.
"Do you not have a lady's maid for that?" Anthony asked as he walked in and noticed Kate donning on her makeup in front of the mirror. He smirked at her wearing nothing but a corset and a petticoat where she sat, staring focused at her own reflection.
"I do, but I prefer doing it myself." She replied and continued to line her eyes, before remembering she still had to find some jewellery and jolted up from her seat.
"I met the Duke of Stanton earlier, he told me he had requested to rent Nectar from us for a year to his stud farm." Anthony said, as he was changing his attire into a more festive one.
"Yes, he did talk to me in the morning and I tried to find you all day, but I was constantly being attacked by some Featheringtons, Huffingtons and Puffingtons or La-la-la-la-lalingtons! And then that poor creature wanted to sing as well, and now I am terribly late in my preparations...!" Kate exclaimed as she rummaged through her belongings, trying to find the specific necklace she was looking for. Anthony laughed, grabbed her corset-clad waist and turned her around.
"Lady La-la-la-la-lalington, calm yourself." He smirked and kissed her. "I think it is a great idea to rent Nectar to the duke, I shall send word to our lawyer and make him draw up a contract at once. And do not fret about your preparations... We can take our time, the guests will wait and the ball will not start before we arrive." He assured, and kissed her again. Kate sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You are right, I should not be this stressed... But it is my first ball as a viscountess. I want to make an impression and make sure that everything is perfect." She muttered.
"You would make an impression wearing any jewellery and any dress, my love." Anthony smiled and caressed her lips with his thumb. "You are a perfect viscountess."
"Thank you..." Kate said with a faint smile and gave him a quick kiss. "But I do have to wear more than this corset." She stated, slipped away under his arms and fetched her gown that the servants had already laid out. It was a stunning sparkling white piece covered with thick and elaborate golden ornaments.
"Yes, well you would certainly make an impression if you wore only that." Anthony teased as Kate held her dress up against his chest, comparing it to his golden embroidered vest. It was a perfect match, Madame Delacroix had outdone herself once again.
"I certainly would..." Kate huffed and pulled the dress over her head. Anthony started to tie it up in her back without her even having to ask him. Having spent their honeymoon by themselves on the road, without any servants, Anthony had become accomplished in both untying and tying her dresses. "I believe we should take part at least in the cotillion, the quadrille and a waltz. Yes, we should definitely open with a waltz." Kate pondered and went back to her make-up desk as soon as Anthony was ready with her dress.
"I have already taken care of the first dance." Anthony smiled and went to fetch something else for the ball. Kate still had to finish with her hair and she had no idea which tiara she should wear. Having fastened the last locks that had run away from her elegant hairdo she put on her finest golden necklace with red rubies and compared which one of her two golden tiaras would match it the better. The other one was inlaid with orange spessartite gems and did not match the rubies completely, while the other one had yellow citrines, which also did not sit particularly well with the red gemstones.
"Dash it..." She cursed. Anthony was already fully dressed, wearing his black velvety tailcoat and looking absolutely stunning. He kneeled down next to Kate and offered her a large box beautifully wrapped with a burgundy bow. "What is this...?" Kate wondered.
"Well, it might not yet be our first wedding anniversary, but it is the anniversary of our first dance together... So, I wanted to give you a small token of that happy memory." Anthony smiled. Kate opened the box quickly and gasped when she finally saw its content.
"Darling...!" She breathed out as she cautiously picked up the flamingly golden ruby-inlaid tiara, which was so big that it almost could be considered as a crown. "This is far too much...!"
"No, it is not." Anthony declared, took the tiara from her hands and carefully placed it on her head. "It is quite suitable for a viscountess, who is also married into the royal family via her sister." He smiled. "And it suits you very well, especially with that necklace."
"It certainly does..." Kate sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked magnificent and felt truly noble wearing it. "But is it too big...? Do I look like some sort of sham queen?" She worried.
"No. You are my queen." Anthony smiled and gave her a lengthy kiss. "Come now, viscountess. You look absolutely amazing and our guests are waiting."
***
"Ah, here you are at last." Daphne sighed as Anthony and Kate finally arrived in the corridor on the second floor. "We were already getting a bit worried." She added, holding onto Simon's arm. The prince and Edwina were also waiting for them hand in hand.
"I am sorry, it took my wife some time to make her look this magnificent." Anthony smirked.
"You do look absolutely glorious, bon." Edwina smiled, not looking any worse herself, shining brightly like a true princess with all the diamonds in her crown, jewellery and dress.
"Thank you didi, and you look like the exquisite royalty you are, with your prince." Kate curtsied at them both with a broad smile. Friedrich nodded politely back at her.
"Shall we dance, or shall we stand her complementing each other all evening?" Daphne declared loudly and began to lead her husband towards the staircase.
"Yes, we shall dance!" Edwina laughed and grabbed Friedrich's arm. Kate inhaled sharply.
"Everything is going to go gallantly." Anthony assured her with a smile, grabbed his nervous wife softly by her neck and looked at her fondly. "Just keep your eyes on me, remember."
"Yes..." Kate gasped and took his arm, as she heard the announcer present 'The Duke and Duchess of Hastings!' and the crowd cheered on them as they were probably most graciously gliding down the stairs to the great ballroom of Aubrey Hall. Kate was sure she herself would get tangled up in her long dress, trip over and fall down on her face. Anthony cast one more encouraging smile at her as the announcer presented 'Princess Edwina and Prince Friedrich of Prussia!' and they were waiting for their turn to be up next.
Kate took a deep sigh, looked into Anthony's brown eyes and suddenly felt much calmer. Anthony walked her up to the balcony and the announcer beamed out 'And our generous hosts, Viscount and Viscountess Bridgerton!'. Kate felt like she could burst any moment from happiness and pride as the guests applauded while they were making their way down the stairs. The violins and cellos of the orchestra were booming and the abundant decorations were just as beautiful as she had imagined them to be in the big and vibrant ballroom. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her, both the admiring looks of the men and the utterly jealous ones of the both married and unmarried women. But she also recognized many genuinely happy faces, like the ones of her stepmother, Penelope Featherington, Lady Danbury, Eloise and of course Violet, who was already crying of joy and sentiment.
"They are all staring at us..." She whispered to Anthony as they finally made it down the last step.
"They are all staring at you, my love." He smiled as they took their position in the middle of the dancefloor. Simon and Daphne, Edwina and Friedrich were already waiting, standing on both sides of Kate and Anthony, while everyone else seemed to be holding their breath and waiting for them to open the ball. Kate sighed and waited excitedly for the orchestra to start. Then she gasped when they finally did and she immediately recognised the song.
"This is the same song we danced our first dance to...!" She breathed out with a broad smile as they made their first turns around each other in the very familiar dance.
"Of course it is." Anthony grinned as he softly pressed his hand against Kate's and walked around her. Kate could not stop herself from staring into his eyes, just like she had done a year ago in this very same room, but this time she was smiling brightly and so was Anthony. She glanced at Edwina and Daphne who looked as radiant and blissful with their husbands as she did. Daphne flashed a smile at her, she had obviously known about Anthony's surprise of choosing this song. But soon Daphne and the rest of the world around them started to fade away, like it always did when she was dancing with Anthony. As they got to the part where their hands were crossed with each other Kate reminisced about the feeling she had on the last time while dancing this same dance. They had just had their first risky encounter with her bee sting, then the hunt and finally their chance meeting in the library at night, where Anthony had revealed to her the horrid circumstances of his father's death and by doing so, also revealed a huge part of himself. Kate remembered how all her emotions had raged inside her like a stormy ocean, making it painfully clear that she craved this man more than she had ever done with anything else in her entire life.
And now he was her husband and the father of the child inside her, she thought, just as the dance entered the part where he was to hold her against himself quite tightly. This time it might have not been such a thrilling sensation as the first time she had found herself pressed against the man she had wrongfully judged to be her enemy, and not the object of all her deepest desires, but instead there was the familiar spark and an intimacy between them that only a loving husband and wife could share. Their bodies were not strange and dangerously invoking to each other anymore, now he knew every inch of her skin underneath her golden gown and she was familiar with every corner and crevice of his body underneath the many layers of his clothing. And that was far more than Kate could ever have dreamed of a year ago while she was rolling around in her bed alone at night, feeling Anthony's hot breath still burning against her lips and skin, and to her great horror constantly finding herself dreaming about how his naked body would feel against hers.
"I want you so badly right now..." Anthony whispered into her ear, like he had somehow been able to sense what she had been thinking about amidst their present dance.
"Anthony...!" Kate gasped in a hushed voice and turned around to face him with a smile just as the song ended. "Control yourself, Lord Bridgerton." She whispered with a smirk, perilously close to his face after she had politely curtsied as a thank-you for the dance and the guests were applauding. Other couples started to fill the dancefloor when the first tones of the next song filled the room.
"I do not have to control myself anymore, you are my wife." Anthony murmured with a mischievous smirk and kissed her passionately. An act, which was severely frowned upon amidst the ton, even between married couples, if it was not their wedding festivities taking place. And even then only a quick kiss was appropriate. A plump old lady standing close by glared at them with an exaggerated look of disdain, but Kate paid her no attention and kissed her husband back. The next song was a more spirited waltz and Kate was about to head out and fetch some lemonade, but Anthony grabbed her arm. "Oh no, I am not letting you off the hook so easily." He laughed and escorted her back to the dance floor.
Eloise Bridgerton was standing at the edge of the crowd, looking at her oldest brother and his wife participating in yet another dance, oozing of their evident love and passion for each other. A warm fuzzy feeling filled her as she saw them waltzing, spinning and circling around each other with broad smiles. She could not remember having ever seen such pure happiness shared between two people in her entire life, since she was too young to remember the times before her father's death, but she had a strong feeling her own parents had been this happy as well. Eloise took a deep sigh and wondered if she would ever look at someone the way Kate gazed at Anthony, or if someone would ever stare at her as audaciously, but fondly, as Anthony did at his wife. It must have been all those stupid and daring romance novels Kate had brought her yesterday that made her feel this way, Eloise thought, but could not stop herself thinking about how it would feel like to be on that dance floor with a certain Theo Sharpe. She would wear a pretty dress and actually feel good in it, he would wear his finest clothing and twirl around with her, not minding her stepping on his toes every now and then, because he would be so engulfed in staring deep into her eyes. She was sure that Kate would have allowed her to invite Theo to the ball. Anthony would obviously have refused it in his usual explosive way, but Kate could have persuaded him into acceptance.
Suddenly Eloise felt a tear running down from her stupidly painted eyes when she thought about these moments she could have shared with Theo and rushed outside into the garden before anyone would notice that she was crying. To her utter dismay she quickly noticed that she was not standing alone on the large stone terrace. Penelope was, naturally, hiding outside as well. Eloise immediately turned around to flee back inside, but it was too late, Penelope had already spotted her.
"Eloise, wait!" She exclaimed. "Please wait, I really wish to talk to you...!"
"There is nothing to talk about." Eloise hissed as she spun around to face Penelope. "I thought I made myself clear in the matter that I never wish to see or hear from you again."
"El –" Penelope started, but got interrupted.
"It is Miss Bridgerton, to you." Eloise snarled and Penelope fell silent for a moment.
"Is there truly nothing I can do to make things better between us...?" Penelope almost whispered, while tears started to roll down her cheeks.
"Yes, leave my family out of your ridiculous gossip-paper." Eloise said venomously, after quickly glancing around and making sure no-one could hear them.
"Of course, I would not even dream of writing anything bad about you, your family or this fine ball..." Penelope sniffed.
"To write anything bad about me, again, you mean." Eloise spat out.
"Eloise, please, I was just trying to save you from the Queen...!" Penelope cried.
"So you decided to ruin me yourself instead, what a great idea Penelope!" Eloise huffed in a mocking tone, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You ruined yourself by seeing... That boy, unchaperoned...!" Penelope protested.
"That boy had a name, his name was Theo Sharpe, and he was the first man I ever felt even the remotest hint of interest towards...!" Eloise screamed with restraint, trying to stay hushed enough so nobody would hear them. Luckily the music was loud inside.
"Your interest did not seem that remote to me!" Penelope pointed out sharply.
"No, it was not, it was intimate, and it was wonderful!" Eloise declared, with tears starting to rush from her eyes as well. "You ruined everything, Pen! You ruined my chances with Theo, you ruined the life that I could have had with him...!!" Eloise cried out, surprising even herself with the dreams of a future with Theo she had clearly harboured deep inside of her, but not realised completely until this very instant.
"There never was any chance for you two to have a life together! Eloise, you are a member of the ton and he is just a book printer's apprentice!" Penelope argued.
"He would have started his own business one day! And I do not give a rat's ass whether I am a member of the ton or not!! My older sister is already duchess and I am sure my younger sisters will happily marry some boring barons! I could have pursued a life with him!" Eloise shrieked, while that truth sank into herself as well. She could have, but not anymore. "You simply wanted to ruin everything for me, because I finally found someone who cared for me as I cared for him, something which you yourself have never experienced!!"
"Eloise –" Penelope hesitated.
"Colin will never love you the way you love him!!!" Eloise screamed and Penelope went pale as a ghost. "Yes, I do know about your little secret. It is obvious how much you care for him, constantly hovering around him like a desperate little butterfly. But he does not love you, not in the way you want him to." Eloised snarled like a ferocious dog. Penelope just kept staring at her in utter horror, or rather somewhere slightly past her shoulder. Eloise turned around and noticed to her surprise that Colin had come outside and was standing there behind them with his jaw dropped into a shocked expression. Penelope gave out an upset whimper, plunged away into the ballroom and disappeared into the crowd.
"Oh dear..." Eloise sighed and looked at Colin with an ashamed smile.
***
After three dances Anthony had finally allowed Kate to have a break, mainly because she had threatened him that she would get sick again if she had to spin around one more time at the dancefloor. She was just pouring some lemonade to Daphne and herself when Cressida Cowper swooped in next to them.
"Viscountess Bridgerton, Duchess of Hastings." She smiled pretentiously. "What a most delightful evening you have arranged for us!"
"Miss Cowper." Kate replied with an equally pretentious smile and laying apparent emphasis on her unmarried title. Daphne tried to hide her chuckle behind her glass of lemonade. Kate had heard that Miss Cowper had tried to sabotage Edwina's and Prince Friedrich's courting right up until their marriage. She had apparently once gone so far as to give spoiled lemonade to Edwina at a ball in order to send her home and get Friedrich to herself. A plan, which had disastrously backfired, since the prince had left that ball soon after Edwina and the next day he had called on her in order to make sure she was feeling better. According to Edwina, the prince had brought her a giant bouquet of pink roses, they had talked for hours and after a couple of days the prince had proposed to her and she had accepted with sheer joy. "Some lemonade?" Kate offered Cressida a glass with an evil grin.
"Um... No, thank you, Lady Bridgerton." She excused herself quickly. "I just had some. Very refreshing indeed."
"Yes, we have an excellent chef here at Aubrey Hall. He makes sure none of our foods or beverages get spoiled before they get to our guests." Kate smiled even more wickedly. Daphne grinned and Cressida looked beaten for a moment, until she gathered herself again.
"You do make such a gorgeous couple with the viscount, and you with the duke." Cressida smirked slyly. "One cannot blame you for both of you wanting to marry your handsome husbands so... Rapidly." She mocked and Daphne's face went grim. "Yes, duchess, I have not forgotten what I saw in those gardens. And you, viscountess. One might just wonder how gullibly everyone accepted the Queen's word on her being the one deciding that your sister should not marry the viscount, but her nephew instead... I was here in this very same ballroom a year ago as well, and I saw you two, dancing that same dance you so beautifully re-enacted tonight. I saw how... Hungrily you stared into each other's eyes, already then." Cressida spoke slowly and threateningly, that sly grin never leaving her face. She leant in closer to Kate, clucking her tongue with a disapproving 'tsk, tsk, tsk'. "Lady Bridgerton... That is no way to dance with one's sister's fiancé." She laughed maliciously. Kate fell silently in shock, but Daphne was quicker to act.
"Nobody cares what you think you have seen, about me or my sister-in-law." She hissed like an angry snake at Cressida. "Your gossip is of no value, we are married to those men now. The ton has already turned its appetite towards new scandals involving this season's players. Perhaps you should scatter off and try to find yourself a husband as well, a task which seems to be so troublesome for you. Is this not your third season? The gentlemen probably are able to see through your pretty facade and straight into your rotten soul." Daphne declared venomously, making Cressida raise her nose in disdain and swoosh away in her pompous pink dress.
"I – I had no idea that someone realised what was going on between us, when they saw us dance here last year..." Kate stuttered, trying to steady her hands that were shaking so hard that lemonade was spilling out of her glass.
"Kate, calm down..." Daphne said softly, grabbed her sister-in-law by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Cressida is just a bully. Like I said, that gossip has absolutely no value anymore. Nobody cares about what might or might not have happened between a husband and his wife, even before they were married. Not after this much time."
"But what if she goes and bothers Edwina, or even worse, the prince, about these matters! My relationship with Edwina is still on such an unsound ground, I do not want anything to make the situation worse than what it already is...!" Kate gasped, but Daphne did not let go of her shoulders, nor looked away from her eyes.
"Kate, listen to me. She will not go to Edwina or the prince, she would not dare to approach either one of them after making herself look like an utter fool while trying to ruin their courtship." Daphne reassured her in a calm, but resolute tone. "Everything will be fine."
"If you say so..." Kate sighed, finally starting to feel a bit less shaky. "It was amazing how you beat her down with your words..." She laughed, out of breath, now that she almost could breathe normally again. "Especially that part about the gentlemen being able to see through the 'pretty facade and straight into your rotten soul'. You truly are a poet."
"You were not so bad at mocking her yourself either, pointing out that she still is a miss and offering her that most threatening lemonade." Daphne laughed as well. "Come now, I believe we must participate in one more dance with our husbands."
***
The ball seemed to go on forever and Kate sensed how Anthony became more and more impatient and roused the further it continued and the more punch he had to drink. Kate had lost count on how many dances they had spun around in, but she was certain that it was at least three more times than was considered de rigeur by the ton and at least one time too much to be considered as entirely appropriate. In their last dance she even had to give him a stern look and discreetly slap his wandering hands, which were dropping down dangerously far away from her lower back.
"Please, Kate, let us go upstairs..." He badgered like a little boy as that dance finally ended.
"No, we cannot." Kate laughed. "We are the hosts and everyone will notice if we retreat upstairs before the evening has come to an end."
"Well, let us not go upstairs, then..." Anthony smirked and led her outside.
"Anthony..." She tried to protest, but he was determinedly dragging her over the freshly cut lawn towards the orangery. The Bridgerton lands – their lands – lay silently around them in the soft summer darkness, with deep forests and luscious fields stretching out as far as eyes could see. Somewhere far away in the distance the lights from the village twinkled in the night like hundreds of little stars. A calmer variety dance music and the voices of people laughing and talking drunkenly loudly echoed from the ballroom and the terrace. "Anthony! Someone might see us." Kate argued as they closed in on the orangery.
"And see us do what, exactly? Walking around our very own estate? Kate, you need to calm down." Anthony stated and opened the door. He peeked inside with Kate at his heels and by doing so, immediately scared off some shoddy-looking lord accompanied by a lady who was far too young, and far too pretty, to be his own wife.
"Lord Stillwater." Anthony greeted him with an amused smile as the lord rushed by them and into the night with his mistress. "What a twat..." He laughed and led Kate deeper into the large humid room. They snaked through the countless rows of orange trees and exotic flowers. Kate inhaled the sweet scent of yasmine that filled the air.
"Anthony..." She tried to talk some sense into him again, when he finally stopped in the furthest away corner from the door. "I do not want for anyone to see us here... That horrible Miss Cowper threatened Daphne and me earlier today. She said that she had seen Daphne and Simon in those gardens and that she saw how we looked at each other when we danced at this same ball a year ago." Kate sighed, when Anthony had already started to kiss her neck and the bare part of her chest desirously. He stopped and looked at her.
"There is nothing to worry about, nobody cares about that now that we are married." He said reassuringly, smiled and kissed her lips softly.
"I know... Daphne said the same. But still, I do not want her to spread those rumours and I do not want to read in Lady Whistledown's next paper that this ball indeed was a great success, but that the viscount and viscountess seemed to have disappeared into the orangery before the ball even was over..." Kate worried with a furrowed brow.
"Forget about Lady Whistledown." Anthony laughed. "Kate, you are a viscountess now. You are above that ridiculous gossip of unmarried women. And Miss Cressida Cowper is just a sorry old jealous spinster. If she bothers you again, please notify her of the fact that your husband has once seen her kiss Benedict Bridgerton in this very same orangery."
"Really...?!" Kate laughed. "Thank you darling, I will surely use that weapon against her if she will ever bother me or our family again." She smirked, sank her hands into Anthony's thick dark hair and finally gave him one of those lustful kisses he had been pining for all night. He instantly replied to that kiss equally keenly and soon his warm hands were fumbling under her skirts. She was in a similar hurry to unbutton his trousers, right now she felt like the whole evening and all the steamy dancing had been just a tormentingly long foreplay. A gasp escaped from Kate's lips as Anthony lifted her against the orangery wall and wrapped her stocking-clad legs around his waist. His kisses burned her like hell, but tasted like heaven and Kate felt like she could never get enough of it. Her body screamed for more, wanting all of him, now. But just as he was going to get what she so badly wanted, the heavy door to the orangery creaked open.
"Fuuuucking hell..." Anthony cursed brazenly with a whisper, sounding like all the air went out of him as he let go of Kate and she dropped her legs silently down on the floor. He still pressed his body against her and held his hand against her mouth. "Do not make a sound, maybe they will leave." He breathed out. Kate wrenched his hand vexedly away from her mouth.
"Who is it?" She hissed.
"I do not know...!" Anthony replied with a hushed voice.
"Well, here it is! My pride and joy, the orangery of Aubrey Hall. Some of these trees are actually older than myself." Violet's voice echoed from the stone walls.
"It is your mother...!" Kate whispered and started to quickly sort out her raised hems.
"Who is she with?" Anthony wondered and tried to peek through the orange trees.
"Anthony, come back...!" Kate hissed sharply. "Do not let her see us!"
"This is truly a remarkable sign of your tender and loving care towards these beautiful trees." Kate recognised immediately that the voice belonged to the Duke of Stanton.
"It's the Duke of Stanton...!" She wheezed out and tried to pull Anthony back into the corner.
"What is he doing here, with my mother, alone...?" Anthony looked bewildered.
"And you are a remarkable woman as well, Lady Bridgerton. A man should consider himself truly fortunate if he received the same amount of tenderness and love from you as these orange trees have done." The duke continued in a soft and flirtatious tone.
"Oh, Lord Stanton..." Violet's giggles echoed in the room.
"What the hell...?!" Anthony gasped and took one more step forward to be able to see what was actually happening on the other side of the room. While doing so he stumbled upon an empty flower pot and a spade leaning towards it, creating a loud clink that bounced from one wall to another. Anthony grimaced and Kate covered her mouth with her hands.
"Is someone there...?" Violet called out with a slightly worried voice. Kate could hear her footsteps coming closer and closer. "Anthony...!" She cried out in surprise when she suddenly saw her eldest son standing next to one of her favourite orange trees.
"Mother...!" Anthony replied, equally flustered. He grabbed Kate's arm and dragged her out into the light as well, then he poked one of his fingers into the soil surrounding the nearest tree. "I... I was just showing Lady Kate how to tend to these lovely orange trees. She knows that you take great pride in them and wishes to learn how to do so herself as well. The soil has to be moist at all times, is that not so?" Anthony wondered and waved his dirty forefinger in the air. "Do you want to try, my dear?" He turned to Kate and nodded meaningfully towards the tree.
"Oh, yes...! Of course, my love!" Kate smiled embarrassedly and stuck her finger into the soil as well. "Very moist indeed. Now I know how moist they must be. At all times." She waffled on nervously. The duke lurked behind Violet, casting a confused look at the absurd situation.
"I see..." Violet said, looking at Kate's smudged lipstick and the tiara that sat totally askew.
"And Duke of Stanton, you are here as well! What a pleasant surprise!" Anthony exclaimed.
"Yes, I... I insisted that the dowager viscountess would show me her famous orangery." The duke replied, sounding somewhat ashamed. Kate could instantly see in Anthony's eyes that he did not at all appreciate the way the duke referred to his mother as the dowager viscountess, although that was in fact her title and probably not Stanton's way of pointing out that Violet was indeed free to marry.
"Indeed, I believe some of these trees were planted by my mother and father when they got married." Anthony commented, in quite the attacking manner.
"Darling..." Kate smiled and quickly grabbed Anthony's hand. "We must already be terribly missed by our guests at the ball." She stated and kicked him sharply, but discreetly, in the ankle when he made no intention to move.
"Ow...! Yes, I believe we are." Anthony muttered and finally agreed to get dragged away by his wife. "Your grace. Mother." He glared at the couple suspiciously as he passed them with Kate. "What the hell was that...?!" Anthony exclaimed when they were finally outside in the night air, which felt surprisingly cold after having spent some time in the tropical orangery.
"Hush, they might hear you...!" Kate scolded him as they marched towards the house.
"Is that old fart courting my mother...?!" Anthony raged on.
"I do not believe he is that old, they are almost the same age –" Kate started.
"That is not the point! I cannot believe my mother was flirting with that man...!" He yelled.
"The duke seems like a totally amiable gentleman. And besides, is your mother not allowed some happiness in her life as well...?" Kate asked cautiously, careful not to throw any more fuel into Anthony's already raging flames. "It has been over ten years since your father died..." She said softly, halted and tried to take Anthony's hand, but he wrenched it away.
"But she loved him...!" Anthony protested, with his voice breaking. He stopped as well and stared at the spot next to the flower plantations, where Kate knew Edmund had died.
"Anthony..." Kate spoke gently, walked up to him and gave him a hug from behind. "Nobody will ever take the place of your father. Not in your mother's heart or anywhere else."
"Oh, great! So if I would die tonight you would simply wait for a little while and then just happily marry someone else?" Anthony turned around and glared at her angrily.
"No, darling... But... Ten years is a very long time for someone to be alone. Most widows marry anew much sooner. And nobody has even mentioned anything about marriage in this case... Anthony, they were simply spending some time together." Kate explained patiently.
"Alone. At night. In quite romantic surroundings." Anthony added sourly with a huff.
"My love..." Kate sighed. "I understand that this must feel truly confusing for you, but I at least do wish for Lady Mary to one day find someone new into her life, even if she loved my father dearly. And if something happened to me, I would wish the same for you..." She said softly, but looking sincerely into her husband's brown eyes.
"Do not say that." Anthony gasped and grabbed her tightly into his arms. "Do not ever dare to say that..." He muttered into her hair. "We shall live a long and happy life together, until we die in each other's arms. Old and wrinkled, exhausted from our last and fatal love-making that actually made our hearts give up. There will never be any others..."
"Yes, we shall..." Kate smiled and placed her hands on his cheeks. "We shall do that." She said and kissed him. "All is well darling, I am not going anywhere..." She consoled him as he nestled his face deeper into her already ruined hairdo. She kept holding him tightly, rocked him slowly like a child and caressed his hair. "I am not going anywhere, Anthony." She repeated one more time, until she felt that he finally relaxed a bit and took a deep sigh.
"Well, can you at least be going upstairs? It is freezing out here and I wish to continue what we started in the orangery." Anthony chuckled, broke free from their hug and straightened her tilted tiara with a promiscuous grin. "And you better keep that tiara on."