A Virgin Bride Read online

“I have never known a couple who were so happy as your beloved father and mother. Neither of them looked at anyone else all the long time they were married. I think, dearest child, that is what you want.”

  “Of course it is,” Venetia agreed. “We used to talk about love at school and the girls talked endlessly about all their brothers’ love affairs, but I always thought where I was concerned it would be very different.”

  “What you hope for is a man who will love you for yourself and whom you will love because he will give you the real love we all know in our hearts comes from God.”

  Venetia nodded vigorously.

  “Yes, Aunt Alice, that is exactly what I want and which apparently I will never be allowed to have.”

  “Why not?”

  Venetia stared at her.

  “Are you really suggesting that I should fall in love with a man who is marrying me just to save himself from an unpleasant scandal?”

  She spoke scornfully, but Lady Manvill responded,

  “What I am suggesting is that you make Rock do something he has never done before – that is to be really and truly in love in the way you and I are thinking about.”

  “I should say that is such an outside chance that no one would bet on it – in fact an impossibility!”

  Lady Manvill chuckled.

  “I am certain that as a racing man he would agree with you. But that is where you have to prove him wrong.”

  Again Venetia stared at her Godmother.

  “Are you seriously suggesting that I should make the Duke fall in love with me and remain faithful? Which is what I would expect and hope for in my husband.”

  “I am quite certain that your father was completely and absolutely faithful to your mother. But as his daughter you may not be aware that when he was a young man he was most attractive and many women did their utmost to attract him into an affaire, especially when you were being born and your mother was not able to accompany him on every Social occasion.”

  Venetia looked surprised.

  “Your father had quite a reputation before he was married. Although I suppose I should not tell you, he had a few affaires de coeur with my friends. They wept bitterly when he became bored with them and went on to another!”

  “Papa did that! I had no idea!”

  “One never thinks of one’s parents in the same way as one thinks of other people and naturally in the ordinary way I would never have told you all this. But you have to understand, Venetia, you are now facing the most difficult problem you will ever have to face in your life – and it is up to you to solve it.”

  “I understand exactly what you are saying to me, Aunt Alice, but how do I solve it? I am a girl who has had nothing at all to do with men and I have been at school until I was nearly nineteen. Although I was living abroad, I have never even had a flirtation.”

  “That, my dear girl, is your best weapon. For the simple reason that Rock, I am convinced, has never had a conversation with a debutante, nor if he could help it, has ever looked in their direction.”

  “You mean he is frightened of being trapped?”

  “Of course he is, as all young men are, and a rich Duke is the prize every ambitious mother and father wish for their daughter.”

  “But how – just how can I possibly do what you are advising me to do?”

  “I think, dearest, because you are so clever you will know instinctively how to play your cards. The first thing is not to be aggressive but elusive.”

  “I – don’t understand, Aunt Alice – ”

  “I cannot play your part for you, but work it out for yourself that every woman Rock has looked at has fallen into his arms like an overripe peach. I am sure it has never struck him for a second that you might refuse his advances.

  There was a wan smile on Lady Manvill’s lips and a twinkle in her eye as she added,

  “As I look back on my life, and perhaps you realise I had a great number of men in love with me, it was always the ones I refused who were the most persistent. It was they who laid their heart at my feet not once but a thousand times. Now I am only sorry that I was not kinder to them!”

  She realised that Venetia was listening intently.

  “A man always wants what he cannot have and he also wants to be the victor. When he does win what has been a difficult battle, he is usually so afraid of losing what he has gained, that he remains – unless the woman is very stupid – faithful and loving for the rest of his life.”

  Venetia guessed she was talking about herself.

  She remembered now her father and mother saying how devoted Lord Manvill had been to her.

  “They were such a devoted couple,” her Mama had once said, “and Harry, who had broken a thousand hearts in every country where he was posted as a diplomat, never looked at anyone after he married Alice. To my mind they were the happiest couple I have ever known.”

  While Venetia was listening, Lady Manvill had been watching her and she realised that she was beginning to comprehend what she was trying to tell her.

  “Now what is important Venetia is that you should be completely different from the girl Rock will expect.”

  “I suppose he will expect a rather silly schoolgirl.”

  “Exactly. That is why you must be very different. Let us say that is the first jump you will take and you must then land successfully on the other side of the fence.”

  “But how? How? Help me, Aunt Alice! You are giving me a lesson I have never had before and I feel as if it is in a foreign language I don’t understand.”

  “Nonsense, dear! You are far too intelligent not to understand. If you can follow those clever old men who teach you philosophy and God knows what other subjects, you will soon grasp the most important lesson of all.

  “That is how to make a man fall in love with you, not only with his body but with his heart and soul.”

  Venetia drew in her breath.

  “Of course – that is what I want – ”

  “Very well, let’s start at the beginning. I suppose you have only the clothes you wore at school?”

  “That is another thing I was going to ask. If only we were in Paris, I could go to Frederick Worth, and I am sure he would make me look the part I am to play, even if inside I am feeling ignorant and stupid.”

  Frederick Worth was English and he had conquered France with his brilliant designs for women’s clothes.

  The magnificent dresses worn by the Empress of France, the Princesses Mathilde and Metternich were all designed by Worth.

  He made many new materials fashionable and as Venetia knew, Lyons silk had become a household word after the Empress had worn it for the first time.

  Worth had decided two years ago that the crinoline had become absurd and he invented a dress with a gored skirt, but the Empress Eugenie was too timid to launch it.

  Yet by the end of the year everyone was discarding their crinolines as quickly as they could and Worth had become the greatest couturier ever in the history of fashion.

  He charged as much as sixteen hundred francs for a simple costume and no woman felt really smart unless she was wearing one of his new designs.

  Venetia had read with amusement in a newspaper that an English journalist had written,

  “I should not give it as my fixed opinion that Paris is a religious City. No, the men believe in the Bourse – and the women in Worth!”

  Now Venetia sighed,

  “If only I was back in Paris and could get Frederick Worth to dress me – that at least would surprise the Duke!”

  And because Venetia was already thinking through her suggestions, Lady Manvill’s eyes twinkled, but she was too astute to say anything about it, so she merely remarked,

  “There I can help you.”

  “How?” Venetia blinked.

  “To begin with I have a friend here in London who brings over Frederick Worth’s latest creations for me and other ladies every time she visits Paris.”

  Venetia realised, as she had not noticed before in
her distress, that Lady Manvill was wearing what was obviously a creation by Frederick Worth.

  “As her husband works at the British Embassy in Paris, she goes back and forth continually because her two sons, who she adores, are at school here.”

  “Do you think she could bring me some gowns?”

  “She is in London at the moment,” Lady Manvill said, “and we will call on her. Is your carriage outside?”

  “Yes, but please don’t tell her who I am marrying.”

  “No, of course not. Although the Social world will be gasping tomorrow at breakfast-time when they see the announcement in The Gazette.”

  “But, Aunt Alice, no one should see me dressed as I am now.”

  “I do understand, dear Venetia.”

  Lady Manvill was delighted to realise that Venetia with her quick brain was already playing the part she was guiding her into.

  She rang the bell vigorously and asked the butler to tell her lady’s maid to bring her a hat as she was going out.

  Five minutes later they were driving to Hill Street close to Berkley Square.

  Lady Manvill’s friend, Mrs. Herbert, was surprised to see them.

  “I know that you hate going out in the afternoon, Alice,” she exclaimed. “If you had asked me, I would have come to you.”

  “I have come on a mission of mercy – and let me introduce Lady Venetia Brook. I think you will know her father, the Duke of Lynbrook.”

  “Indeed I do,” replied Mrs. Herbert. “I thought you were at school in France.”

  “I was until yesterday,” Venetia answered her.

  “And that’s exactly why we are here, Bridget. Poor Venetia has been asked to a number of parties, but as she has just come back from school in a great hurry she has absolutely nothing to wear. If she had known her father needed her, she could have visited Frederick Worth before she left Paris.”

  Mrs. Herbert smiled.

  “Of course she could, and I suppose you want me to provide her with some of Worth’s wonderful new gowns, which I only brought back to London yesterday.”

  “That is why we have come before you have time to dispose of them, Bridget, and please, we want not only those you have with you but a great many more.”

  Mrs. Herbert held up her hands.

  “You cannot have them all! My friends are waiting for my arrival. In fact they are all coming to see me at teatime and I am certain that everything I have brought from Paris will have disappeared before the evening is out!”

  “They will have gone long before that, so please let us waste no more time, but fit my dearest Goddaughter out. You will have to provide her with a number of other gowns by the middle of next week.”

  “It’s impossible,” Mrs. Herbert protested.

  “Nothing is impossible where we are concerned. What I have already suggested to Venetia, and she knows

  her father will agree, is that you send a courier over to Paris

  to bring back at least six gowns and place a further order for

  double that amount.”

  Mrs. Herbert drew in her breath.

  Venetia was to discover later that she made a small

  commission on everything she sold in London for Worth.

  But such a large order was something she had never expected nor received before. Venetia was told that the Worth designs were, for the moment, rather too elaborate and eccentric for London Socialites who had been brought up to think it was vulgar to be too noticeable.

  Mrs. Herbert had brought back dresses that Venetia thought were absolutely lovely, as the materials Worth was now using were particularly unusual.

  Velvet, silks and satins vied in richness with one another, but Worth had thought that four or five trimmings were not enough for a single dress and so he added lace, garlands of flowers, ribbons and frills.

  Venetia was delighted with them all.

  Because Mrs. Herbert was anxious to please her as well as Lady Manvill, she produced three day dresses too.

  She had bought them for herself together with matching hats and they were far smarter, Lady Manvill remarked, than anything available in Bond Street.

  There was no doubt that Venetia looked lovely in them all and there were fortunately only minor alterations necessary that could easily be done by a lady’s maid.

  “Now the rest of the things you want, and which must arrive next week without fail,” Lady Manvill said to Venetia, “must be written down very clearly, so that dear Bridget can send a courier over tomorrow to collect them.”

  “It will be incredibly expensive, I am afraid,” Mrs. Herbert murmured a little nervously.

  Lady Manvill spoke up at once.

  “The Duke wants his daughter to look outstanding and what could better make her so than the lovely gowns we have already bought?

  “Besides, Bridget, you will need more gowns for those you will be obliged to disappoint when they arrive here this afternoon.”

  “I don’t know what I will say to them,” she replied.

  “Just tell them the dresses were not quite finished before you left, but they will be arriving in two or three day’s time. And please do not mention that I have been here or that I have brought Venetia along. It is essential they should not talk about her before she finally appears on the Social stage.”

  Mrs. Herbert laughed.

  “You are quite right, Alice, and I will do as you say. I think that your Goddaughter is very lucky to have such lovely clothes for her first Season.”

  “I am so very grateful,” sighed Venetia, “and please bring me, as Aunt Alice has suggested, some more lovely gowns from Frederick Worth. They will certainly make me feel surer of myself than I do at present.”

  She knew that Mrs. Herbert would learn tomorrow morning why she was feeling so unsure.

  But everything must be kept secret until then.

  Lady Manvill hesitated a moment, then she went to her friend’s writing desk.

  “I am writing a personal note to Frederick Worth,” she announced. “Please send it with the order, Bridget.”

  When they drove away from Mrs. Herbert’s house, a number of boxes containing the gowns had been placed in the back of the carriage.

  “Thank you, thank you so very much, Aunt Alice,” Venetia smiled. “I am sure that the gowns will give me courage. I will certainly need it if I am to play the part you have cast for me.”

  “You must play it as if it was a great drama on the stage of the Opéra. I don’t suppose you were allowed to go to any other theatre in Paris?”

  “No. We were able to attend some of the classical performances at the Opéra and I did learn so much about music with my last teacher.”

  “Now you will have to learn an entirely new lesson, Venetia, and if you don’t come top of the class, I will be very disappointed and feel it is all my fault!”

  “Oh, my dear Aunt Alice! No one could have been kinder or more helpful than you. I was in despair when I came to see you. But now because you have made it all a challenge, I am going to try to win, although the odds are still very much against me, I fear.”

  “You may be an outsider,” replied Lady Manvill, “but as you well know, outsiders often romp home when it is least expected!”

  “I hope you are right. I suspect that I may not see you again because, although Papa has not yet said so, he is sure to want to go to the country tomorrow – to prepare for the wedding.”

  “So you think you will be married at home?”

  “Papa was so angry with me for not being thrilled at the whole idea of marrying the Duke that he did not go any further than threatening me.”

  “It’s no use fighting against the inevitable and quite frankly I am sure that there is no chance of changing your father’s mind, or even getting him to agree to postponing the wedding. I am sure that is what you want to do.”

  “Yes, it is. Two weeks will hardly give me time to breathe!”

  “Which actually is a good thing. The longer you think about it, the worse
you will feel. So make up your mind that, if you are in an unavoidable situation, the only way is to face up to it. Work out intelligently how you can be the winner, however unlikely it seems.”

  Venetia laughed.

  “You are making it a game! I cannot help feeling much happier now than when I first came to see you.”

  “Of course it was a shock, my dearest, and I think it extraordinary that your father did not realise that and break it to you gently. Equally if you have to know the truth, it is better to know it all at once than to suspect that something frightful is coming while not knowing what it is.”

  “All I can say, Aunt Alice, is that I am going to try to follow your wonderful advice. Now I think about it, I could insist on staying in London to buy my clothes, even though Papa will want me to go to the country.”

  “I think it would probably be wisest if you did go.”

  “Why, Aunt Alice?”

  “Because when The Gazette does appear tomorrow morning, everyone is going to talk endlessly about it! I do think when you meet the Duke he will automatically be on the defensive, because he will expect you to be shocked. Unless he is a bit stupid, which he is definitely not, he will think, quite rightly, that you do not wish to marry him.”

  “As he sounds rather conceited, he may expect me to throw myself into his arms and tell him how pleased I am to be his wife.”

  “That will come later, my dear, but I think any girl, including you, would be shy at encountering Rock for the first time – not as a stranger but as his fiancée.

  “I think you should make it quite clear to him that you realise you are a port in a storm for him, but that you are accepting him only at your father’s insistence.”

  Venetia did not reply.

  “At the same time it would be a great mistake to antagonise him from the very beginning. So don’t tell him

  that you think he is behaving abominably in using someone

  as young and as innocent as yourself as a way of escape!”

  Unexpectedly Venetia laughed.

  “It’s becoming absolutely ridiculous and so like the

  cheap novelettes all the girls read at school, although they

  were not supposed to. I expect that instead of crying I will

  laugh at my own efforts to behave as you wish me to do.”