Page 17 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars (Ton’s Beasts #1)
“ I will escort you to the sitting room before I take my leave,” Aaron said when they finally arrived at Blackwell Manor.
He stayed with her while the horses were led to the stables, permitting her to feed his horse a handful of sugar cubes.
“I am afraid I don’t know what they intend to teach you.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Theresa asked as they walked into the manor.
“Please take the packages to the Duchess’s chambers,” he called over his shoulder, before turning his attention back to her. “It is Grandmama. She and Lady Sophia have an afternoon planned for you. I hope you will not find it as dull as I do, but I fear you will.”
“I am sure whatever she planned will be lovely,” Theresa said with her characteristic optimism.
She always wanted to see the best in those around her, and the Dowager Duchess had given her no reason to think otherwise. She had been immensely helpful the past few days as Theresa settled in.
“I hope to hear about your afternoon later,” Aaron murmured, just as they stopped outside the sitting room.
He reached for her hand and kissed it, just as the Duke of Hiverville had done. Her cheeks flushed for what felt the umpteenth time.
She then entered the sitting room to find the Dowager Duchess seated with another old woman, both of them cackling.
“My dear,” the Dowager Duchess greeted. “This is my best friend, Lady Sophia. You will come to know her as well as you know me and Juliette. Until you make friends of your own, Sophia and I will keep you company.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sophia,” Theresa said, bobbing a small curtsy.
She had no idea how to properly greet someone of Sophia’s station, but a curtsy seemed like the safest option.
“And she already curtsies,” Lady Sophia noted with appreciation. “You told me she had no idea how to behave like a lady.”
“I said nothing of the sort,” the Dowager Duchess scoffed. “I told you she was not raised by the Marchioness, but in a convent. The manners she was taught were different, not befitting her station as the new Duchess.”
“It is all right, Grandmama. Lady Sophia speaks the truth. I have no idea how not to embarrass myself.”
“Which is why we are here, Your Grace,” Lady Sophia said. “We are here to teach you everything you need to know to survive the ton .”
“You must learn it all, Theresa. How to address people below your rank, how to curtsy, and how to host a fabulous party. The ton will judge you, and it makes no difference to them that you were not raised here. Your actions will reflect on our family,” the Dowager Duchess explained.
“I will do my best,” Theresa promised. “Where do we start?”
“Since you are so intent on curtsying, we shall start from there.”
Lady Sophia stood up from the brocade chair and pulled herself up to her full height, commanding the room as she did so. It was impossible for Theresa to take her eyes off the older woman. Theresa thought about what she must have been like in her younger days, spry and full of life.
She was still full of life.
In one smooth move, she slid her foot behind her, dipping low to the floor with her head bowed. She held it there, giving Theresa time to grasp the mechanics of the curtsy, the deference it showed to those of a higher station.
When she felt Theresa had been sufficiently educated, she stood back up and gestured to Theresa.
“Again,” she demanded.
Theresa tried to mimic the older woman, sliding her foot behind her. But as she made to bend her knees, she swayed slightly to the side.
“Too far back,” the Dowager Duchess remarked. “Bring your foot closer, for balance.”
Theresa slid her foot closer and tried again, this time dipping low and bowing her head. The Dowager Duchess clapped her hands and shouted praise at the quick learning.
Theresa was certain that her curtsy mirrored the one in front of her.
“Now, rise,” Lady Sophia instructed, straightening her knees and rising to her full height. “In one fluid motion.”
Theresa focused on what she needed to do, pulling her foot to the other and trying to rise. The movement was choppy, nothing like Lady Sophia’s.
“Again,” Lady Sophia urged.
Theresa tried five or six more times, each time corrected by the two older ladies. She was eventually interrupted by Juliette, who stopped by to see what all the giggling was about.
Despite her hopelessness, the three of them were having a good time.
“They are teaching you the wrong way,” Juliette declared as she watched Theresa try to bob another deep curtsy. “Not so deep in the bend.”
“She will learn it properly ,” the Dowager Duchess reprimanded. “Just because you insist on flouting convention doesn’t mean she will do the same. She is a duchess.”
“Is there an easier way?” Theresa asked.
“Those who grew up among the ton have gotten used to doing things differently,” Lady Sophia explained. “The younger crowd does not adhere to conventions. They do not realize that it conveys disrespect, but we are here to teach you both the old ways.”
“I would rather learn to do it the right way,” Theresa said, ever the obedient student. But she felt bad for betraying Juliette when she had been nothing but kind to her. “Juliette, forgive me.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll grow tired of it, eventually,” Juliette assured her with a laugh. “For now, Grandmama will steer you right.”
She went and sat down next to the Dowager Duchess on the settee, commenting now and then on Theresa’s curtsy.
Finally, the women were happy enough with her progress that they suggested she take a small break.
Theresa took a seat across from them.
“Cross your ankles,” the Dowager Duchess said. “And tilt your legs to the left.”
Even the way she sat down was wrong. There were never such strict rules in the convent. That was one thing she should have been grateful for, she supposed. Perhaps the only thing.
Soon after, a maid brought in a tray of sweets. There were small pastries, bowls of fruit sprinkled with sugar, and other things that Theresa could not name. She wanted to try them all.
But the Dowager Duchess had other plans. She showed Theresa how to politely accept food from a servant, how to hold her silverware, and the proper way to chew and swallow so as not to rush the meal.
There were so many rules in her new life that Theresa simply did not know if she could learn all of them. Nothing she did was right. It lacked the decorum that a duchess must have. She worried she would be an embarrassment to Aaron for the rest of their lives.
They continued with the lessons on how to address the servants and anyone of a lower station.
“But how would I know who has a lower rank?”
“You will learn the names of everyone in the ton ,” Lady Sophia assured her. “It will take time and patience, but you will learn the ins and outs of social life in town.”
“Or you can just pretend that everyone is beneath you,” Juliette whispered in her ear. “So many of them are. And even if they’re not, they will just think you are arrogant, like the lot of them.”
Theresa laughed at the comment. She could get used to the time spent in the company of these ladies.
The older women continued with the lesson, while Juliette whispered tips in her ear now and then.
As the day wore on, Theresa felt something akin to friendship with her sister-in-law. It was not the same as the deep bond she had with Margaret for the discipline they bore together, but it would be nice to have a true friend here in the manor.
She wondered what Aaron was doing. The day had worn on, and he was surely with his friends by now. She had no idea how the Dowager Duchess and her friend could bear to spend an entire day teaching her decorum, but they had.
Would Aaron be proud of her if she got all of this right? The last thing she wanted was to embarrass him in front of his friends and the entire ton . She would learn to be a good wife, the way she learned to be a good sister.
More importantly, she wondered what he would do if she made him proud. Would he do that thing with his hand again, the thing that caused her to cry out and quiver in pleasure?
She shook her head and tried to focus on what the Dowager Duchess was saying, but she could feel the color rising in her cheeks.
“Look,” Lady Sophia said with a giggle. “The girl blushes as you talk about how to host a party.”
“I wonder what she is thinking behind that sweet smile,” Juliette added.
If the blush on her cheeks had been subtle before, it flamed into full view now. Theresa could not tell these women, as helpful as they had been, that she had been thinking of the way her husband had touched her between her legs.
“I am merely thinking about embarrassing myself,” she said quickly.
“Hmm,” Juliette murmured. “Yes, I often blush when I think of the same thing.”
Theresa could tell that Juliette did not believe her, but it would be inappropriate to press her for the details. Not that she would ever share those details with anyone around her. Even if she knew what it was that Aaron had done to her, modesty would not permit gossip about his skills as a lover.
“I think it’s time to wrap up today’s lesson,” Lady Sophia announced with a knowing smile. “I have a feeling the Duchess is eager to see her husband.”
“I appreciate your teachings,” Theresa offered, rising to her feet to see her out.
This, at least, was similar to how they saw guests out at the nunnery.
“Then you had better put them into practice. The Duke of Blackthorn—that is my grandson—has allowed me to host a house party at the end of the week. You will come, and you will curtsy, and you will see for yourself how the ton parties.”
Lady Sophia patted the back of her hand and gave her a genuine smile.
“I can do it,” Theresa said, with more confidence than she felt.
The only thing she cared about right now was impressing her husband, making him see her for the Duchess she could be. For the wife she was determined to be to him, despite his prickly exterior.
She would practice her lessons over and over if that was what it took to convince him to touch her again.