Page 7 of Courting the Duchess (Spy Society #1)

A fter their conversation in the parlor, it was clear to Alaina that it would be far safer to have the next few Reading Society meetings outside of her home and out from under Sterling’s censorious gaze. She’d scrawled a quick note to her friend, Meredith Stratford, Viscountess Sommerfeld, about hosting the event at her Mayfair Townhouse. The request was accepted with aplomb and, three days later, Alaina and the rest of the Society members were comfortably ensconced in a lovely mint-colored parlor. Lady Sommerfeld had been looking for an informal way to entertain for the first time since she’d given birth to her twin daughters, so she eagerly accepted the opportunity to host.

The viscountess was of Scottish ancestry on her mother’s side, and it was displayed in her fair complexion, luminous indigo eyes, and rich red curls. She’d been a young widow when she met her current husband, and watching the two of them together left no doubt that they’d been a love match—especially when the viscountess had been enceinte. The viscount and heir to the Aldborough Earldom was nothing shy of golden. He was a stunningly handsome lion of a man whom Alaina had first met years earlier during her one and only Season as an unmarried young woman. Sommerfeld had already garnered quite the reputation for youthful carousing, so her mother had warned her off him immediately following her first dance with him. Apparently, a future earldom was not quite enough for her mother to overlook the depth of his wild ways…but a dukedom was somehow forgivable for anything.

Sommerfeld’s sardonic, singular brand of sarcastic humor was a consistent source of amusement. Pairing him up with his fiery wife—one of the only people who seemed relatively impervious to his effortless charm and guile—produced entertaining banter whenever Alaina came to call. The two of them were supremely well-matched and a joy to be around.

It had taken several years for the marriage to produce offspring and the wait had taken both a mental and physical toll. The pregnancy hadn’t been easy on Lady Sommerfeld, either, and Alaina had moved several of their meetings to accommodate Meredith’s physical limitations. Carrying twins had been a trial, but matters had been helped greatly by the skill and knowledge of Juliette’s husband, Dr. McCullom. Alaina had been present when there was a slight scare early in Meredith’s pregnancy, and, eventually, the babes had come a few weeks earlier than anticipated, but McCullom’s expertise and reputation for immaculate cleanliness helped both mother and infants survive and thrive without illness or childbed fever.

Though the delicate skin beneath Meredith’s eyes was slightly bruised from sleeplessness, there was no mistaking that her friend was infinitely happy with her life in the way women were only when they felt entirely fulfilled. Meredith’s normally slim figure was still slightly plump from pregnancy, but it seemed not to bother her. She was confident in her place and fairly glowed with love and contentment.

That day, Alaina arrived at the Sommerfeld Townhouse an hour early for their planned Society meeting purely for the joy of holding and cooing over the perfect, petite infants uninterrupted.

“You are going to be a true beauty, little Catherine,” Alaina whispered as the tiny strawberry-blond babe in her arms pursed her lips in sleep and nuzzled more closely.

“My poor husband will be a mess during their first Season,” Lady Sommerfeld chuckled as she tucked the swaddling more tightly around the other infant nestled within the crook of her arm. Elizabeth was identical to Catherine in every way from the dimples on her fingers to her round little nose. Alaina was unable to tell them apart, but Meredith was possessed of a keen mother’s eye and never lost track of who was who.

Alaina pictured the tall, green-eyed Sommerfeld viciously glowering at every man who dared so much as look at his daughters. “Those unfortunate lads,” Alaina replied with a rueful shake of her head.

“Poor lads?” Lady Sommerfeld laughed softly. “I say, my poor girls! Any suitors will be scared off without a chance. They’ll be lucky if they’re allowed to leave our sides for a single dance.”

Alaina leaned in to inhale the downy scent of Catherine’s hair and whispered, “Do not fret. Men aren’t as wonderful as they’d have you believe, anyway.” In response, the babe turned her plump cheek and began rooting against Alaina’s bodice. Each little nudge was accompanied by a small coo which tugged at a thread deep within the core of Alaina’s being. She’d been raised to be the wife of a peer and mother to his heirs—a very small world when one considered it. And, while it was easy to place that abstract notion aside when one’s husband was absent, the reality of it all sat heavy in her breast now that Sterling had returned.

If Alaina was honest with herself, it wasn’t only the idea of being a mother…it was the idea of being the mother of Sterling’s children. Her heart skipped, and not for the first time. There had been several instances where he’d alluded to consummating their union and doing their procreative duties. It was his right, as well as his responsibility. Society marriages were all about alliances and bloodlines, creating financial and familial bonds where the title would be strengthened for future generations. Alaina had always known her role in this game, but the idea of motherhood had been forced to the back of her mind out of necessity—what good did it do to pine after cherubic infants with their round bellies and dimpled hands when one’s husband was nowhere to be found? It had morphed from a duty to an abstract, faraway notion…only to come full circle with Sterling’s return from the Continent.

The thought of holding a babe of her own to her breast gave her a thrill. She had always adored children and the cause of their care and wellbeing was something she held close to her heart. The impossibility of having children of her own with her husband so far away made it necessary to set aside the dream of raising her own child. Now, it was sinking in that the possibility of rocking her son or daughter wasn’t as far off as it might once have been.

Imagining the prologue to that scene created a whole different sort of fluttering within her.

The infant’s coos became more frustrated when she realized there was no food to be had. The nursemaid who had been standing off in the corner moved to retrieve the child for a feeding. Alaina was loath to release the soft, warm little bundle, but she couldn’t very well give the baby what she desired. Alaina’s arms felt suddenly, woefully empty, but it was for the best since one glance at the clock on the mantle told them the rest of the Society would arrive in short order. Lady Sommerfeld handed off her other daughter as well.

“I am so grateful that you agreed to host today’s meeting.” Alaina squeezed her friend’s hand in gratitude. “I hope it wasn’t an imposition.” Though Lady Sommerfeld was not privy to all the strife and clashes occurring between Alaina and Sterling, her friend had been entirely accommodating without a moment’s hesitation. Alaina was infinitely grateful to have women such as her in her life. Juliette and Lady Sommerfeld had proven time and again to Alaina that there were good, kind-hearted people in Society.

“Think nothing of it!” the viscountess replied with a grin. “Sommerfeld is out for the afternoon anyway; we shan’t be interrupted by any intrusive husbands.” She gave her a cheeky wink, earning a lighthearted chuckle from Alaina. It felt so good to be uncensored, unabashedly herself once again. “Though I must insist that you and the duke join us for supper one evening. I would like very much to meet him and see if he is as you and Juliette have described.”

“Of course!” Alaina replied a tad more cheerfully than she felt. “Send ’round a note whenever it is most convenient.” So far, she’d managed to convince Maxwell to pass along all cards and invitations directly to her, thereby subverting her husband. It was easy for her to pick through them and send regrets on both their behalf to people for whom she cared little; it was far more complicated when the invitation came from someone she genuinely adored. No matter. Alaina would deal with that when the time came.

The other women arrived promptly, even if some were mildly disappointed that there wouldn’t be another encounter with the duke. They said nothing about it to Alaina, but they were easy to read with their glancing about as if wondering from which corner the next excitement would erupt.

Juliette arrived and claimed the seat beside Lady Sommerfeld and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Simon Stratford—a petite blonde with enviable curves.

Juliette and Alaina shared a fleeting knowing smile over their friend’s head.

Alaina savored a bracing breath and stood; the buzz from the dozen other women slowly drifted into an expectant hush. She took a moment to smooth the skirts of her azure-striped morning gown before addressing the group.

“Welcome, ladies. And thank you to Lady Sommerfeld for so generously offering her home as today’s meeting place. I feel an apology is in order for the way in which our last meeting was so rudely and unexpectedly interrupted.” Several ladies exchanged glances, clearly eager to hear more, but Alaina moved on. A mischievous smile unfurled upon her lips. “Since then, it has been brought to my attention that our meetings have become somewhat notorious.” This was met with more than a few amused titters. “As such, I have been asked to select more palatable reading materials—to temper them slightly, if you will.” A murmured mixture of concern and confusion bubbled and rose around her, and she witnessed several shocked brows head toward hairlines. Alaina knew well what unsettled them.

For many, her Reading Society was the only place they could be themselves—the sole space where they would not be criticized or judged for their thoughts and feelings and opinions. They could speak their mind and have new experiences over which they might bond.

Places such as this were few and far between for women, let alone women of their class who spent their entire lives beneath the constant scrutiny of Society’s dictates. To allow such censorship to influence their Reading Society could spell the end of their little sliver of freedom; a terrifying prospect, indeed.

For another thing, Alaina bending to this request went against everything they knew of her temperament. The Duchess of Morton was not known for being easily cowed or weak-willed. The situation must be dire if she was becoming acquiescent.

Alaina held up a hand and patiently awaited silence before she spoke again. “This is why, with the help of Lady Juliette, I have decided upon this for our next reading choice.” She retrieved a bound sheaf of papers from the neat tower on the table before her. “It seemed rather appropriate and kept to our current theme of plays.”

Stack after stack was passed out to those in attendance. The title initiated a new round of confused disbelieving titters.

“ The Taming of the Shrew ?” questioned Mrs. Stratford. It was widely known that her mother was an actress and that Odette had been raised in the theater—who better to know plays than she? “Reading and discussing a play about a man controlling a woman is not something I’d have believed to be a part of our usual repertoire.”

A few other coiffured heads nodded in agreement and turned to Alaina for an explanation.

Alaina hugged her own manuscript to her chest, barely able to contain her eagerness. “You have never experienced this play through the lens I intend to apply,” she replied with a wicked smile.

If her husband wanted her to read “more suitable” material, then they would do so.

He’d simply failed to specify how they should read it.