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B y the day of her presentation to Her Majesty, Elizabeth was more than ready to meet the sovereigns.

Even though it was not the drawing room where several ladies would take their curtsey, she still needed to learn all of the protocols.

They included how to approach Her Majesty, curtsy, and back away.

Archy would escort her into the room, and he would be by her side, and while he bowed, she would be curtsying. At least when she backed away, she would have her husband’s arm for support while he backed out with her.

The night before the presentation, Archy gifted her a matching set of jewellery for her to wear with her presentation gown—like Archy had said it would, it had hoops but not the massive ones normally worn.

There was a tiara, a pair of earrings, a rather magnificent necklace, and a bracelet, all adorned with more emeralds than she could have imagined.

Archy told her they were all set in gold; however, Elizabeth had not ever seen gold with a silvery-white colour.

Her husband explained he purchased it from a jeweller who had begun to experiment by alloying gold with other metals, like platinum.

He had come up with this colour, and so far, Archy had been the only one to commission a set using it.

He told her that he wanted her to wear something which was as unique as she was.

The Russells, Fitzwilliams, Barringtons, and Darcys had all accompanied them. They were all inside the presentation room already. Other than them, there would be few courtiers present.

Like everything else at St James Palace, the doors and doorframes were gilded.

Two footmen in royal livery were standing by to open the huge double doors.

The Duke and Duchess stood waiting for the major-domo, standing just inside the presentation chamber, to strike the floor three times, signalling to the footmen to open the doors.

Archy was wearing a dark blue, almost purple, velvet jacket with a waistcoat to match the colour of her gown. He had an intricately tied cravat and ruffles on his shirtsleeves which protruded from the sleeves of his jacket. He wore brown calfskin gloves which matched the colour of his breeches.

Elizabeth’s gown was a light wine colour and matched Archy’s waistcoat.

There was some very intricate embroidery, almost in the shape of a triangle just below the neckline, which was low, but not too low.

The sleeves flowed towards wide ends, below the elbow.

She was also wearing elbow-length white satin gloves.

Before she could become too nervous about meeting the King and Queen—they had been informed His Majesty was feeling well and seated next to his beloved Charlotte—the sound of the major-domo striking the floor with his staff was heard.

Right after the third strike, the footmen pushed the doors open wide and each stood in front of the door he had opened.

The couple walked into the ostentatiously decorated room; her left hand curled around his right arm.

They could not help but have their eyes seek one another and smile.

They walked to the point where they had been instructed to stop, and while he made a deep bow, Elizabeth sank into a low curtsy, her head down.

When the Queen said, “Rise, Your Graces,” they did so.

On either side of the Monarchs were seated some of the royal princes and princesses. Elizabeth recognised Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth, but kept her features schooled.

“My, my, Hertfordshire, you stole the most beautiful rose in Hertfordshire to be your wife,” the King drawled.

“I did, Your Majesty,” Hertfordshire replied as he bowed to the King.

“ We understand you are proficient in our native tongue, ” Queen Charlotte remarked in German.

“ Your Majesty has been well informed, ” Elizabeth replied in the same language.

“ You speak German so well; if we did not know better, we would think you had been born in Mecklenburg-Strelitz. ” The Queen switched to English. “We should not speak German, as I am sure not everyone here understands it. You are delightful, Lady Elizabeth.”

As the Queen had addressed her in that way, word would spread that the Duchess of Hertfordshire could be addressed thusly as if she was the daughter of a peer, that is, if Her Grace permitted one to address her so informally.

“We hear that you and your younger sister, Miss Mary Bennet, are capital performers on the pianoforte, and you, Lady Elizabeth, have a singing voice second to none. We will send an invitation to tea, and we will be delighted to hear you and your sister exhibit,” the Queen stated.

Elizabeth knew that even had she been disposed to refuse the invitation, it was something one did not do. “It will be my pleasure, and I am sure my sister Mary will agree to entertain Your Majesty.”

“Our friend, you have done very well for yourself,” the King told Hertfordshire.

“We despaired you would never marry again. It is our pleasure to be proved wrong. We thank you for coming to see us this day,” the Queen said as she inclined her head in dismissal.

After a bow and curtsy to Their Majesties, Archy and Elizabeth backed out of the presentation room.

Once their family and friends joined them, leaving after the royals had exited the presentation chamber, everyone made for their coaches to return to their respective homes.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The Duke and Duchess of Hertfordshire attended a few balls, musicals, and other select events in the Ton during the rest of November.

At each ball they attended in common with the Darcys, William requested and was granted one insignificant set with Lady Elizabeth.

In addition, he made a point of asking the wallflowers to dance, which led to others asking them for sets.

It was something that his parents, family, and the Chamberlains heartily endorsed.

None of the jealous harpies who decried Lady Elizabeth Chamberlain for succeeding where they had failed disparaged her publicly.

They were all too aware of the power her husband wielded.

Once word of the Queen’s approbation of the Duchess of Hertfordshire spread, those women kept their thoughts to themselves.

In their own minds they criticised her as much as they wanted, but never aloud or in company.

The Queen’s invitation arrived a sennight after the presentation, for the final Wednesday in November.

Her Majesty, like others before her, had been vastly impressed with the two sisters’ abilities.

She was certain that the ladies’ talents had been understated.

She was determined to have them back when they were in London again.

On the first Monday in December, the Chamberlains and their extended family headed north to spend Christmastide at Castlemere.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Lydia was practically bouncing up and down in her seat when the castle came into view. “It really is a castle!” she exclaimed. “Lizzy and Archy, please say we may explore as soon as may be? Is there a moat and drawbridge?”

Lydia, Mary, Cathy, and Anna were riding in the lead Hertfordshire coach with Lizzy and Archy.

“The castle dates back to well before the Conqueror and his Normans invaded England,” Hertfordshire related.

“The residents held out against the future king, but my ancestor, Serge Chambellan, and his men filled in a section of the moat at the rear of the castle. They used sand they dug up during the night, crossed it, scaled the walls, and managed to conquer those holed up inside it. It is the reason William I created the Hertfordshire Dukedom. Because of Serge’s actions, this estate, which was called The Sentinel, was presented to him as part of his land grant.

“When Serge married a Saxon lady as part of the effort to heal the old wounds, he anglicised the family name to what it is today.

“Back to the moat. Thanks to what Serge and his men did, the only option was to fill the moat in, which made the drawbridge superfluous. Lyddie, do you see the stone columns we are passing now?”

Lydia nodded enthusiastically.

“This is the remains of the old outer wall. We would have been crossing the drawbridge over the moat right now. These columns,” Hertfordshire pointed to a thick stone structure either side of the coach, “were where the inner wall began. There used to be a portcullis between them which guarded entry into the bailey. The Keep faces us, and that was the mistake the defenders made. They concentrated on the front with little attention to the rear, as they were sure the moat and the lake would make an attack from there impossible. That was Serge’s strategic brilliance.

Once they crossed the filled-in moat, they scaled the walls, felled the few defenders, and took the Keep from behind those who remained. ”

“Thank you for telling me about the history of the castle,” Lydia enthused.

Elizabeth looked at her husband, love shining in her eyes. She loved him with all of her heart already, but the wonderful way he treated her sisters, especially the patient way he indulged Lydia’s thirst for knowledge, only made her love him more.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“Do you have something to report?” Waterford/Wickham asked his brother-in-law . Clay Younge had just returned from Derbyshire; it was a sennight before Christmas, and the unintelligent man had just entered the house.

“The toffs ’ave come to their estates,” Younge reported proudly. “All free estates be occupied now.”

“Will you claim your revenge now, my dear Peter?” Karen cooed.

“No, it would be too much exposure. The trees, for the most part, are bare, and it will start snowing any day,” Wickham reasoned.

“They will not be able to keep us hidden very well, and even if they are, the snow will make it too easy for us to be seen.

I am as impatient as you to take my revenge, my dear Karen.

That being said, I am alive today because of waiting for the most opportune moment.

“Knowing them, they will all return south after Twelfth Night. Even if it means waiting for a protracted time, I will do that until it gives me the best time to achieve my vengeance and a way to escape.”

Karen Waterford accepted her husband’s judgement as sound. He had done well by her and her twin brother, so she would continue to trust him.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“Who does this country chit think she is?” Caroline Bingley screeched after she read the gossip columns in a London paper.

“Caroline, what vexes you now?” Bingley demanded.

“That country nobody the Duke of Hertfordshire married is a darling of the Queen, and by extension, the Ton ! How can they accept her while I am banished over a misunderstanding?”

Bingley pinched the bridge of his nose. Hurst and Louisa had left them more than a month past. There was only so much of Caroline’s antics they were willing to tolerate.

It was not to London they had gone, but rather to the estate Hurst would inherit one day, Winsdale in Surrey.

They had left him to deal with his younger sister on his own.

He lamented that fact, but he also knew it was his responsibility to manage her.

“Do I need to send you to Bedlam?” Bingley barked.

“This delusional behaviour is exactly why you were banished from polite society, and it was no misunderstanding.

You knew the future duchess was one of the party of ladies to which you attempted to lie, do you not?

In fact, you insulted her directly. The chit , as you call her, is a duchess.

You are nought but the pretentious daughter of a tradesman.

“There is a chance we will be able to show our faces in London again one day, but not if you speak like this about a duchess. Do that and your ruination will be permanent.”

Miss Bingley’s mouth flapped open and closed, but she said nothing.

She hated for their roots to be spoken of, which angered her greatly, but still she held her peace.

She did not enjoy this assertive version of her brother, but she knew from the past months that she could no longer work on him.

“At least allow me to refresh my wardrobe,” she requested.

“No, Caroline, I will not be giving in to you. When you have paid back what you owe due to your overspending, then with your own coin you may order whatever items of clothing you are able to pay for at that moment. All of the shops in Scarborough are on notice that if they extend credit to you, I will not pay the invoices.” Bingley left his gaping sister in the drawing room.