Loving a Fearless Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Book(48)

Nash grinned. “Will you wear it again for me?”

Penelope nodded and responded in a whisper, “Yes.”

“Good. Now let me watch you take it off.”

***

Their stay in Paris was magical. Nash knew the representative of the English embassy and a few other peers of theirs. They dined at the embassy a few times, whispering later about the ambassador. He was a rather rotund man, and his French was far from flawless. Penelope found Paris delightful.

Nash received no missives and sent none. He realized that they were living without the specter of Henry for the first time since they met. What a magnificent feeling.

The rest of the honeymoon was as successful as their stay in Paris. Penelope considered the boat ride from Nantes to Rome to be the worst part of the travel but found it worthwhile when she landed in Rome.

The trip to the Coliseum and the Pantheon piqued her interest in learning more about ancient Rome. The squares with shops and outdoor cafés that served very strong coffee were charming. She marvelled at how many squares there were in the city, a short walking distance from one another.

Penelope wore a hat tilted to the left-hand side to minimize the view of her scar. She found the Europeans either didn’t notice it or didn’t care about it as no one commented. How refreshing.

As in Paris, they dined with their peers in Rome. One night while dining with eight other couples at the English embassy, a gentleman was harassing a nice lady Penelope’s age named Lady Sanderson. Sitting across from them, Nash and Penelope could not help witnessing the exchange. The gentleman reminded Penelope of Henry. He was crass and loud and said inappropriate things to Lady Sanderson.

“Tell me, Lord Cheevers, are you enjoying your stay in Rome?” Penelope asked trying to pull the Lord’s attention from Lady Sanderson.

Lord Cheevers turned from Lady Sanderson to Penelope and looked her up and down. Penelope anticipated a comment about her scar.

“No, Duchess, I am not. I find the company dreary,” he looked over to Lady Sanderson, “and the diversions few. There are only so many times one can go to the opera.”

“Do you enjoy the strong coffee served in the cafés? I find the squares charming and the cafés a nice place to sit outside and watch the bustle of Rome.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Forgive me, Duchess, but we have different views of our experiences in Rome.”

He turned to Lady Sanderson and whispered in her ear in such an insistent tone Penelope wanted to intervene.

Nash put his hand on Penelope’s thigh and whispered in her ear. “Be careful, my dear. You may poke the bear one too many times.”

She turned to Nash, “I can’t sit by and watch him bully her.”

He looked her in the eyes. “Be careful, my love.”

During the remainder of the dinner, Penelope tried to engage in as much conversation with Lady Sanderson as possible. It seemed a rather successful way to ward off Lord Cheevers.

After the meal, when the men retreated to the study for cigars and brandy and women went to the parlour, Penelope asked Lady Sanderson if they could speak.

“I don’t mean to intrude Lady Sanderson, but I once knew a man similar to Lord Cheevers.

“He was rude to me, condescending and threatened me whenever we were in the same room, which ended up being often.

“Everywhere I went, he was there. Every day I wondered if I would see him and if he would humiliate me. It was awful.

“I couldn’t help seeing parallels in Lord Cheevers’ interaction with you. Am I right?”

Lady Sanderson’s eyes caught on an empty corner of the room, and she strolled there. Penelope joined her. “Please call me Amelia.”

“And I am, Penelope.”

“Your observations are correct, Penelope. We are acquaintances and happen to be here at the same time. He is ruining my trip,” she whispered. “What should I do?”

“You can start by asking the hostess to seat you as far away from him as possible. She’ll understand if you tell her he is pursuing you and his advances are unwanted. See her before the dinner party or as soon as you arrive.

“Sit with the ladies in the parlour before dinner. Sit for yourself between ladies; it doesn’t matter whom, and turn down his invitation to join him in another part of the room. You know you are allowed to say no to a Lord, don’t you?”

“What if I’m sitting with ladies, and I turned him down, and he says inappropriate things to me?”

“You say, ‘Excuse me, My Lord, but I don’t want to be spoken to in that way. Please leave me to my conversation with these lovely ladies.’

“You can do it, I promise. He’ll eventually back off. You must be consistent, but don’t let him get you alone. You understand?”

“Yes, thank you, Penelope.”

Penelope told Nash of her conversation with Amelia when he closed the door to the bedchamber that night. He smiled and brushed her hair away from her face in front of her scar.

“Good for you. Just be careful. This man is volatile and might take his failure to intimidate her out on you.”

Penelope didn’t see Lady Sanderson again. She was sad to leave Rome until she got to Catania. On the carriage ride from the dock to Catania, she saw the countryside and charming towns of Sicily.

Towns with the main square of shops, a church, and a meetinghouse surrounded by small cottages built from blond-coloured brick and topped with a slate roof.