Diana Adores the Puzzled Duke

He nodded. “And what do you feel for Adam ?”

“I have a deep regard for him. I feel a warmth and affection but not a deep passion .”

Father considered that. “Perhaps I might tell you a story,” he said. “Your mother and I had been discreetly set up by our families to meet at a dance at the college. It was a rather formal affair and our parents worked very hard to conceal that our meeting was arranged. But we both knew the facts. We danced as expected, and we chatted and socialized throughout the evening and formed a mild friendship .

“Neither of us was passionate about the other. However, I learned through a fellow student, that your mother was passionate about a young man from another college—a rather handsome student of philosophy. He was definitely more striking physically than I was, and he was the second son of a duke. I, however, tended toward the more mundane, as I was plainer looking and the son of a vicar. But in those days parents exercised much greater control over their children than we do today, and we were directed into an engagement that I was not eager about, and to which your mother was absolutely antithetical .

“But you see, she was not considered marriage material for even the second son of a duke, so it was eventually necessary for her to reconcile to the fact that she would not be accepted by the duke’s family and we would be married .”

“Oh, Father, I never knew… It must have been devastating for you both,” Diana said .

“Perhaps at first. But over time we grew not only to accept the situation but to actually be very much in love with one another .”

“I see .”

“Now, please do not repeat to your mother what I just told you. She would be most embarrassed for you to know. But I believe you are old enough and wise enough to understand why I am telling you this .”

“A professor’s daughter is not to marry an Earl,” she said with a tone of bitterness .

“That may be one aspect, but there is also your duty to Adam. You, in effect, gave him your promise of marriage in exchange for the loan. And I do not believe you are the sort of person who could break that trust .”

“Yes, Father,” Diana said quietly .

“But most importantly, what I want you to take away from what I said to you is that your mother and I do love each other very much. And I sincerely believe that you and Adam will also find love. You are both fine, upstanding people, and, with time, I believe you will find a sincere affection for one another .”

Her father looked over at the stove. “Now tell me, is there any more of that quite tasty porridge left ?”



*

D iana had not been able to write one word after the conversation with her father, and she had cried herself to sleep that night. When she awoke the next morning, she felt sullen and despondent. But she knew that what her father had said was an accurate assessment of her situation .

She knew the episode with Robert had been a mistake—on both of their parts. He must certainly know that he might not marry one of her class, and she certainly knew how inappropriate any romantic relationship between them must be in the eyes of his fellow noblemen .

She would now need to walk down a narrow path. On one side, she had her obligations to Adam, and on the other side, she needed to maintain a professional business relationship with Robert .

It was not going to be easy, but once the marriage had taken place, she believed it would become easier .

As planned, that evening Diana and Adam went to the Cambridge Hotel for their celebratory dinner .

The hotel was very grand, and she had chosen well to wear one of her finer gowns. They entered the dining room and were ushered to a nice table that was secluded by an arrangement of palm trees but was close enough to the orchestra to be able to enjoy the music .

“We will start with a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck,” Adam instructed the waiter. “We are celebrating.” The waiter nodded but did not seem to be moved by that fact. “Then I think Scottish smoked salmon and toasts to start. We will order the rest later .”

“Very good, sir .”

Adam turned his attention to Diana after examining the dining room .

“I love coming here. It is so elegant. And I cannot wait until we are in London and will be able to dine out as we please, and go to fine parties and concerts and the theatre .”

“But we must be careful the first several years, Adam. Remember your salary will be modest, to begin with .”

“Yes, but we will have your income as well. We will be just fine. And I was thinking when you come to London for the book signings, you might be able to stay with my parents, and we could look at flats. I will be home by then and it would be a great time to set up our living arrangements. What do you think? You will have time, will you not ?”

Diana was absolutely determined to follow her father’s advice on the engagement, but she was having a difficult time enthusiastically committing herself to Adam’s plan .

“I will need to check my schedule. I know we have a lot planned both during the days and many evenings .”

“But you are not going to be promoting the book every single minute of the day. I can certainly work around your schedule. And it will be such fun planning our new life together .”

The waiter returned and served the smoked salmon and champagne .

As he was serving, Adam reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a paper which he opened and spread out in front of Diana .

“This is to be our itinerary. As you can see our first port will be in Athens. I was thinking we might explore the Peloponnese peninsula and then head …”

Diana reached over and put her hand on top of his, and said, “I thought we were going to develop the itinerary together before we made the arrangements .”

“Oh, I did the research and felt certain you would like what I chose. I went ahead and made the reservations so we could be sure to have all the bookings confirmed before we left .”

“I see,” Diana said with a smile, but inwardly seething with resentment at his inconsideration .

The waiter, having poured the wine, asked, “Would you like to order now, sir ?”

“Yes, we will have the roast beef with boiled potatoes, and I think asparagus if you have any… and let us have two side salads with that mayonnaise dressing that you do so well here.” He looked up at Diana. “That will be fine, will it not?” he asked without waiting for her answer. Then he turned back to the waiter. “Yes, thank you. That will do nicely. “Oh, and the strawberry blancmange for afters. Thank you .”

Then he turned to Diana and smiled. “Is this not such great fun ?”





Chapter 23





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