6 September 2010

My Lady Miriam Part 2

The Duke of Calver was in his large and exquisite sitting room, with his arm resting on the mantelpiece of his fire and his foot playing with a small piece of burnt wood. He stood a good six feet in his shining boots and he looked every bit the part of a gentleman; his very being spoke of elegance and the vigor in his grip when shaking another’s hand could only confirm the strength of a born athlete. He took no concern in his attire, though how he would achieve such grace and sophistication was beyond his admirers, of whom he had many. In his lordship the Duke’s expressions he mostly held a superior and arrogant air, and could accomplish the most dampening set-downs to his followers, but on occasion—on that very rare occasion—something would amuse him, something would bring warmth and laughter into his eyes, his expression would change and a smile that was only sighted by very few would steal into his features. The Duke was certainly said to be handsome, indeed, to be thought the handsomest man of the ton but he had some, what society called, odd idiosyncrasies that made him, when in deep conversation with His Grace, challenging to talk to. But however, his servants and workers, who had known him for a good number of years, said him to be the fairest and gentlest of masters, no matter how impatient. At this moment, his cold grey eyes wandered boredly around the room and his face showed a little and obviously pleasant contemplation. His afternoon adventure with that unique young girl had amused him and in some way—though show it he would not—surprised him. His business with that man (whom he had soundly and undoubtedly overthrown) had introduced to him an enterprising and impudent young brat! He had treated her abominably, The Duke thought a little ruefully, but that was not to be helped, he was in no mood then to be chivalrous. But she had not been offended, no, she knew what she was about, and wasn’t likely to lose her head over much! He smiled very faintly, but it vanished quickly as he turned to a knock on the door. He spoke a quiet and commanding ‘enter’ and moved to face the man who came into the room, his groom closed the door behind him, bowed and told his master that he had returned the horse to the young lady.
“Thank you James, did she convey any message?” The Duke of Calver stared lazily at the groom. James nodded,
“Yes, my Lord. She—ah, the lady sends her gratitude and thanks. She says also, sir: That your gun is quite the popular type and--and she is very grateful for you having given it to her, and very pretty present, that is what she said. She shall keep the gun out of remembrance of you and complete gratitude; I think I remember her saying sir. Then—ah, the lady said…” James paused, looking down at his feet.
“Well? Come, come James. What did she say?” The Duke inquired gently but impatiently.
James continued, “She said that you are…are the most offensive—is the exact words she used sir—gentleman she has ever met and your manners leave much to be desired and—and…well, she finds herself in the position to say that…that you are abominably rude sir.”
The Duke’s eyes flooded with laughter, but his face remained grave as dismissed the groom. His Grace the Duke of Calver was left in the room alone, he walked slowly over to his large window that overlooked his enormous estate and rested his foot on the window seat. The Duke mused to himself aloud,
“Abominably rude…yes, I like that. But I don’t think I’m in the habit of bestowing pretty presents on anyone, let alone a young chit of a girl! But I must have that gun back, and I believe I know just the way to get it…”



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10 comments:

  1. "Exquisite"? Hmm.... wonder where she got that word! ;) haha!!
    No...I am very confident that you have enough brains to think of it yourself... and its not like it a rare word at all either, so do believe it was all on your own power...just for the record. :)
    Love ya nzkiwigirl and very good job!!

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  2. Coming along nicely. One thing though....please don't eat me :-[...if Calver is a Duke you would speak of him as 'Your Grace' or 'His Grace' not as 'Your Lordship' or 'His Lordship.'

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  3. Hi You two!
    Glad you both enjoyed the 2nd part...

    Jayne, haha that is so funny I never even thought of that!! I use that word a lot, but now I'll never be able to use it without thinking about us three!!! LOL

    Lise, nah don't worry I only eat little kids....!! Um, If they were Dukes then they could be called either, coz it depended on what station the person was (as in the person who was calling the Duke 'his lordship' or 'your grace'), but then again, thats only from what I've read; I'll look it up. But I definitly forgot all about 'your grace' and 'his grace', thanks! Coz I was wondering what else he could be called the other day! Thanks to both of you!
    Lots of love and hugs
    God bless

    nzkiwigirl

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  4. Lol...I read far too much Georgette Heyer, as, I think, do you. :) Not that there's a problem with that :P But in that case it would be "His Grace the Duke of Calver was left..." I've just been looking it up and you could refer to him as My Lord. If it's third person I think it would be "His Grace" First person could be "Your Grace" and then after that "sir" or "My Lord Duke". Have you read "These Old Shades" and "Devils Cub" both by Georgette Heyer? There are a lot of Duchal references in those two. Plus they're great books.

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  5. Hi Lise!
    You are right! As always....LOL I do read a lot of G.H. (I Love her books, some of them are a little...interesting, but most of them are great), anyway, I did look it up and they use Your Grace, His Grace and My Grace for Dukes and the term Lord is used for informal terms rather than formal terms. But I have changed it! Look!
    I haven't read TOS or DC, but they are on my list for buying when I see them. Thanks again Lise! :-)
    Love ya!
    God bless

    nzkiwigirl

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  6. Which ones are [...interesting]?

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  7. Dear Lise,
    Some of G.H's murder mysteries are a little risque' and some of her regency novels are a little over the line too. Like Friday's Child--which as a story I love!--, it's a little dodgy and although I love the characters and the story line is cute, it goes into detail of Sherry's life a little too much. Not but what it's true, but G.H. could've stood back from it a little. How are you guys dealing with the 5.1 aftershock?? You're all ok I hope??
    Lots of love and hugs
    God bless

    nzkiwigirl

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  8. Hmm I don't remember all the details from Sherry's life. I thought it was a good book, but it's been a while since I've read it. I've only read one of her murder mysteries and I can't remember what it was about, other than a butler getting shot!

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  9. Haha, now re-reading my last comment it makes me laugh! Obviously I know exactly what I was saying and what I was saying was valid, it is just amusing how I worded it! ;] LOL!

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  10. I LOVE it, your story is so fun to read!!!

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