the duchess said with a happy sigh as she moved to sit on a chaise overlooking the large manicured backyard of the Wiltshire estate. A maid followed her carrying a silver tray with lemonade, crystal glasses and lemon biscuits, and a footman was behind the maid with a large parasol that he planted firmly in the ground behind the chaise. The shadow cast by the canopy perfectly enveloped the duchess right down to her slippered feet. Below them, several children played on an expansive lawn, their small voices and high-pitched laughter occasionally drifting up the grass covered hill. From the scent that filled the air, it was evident the lawn had recently been trimmed. “Another niece or nephew on the way, perhaps?” Michael wondered, accepting a glass of lemonade from the maid as he took the chair adjacent to the duchess. He vaguely wondered what good news she expected him to have. This visit to Wiltshire was merely a brief stop on his way back to London from Sussex; he hadn’t planned the visit much in advance, so his sister hadn’t known he would pay a call on the ducal estate.
