The Devil Duke and Miss. Granger
Chapter V- The Quadrille
It was Sunday and Hermione was running late for her lecture to the Kensington Society. They were hosting a scientific saloon today, trying out the infamous Henry electromagnet.
Lady Aurora Sinistra who hosted the saloon in her home, had a brother who had only recently returned from America and had on her behest purchased the magnet so that the ladies of the Kensington Society could first-hand marvel at the technological progress made by the American's.
Normally Hermione wouldn't have been able to witness such a marvellous event not unless she was accompanying one of her cousins, in any case however Lady Sinistra like all members of their little society was a woman of the world; open minded and daring... she was who Hermione aspired to live like.
She was a woman in charge of her own destiny and was considered an Original among the Ton. Of course Aurora's late husband had been an Earl so there was little anyone could do about her eccentricities besides gossip.
As a widow and the owner of a rather large and impressive fortune she was free to live as she pleased, even take a lover... if she was discreet, that is.
Discreet, however, was not a word that existed in Aurora's dictionary.
It had been greatly shocking for all the ladies that attended when Lady Sinistra had decided to open the saloon for all women who wished to attend. For many of the ladies, they had never even interacted with a person in trade, before let alone a commoner.
It had led to a mass exodus from their little society to the parlour of Lady Brown who was in direct competition with Aurora.
Unlike the Kensington Society, the Iris Club formed by the Lady Brown was very strict with its admittance.
A title was a minimum, but Hermione highly doubted there was anything of note being discussed in those meetings and certainly nothing related to suffrage. That did make her feel a trifle superior.
Lady Brown's club was merely a place where women from the Ton went to gossip, drink port and play cards. In Hermione's opinion it was sad that they were trying to ape the men's social clubs without trying to bring actual social reform for the rest of their gender.
For Hermione satisfaction would come the day there were no men's and women's clubs... but a place where one could do all the things one did in those clubs without the consideration of class or gender.
Damnation would the maid never leave.
The reason she was running late was because one of the maids, Hannah, had taken to dusting the hallway outside her room. And so, she wasn't able to sneak out as she normally could. The sneaking was unfortunate but necessary since the Kensington Club was often held in the evenings.
In fact, if anyone caught her in her current attire, she was sure she would be flogged. However, it was much safer than venturing out as a woman who was unescorted.
It had taken her months to collect all the clothing she now wore since her lack of funds ensured that her chances of buying any of this attire would be futile; the breeches were stolen from the stable boy, the fine shirt which was much too big on her was taken from her uncle's laundry along with the coat and neckcloth. It had been a pain to get Daphne to purchase some men's boots in her size but reluctantly her cousin had done it.
Hermione studied herself critically in the mirror. This wasn't the first time she had escaped the house dressed as she was and, in her opinion, she made a very convincing young dandy.
She had bound her breasts tightly and thankfully the long tail of the coat hid her sizeable derriere. The only trouble she had really was knowing what to do with her hair, for now it was braided into a thick coil and wrapped around her head like a crown. After saving her pin money for the last few months she had purchased a second hand beaver hat. She was lucky there was such a large market in London for second-hand clothing. She had made an unwise and probably rather unsafe trip to Petticoat Lane, one of the many places in London that sold second-hand clothing.
It was pity women couldn't dress like this all the time she thought, it certainly beat the odious and complicated clothing women had to wear. No petticoat, no stays and not a chemise in sight. She wondered if a day would come when women wore trousers all the time and it was considered the norm, she certainly didn't think so... especially not after the way Daphne had reacted to seeing her new outfit the first time a few weeks ago.
Her cousin had been horrified and had nearly had an apoplexy. Hermione was rather offended, she thought she looked rather good. A notion that was reaffirmed by Lady Sinistra who had exclaimed in delight when she had seen Hermione walk into her home's parlour.
The Sinistra house's parlour became a lively hub of activity every Sunday, women sat on many tables scattered around the room. All of them engaged in various forms of bad behaviour that would have probably gotten them into trouble with their husbands and fathers; smoking, drinking, gambling.
Hermione had even seen the occasional opium pipe being passed around. But that wasn't all, there were also women gathered together composing poetry, working on their novels or artwork.
Her cousin Daphne, an avid enthusiast of ornithology, was working on her very detailed and fine work of all the local birds she had sketched in her husband's country home in Hampshire.
Hermione had tried to urge her cousin whose eye for detail was splendid into showing some of the more traditional scientific societies her work, indeed Daphne's watercolours with their tiny detailed scientific notes deserved a book of their own. She captured the majesty and beauty of her subjects with a keen eye, the colours of her artwork vivid and their detail, breathtaking. Her fear was that as a woman she would not be taken seriously, and her work scorned.
But in Kensington she was free to work on her book for as long as she wanted without fear of reproach.
Finally, Hermione thought with a sigh ... she had feared the maid would never leave. She opened the door of her room a mere crack to make sure no one else was around in the hallway before tiptoeing to the servants stairwell and sneaking downstairs. Once Hermione had made it safely into the gardens and vaulted over the fence (a task made much easier by her breeches) into the alleyway beside Greengrass House she then strolled out with a nonchalant air.
From her many jaunts in this particular outfit during the evening hours she knew that people often only saw what they wanted to see. And very few people saw a woman dressed as a young dandy on his way about Town.
...
Draco was handing his cousin down from his carriage when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
"Are you really sure about this scheme of yours, cousin dear?" came Luna's whispery voice.
Draco grinned down at the woman standing in front of him. His cousin Luna was a known eccentric, she was dressed in the most hideous shade of deep purple with matching yellow accessories and looked like a silver bird being devoured by some kind of carnivorous flower.
"Why, I thought you loved playacting, coz." he said inquiringly
"'Tis very different when it's in the Haymarket or Drury Lane dear... you're asking me to deceive a well-meaning gentleman for one of your many schemes."
"Would it gratify you to know that this scheme is intended to have a happy ending?"
"That remains to be seen, your grace. After all, from what you've told me about this woman... she hardly seems like the kind who would appreciate you going over her head and doing what you're planning to do." Luna didn't seem all that bothered by her deception of the good baron, more curious about the woman who he had barely told her anything about than anything else.
"Well, I have no intention of doing anything at the moment, besides introducing you to Lord Greengrass and telling him about your woes finding an excellent and discreet secretary. I'm sure the good Baron will know it is in his interest to do a favour for a Duke."
"How very Machiavellian, Draco." said Luna wrinkling her nose, "You have become terrible after the war."
"Ah yes, well my dear I'm afraid 'tis a burden I must bear."
Draco stopped speaking to watch in the early evening light as a young man strolled past his host's house with a deliberately casual air. Something wasn't right... there was something very familiar about this young man. Something he couldn't quite put a finger on.
"Luna, dear... I'm afraid I might have to cancel today's meeting." He said, keeping his eyes on the retreating back of the young man.
"What!? We just got here your Grace and we haven't even been inside, just stood near the front door."
"Yes, well something has come up Luna, I'll take another appointment with Greengrass so don't worry about it."
He signalled his groom and footmen who both looked baffled, "Take Miss Malfoy back to her townhouse please. I will not be joining you, I have somewhere else to be."
The groom, one of the men from his former regiment nodded sagely, unfazed by his master's erratic behaviour.
"Draco... you cannot mean to just take off!" Luna said, her voice raising with indignation,
"I'll explain later, get home safe now, dear."
And without warning he was off, he had to make haste, or he'd lose sight of his quarry.
Draco was just in time to see a beaver-hat turn the corner of one of the cobblestone alleys that led out of the Greengrass House was on Grosvenor Square and into St. George's Street.
Draco followed after them at a discreet distance, all the while trying to understand what had prompted this mad urge. His instincts had never failed him yet; not on the battlefield and not among the glittering yet dangerous world of High Society. If they said that there was something familiar about the young man, Draco simply had to confirm with his own eyes.
He still couldn't put a pin on it, there was something damnably familiar about them.
Narrowing his eyes, he realised... 'twas the walk. There was something very deliberate about the swagger, like the person had tried to ape the manners of a young dandy very hard.
...
Hermione felt a gust of cool evening breeze begin to blow up the flaps of her beaver hat, thankfully she was in an alleyway and quickly looked around before trying to adjust and jam it back down into place.
Her heavy hair made it very hard to keep the hat on her head, especially since once it was braided it was too thick to jam all the way inside a hat.
She was incognito she thought with a gleeful smile, 'twas incredibly satisfying to be able to walk down the streets of London... just another anonymous body in the crowd. Women walking around alone during the evening often drew the worst kind of attention.
...
It couldn't be, Draco couldn't warrant it. Yet he had seen it with his own two eyes, the thick coil of dark hair hidden under the cap the young man had just adjusted.
Young man... Young man...There were no young men dressed in such a mishmash of fine clothing living in the Greengrass House. Or at least the shirt was far too fine, the breeches and hat seemed rather patched.
And he only knew one person with hair the colour of rich cocoa. One person who was definitely not a man and had no business being out this late in the day.
Draco was furious, if it really was indeed who he suspected it was; Draco would make sure she would have trouble sitting for a week.
With no more intention of hiding that he was following her, he strode down the alleyway. His breath coming hard and fast.
...
Hermione turned around just in time.
Just in time to see furious silver eyes and a very very angry Duke who looked like he was about to carry out a previous threat of spanking her.
"Your Grace what in the world are you doing here?" Hermione said with a falsely bright smile. Cursing the heavens above under her breath.
Draco simply grabbed the top of her arm and frog marched her to an alley with a dead-end and that's when Hermione realised, he wasn't just furious, Draco was enraged.
"I should tell you." she began hastily, "Before you begin to lecture or threaten me, that as a woman who is eight and twenty, I have thought this plan through. Indeed, this isn't even the first time I've ventured out like this."
Oh dear... that had been the wrong thing to say, for sure.
Draco pushed her into the dark alleyway without so much as a sound, his silver eyes warning her that opening her mouth at this moment would prove perilous.
"What you need, hoyden." He hissed from between his teeth, "Is a keeper. You have been allowed to run wild ever since your parent's death and that's why you are out here risking your foolish neck, dressed like an idiot."
"I resent that." she protested vehemently not even realising that she should probably ask him how he knew her parents were dead. As he advanced towards her, the only sound she made now was a whimper because an enraged Draco was really quite terrifying.
Is this what the French saw whilst fighting him? In that case, she didn't envy the French.
"Where, exactly did you get this outfit, darling?" he asked in a silky tone, one that was the complete opposite of what she knew he was feeling. The feral violence that she saw brewing in his eyes was an indication that she had better answer, or risk his wrath.
"Gathered it over the last few months." she mumbled under her breath reluctantly.
Draco looked upwards like he was asking for divine intervention. He pressed her into the wall, the evening shadows making his face seem menacing.
"If I ever catch you risking yourself in such a manner whilst you live in Malfoy Manor, you can be certain that a trip across my knee will not be the only thing you need to worry about."
"I doubt I'll have to worry about any of it, since I don't think I'm ever going to be living in your house, your Grace." she replied tartly though she was secretly pleased that his anger wasn't for her attire but for the situation that she was in.
"It's perfectly fine, your Grace." she said rolling her eyes, "Like I told you, I have done this before and never been caught."
His expression only grew darker.
...
She had done this before?!
Now that Draco had seen it was indeed Hermione, he was having a hard time controlling his rage and arousal.
Damnnit, the breeches may cover her skin, but they showed off every soft curve of her body. How could no man notice the charmingly curved buttocks, the slim thighs and feminine throat with no Adam's apple.
Had any other man seen her like this? He found the idea of that didn't sit well with him.
And more than that, she was gallivanting around Town putting herself in jeopardy. No, this would not stand.
"I want you to listen carefully, Granger." He leaned in, causing her to startle, "I am warning you, if I ever catch you doing something this reckless again..."
"But how will you catch me?" she asked, confused.
Making Draco want to shout, because I'm going to marry you, you infuriating baggage and I will not have my Duchess put in danger. Dear god, he was about to lose his temper and Draco very rarely lost his temper.
Instead, he just kissed her, a better than the alternative which was to strangle her.
He was also well aware that any onlooker walking past this alley would assume 'twas two men kissing, something that might get them landed in jail or even spending a night in Scotland Yard. However even that wasn't enough to deter him from tasting the lips of this maddening woman.
She was as enthusiastic as the last time they had kissed, giving a low moan before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and parting her lips for the thrust of his tongue.
She had learned he thought with amusement as she opened her mouth to allow him entrance.
He felt an exhalant laugh rise from inside him, one could get used to such sweet and fiery passion in a wife. The same passion that made her untried kisses, innocent and lush, also wildly exciting.
Life with Hermione was never going to be dull, that was for sure. Draco cupped her breast under her coat, grudgingly admitting that the only good thing about his Hermione in breeches was the fact that it made everything easier to undo.
...
Hermione allowed herself to be consumed by the heat of Draco's mouth. His warm and spicy fragrance was glorious, he smelled like the outdoors and a hint of sweat... clean and masculine.
She felt her body blossom under his expert touch, his strong hands closing around her breast and his rough thumb toying with her taut nipple. Even through the shirt, she felt the electric shock of his touch.
"You'll answer one question, my dear." He said hoarsely, dragging his mouth from her own.
Dazed Hermione nodded, willing to answer any question while she was still entangled in his sensual web.
"Just where were you going dressed like this?"
With her arms still around his neck she replied in a dreamy voice, "The Kensington Society."
Draco abruptly dropped his arms from around her, "And just why were you going to that godforsaken place, in the first place? Do you know the kind of things Lady Sinistra advocates for? For god's sake she wants to demand the vote for women?!"
Hermione felt her previous feelings to pleasure dissipate, leaving in place a cold anger, "And why your Grace, do you not think women are intelligent enough to vote?" she demanded in a mocking voice, "Perhaps you'd like us to sit at home, sew and raise children for the rest of our lives... but I'd just like to let you know some of us have dreams beyond marriage and children."
And with that Hermione pushed past him, jamming the hat that had become askew when he kissed her back on her head.
"I would advise you not to follow me." she said coldly, "Considering you have ruined my Sunday evening saloon anyway, I shall just return home."
"If you think you're going anywhere without an escort, madam... you had better think twice." He replied curtly, grabbing her arm and taking her out onto the main street.
...
A suffragette Draco thought with growing doom... would she even accept his proposal?
He remembered her words, some of us have dreams beyond marriage and children.
And just what are your dreams, my wild darling? He pondered broodingly, looking down at the woman who he hadn't been able to remove from his head.
It had never occurred to him, that she wouldn't feel the same way.
TBC
A/N- I would like to thank my wonderful beta TheImperfectionista who has been the beta reader of my dreams, insightful and deeply respectful who has helped craft this story. This chapter and all the ones before and after it are made much better by her skill and wonderful editing. I'd also like to thank all of you, the readers who have liked this story so much. It has been very fun to provide you with reading material you all enjoy!
Also if you enjoy the Devil Duke and Miss Granger, make sure to check out my other Dramione period piece Dragon vs. Maiden!
Leave a review and enjoy!
