When Georgiana arrived at the dock, Ledrell had already disembarked with the guests and was walking slowly toward her.
"Ah, so you're Georgiana." The man who had just been speaking with Ledrell suddenly said warmly, "I've finally met you."
"This is the sixth Duke of Bedford," a voice said in her ear. Before she could tell who had spoken, she smiled and curtsied to the duke.
The title Duke of Bedford had first been granted before the Wars of the Roses, when Henry IV of the House of Lancaster bestowed it upon his third son, John of Lancaster. Later, during the Hundred Years' War, while Henry V was fighting in France, the Duke of Bedford became regent in France for Henry VI, Lancaster's last underage king.
Although Joan of Arc turned the tide of the Hundred Years' War, she was ultimately burned as a witch, and the man who bought her was the Duke of Bedford.
The Dukes of Bedford had a longer history in Britain than the Hanoverian royal house to which George III belonged. Their surname was Russell. One notable descendant was the eleventh Duke of Bedford, who loved animals and kept a herd of deer at Woburn Abbey in London. They later became the only surviving herd on Earth.
There was also the fourth Duke of Bedford. He had served as First Lord of the Admiralty and Lord Privy Seal. During the Seven Years' War, he strongly advocated peace and signed the Treaty of Paris. After becoming a privy councillor, he formed a political faction named after himself, which endured until William Pitt the Younger came to power.
William Pitt the Younger took office in 1783, while the fourth Duke of Bedford died in 1771. From 1771 to 1782, the First Lord of the Admiralty was one