“You summoned me, Your Grace,” Wickham bowed low the way he knew his master demanded.
The Duke had been debating who his first conquest would be. He most wanted to take the Duchess of Bedford. Not only did her husband dote on her, but the number of times he had been slighted by themightyBedford were too numerous to count.
The problem was the Rhys-Davies were wealthier than himself, far more powerful, and the trump was they were related to the Queen. No, he would have to give up on exacting his revenge by cuckolding Bedford. Instead, he would take his pleasure with the next one on the list. What a pity the two after her were no longer in London.
Wickham had informed him that the Darcys and Fitzwilliams had departed Town earlier than was their wont. Ladies Elaine and Anne would be plucked at another time.
“I have decided who the firstwifeto be bedded by me will be. You are to bring me Lady Jersey on Easter Sunday,” the Duke ordered. “That bastard Jersey was one of the men who tried to get my titles and wealth stripped from me and he is a holier than thou, pious simpleton so his wife being violated on Easter will drive him insane.”
Without a word, Wickham acknowledged the order and was dismissed by the Duke. He had about a fortnight to come up with a workable plan.
Chapter 20
Never in the whole of her life had Elizabeth looked forward to attending church as much as she did that Sunday morning.
Elizabeth was in anticipation of seeing those she loved most in the world. She was filled with frenetic energy making Loretta’s work in preparing her for the day that much harder. Every time she sat at the dresser, Elizabeth would jump up again and begin to pace.
“Your Grace, are you well?” Jennings inquired worriedly.
For the last few days, her mistress had been distracted like the maid had not seen in the months since she had begun to serve the Duchess. She would not normally be so forward as to ask her mistress the question she had, but with Her Grace being with child, she felt she must.
“Yes, indeed I am very well,” Elizabeth responded distractedly. “I am in anticipation of attending church in Lambton, I have heard the rector delivers excellent sermons.”
Elizabeth was not one who liked to prevaricate and she had had an internal debate about whether or not to take Loretta into her confidence.
In the end, for now at least, she had decided against it. She did not want to put the maid in the position of having to dissemble in order to protect her mistress if one of her vilehusband’s lap dogs questioned her. Loretta’s loyalty was above reproach, it was that man and his lackeys she did not trust.
The maid made no further comment. She knew the mistress had not attended services the first Sunday they had been in Derbyshire and at Falconwood she had only been allowed to use the chapel at the estate. A curate from the church in Chesham came to deliver the service.
‘How fortunate,’ Elizabeth thought as she finally sat long enough for her maid to complete her work on her hair. ‘It is John and Brian who will accompany me to the church today. They are completely loyal to me.’
One day at Falconwood she had overheard the two men discussing the hardships of their families and how what the Duke paid them was not enough. Elizabeth had begun to use some of her vast amounts of pin money to begin to augment the wages of John Biggs and Brian Johns. She had not done it to purchase their loyalty, but the result had been the two, who her delusional husband thought were his men, would do anything to protect Her Grace.
Yester-afternoon Elizabeth had requested they wait outside of the church as she was sure she would be perfectly safe inside with the worshipers.
Neither man had questioned her motives and agreed without hesitation. For the same reason she had not shared with her maid, Elizabeth had decided not to tell John and Brian the truth at this point.
“I think you are ready, Your Grace,” Jennings stated.
The maid had piled most of the hair on top of her head, held in place with pearl-tipped pins. Elizabeth was dressed in one of the myriad of new gowns she had been supplied with after the days of shopping in London.
It was certainly not the most ostentatious of her gowns. Even though she cared not, she guessed it would be finer than what most were wearing.
At the door, the butler was holding her bonnet and light pelisse her lady’s maid had provided him. The day was not cold, and with her body heat increased because of being with child, Elizabeth had chosen the lightest of her pelisses. She tied her bonnet in place and then exited via the great hall.
On the large stone veranda, John and Brian were waiting for her. The former offered his arm to his mistress to guide her to the waiting coach.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Andrew was frustrated. They had been busy since their arrival and he had not found an excuse or time to go into Lambton to see if he would be able to discover the whereabouts of Miss Bennet.
If that were not bad enough, the family were to attend the church at Kympton this week. As the gifts of both that church and Lambton were his uncle’s to bestow, the Darcy’s alternated between the two churches each week.
He could have asked Uncle Robert for them to attend Lambton’s church, but that would have engendered too many questions Andrew was not yet ready to answer.
Monday they would be in Lambton. William had suggested they go fishing at Castlemere in the morning that day and return via Lambton where they would have their midday meal at the Rose and Crown Inn. Like his own family did in Matlock and he did in Hilldale, the Darcys patronised the local businesses as much as possible when they were in residence.
He enjoyed fishing, but he would have been willing to eschew the activity on Monday if it meant spending more timeseeking out Miss Bennet. The longer he could escape Richard’s inevitable, relentless teasing once his brother discovered he was seeking out a young lady, the better.
