The novelty of a duchess attending their church had worn off to a certain extent for the parishioners. Besides the Duchess, for those enamoured with nobility, there was additionally an earl, a countess, and a viscount attending the service as well.
Even though they were unrestrained in showing affection between them at Pemberley, at the church Elizabeth’s friends—a group which was considerably larger than before she had been residing at the Darcy estate—and family were circumspect in the way they related to her in public.
Notwithstanding the fact John and Brian had assured Her Grace there were none working for her husband who would report back to him about her activities in the area, other than the information they sent—which they allowed the Duchess to read beforehand—Elizabeth had decided to err on the side of caution. Something all the adults residing at Pemberley agreed with whole heartedly.
Elizabeth was seated in the front pew—as befit one of her rank—between Lady Matlock and Jane. Her Uncle Adam had just asked the congregation to recite some silent prayers.
‘Lord God Who art in Heaven, please save me from this hellish marriage I am in. Since I came to Derbyshire and have not seenhim, my life has at least been tolerable. I thank You for enabling me to spend time with those I love and for allowing me to meet my new friends. Surely I have paid enough penance having hadhimimportune me until I fell with child.
‘On that subject, could You have not granted my falling in that state some months earlier? It would have saved me many times the disgraceful man lay with me. But I suppose You had a plan for me all along. Had it happened sooner, the Darcys and Fitzwilliams would have been in London and there is a chance I would not have met them. Please pardon me Lord if I am questioning Your plan. It is not my place to do so.
‘I am not sure what I am asking regarding my husband, but one thing I do know, which I am sure You know all too well, he is the least godly man I have ever encountered. Of one thing I am certain, when You decide it is his time, he will not be going to Heaven.
‘Please God, keep protecting my sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. They have all been so very good to me and they deserve every good thing You decide to bestow on them. In Jesus’s name I send you my prayer.’
The whole time she had been beseeching God, Elizabeth’s eyes had been pointed to the heavens.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was no surprise to Wickham that His Grace did not attend church services that morning. In all of the time he had been employed by the Duke, he could not remember a single instance his master had attended church.
Even at Falconwood when the curate came to deliver the Sunday service at the chapel, Her Grace attended along with the servants; His Grace never did.
At that moment Wickham and the Duke of Hertfordshire were sitting in the old, unmarked carriage a little distance from St. George’s church. Rather than wait near Jersey House, the Duke had decided he wanted to see Jersey and his children depart while Lady Sarah De Melville was conveyed home on her own.
They had been there for about half an hour when the church bells began to peal indicating the end of the Easter service.
“You see Your Grace, two coaches with Jersey markings have been pulled forward to the front of the church,” Wickham stated as he pointed to the conveyances.
“So far things are going according to my plan,” Hertfordshire returned.
As the two men watched, they saw the Earl of Jersey hand his wife into the lead carriage. He, his son, and his daughter stood and waved as the coach pulled away. The three then boarded the second conveyance. Unlike the one which had departed in the direction of Jersey House, the second coach turned onto a street which led away from Mayfair in the direction expected for the reported destination.
“I used the last of your funds you gave me to bribe Lord Jersey’s coachman. He will turn a two hour journey into more than three hours each way, so you will have even more time than we had originally planned,” Wickham reported.
“Excellent, I am well pleased I instructed you to do that,” the Duke claimed.
After a nod from His Grace, Wickham struck the ceiling with his cane and they began to move in the direction of Jersey House. They arrived at Portman Square just in time to observe Lady Jersey being handed out of the coach by one of her footmen.
The driver of the Duke’s carriage halted the equipage in the position Wickham had instructed him, which gave them an unobstructed view of the front façade of Jersey House.
Within a half hour first one, then two, and then soon several more men slipped out of the house. The last one came out of the ballroom side of the house and nodded towards the carriage before he too melted away like the rest of the men had.
Given the Duke did not want to walk too far, Wickham signalled the coachman to approach Jersey House. Per his instructions, the carriage stopped in a place where the view of other houses—more importantly their view of Jersey House—was obscured by trees.
Wickham alighted and then assisted his large master to do the same. He looked left and right and saw no one. As he had promised the Duke, there were no footmen on duty in front of the entrance door of the house.
“There is no one about, Your Grace. We can proceed,” Wickham told his master.
Hertfordshire lumbered after his man. They reached the side of the house where there were three stone steps leading to a door that was cracked open. Although he was out of breath after climbing the stairs, the Duke was well pleased when he and his man entered Jersey House’s ballroom.
He had attended a ball here during his brief marriage to his first wife. It had been the last time he had been invited to any social event at this house, and then soon after his second wifepassed away, any invitations from members of theTondried up altogether.
What he considered his ill-usage was part of what drove Hertfordshire to dally with married women, and he loved taking that which was not available to him. Given what Jersey had tried to take away from him, had marked him for a particularly hard lesson, one Hertfordshire would dispense this day, in a matter of minutes in fact.
They reached the doors at the other end of the ballroom which led into the main part of the house. “Please wait here, Your Grace, and allow me to verify there is no one between us and the stairs,” Wickham requested respectfully.
The Duke waved Wickham forward. He was happy for the respite to catch his breath before he had to climb the stairs to the family floor.
