“The late de Bourgh’s solicitor will meet us at the estate. Then and only then will he read the addendum to the will.” He looked at his wife and son. “I am barred from revealing what it is until the reading. Mr Zane must agree that the conditions have been met and that Anne is unable to meet the duties that would be incumbent upon her as both the mistress and master of her estate. Once that determination has been made, only then will he read the rest of de Bourgh’s will.”
“Very mysterious, but we will not ask you to reveal what you are not permitted to tell us,” Lady Elaine stated. She looked at her younger son, knowing how much he loved to solve puzzles.
Richard raised his hands in surrender. “I promise to leave things alone until the addendum is read in Kent.”
“Let us discuss more pleasant pastimes. I assume you will be one of the riding party in the park on the morrow?” Lady Elaine asked. She knew the answer already. Mary would be one of the riders so Richard would not miss it. He confirmed her surmise emphatically.
Elaine Fitzwilliam was aware that the Bennet girls had very healthy dowries, and not only from Andrew’s marriage to Jane. Richard had never asked anything about Mary’s dowry, and in her mind it was for two reasons. Her second son’s decision to offer for Mary had no bearing on whether she had a good dowry or not. More importantly and notwithstanding his jests in the past about a second son having to marry with an eye to fortune, Richard would not want to seem like a fortune hunter. She smiled as she thought about how surprised he would be when he discovered that Mary’s dowry was significantly more than Giana’s, which he considered very large.
Yes, she would love to have Mary as a daughter instead of a grandniece, but to Lady Elaine, the thing that would relieve her heart more than anything was that Richard would resign from the army and sell his commission. In daily prayers, she thanked God for the fact Richard’s injury had been minor, and it had kept him from being sent into harm’s way since.
Each time her youngest was on the Peninsula leading his men into battle, sleep came with the greatest of difficulty to the Countess. Since they had verified his light wounds and he had been on England’s shores, Lady Elaine Fitzwilliam had had no trouble sleeping.
For his part, Richard had already decided to resign before he was to report back to Dragoon headquarters at the end of his leave. He loved Mary far too much to be felled in battle now, and more than that, he was confident she loved him just as deeply. He could never put her through the pain his loss would cause. Just as important, even though they had not tried to forbid him from the army, he was fully cognisant of the fact that his parents and family, especially his mother, worried for his well-being from the time the ship he was on departed England’s shores until they saw him before them, hale and healthy, again.
He was aware how lucky he had been with his light injury. Many other officers and men had not been so fortunate during that engagement with the French.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Collins looked around his cell and could not fathom what he had done to displease Lady Catherine and cause her to have him locked up in gaol.
At least he had a narrow bed and not a litter like the prisoners he ministered to in the Hunsford town gaol. Well, he had been there only once. He had never returned to the gaol because Lady Catherine had called his visiting criminals ‘offensive’ to her, so he had ceased the calls immediately.
Now he was locked behind bars. No matter how he searched his memories, he could not recall a single instance where he had broken the law. It should have been impossible because he followed Lady Catherine’s dictates to the letter, and rather than contravening a law,herword was the law, was it not? That being said, his patroness could never instruct him to do something that would break a law, could she?
That question being resolved, Collins decided he needed to speak to the man in charge of the prison and explain that he was not supposed to be here.
To that end, Collins attempted to call some of the guards over. For some reason they all ignored him! How dare they? He was the parson to the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh! More than that, he was the owner of a great estate.
No matter how much he screamed or screeched, no one came, except for one man who struck the bars with a baton he was holding.
Frightened by the implied threat he would be next, Collins receded.
Chapter 26
Hyde Park was relatively empty when the large group of riders, escorted by six footmen-guards, entered the park a little after eleven in the morning. The aim was to ride and enjoy the park, not to see and be seen like those who flooded Rotten Row during the so-called fashionable hour.
The four Bennet siblings, Giana, Felicity, and Harriet, who were all residing at Devonshire House, and their escorts had ridden the short distance to Grosvenor Square, where the rest of the riding party was waiting for them. From there it had been a very short ride to the Grosvenor Gate. From the gate the riders rode at a fast canter rather than a full gallop in consideration of the ladies on their infernal side-saddles.
The riders split into three groups; the largest was led by Will the Younger and Rosemarie; the other two groups consisted of two riders each. The one closest to the large group was made up of Elizabeth and Darcy, while the last two riders were Mary and Richard.
Elizabeth could see that Liam was deep in contemplation, so she did not break his thoughts by attempting to talk to him. She already knew that her cousin always weighed his words carefully, especially when he needed to discuss some weighty issue. She was contemplating if Liam would think her too forward if she enquired about his intention to dance at Mary’sball. Her hope was he would request to share atleastone set with her.
Darcy had been determined to ask Elizabeth for the first and supper sets at her younger sister’s ball, but as soon as he saw her in a hunter-green riding habit, he had felt his tongue tie itself in knots. The last thing he wanted to do was say the wrong thing and have her refuse to dance with him.
‘Audentes fortuna iuvat! Fortune favours the bold!’ Darcy told himself silently, first in Latin as it had been authored by Terence in his playPhormio, which had been written more than one hundred and fifty years before the birth of the Son of God. Darcy thought it appropriate to recite the words in Latin as well as English given Elizabeth’s proficiency in the language of ancient Rome. ‘You will never know the answers to questions you are too much of a coward to ask. You, Fitzwilliam Alexander Darcy are no craven milksop of a man!’
He manoeuvred Zeus so his flanks were close to those of Aphrodite’s. “Elizabeth, I have a request to make of you,” Darcy began. “If it is not something you desire, we will forget I said anything so it will not affect your ability to dance at Mary’s ball.”
“Liam, that is more than enough of a preamble; just ask me the question.” Elizabeth smiled and arched an eyebrow to make sure he knew she was not upset with him.
After taking a deep breath, Darcy turned to Elizabeth. “Do I ask too much to request your first set at your sister’s ball?” he asked as evenly as he was able.
“This is a little too early, is it not?” Elizabeth teased. She had to school her features when Liam’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “You know Ellie is but thirteen, and you would have to wait five years for that dance.”
“Teasing woman! You well know I mean at Mary’s ball in less than four weeks,” Darcy grinned. How he loved being teased by this magnificent woman.
“In that case, yes, Liam, I would very much enjoy dancing the first set with you.” Elizabeth fought to keep the excitement out of her voice. She had been hoping he would make this request of her; now if only he would ask for a second set.
