“And I guess he had another duchess, the mother of his son, the heir.”
Larilane cleared his throat. “Erm, yes, another duchess, quite right.” But there was something in his tone. He was startled by that interpretation.
“Wait a moment,wasthere another duchess?” said Mr. Darcy.
“I shall not speak of this!” said Larilane.
“But the man is dead,” said Mr. Darcy. “Whatever sort of monster he was, there is no danger from him now, is there?”
“It is done,” said Larilane, shaking his head at him. “He was a monster then, and I had to do… things… in service of protection of Matilda and her babe. Now, I cannot speak of them.”
“Why not?”
“Because they endanger me now,” said Larilane, glaring at him. “And perhaps I would not care if it were only me to worry over, but I have a wife now, children, a life…”
Darcy furrowed his brow. “But who could threaten these things for you? What things did you do?”
“I’ve said all I’m going to say, I’m afraid,” said Larilane. “If you come back here, sir, I shall not admit you. This matter is closed, and it has been closed for over twenty years. It isdone. Please, let it go.”
“No, wait a moment,” said Mr. Darcy.
But Larilane was walking out of the room.
“TELL ME, MISSBennet,” Neithern was saying, as he surveyed the lawn ahead of him, which was dotted here and there with multi-colored larger balls and one small white one. It was all that was left of a game of bowls. The game had not been finished so much as abandoned by people who were too drunk to continue. There was a picnic luncheon spread out on a table outdoors, and people were reclining on blankets and pillows spread out on the lawn and eating. Several of the women had violins, playing together, though they were not quite in time, and the noise was occasionally grating. “Are you like Miss Bingley, with a brother in silks and tobacco?”
“Me?” said Elizabeth. “I don’t even have a brother.”
“Your father then?”
“He is a gentleman,” she said. “We have a house and some land in Hertfordshire near Meryton. A few tenant farmers, but not a great deal.”
“Ah, so this explains the difference between the two of you, then,” he said. “Why you are so very respectful and quiet and she is so…” He tilted his head to one side. “Well, whatever she is, she is memorable, anyway.”
Elizabeth could not help but wince.
“No, no, I do not mean to insult her, it is only that she is a bit overly obsequious, you see?” He tilted his head to the other side, grimacing. “All right, perhaps that was an insult.”
“That is truly why you remember her?” said Elizabeth.
“Oh, hard to forget someone who is so adamant to agree with absolutely everything out of your mouth,” chuckled the duke. “In all seriousness, however, I am a bit used to this sort of behavior, I must say. It wasn’t always this way, but after my father died and I became the duke, the number of people around me who are eager to ingratiate themselves to me increased fourfold.”
“Your father,” said Elizabeth, seizing upon this. “Were you close to him?” She added, belatedly, “I am sorry for your loss.”
“Not at all, I’m afraid,” said Neithern with a shrug. “And thank you for your sympathies, but the truth is that I barely knew the man.”
“Oh,” said Elizabeth. “I suppose he was busy, often, then, what with his various duties and the like.”
“I suppose,” said Neithern, but in a tone that told her that he didn’t wish to continue speaking about his father.
She wondered if his father had hurt him, since she had heard such terrible stories about the man. She knew, however, this was not a question she could put to Neithern while they were staring at an abandoned game of bowls. It was not the time or the place. She decided to do something a bit daring, then. “Do you walk often on that path? At the same time?”
He turned to her. “Often? I don’t know. I suppose. But I don’t typically come so far, of course. I stay on my own lands and I do not cross onto Houseman’s.”
Houseman. She found herself scrutinizing the duke’s face, suddenly, because she was realizing why it was the duke looked familiar. He looked like Mr. Houseman. Yes, the resemblance, it was rather striking. They could be brothers. “You and Mr. Houseman—”
“Yes, we’re mirror-images of the other, or so I hear,” said the duke with an easy smile. “I don’t see it, not entirely, but I have heard many people say we look just alike.” He spread his hands. “Odd, isn’t it, how two people can just happen to look alike? ‘More things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’ and all of that?”
She nodded slowly. “Just an odd coincidence, then, you think?”
