Suddenly, the duke stopped as if struck by lightning. “My God!”
“What is it, sir?” Darcy had the impression that the day they were reliving would never end, bringing into focus events from a past that seemed more powerful than the present.
“This page!” the duke said. “Do you not see it?”
Darcy saw clearer than a bright day. He was confused yet somehow happy for the duke, but then again, he was plunged into confusion as he better understood how that page would affect his own life—and Georgiana’s.
Maids arrived to light candles, and the gentlemen remained quiet until they were alone again. But they both knew.
“This page, my boy”—and he handed it to Darcy—“means I am still married to Anne!”
A burst of impromptu, disturbing laughter broke the silence of the library, betraying the relief for which the duke had longed for so many years.
“My God,” he said, patting Darcy on his arm. “Anne is my wife! All the trouble my father took to separate us, and he failed. Beyond life or death, she is my wife.”
Only then did he realise that, in front of him, was Anne’s child with the man to whom she was no longer married…
“Do not worry!” the duke said. “If Anne had decided to change our lives after she received the page, she would have done what was necessary, but she just wanted me to be happy that, before God, she was still my wife. How could a thirty-year love not die, still hurt, and make me happy at the same time?”
In his lap, an unopened letter was still waiting to reveal its contents, so well hidden for a lifetime.
“Let us read the letter together, Darcy. I completely trust you, and you deserve a proper conclusion to this tale as much as I do.”
“One more thing, sir, before that. Do you know how your father found you the day you married my mother? Who betrayed you?”
“I can only guess; I have no proof. I believe my father suspected I was preparing my marriage, so he probably went to the office of the archbishop. It would not have been difficult for him to discover I had acquired a licence to marry from a local bishop.”
“Yes,” Darcy said, “but how did he know where and when the marriage would occur?”
The duke was silent for a moment. It was one of the questions of his life.
“I have no evidence, but he likely went to St Albans, and someone told him where to find us. Anne’s brother and her sister knew I suppose. In fact, it was not a villainous act; it could have looked like a natural demand from a father who wanted to attend his son’s wedding. Still, I could never tolerate Catherineor your uncle because I decided one of them told my father about us.”
Darcy said nothing, as his own suspicions were similar.
Chapter 17
“Perhaps her letter will tell us more,” the duke said. “I must confess that I have been waiting for this all my life. I shall read it aloud, but I shall keep the passages that concern only Anne and me to myself.”
Darcy understood and agreed; he had no desire to intrude even more in such an intimate and long-lasting relationship. He considered that, as a son, he already knew too much.
The duke opened the letter slowly, but he began reading so suddenly that Darcy was startled, drawn from his thoughts by the duke’s voice.
My dear,
There are things unfinished between us. But I have decided to let all be forever forgotten, except one.
If you are reading this letter, it means Will came to you…
The duke stopped reading and looked at him. “Will? Who is Will?”
“That is I,” Darcy responded, his mother’s sweet voice resonating in his head. “Only she called me so.”
The duke looked at him as if trying to delve into his mind and soul. “Stand up, please!” he suddenly demanded.
Puzzled, Darcy thought he was angry and wondered what had happened in such a short time. But the duke’s countenance showed no anger; it wore deep tiredness and a storm of other feelings Darcy could not read. He stood as he was told, not understanding the sense of the request.
In an instant, the duke stood too and quickly said, “Come with me, please.”
