Page 47 of Code Name Duchess
Victoria shook her head. “I do not think I’ll be able to rest. Indeed, I have not slept in two days.”
“Mary!” Winnifred called out, and within a moment, a woman whom Seth had seen several times but never spoke to, presented herself at the door.
“Please prepare one of my special nighttime teas for my sister. She requires respite.” The maid curtsied to Winnifred and left.
“Your laudanum tea? I do not ordinarily care for such tinctures, but I would much rather escape into the world of sleep than spend hours and hours worrying myself into an early grave,” Victoria said as she rose. She proceeded to curtsy to Seth. “I shall bid you farewell, for now, Your Grace, and I must beg your pardon for my actions.”
Seth bowed and forced himself to smile at the young lady. There was no use in being disagreeable with her, as there was no undoing her actions. The very best they could do was beg forgiveness from the gang members and hope for a positive outcome.
“It will do no good to continue troubling yourself. I trust that you will learn from the events and not make similar mistakes in the future.”
Victoria colored up so red she almost matched the carpet upon which she was standing. She dashed out of the room, and Seth took a seat across from Winnifred.
“I dare say your words of wise counsel may have had more of an effect upon my sister than anything I have ever said to her all of these years,” Winnifred said. Even though her tone was stern, there was a slight twinkle in her eye.
“I did not wish to be unkind, but her actions did cause us great distress.”
Winnifred shook her head. “I know that my sister and I disagree often. But at the end of the day, we cannot forget it who is really at fault. My uncle.”
Winnifred gave Seth a full report on their visit with her uncle, and he was left shaking his head by the end of the tale.
“It seems there is much your uncle is keeping to himself.”
Winnifred nodded. “I must agree. If he lied about knowing Elton, what else has he lied about? I wish to set the Bow Street Runners upon him, but I am afraid he has done nothing illegal. When all of this is said and done, he will get away with it. Once Leo and Rose are back in our midst, all my uncle will have lost is perhaps a few hours of sleep. He will not even have to repay the debt owed to Elton, for Elton will be in Newgate prison awaiting the gallows.”
Seth swallowed and shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “I venture to say that is not all he will have lost. If he’s genuine in his regrets at having caused this tragedy to befall your cousin, he will be plagued with the results of his actions for many years.”
He paused and raised his eyes when Winnifred looked at him quizzically. “I have struggled for many years with the part I played in David’s death. As I told you, I have never spoken to anyone about him the way I have you. Not even Leo. I have shut myself off. I have lost my close connection to Rose to the point where she did not even trust me enough to tell me she had fallen in love. And while my servants respect me and are loyal, I know they also fear me, for I am known to have a challenging temper. A temper which once again is grounded in the guilt and shame I carry with me every day over what happened to David.”
“But Seth, you cannot compare the tragic fate that befell your brother with what happened to Rose and Leo. For what my uncle did, it was quite by design, where what happened to you was an accident—a tragic accident—but an accident nonetheless. You weren’t to know that lightning would strike the oak tree and kill your brother. My uncle certainly must’ve expected that there could be dire consequences from borrowing money from a gang leader such as Elton.”
Seth averted his eyes. He did not want her to see just how deeply her words struck him. She spoke the truth, and he knew it. He’d always known what happened to David was not his fault. At least the rational part of his mind knew it. But his heart never entirely believed it.
“Winnie, I cannot tell you what it means to hear you say this out loud. I do not like to admit it, but I have felt judged all of my life by my loved ones. The truth is, after David died my mother wilted away and died shortly after. True, she was already ill, but David’s death only hurried her demise. And my father, he never recovered. Instead, he turned away from me.”
Winnifred blinked and wetted her lips before speaking. “Your cousin, Cedric… When I called on him, he implied just such an estrangement.”
Seth couldn’t help but scoff. “Cedric was the one who benefited the most from the estrangement between my father and me. He would have nothing to do with Cedric before my uncle died. Too great was the shame of having my uncle’s by-blow in the family. Indeed, my father would’ve cast him out. It wasn’t until after my uncle and David both died that my father suddenly took an interest.” He stared at his fingers, moving them slowly up and down as he thought of the many strained conversations he had with his father; how many times he was cast aside in favor of Cedric, a bastard.
When he looked at Winnifred again, their eyes met across the little wooden table between the armchair and the chaise. There was such empathy in her beautiful green eyes, his heart melted once more. Without knowing he was even moving, he rose and sat aside of her, then took hold of her hands just as he had on the walk back from Vauxhall Gardens.
“Winnifred, the truth is, the rejection I experienced at the hands of my family has pushed me behind these walls that I could never tear down. You told me that you assumed I never married because I was waiting for a Duke’s daughter, someone from the upper class. But the truth is I never married because I could never allow myself to face the rejection I experienced at my father’s hands. However, I cannot deny that there has been a lady who has taken up a part of my heart for some years now. And an ever-growing part in my heart at that.” He raised his hand and placed it on her cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb.
The sensation of her silky-smooth skin under his thumb sent jolts of a strange tingling sensation all through his body. His toes curled with exhilaration, and he could not help but break into a smile.
Winnifred placed one hand over his and closed her eyes, pushing her face further into the palm of his hand.
“Faith. If only you knew how I have longed for this. I have spent many years waiting for…. “
The sound of someone banging loudly against the front door forced the two of them apart. Seth dropped his hand to his side and dashed across the room into the hall, followed closely by Winnifred.
Mr. Purvis, the Keating family’s butler, rushed to the door and threw it open. Standing there was a man wearing a black cloak, its hood pulled far onto his face so that the shadows obscured his features. He handed a letter to Mr. Purvis who glanced at it, and before any words could be exchanged, the cloaked man turned and hurried away. When the butler turned his grey eyes, he squinted at Winnifred.
“Miss Keating, this letter is addressed to His Grace.”
Winnifred quickly retrieved the letter from the butler’s hands and gave him a nod.
“Yes, Mr. Purvis, we have been expecting it. Please leave us.”
