Page 62 of Lord Lonbourn's Daughter
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“Darcy! Wake up! Get your sorry arse out of bed. I have important news to report. I know where Montgomery has taken off to.”
The door had hit the wall with such force that Elizabeth had bolted up into a sitting position before her eyes had opened. A hand tugged her down into the warmth she had jolted from.
“Go away, Richard!”
“Bloody hell, I did not consider that you might have company. I beg you to pardon my interruption of your sleep, Lady Elizabeth.”
“Your language in front of a lady leaves much wanting, Richard. Now shoo, before I reconsider having you for a brother.”
“Did you not hear me? I know where Montgomery has travelled!”
“Where?”
“Wingerworth, the Duke of Chesterfield’s estate. We must hurry.”
“That is almost as far away as Pemberley. Travelling there requires planning. Go to sleep, Richard, we shall deal with this when we have rested. Get out!”
“Yes, I shall, but I am tired of riding back and forth—”
“Take any bed in my house but the one I am sleeping in. Good night!”
“Good night, Darcy. Again, I am sorry, Lady Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth mumbled her acceptance of his apology in the hope that he would go away.
“Should we not rise and travel north, Fitzwilliam?”
“No,” he whispered and kissed her upturned lips with gentle strokes. “We need to sleep, and so does the colonel.” She did not manage to reply before his lips resumed their gentle touches. “We must take your father with us, and I am loath to wake him after his late night.” The kiss deepened; he was such a considerate man, although it was delivered with high handedness. He tended well to the people under his care…
Chapter 19 The Qualms of Election
Wingerworth estate, Chesterfield
Two carriages wound their way on the last part of the journey. They had decided to venture forth with many witnesses.
“Lydia’s incessant wailing has brought me to my knees,” Lord Longbourn growled for Darcy’s ears only at an inauspicious inn on their way. “I am contemplating acknowledging her marriage for the peace of my household, or better yet releasing her fortune, the deed to the Ronaldsay estate, and gifting them a carriage to take them north. It is too late for an annulment in any case…”
Arriving at the steps of Wingerworth, their party was surprised to learn that they were expected by His Grace, the Duke of Chesterfield.
Darcy had received an invitation weeks ago, and apparently Lord Longbourn had one in his stack of unopened correspondence of which he was unaware. The man was not well. Infirmity had claimed his body but not his mind. Therefore, he had requested that Lord Longbourn, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr Darcy attend him in his chamber.
The butler escorted the gentlemen while the ladies were offered refreshments in the parlour. Rooms were being aired as their luggage was carried inside.
The Duke of Chesterfield’s condition was glaringly obvious to the gentlemen that entered his private sanctuary. His Grace was not long for this earth.
“I have been expecting you, gentlemen. As you can see, my time is limited. You are aware that I leave no direct heirs, and my cousin, Lord Hazard, stands to inherit the dukedom. Lord Longbourn, Lord Matlock, and Mr Darcy are the last of my distant cousins, and I have no other close cousins apart from Lord Hazard. I have but little time to choose, but I would like to speak to each of you in private, excluding the gentleman over there.”
His Grace pointed a crooked finger at Viscount Crawford, who was lurking in the shadows with a couple of sturdy footmen on each side. The footmen each grabbed one of the viscount’s arms and guided him out of a side door.
“I shall begin with Colonel Fitzwilliam.”
“Your Grace, I cannot speak for my father.”
“I am not expecting you to, Colonel Fitzwilliam. I know your father well. It is the next generation in which I am interested.”
The other two gentlemen removed themselves to the adjoining sitting room, where Viscount Crawford was being kept under the vigilant watch of the footmen. While Lord Longbourn partook of the refreshments on offer, Darcy politely declined in favour of addressing his wayward cousin.
