Chapter Nine #2
“Miss Whitchurch,” he had said softly as he lightly shook her shoulder. She resisted waking, which spoke to her condition. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
“You?” she murmured.
“Yes, it is still I,” he said. “You are in my house. Do you understand?” Her eyes kept drifting closed.
“Yes,” she said, but she had not reopened her eyes.
“The boy is with one of my maids and a wet nurse. He has been fed and changed and entertained,” he said with a small smile.
“You are to rest. I am leaving a maid with you. Jane will assist you with your personal needs. You are not to fuss or fume over anything but regaining your strength.” He wanted to tell her, whether she liked it or not, he meant to interfere in her life, but, for the moment, he kept his silence.
An hour later found him watching for Duncan’s entrance into Parliament’s halls.
At last, his lordship picked his way down the hallway.
Benjamin noted how Duncan leaned a bit heavier than was customary on the cane he carried.
His lordship generally carried it for protection, rather than support.
Benjamin briefly debated whether to involve Duncan in this business regarding Miss Whitchurch, but the smile on Duncan’s face said he was pleased to see Benjamin.
“We have missed you at Duncan Place, Boy,” Duncan declared as they turned to walk inside the chambers together.
“I have been opening several new properties of late, and I have not abandoned my search for more clues on your attacker,” Benjamin explained.
“Yes, Hartley mentioned something of your searching for the missing coat button,” Duncan said, as he directed Benjamin out of the way of those who might overhear. “Did you learn anything new?”
“My search was interrupted,” he said while watching others to see if they approached or not.
“How so?” Duncan asked.
“I looked again around the front of the Lyon’s Den, though we know that Mrs. Dove-Lyon has someone sweep that area daily, even when it is rainy, and, predictably, I found nothing.
I started around to the left, where your shooter ran.
There I came upon Titan and a woman, with whom I hold an acquaintance, sitting on a bench and in serious conversation. ”
“The lady from Mr. Sustar’s shop?” Duncan asked.
“Yes. I thought perhaps you might have forgotten about her?” Benjamin asked.
“You have evidently not forgotten, so there was no means for me to do so,” Duncan protested.
“There are many things of which I am ignorant, but I know my sons. We all knew Richard was in love with Lady Emma for more than a year before he rescued her, and Alexander and Theodora are finding their way back to each other, though there are a few obstacles yet to know a resolution. Sometimes…”
Benjamin chuckled. “Alexander and Theodora require no other enemies but themselves.”
“Assuredly, they do not,” Duncan said, “but if I am to know grandchildren, we must stay the course. Now, what of your lady friend?”
“Sleeping in one of the guest rooms at Macalhey House.”
Duncan tugged Benjamin deeper into a corner. “You have compromised the woman?” he hissed.
“Not exactly,” Benjamin protested. “Perhaps. Maybe so.”
“An explanation, Boy,” Duncan said in demanding tones.
“Titan was sitting with Miss Whitchurch on one of the benches in the Lyon’s Den’s garden. The lady had a child on her lap.”
“A child?” Duncan asked. “Her child? Is such why she shunned your initial overtures? Is it Titan’s child?”
“At first, that was my worst fear, but I quickly was made to know that Miss Whitchurch was asking Titan about her sister.”
“Her sister?” Duncan asked.
Benjamin noted how the hall was filling up.
“The sister has evidently gone away and left Miss Whitchurch to care for the child. I wondered if you would return with me to Macalhey House after this evening’s session.
When Titan returned to his post, I offered to see the lady home, but Miss Whitchurch collapsed in exhaustion, even before we could reach my coach.
I took her to my London house because I do not know where she resides.
She has been asleep for hours without even turning from her side.
She had the child, quite literally, strapped to her to carry him.
I cannot in good conscience return her to whatever is going on in her life, nor can I keep her at Macalhey House. ”
“We will think of something. I will ride with you, and you may explain the situation more thoroughly. For now, it is time for us to take our seats.”
Thankfully, this evening’s session of Parliament was shorter than usual, likely because they quickly were approaching the summer break.
London traditionally thinned out from mid-July to mid-November.
As it was necessary to name a new Prime Minister and his cabinet, other Parliamentary work had been set aside until the new Parliament could be elected.
A date for the election of those in the House of Commons had been chosen.
Duncan and Benjamin left together, and, thankfully, none of his brothers asked of their business.
Both Marksman and Beaufort were deeply entrenched in the goings on at Lord Honfleur’s house, while Orson and Lady Emma were still too newly married to care for company, and Graham had perfected the art of disappearing and reappearing, but with his own agenda.
Duncan ordered his coachman to follow Benjamin’s. “Now, tell me, in more detail, what occurred today,” Duncan ordered.
“As I already explained, I left my house relatively early to search the grounds of the Lyon’s Den.
When I arrived, I asked for Titan, but the bouncer known as Theseus informed me that Titan was not available, but I was presented with permission to conduct my search.
I combed the front and then made my way around the side where the kitchen is located.
” He paused as the scene replayed in his head.
“I heard voices and was taken by surprise to find Miss Whitchurch sharing her bench with Titan.”
“Were you jealous?” Duncan asked.
Benjamin frowned. “Surprised,” he corrected.
Duncan insisted. “Jealous. Awful feeling that makes men do things they normally would avoid.”
Benjamin knew better than to argue when Duncan used a particular tone. Instead, he said, “Titan meant to excuse himself, but Miss Whitchurch pressed for the name of an inn where Titan had sent the lady’s sister.”
“Why would Titan recommend an inn to a vicar’s daughter?” Duncan asked.
“I am assuming the woman, called ‘Cassandra,’ is a fallen vicar’s daughter. The child must have a father somewhere,” Benjamin reasoned, “but I do not know who is the culprit.”
Duncan did not remark, but Benjamin knew that his lordship was drawing his own conclusions. “So when the lady learned where her sister had gone, what did she do?”
“Strapped the child to her again and started off, but she was having difficulty walking straight. I feared if she fell, she would harm the child,” Benjamin told Duncan.
“I insisted that she permit me to see her home. She was not best pleased, but she accepted. However, before we could reach my coach along Cleveland Row, she sagged heavily against me.”
“So you took her to Cheapside?” Duncan asked.
“I do not want to ruin her, as her sister has been ruined. Surely her family has known enough harm, but what else was I to do? I could not walk away from her.”