Chapter 23 #2
“It is not fair; I know that now. But at the time, I truly believed that the stress of your resistance that night triggered his heart. Some part of me foolishly thought you had upset him on purpose. I could not stay after that. A poisonous concoction of grief, loyalty, and resentment would have made me completely unable to complete my job under your leadership.”
He took out a handkerchief just as he started to cough. His sister rushed to the kitchen for a cup of tea, crouching by his bed and rubbing his back.
“Now,” he said between strained breaths.
“Now I can say it. His death was not your fault.
The duke had a weak heart for years. He had been seeing physicians in London regularly.
Ones he had sworn to secrecy. On the night of the wedding, after you had gone to the chambers, he had been complaining of chest pains to me.
I even saw him clutch at his chest before he pushed his way into the room with you.
The shouting, the struggle… It may have hastened the end, but the duke had been a dying man either way. No amount of loyalty from myself or the staff would have changed that.”
His words crashed over Lavinia, and she felt tears in her eyes, blinking them away hard.
“So, it really was not me,” she whispered. “I understood that logically, but actually hearing it is different.”
“I understand,” he said gently. Lavinia nodded and took a shuddering breath.
“Would there be any way I could convince you to speak about this publicly?” she asked. “I understand if you are too unwell to do it…”
“I am,” he said with another cough. “But… Illness makes a man think about what he leaves behind. Am I really willing to leave all of this behind without allowing the truth to be known?”
“You should not be,” his sister said. The others turned to face her. “The duchess has been good to you, to the estate, to the tenants. You have been wrong to stay silent. I will do whatever I can to assist you in speaking out, but you may not have long left to clear your conscience.”
Mr. Thornbury nodded, paling further.
“I agree.” He looked up at Lavinia. “When you need me, call on me, and I will speak honestly.”
“Thank you,” Lavinia said. “And, please, if there is anything you or your sister need, do not be afraid to request it from me or the estate. You served the estate faithfully for decades. It would be wrong not to allow you any resources we had available to us to make the end of your life more comfortable.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Mr. Thornbury said weakly.
“We should let him rest,” his sister said softly.
Lavinia turned back to her sister and her friends. Honora and Cecily both looked teary-eyed. Temperance was looking away, taking a steadying breath.
Outside, Honora and Cecily pulled Lavinia into a tight embrace, keeping her balance as the day's events washed over her. Temperance waited for them to climb into the carriage, her arms folded, her expression thoughtful.
“Lavinia,” she started as the ladies got into the carriage with her. “What has spurred this on? I know you want to clear the rumors, but why now?”
Lavinia hesitated, twisting her hands in her lap.
“The duke and my father went behind my back,” she said.
“I do not wish to give you the full details yet, because I am still learning how deep the late duke’s moral corruption went, but when I understand the full extent of it all, I will tell you everything.
Just know that I need to be ready to clear my name, and that when I do, everything will be different. ”
Honora and Temperance exchanged a concerned look, turning back toward her.
“We will stand by you, no matter what,” Temperance said.
“We are always here for you,” Honora agreed, patting Lavinia’s knee.
Lavinia nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears of relief.
“Thank you both,” she whispered softly.
The carriage brought them slowly back to their respective homes. Lavinia’s father hardly reacted when she and Cecily came back. The duke watched her enter but made no attempt to speak.
Lavinia took no notice of it.
She walked up to the late duke's office and began to take out documents. She needed more proof if she was to clear her name. Proof in the late duke’s own hand.
Lavinia sorted through some of the old financial documents she had not understood before, hidden among the letters. Suddenly, they made horrifying sense.
Quarterly payments were snuck in between the household maintenance. They were all labeled as “E.” She closed her eyes.
Elspeth.
They stopped abruptly around thirty years ago. The note next to it simply stated, ‘departed.’ It felt too simple. Too clinical.
That was the mother of his child. His legal wife. The woman he had sworn to love and protect. She had not departed. She had been forced to leave, or else she would have suffered unbelievable abuse. She slammed her hand down on the table.
She deserves justice too. She deserved so much more than to be kept hidden by that rake.
Lavinia looked over the notes again and took a shuddering breath.
I will bring you justice too.
Chapter 24
“Your Grace,” a maid said as Roderick tried to settle in the drawing room after breakfast the next day. “There is someone approaching. None of the staff recognize the symbol on the side of the carriage.”
“Let me go and see,” Roderick sighed, standing up. He was too exhausted for any more surprises. Stepping out front of the estate, Roderick frowned, then his eyes widened.
He knew that carriage.
Oswin.
Roderick had not expected him for another week by his reckoning.
The carriage came to a stop and the door swung open.
Oswin stepped down from it wearing the same easy grin he had worn since they were boys.
Roderick nearly felt his knees give out.
He raced forward, taking his brother’s face into his hands.
“It is you,” Roderick whispered.
“You look surprised,” Oswin laughed, before pulling Roderick into a tight embrace. “Do you really believe I would stay away for so long when your letters were so entertaining?”
“My letters are not entertaining,” Roderick huffed. “They have been nothing but the truth.”
“Your letters,” Oswin replied, “have mentioned Her Grace each time. You cannot believe I would not be interested in the woman who had captured your attention so entirely.”
“Oh, do not say that,” Roderick whispered. “I am in deep trouble with her…”
“Roderick,” Oswin said, pulling back from his brother. “You are speaking like a scolded child. My mother would scold you herself if she could be here.”
“Where is Millicent?” Roderick asked, glancing into the carriage behind Oswin.
“She is not well,” Oswin said.
“Not well?”
“A cold,” Oswin said, trying to soothe Roderick’s mind. “She will be more than fine in but a few days. She preferred to recover fully before she came to see you.”
“I see,” Roderick said with a sigh of relief. “We shall look forward to her visit another time then.”
“We shall indeed. She hopes to be here within a week or so,” Oswin said, nodding. “Now, take me inside. I wish to see your home for myself!”
“Yes, yes, come in,” Roderick said, leading Oswin to the entry. His brother looked around the entrance hall, nodding approvingly.
“It is lovely,” Oswin said. “Mama will expect a full tour of the estate and a personal introduction to everyone who lives here whom she should know.”
“Of course,” Roderick nodded. “I would not imagine doing anything less.”
“Indeed,” Oswin chuckled. “She is eager to see you.”
“Of course she is,” Roderick grinned.
“Now, tell me about the estate, the whole outside looks a little dire, does it not?” Oswin asked.
“That would be my father’s taste,” Roderick chuckled. “The inside has mostly been fashioned by Miss Devereux, so you can see she has the better taste of the two of them.”
“Oh, of course,” Oswin said with a sage nod. “And why is it mostly fields around, the old duke could have pushed for some more gardens as opposed to weeds, could he not?”
“He could have,” Roderick sighed. “But it would seem he did not have the inclination. They are excellent for racing horses in, however.”
“Of course, that is where your mind goes,” Oswin let out an exasperated sigh.
“I am not the only one who thinks so;,” Roderick said with mock offense. “I will have you know, Miss Devereux rides in those fields as well.”
“Does she?” Oswin asked with a grin as they made their way up toward Roderick’s study.
“Indeed,” Roderick replied as he poured them each a glass of brandy. Oswin closed the door and took a breath.
“Roderick,” Oswin said softly. “What is happening in this house?”
“What do you mean?” Roderick asked.
“You have been telling me about Miss Devereux, then today you say you have upset her, and I can see the tension on your face. It is disconcerting to tell the truth. So, speak plainly, tell me what is happening,” Oswin encouraged.
Roderick froze, almost overflowing the glass with too much alcohol. He put the decanter down quickly.
“I…” he whispered. “I wanted to help her. I wanted to give her a way out, a way that she could find stability without relying on me. I tried to offer her up to a local lord, even assisting the courtship financially…”
“And when she found out, she became upset because she did not appreciate the efforts?” Oswin asked.
“You do not understand,” Roderick replied. “She is extremely independent, and what I was doing completely undermined the freedom she had spent the last several years building for herself.”
“So, what you are saying,” Oswin started as he sat down. “Is that you are an idiot.”
Roderick let out a frustrated laugh.
“In a few words, yes,” Roderick sighed, taking the glasses of brandy and putting them on the coffee table between them.
“Roderick, I have known you thirty years, and I have never heard you speak of anyone in this way before.”
“What do you mean?”