Chapter 9
The Earl of Granville had seen Lady Elizabeth walk in Hyde Park, so he waited for her in the park on three consecutive days, but she had not been seen again.
On the previous occasion, she had been with her suitor, and he thought he noticed some large footmen in the area.
She also had a Great Dane with her, but from the white around the animal’s snout, he surmised that it would not be a problem.
Time was running out. The Spaniard had given him an extension until the end of the current week to make a substantial payment on his over one hundred-thousand-pound debt; then, he would call in the debts and take his property.
It was the first time in his life that Harry Smythe bemoaned the fact there was no entail on his estate or townhouse.
Granville left his townhouse that morning earlier than he liked to rise and headed toward Hyde Park.
He sat on a bench away from the Grosvenor Square gate, where he had a clear view of those entering from the Square.
He needed her to walk today. The Spaniard had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he had granted his final extension.
He told himself it was not his fault he had had such a long run of bad luck, so it was not his fault that he needed to do what he was about to do.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was a cold February day, but thankfully it was not snowing when Elizabeth left Matlock House for a ramble in Hyde Park.
Two footmen walked ahead of her, Biggs and Johns behind her, and between them was Mrs Annesley.
Even Aggie had condescended to leave the warmth of the rug before the fire to accompany her mistress.
Though she was nine, when she was well rested, as she was as they left the house, a walk in the park was no trouble for her.
They entered the park with Aggie bounding about with more energy than Elizabeth had noted in a while.
Elizabeth decided she would find a stick to throw for Aggie during her walk.
As she walked, she was deep in thought about her Will, saddened that he had had to beg off the walk as he had a task to accomplish for his father that morning.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lord Granville saw Lady Elizabeth as she entered the park.
He could see at least two or three footmen with her, her companion, and her old dog.
He saw the footmen but judged that there was enough distance for him to achieve his aim before they were able to reach him, and besides, as big as they were, they would be slow and lumbering.
Noting the path that she was taking; Granville made his way by a circuitous route where the path was close to a copse of trees.
His plan was to trip and pull the lady down, tearing her dress in the process while making as much noise as he could to attract the maximum attention possible.
She would have no choice then but to accept his offer to save her reputation.
Her reputed dowry of over one hundred thousand was exactly what he needed to save himself and his properties from his creditors.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Will had been tasked to meet with his father’s solicitors that morning, which was why he was not able to accompany Elizabeth on her ramble in Hyde Park as he would have preferred.
He hoped that the documents that his father needed him to review at Mr Reid’s office would not keep him there too many hours as he was hoping to spend the afternoon with his Lizzy.
He had never enjoyed his time in society as he had since Elizabeth’s coming out ball and all the subsequent events.
He would never have believed that he, who had eschewed society as much as he had prior to the ball, would relish it now the way he did.
He knew that the difference was Elizabeth, and without her, by his side, he would have been no keener for all the events that they had attended than he ever had.
Georgiana had always loved him, but now that he was on the cusp of proposing to Lizzy and making the two young ladies sisters, his sister showed him adoration akin to hero-worship. It seemed that Elizabeth had that effect on those around her.
His parents were no less pleased than Georgiana; they just did not show it in the boisterous manner she did. Alex was the only one who seemed indifferent. He loved his cousin, but whether she was cousin or sister did not seem to impact his life.
“Mr Darcy, welcome,” Mr Reid welcomed his client’s son. “If you will follow me to the reading room, the documents are ready for you.”
“Thank you, Mr Reid.” Will followed the man to the designated room, and thankfully it was not a big stack of documents—only about ten pages in total.
No matter how much he wanted to be with Elizabeth, he would read the pages with care.
This was his duty, and it was not in his nature to shirk any duty he had to perform.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Richard made his way to Jersey House to call on Loretta.
It had been a few weeks of courtship, and his tender feelings had progressed to love.
He suspected it was the same for Loretta, but he did not want to rush in headlong like it was a cavalry charge.
He was hoping his lady would agree to take a curricle ride with him through Hyde Park.
The butler showed him in where the four members of the de Melville family were ensconced in a morning parlour. “Good morning, Richard,” Lord Cyril welcomed him.
“Good morning all,” Richard said, but his gaze was fixed on Loretta. “I would like to invite Loretta to ride with me through the park,” he requested.
“Is there room for her companion in the vehicle?” her father asked.
“Unfortunately not, my Lord, it is a curricle that only seats two with ease,” Richard explained.
“I will ride my horse and accompany them,” Wes volunteered.
“As will Loretta’s companion and a groom,” Lord Cyril decided.
So it was that a half-hour later, Loretta was bundled up next to Richard in the curricle, and the three riders mounted and were ready to depart. They started toward the park with Wes on the side of the vehicle where Richard was sitting and the other two following not far behind.
“You are not too cold, are you, Retta?” Richard asked. The last thing he wanted was for her to have an experience she did not enjoy.
“I am well, Richard; besides the warming bricks, I have many layers of clothing to keep me warm, and how can I feel cold when I am seated next to you?” A blush spread across her cheeks as she said the last softly.
They entered the park from the west and took a route that would lead them to the Grosvenor Square gate.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Granville was pleased; the dog had taken off chasing a rabbit or some such; the companion was a little behind his intended victim, and the huge footmen were behind her. A few more minutes and his money issues would be over. He hid next to a birch tree trunk that was just off the path.
Elizabeth was lost in thoughts of the man that she loved when she heard a noise to her right.
She saw an unknown man barrelling towards her.
Both Biggs and Johns saw the man lunging at their charge and broke into a run.
For Elizabeth, time seemed to stand still as the man was about to reach her, and from the looks of things, he meant to grab her dress.
She turned to start to run, knowing that it would be futile as he was so close to her.
The two footmen were still a few feet away and watched helplessly as the man was inches from Lady Elizabeth.
Just as his fingers touched Lady Elizabeth’s dress, he was sent flying back.
Before he knew what had happened, he was staring into the eyes of a menacingly growling dog that was drooling all over his face.
He felt an inordinate amount of pain on his chest where the beast had jumped on him and forced him to the ground with its front paws.
Rather than not being a factor as he had calculated, Lady Elizabeth’s dog had thwarted him.
Just when things could not get worse, the dog moved aside, and he was lifted off the ground and suspended in the air like a ragdoll.
“Good girl, Aggie,” Elizabeth petted her dog, who looked much younger than her years in that moment and was wagging her tail furiously.
Just then, several horses came to a sudden stop, and Richard, Wes, and Retta appeared before Elizabeth.
Richard could see that his sister was unharmed, and then he saw the blackguard, Granville.
The man used to be a good friend of his and Andrew’s until he came into his inheritance at one and twenty when his parents were killed in an accident.
He had changed overnight to become the dishonourable man that he was today, causing the bonds of friendship to be broken by the Fitzwilliam brothers, who would not associate with one such as he.
“Why is Granville hanging about?” Richard asked. He then indicated Biggs should allow the man to stand on his own two feet.
“I was minding my own business when that brute of a dog attacked me for no reason,” Granville blustered. “If that was not bad enough, I was set upon by your pet giant here. I should call the runners and have the dog put down and the man arrested for accosting a peer of the realm.”
“You lie!” Elizabeth practically yelled from where she stood next to Retta. “He tried to attack me; he was about to grab my gown when Aggie saved me. He was seen by our men and Mrs Annesley as well,” she reported with anger. “I will wager the stupid man was trying to compromise me!”
“That is not what happened; no one will believe this chit over me!” Granville tried to assert, but before he could say another word, and after a nod from Richard, one of the footmen landed a massive fist in the man’s stomach.
The Earl was left in more pain than when the dog felled him while he gasped for breath.