by P. O. Dixon
Hours later, Elizabeth remained by the duke’s bedside long after Avery and Lady Sophia had taken their leave for the night. The three of them had agreed to take turns keeping watch over the duke until he was out of danger. What they all refused to believe was that his end was near, even though he had slipped back into unconsciousness very shortly after summoning them earlier.
Amid his struggle to speak throughout the course of the evening, he told of having first laid eyes upon his granddaughter—how he only meant to give her the world. He spoke of what a loving mother Lady Sophia had been to his grandchildren and how Avery was everything a son, a brother, and a future duke ought to be.
Sitting in a chair reading aloud for the duke’s benefit, Elizabeth noticed him stirring. Dropping her book, she hurried to his side, took hold of his hand, and pressed it to her chest.
“Grandfather—”
“Elizabeth—my child—pray you will forgive me.”
“Forgive you, Grandfather? Why would you ask such a thing of me? What is there to forgive? I love you.”
Struggling he said, “You do not know?”
She leaned closer to him. “Know what, Grandfather?”
“Know that I love you. You brought so much joy into our lives.”
“Of course, Your Grace. I know you love me. I love you. Pray do not leave me. I need you. Mother needs you. Avery needs you. Your family—”
“My family—indeed. Pray you will forgive me my child.” His voice fell silent and his eyes closed.
“Grandfather,” Elizabeth placed her hands on his shoulder. “Grandfather!”
He opened his eyes. “I am here, my child.”
“Grandfather, you must not leave us. I will send word to Dr. Stanford that you are awake.”
“Darcy,” said he, his voice barely above a whisper, prompting Elizabeth to lean even closer to hear the duke’s barely perceptible words. “You must not blame him. He cares a great deal for you.”
Chapter 21 ~ Not Inconsequential
The Duke of Dunsmore’s passing had thrown a cloud of mourning over the entire household both upstairs and below, so well loved was he. At only seven and twenty, Avery was now the Duke of Dunsmore. One might say he had it all: youth, untold wealth, and power. In truth, it all meant nothing if he failed to hold on to the one thing that was most important to him—his family. His mother, Lady Sophia, and his sister, Lady Elizabeth, were all that he had. It was the three of them.
He did not remain at the Dunsmore country estate for very long after arriving there with his family to lay his grandfather’s remains to rest in the family cemetery. His business in town was too critical not to be there to attend it personally.
After greeting his friend Darcy in the usual way, which included accepting Darcy’s heartfelt condolences on behalf of his family, Avery came directly to the point of his being at Darcy’s townhouse that morning. “Darcy, can I trust you to keep all this secret?”
“I do not know that I can do that, Your Grace.”
“Darcy, shall we dispense with the formalities? I am asking as a friend,” Avery said. “Surely you have thought about what this means for you as well. I know that you admire my sister — dare I say — love her.”
“I have given this matter a great deal of thought. I would be lying to deny my hopes and dreams in that regard, but my wishes are inconsequential.”
“Yet, my family, our name is not inconsequential.” The young duke’s voice took on an air reminiscent of his grandfather’s. “I have given this matter a great deal of thought as well. You ought to know that I will do everything within my power to protect my sister. I will go further in saying that you have no genuine proof.” He infused his voice with steely resolve. “You do not want to cross me.”
The last thing Darcy needed was threats. He had struggled both long and hard over what all this would do to his prospects for a future with Elizabeth should the truth come out. This was bigger than his hopes and dreams. “The truth will come to light. It always does. Isn’t it better not to leave it to chance?”
~*~
A tall man with shifty eyes sat directly across from Avery in what was now his private study. The young duke remembered seeing this man before. He would come around every once in a while even when Avery was a child. He knew this man to be in his grandfather’s employment in some capacity or another. Whenever he called, the gentleman and the late duke would always disappear into his grandfather’s study. Occasionally raised voices could be heard and the gentleman always left the house happier than he was when he had arrived.
“Mr. Justin Talisman, did you say? How can I be of service to you?”
“I come here on business, Your Grace. And it is not how you might be of service to me; it is how I will be of service to you.”
“I am afraid, sir, I have no knowledge of who you are and yet you suppose you might be of service to me?”
“Of course you must know who I am, but on the off chance you fail to recall seeing me around, let me refresh your memory. Surely you recall my calling on your grandfather at this very house and accompanying him to this very room on many an occasion.”
Avery, not liking the sound of this man’s tone, said and did nothing to belie his prior affirmation.
“I would rather you did not put up a pretense of denying you are aware I have a particular connection with your family.”
“I take it then that you had business with my grandfather. I am not my grandfather, and I certainly do not assume the burden of continuing relationships with those with whom I would rather not associate. Perhaps whatever business you once had with my grandfather is better taken up with my solicitors.”
“This is a matter that was kept solely between your grandfather and me. Once you know what it is that I am about to reveal to you regarding the reason your grandfather and I kept this business to ourselves, you will surely want to keep things solely between the two of us as well. I trust you catch my meaning.”
The duke did not like the haughty, over confident, presumptuous man sitting opposite his desk one bit. “Say what you mean to say, sir, and then I can be rid of you.”
“Well, Your Grace, my business with your grandfather facilitated steady payments to my account on a monthly basis. Since the sad departure of your excellent grandfather from this good earth, the payments have ceased.”
Avery surely did not like the sound of that. It seemed the gentleman was suggesting something nefarious—even criminal. Could this man have been blackmailing my grandfather all these years? Might that account for the angry voices I often heard emanating from behind the closed door of the study when this man came around?
Avery said nothing. Better that this man put his cards on the table and then I will know how to act. This tactic had served him well in the past when dealing with his inferiors, as well as his peers.
“How is your lovely sister, Lady Elizabeth?”
His temper flaring, Avery endeavored to remain steady to his purpose. “You dare ask about my sister in the same vein as you suggest the purpose of your visit is to serve me?”
“I might just as easily ask about your excellent mother?”
All Darcy’s words now echoed through Avery’s mind. Might this vile character know something that would bear proof to Darcy’s allegations? His countenance doing nothing to betray him, Avery braced himself for what he feared was about to come.
“What a shame it would be if anything were to happen that might disturb their perfectly arranged worlds?”
“And I suppose you are here to tell me what that might be?”
“It seems you are not taking this matter with the seriousness that it warrants. One word from me can threaten your entire world. The Montlake family name will mean nothing. It will be tarnished and your family will be ridiculed and shunned, and the very notion of that precious sister of yours will be a thing of the past.”
Strong, harsh accusations meant nothing in comparison with the way the young duke now felt.
Ave
ry knew it. He knew it. This man did not have to say another single word, for Avery knew exactly what he would say. What is more, even when Darcy earlier told him what his grandfather had done, a part of Avery knew it was true.
Those long repressed memories of his little sister that had died in the horrible carriage accident - the one he survived - came crashing down on him. He remembered how his mother was devastated and how nothing could revive her will to carry on until his grandfather brought little Elizabeth home and introduced her as Avery’s sister.
His grandfather’s account echoed in his mind. He said Elizabeth was his own flesh and blood from his late son’s seed. He said Avery’s father had conceived the child out of wedlock. His grandfather said he had discovered her living in an orphanage after her own mother had died. All anyone ever needed to know was that she was Avery’s little sister and because she was the means of healing Lady Sophia’s broken heart, her ladyship would raise Elizabeth as her own. No one was to speak of anything other than his grandfather’s decree for the remainder of time.
Avery would be damned if he surrendered to this vile man’s coercion as easily as that. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Darcy is correct. My sister needs to know the truth.
Chapter 22 ~ What Manner of Proof
Now sitting across from his friend, Avery was consumed with disquiet as well as regret. Darcy must have wondered at his even being there, given that their last time together had been marked by discord. He said as much. “After the manner of our parting, I did not expect to see you, Your Grace. How might I be of service?”
How ironic that Darcy should now be using the same words as Avery had used earlier with his unwanted guest. “Darcy, coming to you like this is one of the hardest things I have ever been tasked with in my life. Alas, I fear I have no choice. I am compelled to start with an apology for the way we left things.”
“I suppose that were I in your position, I might have been equally offended by the things I said to you about your grandfather.”
“Then you understand my reaction.”
“I do, however—”
Avery held up his hand. “Pray, allow me to continue. I love my grandfather. The possibility that he was capable of committing such a heinous offense as rob a family of their child and pass her off as his late son’s seed is unthinkable. However, I have been presented with irrefutable proof that he did just that.”
Darcy’s heart thumped against his chest. He stood. The thought that this nightmare was finally coming to an end was quickly replaced with the feeling that it was about to begin. He rose from his chair. “Proof? What manner of proof?”
Avery likewise stood. He crossed the floor to peer out the window. He commenced recounting the events of the morning: the visit from Talisman threatening to come forth with the story if Avery did not agree to continue the payments that his grandfather had started. A meeting with his solicitors thereafter confirmed the late duke’s steady stream of financial outlays to Talisman for over a decade past.
Avery said, “I refuse to be a party to this manner of deception. As much as it will devastate my mother and my sister to learn the truth, I see now that they must. I am asking for your help.” Returning to his seat, he resumed his former attitude. “Darcy, do you know for sure that there is any basis for your account as regards my sister and the Bennets of Hertfordshire?”
“I am sure what I suspect is true. Now, when you have the means of putting all the pieces together, I ask you to do what you know in your heart is right.”
His voice bearing the signs of a broken man, the young duke said, “I do not think my mother and my sister will be able to survive knowing the truth.”
“That is all the more reason to break the news to them gently.”
~*~
Having met the Bennets, Darcy was far too fastidious to take such drastic measures as calling in Cheapside without proper cause and evidence of his suspicions. He dared not chance an unfavorable reception due to the gentleman’s want of sufficient sensibility, without having the man thoroughly investigated beforehand.
Never mind that the prospect of being in such a place as this was one he had never imagined for himself. It had to be done. He had relied upon the information gleaned about the Bennet family relations during his Hertfordshire stay to ascertain Mr. Gardiner’s address on Gracechurch Street in Cheapside. As he descended the carriage, Darcy took in his surroundings. I am a long way from Grosvenor Square. He could well imagine what those who knew him best would think of his even being there. Only for Lady Elizabeth’s sake would he venture to such a place as this. Only for her.
Having received swift admittance into Mr. Gardiner’s study, Darcy sat across from the man, whom to Darcy’s surprise, was nothing at all like his sisters. Whereas his sisters, Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Philips, whom Darcy had suffered the misfortune of meeting during his stay in Hertfordshire, were crude with little understanding and nothing of good sense and proper decorum, Mr. Gardiner was a sensible, educated man.
The prospect of dwelling in Cheapside did not sit well with Darcy; hence, he promptly came to the point of his being there.
“Sir, I know this may seem rather untoward, but I am not unaware of your family’s history as it regards the devastating loss of your young niece over a decade and a half ago.”
Here, the older gentleman caught his breath and indeed appeared a bit taken aback by Darcy’s straightforwardness. “I am afraid, sir, that the conclusion to our exhaustive search for our niece is that she is presumed dead.”
Darcy quickly stated, “I have reason to believe that your niece is very much alive.”
“Is this some sort of cruel joke? What could be your purpose in coming to my home and attempting to give hope where no manner of wishing and praying would make such a thing as my niece being alive after all these years even possible?”
“Sir, I have reason to believe your niece was abducted by someone with the means of covering up his crime and subsequently raised as someone else. There is a possibility that I may be wrong about the identity of the young woman whom I suspect is your missing niece, which makes what I am about to ask of you all the more tenuous. I have come to you rather than your brother Mr. Bennet because this matter is one that calls for the utmost discretion. There is the possibility that the young woman, of whom I am speaking, has no ties to the Bennet family at all. Hence, my positing a connection will have done more harm than good. That is the reason I have come to you rather than Mr. Bennet.”
“Do you know how long I have waited and hoped that this day would come? But before this conversation goes any further, I will need something in the way of proof that this young woman is my long lost niece.”
Darcy produced the likeness of Elizabeth that Avery had given him. Mr. Gardiner studied the miniature and after a few moments, his entire demeanor changed. “There is indeed an unmistakable likeness to Miss Kitty Bennet, my niece. From what I recall of the Bennet family matriarch when my sister and Mr. Bennet were married, there is a strong family resemblance as well.” He handed the miniature back to Darcy. “While this is uncanny, it is not enough to serve as sufficient proof.”
Darcy said, “I agree and that is why I am here. Again, as establishing proof requires the utmost discretion, I wish to introduce you to Lady Elizabeth—you and your wife as well as your eldest niece, Miss Bennet. I would like to invite you all to Pemberley under the guise of a possible business venture between the two of us.”
“Pardon me, sir. Did I hear you correctly say Lady Elizabeth? Are you saying the young woman you suppose is my long lost niece is married?”
“No, sir, she is very much a maiden.”
“But the title?”
“Allow me to tell you a little more of the facts as I have pieced them together, sir. Mind you, I am not at liberty to disclose all that I know, for there are many innocent parties affected by the events that brought us to this moment. Until it is a certainty that your niece and Lady Elizabeth are one and the same, the less disclose
d, the better for all parties concerned.”
With that said, Darcy commenced telling Mr. Gardiner all that he would about what the late duke had done—the abduction, the intricately woven tales of deception. This was done with Mr. Gardiner’s assurance as well as his word as a gentleman that he would discuss none of the details with anyone—not even his own wife. After all, nothing was certain until it could be proved beyond doubt. Both men agreed that a face-to-face meeting between the affected parties was the way to proceed. If nothing became of it, if there were no connection between Lady Elizabeth and the Bennets, then they would all part as indifferent acquaintances.
Darcy did not know how to think or how to feel, should his theory of a connection prove false. No doubt, he would be relieved that Lady Elizabeth had no connection with a family whom he found objectionable and totally unacceptable, save Mr. Gardiner himself. On the other hand, should Lady Elizabeth be wholly unconnected with these Bennets and the Gardiners, the fact was that she was not a Montlake by birth. Somewhere in all of England lived her real family, parents who deserved to know what had happened to their little girl. Regardless of how unfortunate that family’s circumstances, Darcy would not rest until he found them.
Chapter 23 ~ Knows His Own Mind
Mr. Gardiner did not like keeping secrets from his wife. He had told her his purpose in traveling to Derbyshire had to do with business. As fate would have it, his business was with the young master of Pemberley and Mr. Gardiner had taken him up on his generous invitation for his family to be guests at his home. On the off chance that Mr. Darcy’s suspicions were unfounded, Mrs. Gardiner would suffer no disappointed hopes.
Even the frequent review of her sister’s letter announcing their plans to visit Pemberley and their desire to bring Jane along with them at Mr. Darcy’s request, had been insufficient to calm Mrs. Bennet’s heightened anticipation. Soon after the Gardiners arrived and their children were settled, Mrs. Bennet said to her sister, “Are you quite sure Mr. Darcy did not invite my Kitty to visit Pemberley as well?”