The Theft of a Dukedom

by Lyndsey Norton

  Kitty was in Nirvana already. She felt a coil of excitement in the pit of her stomach every time Richard kissed her and she couldn’t wait for her wedding night. The bulge in his britches was fascinating and she wasn’t afraid anymore. As he kissed her, she slid her hands around onto his buttocks and pulled him close, smoothing her hands over him.

  He moaned softly and slowly withdrew his lips. ‘If you do that, I won’t be responsible for what happens.’ He murmured.

  ‘Well, I’m not allowed to put my arms around your body, because of your back!’ she said indignantly, ‘so where am I supposed to hold you?’ she demanded with raised eyebrows.

  He looked at the light in her eyes and was very tempted to take her hand and place it on his prominent erection, but he managed to restrain himself in amongst such a large party. ‘Don’t tempt me.’ He whispered wickedly in her ear.

  ‘When are we going to Cauldron Snout?’ Edward demanded loudly.

  ‘Just listen to the Duke!’ Victoria said sharply. ‘Just remember you’re not too big to put over my knee. So watch your manners!’

  Kitty kissed Richard softly on the cheek and disengaged herself from his embrace. ‘Stop pouting, Edward. It makes you look like a spoiled brat, just like my late brother Robin.’

  Kitty launched herself into the saddle and looked at Edward as he did the same. ‘Who’s Robin?’ he asked innocently.

  ‘Robin was my eldest brother. We recently discovered he’d got himself killed in a duel over cheating at cards!’ she said harshly. ‘So be warned. Nobody likes a bully, and nobody likes a sore loser. If you play cards, be honest at all times and take into account that you will lose. Nobody wins forever.’ She instructed firmly. ‘Take a drink, in moderation and never lose control of your faculties, or you can end up dead!’ and then she smiled. ‘But if you want my best advice, stay away from loose women, they only lead to trouble.’

  ‘How can you say that?’ Charles demanded. ‘I’ve known some loose women and had a great time.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure Constance Beresford was a worthy tup!’ Kitty riposted, making Charles blush. ‘But that led to me being mauled by her husband. So I make my case.’ With that, Kitty kicked her horse forward and picked up the Pennine Way again and was quickly cantering along the side of the river.

  At Forest-in-Teesdale, they could have forded the river Tees, but Kitty decided not to and they set off across Cronkley Fell. An hour later Edward could see the rainbows of the spray in the sky and was just going to break into a gallop, when Charles grabbed the lead and stopped him.

  ‘You’ll wear your horse out, Your Grace.’ He said firmly. ‘And the ground is tricky.’

  As they got closer Edward suddenly understood the caution, as he saw how rocky the ground was. Haste could have lamed his horse and he might have to walk all the way home.

  The crags rose majestically to the heavens and the water spewing over them was ferocious. Kitty led them to a watering place and they dismounted to rest the horses.

  Charles checked his watch to find that it was almost two o’clock. It had taken them six hours to get to their destination.

  ‘Come along, Edward.’ Kitty said and walked purposefully towards the rock face.

  ‘Where are we going?’ he demanded.

  ‘This may be your only chance to climb the waterfall at Cauldron Snout.’ She said firmly as she started to climb.

  ‘Are you going to let her go on her own?’ Richard asked Charles.

  ‘Of course! She’s been climbing there since she was old enough to ride out with Robin and me.’ Charles laughed at his friend’s discomfort. ‘If it bothers you, follow her. The view from the top is spectacular.’

  Richard rushed to catch up and Kitty heard him. She stopped climbing and looked down. ‘Richard! Don’t rush, if you fall it could be fatal.’

  ‘Will we be alright?’ Edward asked, suddenly aware of how precarious his position was.

  ‘We’ll be fine, just take your time and make sure of your hand and foot holds.’ Kitty explained and she allowed Edward to pass her.

  The rock face wasn’t sheer, but was fairly steep and at two hundred feet high it was a substantial climb.

  ‘What about Charles and the others?’ Richard gasped as his pale face emerged onto the top of the ridge.

  Kitty put her hand out and helped him over the crest. ‘That’s why Charles didn’t climb.’ She explained. ‘He’ll take the ladies around the long way and they will arrive here with the horses, so we don’t have to climb down.’

  She walked to the edge of the abyss and looked down the falls at Cauldron Snout. Edward hung back, unsure. ‘It’s all right, Edward. Come and have a look.’ She held out her hand, he firmly grasped it and she felt the tremor in his fingers. She smiled benevolently and exerted a little pressure to make him walk forward. As he got to her side, she put her hand on his other shoulder and gripped it firmly. ‘Shall I tell you a story?’ Edward nodded his head. ‘Many years ago, two wild boys dragged a large brandy keg up here and they climbed inside. They rolled it off the precipice and rode the white water all the way to Low Force.’

  ‘Did they die?’ Edward whispered.

  ‘Not at all. They didn’t even have a bruise between them.’

  ‘Who were they?’ Edward asked and looked up at her face.

  ‘One was Sir Francis Burns, a Baronet from Middleton and the other was my father.’

  ‘Now I understand where it comes from.’ Richard muttered.

  ‘So, remember. You can’t fool my father. He’s been there and done it all.’

  She heard the jingle of the livery as Charles arrived with the horses.

  Chapter 12

  The return journey seemed quicker, but then after they reached Forest-in-Teesdale, Kitty picked up the pace and they cantered until they reached High Force. They stopped for a second round of food before picking up the trail again.

  Kitty found herself with Victoria. ‘Thank you.’ she murmured. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen my son so content. At least not since his father died.’ She looked at Kitty speculatively. ‘You’ll make an excellent mother, Kitty. I hope you will be as happy in your marriage as I am in mine.’

  ‘Well, at least I know what to expect on my wedding night, thanks to Millicent.’ Kitty said softly.

  ‘Yes, Louise was telling me this morning.’ Victoria smiled gently. ‘There was one thing she left out. It can be the most enthralling night of your life with the right man, but with the wrong one, it can be a nightmare.’

  ‘Do I just let him have his way?’ Kitty asked blatantly.

  ‘Do you love him?’ Victoria asked firmly.

  Kitty shrugged. ‘How would I know?’ She sighed deeply. ‘I have nothing to gauge it against.’

  ‘Of course you do. Do you love Charles and your father?’

  ‘Oh! Yes.’ Kitty gushed. ‘But my feelings for Richard aren’t the same.’ She explained softly.

  ‘And they shouldn’t be.’ Victoria said looking straight ahead. ‘Richard should be able to light a fire in your heart and body. If he can’t, he’s the wrong man.’ Victoria squirmed in her saddle and then plunged ahead, as she had with Louise that morning. ‘He should light a fire between your thighs that burns long after he’s finished kissing you.’ She turned her flushed face to Kitty. ‘And don’t be shocked if he wants to kiss you in that very spot.’ She sighed wistfully. ‘It is the most erotic and devastating event that will ever happen to you.’ she smiled cheekily then. ‘And if you want to surprise him, do the same thing to him. I guarantee he will enjoy every lick and suck.’

  Kitty’s mouth hung open in shock. She was suddenly presented with a picture of her father with his face between Victoria’s thighs. ‘My father does that to you?’ she asked in astonishment.

  ‘He does indeed.’ Victoria squirmed again. ‘And it is heavenly! But then, I love him, so it would be.’ She turned her face abruptly to Kitty. ‘Can you see Richard in the arms of another woman without emotions?’ she demanded. Kitt
y frowned and shook her head vigorously. ‘Then I would say your feelings are engaged. I know Richard’s are, it’s written all over his face, if you take a good look.’

  They had just crossed the Ford at Holwick when the stable boy from Mickleton Hall appeared. Boy was a misnomer, for he had to be eighteen, if he was a day.

  ‘What’s this?’ Richard muttered.

  He rode directly up to Charles and handed over the note. Charles cracked the seal and opened it with a sense of dread. Kitty looked at the horse and realised the boy had pushed it to the extreme as it’s neck was plastered in the white foam a horse emits when it’s ridden hard.

  Charles read the note quickly and Kitty watched the colour drain from his face. He handed the note to Victoria; who read it quickly and gasped. He looked at Kitty. ‘Bring everyone back steadily. Victoria and I must away!’ was all the explanation he would give.

  ‘Charles! What’s the matter?’ she asked anxiously, but he didn’t give any response and they spurred their horses away.

  Kitty sat back on her saddle, she had stood in the stirrups when Charles had instructed her to look after the party.

  ‘I’m sure everything is fine.’ Louise murmured beside her.

  ‘If you believe that, then you don’t know the Stafford’s very well at all.’ Kitty spoke harshly. ‘Only devastating news could make Charles pale like that.’ She flicked her reins and clicked her tongue to start her horse moving. She looked at the young groom. ‘Rest up here, let the horse cool off in the ford and make your way home when she’s ready. Don’t push her any further.’ She told him.

  ‘Yes, My Lady.’ He said deferentially and watched the party ride on.

  Edward pulled up beside Kitty. ‘Do you think something is wrong?’

  She turned to look at his young face, to see an expression of fear there. ‘Yes, I do.’ She said softly and squeezed his shoulder. ‘How well do you gallop?’

  ‘I can keep up with you, Kitty, if it’s necessary.’

  ‘I believe it is necessary for us to reach the Hall as quickly as possible.’

  ‘You two go on ahead, Lady Louise and I will be there eventually.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Richard.’ Kitty said apologetically. ‘I didn’t think about your injuries. How do they feel after being in the saddle all day?’

  ‘Sore, that’s why I must take my time. But you go on ahead.’ He nodded at her.

  Kitty didn’t need anymore prompting, she dug her heels into Greta’s flanks and they leaped off down the road with Edward’s gelding keeping pace.

  Charles and Victoria turned into the long drive to see a procession of villagers lining the driveway. He had a vivid memory of his mother telling him about the day his grandfather died and how the villagers lined the road that day.

  His heart pounded in his chest as he threw himself out of the saddle and ran up the steps. Deacon opened the door with alacrity and Charles burst into the foyer. ‘Where is my father?’ he demanded harshly.

  ‘He’s in the Chapel, Your Grace.’ Deacon said softly and Charles looked at him in horror, as he felt the weight of a dukedom slide onto his shoulders. He heard Victoria gasp and then sob and turned to see her knees buckle in shock. He managed to grab her before she collapsed and swept her up in his arms. He limped to the nearest chair and sat her on his knee. ‘A wet cloth, if you please, Deacon?’

  ‘Yes, Your Grace.’ He said softly again as he hurried away.

  ‘Thomas is dead, isn’t he?’ she gabbled, the shock translating to every fibre of her body as she started to shake like a man with ague. Charles crushed her to his chest.

  ‘It would appear so. There’s no other explanation for Deacon addressing me in that form.’

  At that moment Margaret Bonham and Francis Burns arrived. ‘What happened?’ Charles demanded.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Charles.’ Francis began and sighed deeply. Charles was aware just how deeply it would affect his father’s friend. ‘It appears somebody shot him from the cover of the poplars at the Middleton Bridge.’

  ‘Shot him!?’ Charles gasped. ‘What do you mean shot him?’ Victoria let out a keening wail and cried unashamedly. Charles clutched her tightly in his arms.

  ‘I mean he had a bullet hole in his chest. The bullet pierced his heart and he was dead before he hit the ground!’ Francis said harshly, his own distress barely contained. ‘The magistrate is looking into this affair already.’

  ‘Did anybody see this shooting?’ Victoria gulped out, trying desperately to control her sobbing.

  ‘Yes, a boy was fishing on the bridge. He heard the shot and saw the Duke fall.’

  ‘Have there been any strangers about?’ Charles asked softly.

  ‘No. Not that we’ve seen. But the Magistrate is sending out constables to the outlying villages to ask.’

  ‘I want to see him.’ Victoria said quietly.

  Margaret spoke for the first time as she crouched down. ‘He’s in the Chapel. Chivers and I have already laid him out and we’re just waiting for the casket.’

  ‘Where is Aunt Agatha?’ Charles murmured.

  Margaret looked into his hazel eyes and he could see the heartache in her blue eyes. ‘She’s in the chapel.’

  Victoria climbed off Charles’s lap and straightened her shoulders. Even dressed in britches and gabardine wrap around skirt, she exuded self control as she wiped the tears from her face. ‘Then let us go and see my husband.’ She said and walked steadily forward.

  Victoria allowed Francis to help her, by offering his arm. She rested her trembling fingers on his sleeve and went to face another dead husband.Why do I feel so hollow?She asked herself.I didn’t feel like this the last time, with Robert, why can’t I stop shaking?

  The Chapel was at the west end of the Hall. Entry was from a wide hallway connecting the main thoroughfare and an outside door to the rear near the stables. The sun was shining through the beautiful stained glass windows that depicted the slaying of the Dragon by St. George.

  As Victoria walked down to the end of the aisle, she could see a trestle with a casket on it. ‘Oh! I see the casket has arrived.’ Francis murmured.Why are my legs so heavy? I feel like my feet are stuck in the mud?She thought as the casket got ever closer. Eventually she was at the side of the long pine box and she had to look over the side, making her sob again, as she looked on the serene face of Thomas Stafford. Never again would she see him smile or laugh and never again would he kiss her all over and make her scream in ecstasy.

  ‘Oh! Thomas!’ she gasped, but she did not cry again, instead she reached in the coffin and took his hand gently in hers.He’s cooling already.She thought and stroked her wet cheek over his knuckles.

  Charles looked down on his father and wondered why he didn’t feel anything at all. Not sorrow or pain.This feels just like Spain. I’m sorry he’s gone, but there isn’t anything I can do to change it.He thought. Fuck! I’m a Duke and I don’t want to be.

  He was jerked out of his reverie by the clatter of feet as Kitty barrelled into the chapel. She ran full pelt down the aisle with Edward slowing behind her. As she reached the end of the casket, she stopped dead, resting her hands on the edge of the pine. ‘No!’ exploded from her throat as she looked at Charles. ‘He can’t be dead!?’ she almost demanded and the tears started from her as her gaze settled on her father’s body. ‘Noooo!!’ came out of her as a keening wail and Charles moved hastily to collect her into his arms, before she could collapse.

  ‘I’m sorry, Kitty.’ He muttered as he held her heaving shoulders against his chest. ‘I’m sorry, but he is.’

  ‘Mama?’ Victoria heard her son’s querulous entreaty and laid Thomas’s hand back on his chest before she turned to see Edward standing at the last pew, unsure of what to do.

  ‘Edward.’ She said calmly and strode over to him. ‘It would appear that fate has dealt us another cruel blow, my love.’ She whispered as she engulfed him in her embrace.

  Charles held Kitty as she cried herself into exhaustion. ‘You should
take her to her room.’ Agatha said firmly, finding her voice at last. She was rocked to the core that somebody had murdered her brother and she had aged already.

  Charles looked at his aunt and was shocked at her drawn face. ‘I think we all need some rest and a change of clothes.’ Charles said practically and swept Kitty up into his arms and limped down the aisle. He heard Kitty gasp ‘No!’ in his ear, but he didn’t stop. He knew she was watching the receding casket with horror. ‘Later, Kitty.’ He murmured as he squeezed her. ‘You can come back later. You know he won’t be left alone until the interment.’

  He took Kitty to her room and left her with her maid. He went back down the stairs and found Richard just arriving. ‘Is it true?’ burst from him, his face pale.

  ‘Yes, it’s true. He was shot on the bridge at Middleton. The magistrate is looking into it.’ He placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. ‘Come, let’s go and drink a toast to my father.’ Charles steered Richard to his father’s study and opened the door without knocking, for a change. ‘That’s strange.’ He said puzzled. ‘I’ve never just walked into this room before.’

  ‘Well, not to put too finer point on it, but it’s all yours now.’ Richard said coldly, drawing on years of conflict to attain equilibrium.

  ‘I suppose it is, and with it comes the most horrific responsibility.’ He poured two brandies, handed one to Richard and then sat behind his father’s desk. ‘He didn’t have a secretary here, only in London. But there is a steward that looks after the Hall’s affairs.’ He sipped the fiery liquid and felt it burn all the way down. ‘I suppose the first thing is to inform the King that my father has been murdered.’

  He pulled a sheet of vellum in front of him and picked up his father’s quill. ‘Do you wish to be alone?’ Richard asked solemnly.

  ‘No. That would only make me maudlin and there will be enough of that in this house for a few weeks.’ He drained his glass. ‘Refill the glasses and let’s get drunk!’ he ordered.

  ‘Certainly, Your Grace.’ Richard said softly and reached for the decanter.

  ‘You can cut that out straight away!’ Charles said indignantly. ‘I’m Charles and you’re Richard and no dukedom is going to change that!’