“Yes, to us, too.” Iris’s words were coming out through gritted teeth, it was taking all that she had not to totally lose it. She felt sorry for this silly fellow, but she had been politely trying to get rid of him for over twenty minutes. He did not seem to know how to take a hint.
“It all happened so quickly, didn’t it?” He shook his head and took a large swig of his drink. “So quickly.”
"Miss Iris?" Her heart leapt with joy as she heard the familiar sound of Daisy calling out to her. Finally, someone that she actually wanted to communicate with. "May I request a moment of your time please?"
“Oh, yes, of course.” Relief flooded Iris as she spotted a chance to finally get away. “Anything you need, Daisy.”
As Daisy curtsied, it was a challenge for the girls not to burst out into laughter. This was the way Daisy behaved around everyone else, but with Iris, it seemed stilted and strained. It felt odd for her friend to be so formal with her.
Iris led Daisy out into the kitchen where they hunted for a quiet spot in all the activity. The staff were all so focused on keeping the house guests happy, that they barely paid any attention to the girls at all.
“I just wanted to check in on you, Miss Iris,” Daisy flicked her concerned eyes all over her friend’s face. “I know this day is a difficult one for you.”
“You came at exactly the right moment,” Iris reassured her with a smile. “The small talk is driving me crazy. I find it hard to talk so freely about a man I did not know well.”
“I am sure your sisters feel the same,” Daisy nodded as she spoke. “They will be getting it all too, but you can leave everyone soon if you want.”
"Why?" Iris's heart flew in her chest. Was it possible? Could they finally escape this nightmare? She had almost resigned to it for the rest of the day, but if there was any way out, she was willing to take it.
“The master’s lawyer is here and he would like to read the will to you all.”
Oh! That wasn’t what Iris had been expecting at all. It certainly wasn’t good news. The room buzzed and pulsed around her, she blinked a few times to try and stop the terror from taking over.
“Is that typical?” Iris knotted up her eyebrows in confusion. “Is that the sort of thing that should be done here and now?”
“He said that it is urgent, that is the only reason why I came to you.” Daisy pursed her lips as she waited for Iris’s reaction. “Shall I get hold of your sisters? Maybe we could arrange a meeting in your father’s office where you can have some privacy?”
Iris’s brain darted between decisions. This seemed too heavy for her, something that the others would be better at dealing with, but Daisy had come to her specifically. It was up to her.
“Yes, I suppose so,” she replied with a shaky voice. “There isn’t any point in putting off what can be done today. Maybe this will be good closure. Maybe it is better to get it all done in one day. What do you think?”
“Erm, yes.” Daisy didn’t look very confident as she answered, but Iris had a feeling that was more about her than the situation. “You are probably right.”
“Then let us do this now.” Iris nodded and smiled. They both knew that it was false, but they went with it anyway.
Daisy nodded. “If you would like to go to your father’s office now, I will bring your sisters there.”
People tried to grab Iris’s attention as she moved her way through the crowds, but this time she did not care if she appeared rude. There was obviously something going on with this will reading that made it so urgent, so different to what usually happened. Again, Iris’s overactive imagination took her to places that she shouldn’t be going to.
Iris didn’t stop moving until she was outside of the room that always held so much intimidation for her. She thought of her father then, she remembered their last, slightly awkward, encounter. She had argued with him, stood up for herself. She acted a little bit like the free bird from the painting... although it hadn’t led her anywhere. Not really. She flew, but she didn’t quite manage to soar out of the room.
Maybe this time inside the room would be better. She could only hope so.
Chapter 5
“Hello?” Anxiety tainted Iris’s voice as she called out into the dark room. “Is anyone there?”
The door squeaked, and the sound was so loud it made Iris skittish. As she stepped inside she was unnerved to see how different her father’s office appeared. Without his dominating presence behind that desk, with his face not glowing in the light, the entire room had an empty coldness that wasn’t there before. The books looked dustier than they had before, the desk looked devoid of any life, there was even a dirtiness to the carpet that Iris hadn’t noticed before.
It was exactly the same, yet totally different.
Iris gulped, hating the way that made her feel inside. Maybe she missed her father more than she thought she would. Or, not so much, but the comfort blanket that he offered her. Iris never really noticed it before, but now that he was gone she had nothing. He had always been the wall separating her from the rest of the world.
"Miss Warwick," a semi-friendly voice called out to her through the darkness. Even with the natural light pouring through the window it seemed black inside. "How good to see you again."
“A... again?” she stammered as he took her hand and shook it far too vigorously. “We have met before?” She studied his face carefully, but she didn’t recognize anything about him at all.
“Oh, I am sorry.” He slapped his palm against his forehead looking like he’d forgotten something frightfully important. Iris cocked her head to one side curiously, while slowly slipping her hands back down to her sides. “I suppose you must have been too young the last time you met me while you were in the right frame of mind.”
The right frame of mind?
Those words were so insulting that it actually took Iris back for a moment. She wasn't aware that anyone outside of the family was truly aware of what had happened to her. As far as she was aware, her father had gone to great lengths to hide it, but it seemed that this man knew. Maybe it was through rumours, or maybe her father had confided in him. Iris couldn't picture Robert Warwick speaking to anyone about anything personal, but it was highly likely that there were a lot of things about him that she wasn't aware of.
“When did I meet you?” she asked firmly.
“I am Mr. Langley, your father’s lawyer. I met you after your mother’s passing.”
As he stepped backwards and the light streamed across his face, Iris got a better view of him. He had that formal, stiff appearance that she associated with businessmen. His lips were pursed tightly together, causing lines to run down the sides of his mouth. His skin sagged below his deep, dark eyes, and his shoulders were so hunched up that he appeared to have the world resting on his back. He was weary, tired of life, and for so many reasons Iris took an instant dislike to him.
Still, she certainly didn’t recognize him.
“It is good to meet you, Mr. Langley,” she replied stiffly, trying her best to keep her judgment inside. “I just wish that it was under better circumstances.”
“Of course, me too.” He hung his head low in regret, but Iris could tell that he didn’t truly mean it. Maybe there was a part of him that was sad for Robert’s death, but his visits here were all business, that much was clear. “I am terribly sorry that I have been forced to come and see you on such a terrible day, I would not have done so if it wasn’t for your father’s strict instructions.”
“What...”
Before Iris could – possibly unwisely – ask Mr. Langley what the rush was, Olivia walked in the room with Elizabeth and her husband not far behind her. Almost instantly the attention was taken off of Iris and she could feel herself almost visible shrinking in on herself.
Iris wasn’t bold at the best of times, but with her remaining family members in the room she faded away to almost nothing. It was an automatic reaction; one she did not seem to have any control over.
“What is this?” Olivia demanded, while throwing her hands onto her hips. Her cheeks tainted red and her nostrils flared in temper. “Why must we do this now? I have children waiting...”
“Oh, your children are not even here,” Elizabeth scoffed in a bemused tone of voice. “They are with their paternal grandmother for the day. If this has to be now, it is for a good reason, so let us just hear him out.”
As Elizabeth took a seat, Iris shot her a proud look but she quickly noticed that her husband looked less than pleased with her outburst. He was a stuffy, older gentleman with clear ideas about the way women should be seen and not heard. He was not the sort of man that Elizabeth should be married to, she deserved someone much more fun.
She wished that she could help her sister, but it was a situation that left her totally hopeless.
Iris sat down too, near to her sister, and eventually, Olivia followed suit. She clearly was not happy with the arrangement but if no one else was going to make a fuss about it, then she wouldn't either.
“Right.” Mr. Langley slipped his glasses over his eyes and he made a big show of examining the paper in front of him. “I have the information of your father’s will here for you. Would you like me to go over all the legal bits with you, or are you simply interested in what each of you shall receive?”
Iris glanced anxiously at Elizabeth, but neither of them needed to talk because Olivia jumped in right away.
“Do not try to make us sound heartless, Mr. Langley. This is the day of our father’s funeral. Please give us the details in a few a words as possible.”
“Certainly, Miss.”
Iris wrapped her fingers around the chair below her and she sucked in a deep, tense breath of air. She gripped so tightly to the wood that she could almost feel her knuckles turning white.
“Olivia Bolen, nee Warwick, your father has bequeathed to you the house, for you to raise your children in...”
Iris’s heart dropped, her mind twisted and turned in a panic. She knew this was coming, her father had pretty much told her as much, but to hear it come from the mouth of a stranger was almost too much. She was losing her house, her room, her safety net. Chances were she wouldn’t even see Daisy again either. No matter what happened next, everything would be different. All the things that had been solid in her existence for the last six years were gone forever.
This was almost worse than losing her mum.
“Elizabeth Steward, nee Warwick, your father has left you a sum of money...”
Iris tuned out as the finer details of Elizabeth’s settlement were discussed. Money didn’t mean anything to her, it hadn’t brought her anything but trouble. She still held onto the romantic notion that her life would be so much better if she had been brought into a poorer family.
No, money didn’t matter. The size of her home didn’t matter. It was only her bedroom. If she could keep that, she would still be happy. If only there was a way that she could keep her room...
“Iris Warwick.”
Her head snapped up as she heard her name. This was it, the moment she hadn’t been waiting for, the time she didn’t want to come ever. She could almost feel her cheeks growing increasingly pale as Mr. Langley and everyone else in the room stared at her.
“As your father has informed you, he wishes you to follow through on your betrothal to Duke Loftus Pembroke...”
“What?” She leapt up from her chair in shock. That was supposed to be the only good thing to come out of this sorry mess. She still really did not want to get married, even if she didn’t have anywhere to live. Nothing was going to change that. “What do you mean? My father wrote that in his will?”
“He updated it in the days before he died.” Mr. Langley told her in an overly calm and considered tone of voice. That only wound Iris up more, he was treating her like a child. “As soon as he learned about his illness, he did everything that he could to make sure things were in place.”
Iris shot Elizabeth a terrified look, but her sister couldn’t help her now. This was a legal document sealing her fate.
“But, I haven’t met Duke Pembroke, I... I... I don’t even know him.”
Iris started pacing the room, desperately rooting through her brain for an answer. She thought that not being formally introduced to him would be enough.
“There is more.” Mr. Langley peered back down at the paper again. “Your father has requested that Mr. Walter Andrews come to oversee the arrangements.”
“Who is that?” Iris demanded, her anger flooding her voice.
“He is your uncle on your mother’s side of the family, as there are no living relatives on your father’s. A letter has already been sent out to him so he will be here soon, then he will start progressing with the proceedings.”
“So, I inherit nothing.” Iris shook her head in dismay. “Nothing but a marriage proposal that my father knew I did not want.” She knew that she was speaking out of turn, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“Your father has done what he thinks is right. You have money for your dowry.”
“Is that supposed to be a comfort?”
Mr. Langley pressed his lips into a thin line, his expression showed utter exasperation. Iris would have thought that this was the sort of reaction that he dealt with every single day when it came to this sort of thing... but then again, maybe people were generally happy with what they received.
“I think it would be best if I left now.” Mr. Langley stood up rapidly, as if this whole thing was making him uncomfortable. “I will leave the documentation in here for you, and if you have any questions please feel free to come to my office.” He paused and glanced at Iris. “Your father was a good man, I knew him very well. He wants what is best for you, which is why he has set this in motion already. I hope you see that for yourself soon.”
Iris knew that she wasn't being stubborn when she thought to herself that wasn't possible. This was something that she would never be happy.
Once Mr. Langley clicked the door shut behind him, both of Iris’s sisters came to comfort her. Neither of them knew what to say, they both understood how challenging this was, and they hated that they couldn’t do anything about it. Even Olivia as upset by this turn of events, but she already knew that there wasn’t anything she could do.
She didn’t ever want to admit it because she hated to show any sign of weakness, but she really needed the house. Ever since her husband passed away she’d been struggling. She had his family, but it wasn’t enough to keep her afloat. If it wasn’t for her children, she wouldn’t be so selfish, but they needed this.
Olivia opened her mouth, all ready to tell Iris that she should stay and live with her and her children, but then she remembered that their uncle – a man that none of them had ever met before – was on the way to sort out her betrothal arrangements and she snapped her mouth shut again rapidly.
Maybe this was a good thing. It might be Iris’s only chance to get married anyway.
“You know that we are here for you,” Elizabeth whispered kindly to Iris. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, but anything you need and we will help.”
“Are you ready to get back out there?” Olivia questioned, trying to be as supportive as Elizabeth. “Do you think you can face everyone?”
“No.” Iris shook her head decisively. “I just want to go into my bedroom. You know that is where I feel most comfortable.”
She didn’t say that to make Olivia feel bad, but it had that effect regardless. She had been frustrated by Iris in the past, she found her lack of ability to cope with life hard work, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care. She just wanted all of her family members to be able to cope when life got difficult.
Maybe that was because she hadn’t been.
When Olivia got married, she assumed it was for life. Her father had picked her out a man that she already liked well enough, it was one of the boys from a family friend of his. She thought it would be wonderful, that she would have her happy ever after, but just a
s it had many people she knew, sickness claimed his life.
She had two very beautiful children, Olivia knew that she was lucky in that way, but still, she faced difficulty every single day.
“We will take you to your room,” she told her sister with a reassuring smile. “Then we will try to get rid of everyone in the house. Their mourning is done now; it is time for everyone to return to their own house.”
"Thank you." Iris leant into her sister, accepting her comfort willingly because she needed it so badly. "I appreciate it."
Olivia practically covered Iris as she took her to her room, which helped her to block out all the noise that was surrounding her. There was chatter everywhere, but she couldn't pick out any of the words which were enough. If someone tried to speak to her right now, she would probably lash out and punch them in the face.
Now that would start some rumours.
“Will you be alright, Iris?” Olivia asked once she was inside.
As Iris glanced around, the comfort wasn’t quite the same anymore. She could almost feel the walls shrinking in on her. But it was still better than being out there with all those people.
“Yes, this is fine,” she smiled as brightly as she could manage as she spoke. “Thank you, Olivia. I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.”
“Well.” Her sister blushed as she shrugged. She wasn’t sure how to take the compliment, it felt a little odd. “You’re still my sister, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Iris whispered. “But still, thank you.”
“I will go now...” Olivia indicated behind her. “Get this house empty. I will see you in a while.”
As her sister turned to walk around, Iris almost reached out to stop her, but at the last moment she dropped her hand by her side again. She didn't blame Olivia, she knew she had no choice and she was only doing what she had to do, but still, it was going to be difficult. When all this upheaval happened, it was going to cause a tension between everyone. That was an unavoidable shame, but an inevitable one. She would try to ensure that didn't happen, but there was only much she could do.
The Duke of My Heart (Regency Romance) Page 4