by Lisa Campell
"Come back in a few minutes, Rebecca," she called.
"The Duke and Duchess are down for breakfast. They expect to see you, My Lady."
"I shall send for you very soon, but I do not wish to be dressed now…" she insisted.
"Yes, My Lady," replied Rebecca.
They waited until they heard her footsteps walk down the hallway. Then, he rose. She wrapped the duvet around herself as he began to dress. Once he was done, he sat down beside her and took both her hands in his. He kissed them and said to her,
"I love you so much, Lavinia. And I am certain what it is that I want for us. I envision my future with only you in it. And I want us to live happily together."
He saw her eyes glisten at his words. He kissed her hands once more. He did not wish to let go. He did not wish to leave. He wished that it was possible to have her in his arms all day. He wished that they could stay together all day, without a worry in the world. He sighed.
She leaned in, just as he was about to rise. She held his face in her palms and kissed him deeply. "I love you, Colin. I have, for a very long time. And I wish to be wed to you as well."
His eyes widened. He chuckled. She giggled, nodding. He swallowed. "We must waste no time then. We must inform our parents of how we feel."
Lavinia nodded. He rose and headed out of the room. When he got to the door, he turned and said to her. "I shall see you at breakfast, my love."
She blushed. He smiled. He walked out and closed the door behind him.
Colin was dressed. Old Phil had assisted him in doing so. However, the man kept pestering him about where he had been.
"I came earlier and heard no response from you, My Lord. I knocked —"
"I was in a deep sleep," he replied curtly as Old Phil slipped his jacket on.
Old Phil shook his head. "For all the years I have known you, I have never known you to sleep so deeply."
He shrugged but said nothing else. He was about to leave his bed chamber when he caught sight of the diary he had kept on his table. His eyes widened. He had yet to inform Lavinia about it, and even more so, to read through it himself. He needed to tell Lavinia. Danger still lurked inside the manor.
He was ready for breakfast. He headed down the hallway and towards the stairs, the only thing he had in mind was seeing Lavinia. He smiled. He hurried down the staircase and headed into the dining room.
However, when he walked into the dining room, he was surprised to see that only Lavinia was there. She turned, her face stricken with shock. However, when she saw him, she turned crimson and smiled.
"No one is here,” she said.
“That is quite odd," he agreed. But suddenly they heard loud noises and screams. It seemed muffled and distant, but Colin was almost certain it was an argument. And then, more screams. Lavinia pointed outside. "The garden."
She moved aside and gestured for her to walk past him, while he followed behind her.
Lavinia gasped, when she walked out of the house.
Writhing beneath Spratt, was the Duke, who was injured from Spratt's punches. The Duchess tried to stop them.
From the side, Old Phil moved in to try to stop Spratt, but the butler's elbow hit his side and Old Phil staggered back. Enraged at such a scene, Colin made his way over there and shoved Spratt aside. Spratt staggered back but managed not to fall. Colin held his father and glared up at Spratt.
"Have you gone mad?!" he said.
At the same time, the Duke said, "It was you! All those notes. It was you!"
The Duke rose immediately, freeing himself from Colin's grip.
"It had been you all along!" the Duke spat. He gripped Spratt by his collar. "You imbecile. You have been the one slipping the notes between my letters. I looked through the mail yesterday. There was no note with it, and who handles my letters other than you?"
Spratt gripped the Duke's arm and shoved him aside. "Take your hands off of me, you murderer."
Lavinia gasped again. The Duchess rose. But before anyone could react, Spratt went for the Duke again and punched him. "You miserable bastard. You hide in the comfort of your home after you murdered an innocent gentleman."
The Duchess shook her head. "Charles is no murderer. He would never harm anyone. You do not understand what happened."
Colin shared a flabbergasted look with Lavinia. Neither of them had any idea as to what was going on.
"And you let him!" Spratt screamed, turning to address the Duchess. "You should have been beheaded for adultery, Your Grace."
"Lord Fitzwilliam was a terrible gentleman," the Duke spat. "He was a terrible gentleman, who terrified both his wife and daughter! I only did what needed to be done!"
Colin froze. Lavinia gasped behind him. She stepped forward and looked between the Duchess, Spratt and the Duke. Her face bore an expression of perplexity and hurt. "What all of this is about? Did you truly kill my father?!"
The Duchess turned to Lavinia. "It is not what you think happened, my darling... it was a mistake. Charles never meant to cause any harm, to anyone, much less murder your father."
"You were having an affair with the Duke. It had been a thought-out plan, hadn't it?" Spratt fired back.
"No! The Duke is a good gentleman, and we never had an affair. I admit that I had fallen for him, but I never wanted to do anything to Lord Fitzwilliam. I wanted to be there for my daughter more than anything. I took Lavinia to measure for a dress. I left her at the shop and promised to return when she was done being fitted. When I returned home..." The Duchess shook as she told the story. It was as though she were reliving it.
Colin slipped his hands into Lavinia's for he knew that this affected her greatly.
"...I got the money that I had saved up, and began to make my way out, but Lord Fitzwilliam returned, drunk and angry. He had gambled again, and he needed more money. When he saw what was in my hands, that I had purposefully kept hidden from him, he began to... to hit me." A tear dropped from her eyes.
"...and the Duke, who had promised to keep an eye out for me, arrived and began to fight Lord Fitzwilliam off of me. He pushed Lord Fitzwilliam hard, and he fell against a broken vase. That was how he died..." Her body shook. “It was an accident.”
The Duke rose. He clenched his teeth, just before he lounged for Spratt again. "Bloody Scoundrel. Look what you have done! You have made her relive such horrible memory!" He punched Spratt, whose head snapped back.
Colin moved swiftly and gripped his father. The Duke seemed eager to keep beating Spratt, but Colin held him tighter. "Father. Enough. What is going on?"
The Duke was panting. He shrugged his arms from Colin's and walked over to the Duchess. He held her in his arms as she cried. Colin was shocked over all the revelations, but something about all of this did not make any sense.
Lavinia stepped forward and looked between them all. "Mother, what is going on?"
The Duchess was still in tears. "Spratt is not who he claims. He is your Uncle Percy, now the rightful Lord Fitzwilliam."
The color drained from Lavinia's face. "Uncle Percy? How is he here? What is happening?"
The Duchess nodded, whilst trying to dry her eyes. She was distraught.
Spratt — Uncle Percy, wiped the blood from his mouth and decided to speak. "I was in the army for years. I couldn’t attend her wedding, or my brother’s funeral, but he wrote to me often. We were quite close."
"He talked about you," Lavinia said. "I recall it well."
Uncle Percy’s face softened. "When I heard about his death, I returned, and began to search for you and Lady Fitzwilliam," he said. "Only to find out that she had remarried and was now a Duchess. Not long after his death. It was said that he committed suicide." He bowed his head. "I was told of how his life had turned out to be, and so I was disappointed. I decided to stay here. Being ashamed of what my brother had done, I did not want to approach you directly."
Colin sighed. This was a whole lot to take in.
Percy went on. "But I decided to be close by, watchin
g. So I applied to be the butler here when I heard of the vacancy. It wasn’t long after I was hired that I was digging through the attic, and I found my brother's diary."
Colin swallowed hard. He had taken it.
"I began to read through. It was there I discovered that you," he said and nodded to the Duke. "Were my brother's friend before he became indebted to you. Allan knew that you loved his wife. He said so in his diary. He also knew that you were always watching him."
Lavinia turned on Percy. "All along you were pretending."
The Duke stepped forward, his rage reverberating through his body. "He attacked me out of nowhere and said that I had stolen the diary. He concluded that I wanted to come after him, which was why he struck!"
Percy clenched his jaw. "Since you read the diary, I assume you know the truth now. Which is why I decided to express my rage before you asked that I be thrown in jail, and to also reveal your evil deeds, so we could go down together."
Colin frowned as his mind began to race. The diary that he had taken had caused the outburst. Percy had thought that his secret was now known, which led him to reveal himself.
"You! —" The Duke attempted to get at him again, but the Duchess held him still.
The Duchess glared at Percy with her tear-stained eyes. "He did not intend to kill Allan. He was protecting me."
Percy's breathing calmed and he creased his brows. He opened his mouth to speak but was unable to. The Duchess went on. "Charles would never have hurt him. Allan was relentless and drunk. Everything happened so quickly. Do you understand, Percy? Do you understand that Allan had not been a good husband or father?"
She began to cry again. The Duke continued to hold her close. Percy gazed at them calmly now, as though he was beginning to truly understand. Colin's mind raced as well. The story settled in his head. It had been a mistake.
"Were you responsible for what happened to Lavinia?" the Duchess asked, still shaking, her eyes searching Percy's. "Did you poison her?"
Percy bowed his head. “I meant no harm to Lavinia. The drink was meant for you, Duchess. To make the Duke feel the same pain I had felt when I discovered that my brother had been murdered. When Lavinia grabbed the glass, I couldn’t tell her not to drink it. I figured, one was as good as the other."
The Duchess shook her head in disdain. "You wanted him to know that the enemy was near, by harming me?"
Percy clenched his teeth and nodded. “It was intentionally a non-lethal dose. It was just to bring fear. To make him confess what he had done."
"It matters not what your reason was,” Colin growled. “You could have killed Lavinia.”
"It had not been my intention to harm her,” he said. “The drink had been meant for the Duchess."
Colin held Lavinia close, not caring who saw. She was shaken by all of this. She had been so quiet. Percy sighed. "I only wanted the Duke to come forward for his crimes. I thought that perhaps harming the lady that he had killed my brother for would shake him. I felt terrible when everything went wrong, and I worried for Lavinia."
"But you did not feel regret! You attacked the Duke!" the Duchess cried.
"I was furious. I knew that he would strike soon, since he took the diary from me —"
"He did not. I did," Colin said. "I suspected that you were up to something. I just didn’t know what."
Percy bowed his head. "My anger was never intended for Lady Lavinia."
"I understand that you only worried for your brother's sake," the Duchess snapped. "But in the process you have done so much harm. Lady Lavinia was terribly hurt. Someone fetch the constable!" She looked at the group of servants who had gathered on the lawn to watch the commotion. One of the grooms turned and ran for the stables.
Only then did Percy's face soften. It seemed he was suddenly realizing how much harm he had done, and he felt guilty.
Colin pulled his fingers through his hair. The news was overwhelming. He turned to look at Lavinia, who simply stared, eyes wide.
Chapter Twenty
Lavinia was in utter shock for all that had been said. Her mind was racing. Her own uncle had tried to poison her.
She recalled the way that he had smiled, when she had gulped it. How he had told her not to drink too much. She had almost been ready to finish it off, and if she had, would likely have died.
Most of all, she felt free. She felt at peace. Before now, she had felt like things were being kept from her. But now, she understood why her mother had done what she did. She understood that her mother had tried to find her a suitable husband, and to act like a proper lady. She wanted to protect her.
To find out that the butler who she had trusted was her uncle, as well as her poisoner, was a complete shock. She felt betrayed, even if the poison hadn’t been meant for her.
Everyone watched her keenly, for she had been silent all along. She opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her.
Percy sat, dejectedly. His hands had been tied with rope. He glared at her. In the space of only a few minutes, he had gone from the kindly butler to her uncle and a bad gentleman.
“I forgive you, Uncle,” she said.
Percy's eyes widened. He creased his brows. "You have?"
Lavinia nodded. "Yes. No doubt the law will be less forgiving towards you, but for my part, I forgive you. "
Percy looked shameful.
Lavinia walked over to her mother and embraced her. Her mother sobbed, her head on her shoulder. She had never known something as horrible as that had happened to her. And it had been for her sake. Lavinia kissed her mother's cheek. She may have forgiven her uncle, now her mother deserved to be away from him, for all the sad memories he brought back.
"I love you, Mother. Thank you, for always protecting me."
The Duchess murmured in her ear. "I love you dearly, my darling."
He looked at everyone, but his eyes did not meet the Duke's. "I am deeply sorry," Percy said.
The constable arrived, and the story was told to him.
“He’ll face charges for attempted murder,” the constable said. “He won’t hang, but he’ll serve time.”
It was, Lavinia thought, a just sentence. The family watched as Lord Fitzwilliam was placed under arrest and then brought away in the wagon. Colin walked over to her side and hugged her. He must have known that she was sad. She closed her eyes and welcomed his touch.
"You are safe now, Lavinia. No one shall hurt you ever again."
Lavinia rested her head on his shoulders. She was lost in his touch, and the protection it gave.
"I intend to protect you every day, for the rest of our lives, my darling," he promised.
"What is going on?" the Duchess demanded, looking back and forth between her to Colin.
Lavinia smiled. "Mother, Colin and I intend to be wed."
"This is outrageous! What would the people say? Rumors would go about and such would tarnish the name of this household," barked the Duke.
"But Colin and I love each other and we will be happy together."
"I forbid this union," the Duchess insisted.
Lavinia smiled and walked up to her. She held the Duchess's hand in hers. "Mother, you wanted me to find a suitor and I did."
The Duchess sighed. "Not like this. Not your brother."
Lavinia shook her head. "We do not share blood, we are only siblings by marriage."
"Oh, dear," replied the Duchess, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
Lavinia knew that her mother was truly not happy about the situation and the circumstances leading to their union, but Lavinia was certain that she would come to be happy she had fallen in love with a gentleman like Colin. Her mother adored him. She liked the kind of gentleman he was, how focused he was and she must know that Lavinia would be in safe hands with him.
The only thing that bothered her was what the ton would say, which Lavinia found outrageous. She sighed. "Mother."
Colin stepped forward and took her hand in his. She felt warmth over her body.
"I
have never been so certain of anything I want in life, but I am certain that I want Lavinia to be my wife, Father. She is the only lady whom I wish to be married to."
The Duke shook his head. "This will not sit well with the ton. Perhaps think this through? Are you quite certain that this is what you want?"
Lavinia saw that there was no point in trying to explain to them. Her gaze met with Colin's. He gave her a knowing smile. In her heart, she knew that they shared the same sentiments about their love. She knew right then and there, that she no longer wanted to live a life where she would not be herself, a life where she would be afraid to show who she truly was. She wanted to be far away from here. From everything that reminded her of a past that she dreaded.