“An express, my lady.”
Belinda snatched it from the faithful servant and ripped it open, reading with renewed determination. She sagged in relief into a nearby chair. Anne eagerly accepted Belinda’s idea and had written to her parents directly. Belinda’s eyes scanned the drawing room now overflowing with vases. She had desecrated nearly every bush in the garden to occupy her time. If she were busy, she could not worry. Rising to her feet, she came to a conclusion.
A few minutes later she descended the stairs and arrived in servants’ common area adjacent to the kitchen. She found her maid, Betsy, seated and working on sewing a rip in one of her petticoats.
“Betsy,” Belinda said, and the maid gasped.
“My lady!” she stammered and rose to give a hasty curtsy. “I did not hear you ring. How can I be of service?”
“Do not trouble yourself,” Belinda said and motioned to the chair. When Betsy had resumed sitting, she continued. “I did not ring the bell. I want you to show me how to do your work.”
“My work?” Betsy squeaked out and paled.
“Oh, I am not sacking you! I simply hate being so...so ornamental. I want to be of use. And not just with your tasks. I want to learn in the kitchen too.”
Betsy’s mouth fell open. “My lady...I do not think your parents would—”
“They are not here to know it, are they?” Belinda replied then sat next to her maid. “Now, show me.”
Betsy swallowed but nodded and returned to her task. Belinda soon saw it was not very different from embroidery. The fundamental task was the same. She gathered another garment from Betsy’s work pile and threaded a needle. The two worked in silence for what seemed like hours, until Belinda needed to rest her hand and stretch her back. Chagrined, she noticed the clock showed only two had passed.
Surveying, the finished items, Belinda turned to her maid. “How often do you need to tend to my garments like this?”
“Well, it varies,” Betsy said. “Some things do not wash well and fray easily.” She tapped a sprigged muslin. “It needs mending after every wear. Others considerably less.”
“I had no idea,” Belinda said as her shoulders sagged. How had she been so pampered and spoiled? “And do you spend a great deal of time mending every day?”
Betsy opened her mouth but closed it without speaking and blushed.
“You may tell me the truth,” Belinda urged.
“It rather depends upon your schedule, ma’am. The location also affects matters. Washing is not as easy to come by here as in London.”
“I see. How do you spend the remainder of your day? When I do not see you, that is.” Belinda already knew about the hours spent on doing her hair and tending to her toilette.
“I spend most of the day when you do not need me with mending and pressing clothes.’
“I had no idea,” Belinda said.
“Not that I mean to complain,” Betsy added hastily. “You are a very generous mistress—”
“Well, I have need of you now.”
“You do?”
“Yes, come with me upstairs. We shall take tea. I need a woman to talk with, and I am too spoilt to spend much more time doing this.” Belinda grinned. “I suspect you would enjoy the break as well.”
“Yes, my lady,” Betsy returned the smile.
While Betsy left to tend to tea things, Belinda returned upstairs. She would prove to her parents and herself she did not need the trappings of her rank. She would marry Richard Fitzwilliam if he were penniless and a soldier or no.
Chapter Four
Richard looked up from his task of packing saddle bags when Truman walked into the room.
“Leaving already?” the valet asked.
Richard smirked. Most valets would scold and take over. Truman knew Richard had no real desire for a valet but kept the man out of friendship and loyalty.
“Why should I wait in Town for Crenshaw to come to his senses or James to find information on him? I know where Belinda is. What kind of man would I be if I left her abandoned in a far-flung estate?” Richard stuffed more things into the bags, uncertain what to pack or for how long. He only knew he needed to be active and do something or go mad.
Truman said nothing at first. “Perhaps a man beholden to others? I have a missive from General Vyse.”
Richard bit back a curse. His general had the worst timing. If ever he needed a furlough it was now. However, only a fool would dream of such at present. Reading the letter Truman handed him made Richard bite back a growl.
Truman put a friendly hand on Richard’s shoulder and squeezed it. “She will wait for you.”
“How can you be certain after your own experience?”
In his youth, Truman had been engaged to a woman Richard knew became cold-hearted and manipulative. It was hard to reconcile the Caroline Bingley he knew with a girl who had intended to elope with a coloured man at the age of fifteen.
“She cried off out of deference to her family,” Truman hedged.
Before meeting Belinda, Richard had never understood how Truman did not feel bitter and angry over the experience. Now, he understood. Richard loved Belinda too much to feel such anger at her even if she would give him up.
“Belinda is also pressured to do the same thing.” Richard did not like the sound of insecurity in his voice.
“She is of age to make her own choice and live with the consequences. She also has fortune and rank. Carrie’s position was less certain and she was much younger.” Truman’s throat worked for a moment, and then he added in a whisper, “The son of an earl is far more respectable than I could ever be.”
Now, Richard returned the friendly gesture and squeezed Truman’s shoulder. “If she could give you up for such things, she was not worthy of you.”
Truman gave him a small smile and then cleared his throat. “Well, you go deal with the General. When he is done with you, we will help you hunt down your missing lady.”
Richard grinned, “Is that an order?”
“If you say you love her and do not fight for her, then I’ll thrash you myself.”
Richard broke into laughter and turned to leave.
“Shall I unpack?” Truman asked.
“Do nothing for now,” Richard said and left without further explanation.
It defied logic and everything he had learned as a soldier but, for once, Richard allowed himself to hope. Richard walked into General Vyse’s office. The older gentleman looked up from his papers at his entrance and immediately frowned.
“I had expected you to look worse for it all,” the General said.
“Pardon me,” Richard said. “I do not believe I know to what you reference.”
“The wedding, of course.”
Richard stiffened. “The paper has the wrong of it.”
“Undoubtedly. After all, you were in Yorkshire by duty.”
“Yes, well, it will sort itself out.” Richard recognised Vyse’s probing tactics and would not satisfy the man.
“Ah, so a new date has been chosen? I cannot promise to not ruin it again.”
“Her father and I are still selecting a date while waiting for the current conflict to end.”
“Quite smart.” Vyse held up a paper. “Well, I have read your accounts of Huddersfield. I am dispatching more men as attacks continue near the town although Gordon continues to request more in the East near Hull.”
“As you see from my report,” Richard said, “while they lack weaponry, they are not such an unruly mob that they will attack anything or anyone. It is the machinery they seek to destroy. They do not seem to care about the transport of already completed cloth.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“I would not have the faintest idea, sir.”
“What we need is a man who might infiltrate their organisation and spy for us.” Vyse looked him over. “You could never play the part of a Cottager.”
Richard raised a brow. “I would never offer, sir.”
Vyse smile
d, and Richard was happy to see the return of their previous dealings.
“Indeed. Well, here are your orders and the messages to relay,” Vyse handed over a stack of envelopes. “You will ride ahead. The reinforcements will arrive next week.”
“Yes, sir,” Richard said standing and taking the parcel.
Arriving home, he found James waiting for him in his chamber.
“Orders?” James nodded at the saddlebags.
“Yes and no,” Richard sighed. “I was planning to journey to Belinda when I received a summons from my general. I must journey to Yorkshire again. The area around Huddersfield continues to be full of unrest. Vyse is sending more troops.”
James nodded. “Yes, every day I hear more and more complaints from owners and terrified citizens.”
“Are any of your mills under threat?” Richard asked. Although James owned factories in Lancashire, not Yorkshire, the events got national attention and surely would inspire others across the nation.
“Not yet,” James said and clenched his hands. “If this continues, Parliament will resort to drastic measures.”
Richard nodded. It mattered not how justified the instigators were, the nation could not afford unrest, at the moment, and when threatening the wealth of the powerful, they would not respond kindly. An example would be made.
“As it happens,” James said, shaking off the tension that had stolen over his frame, “I come with good news.”
“You found information on Crenshaw?”
“Soon, I hope,” James said. “No, I have had a letter from Anne. Belinda will be staying with her at Rosings. Lord Crenshaw could not afford to affront a viscountess with such a mother as Lady Catherine. I also planted some talk in the clubs that Crenshaw’s actions only marked the rumours about Belinda accurate. Additionally, if he wished to display her innocence then a continued acquaintance with the family would prove it.”
Richard guffawed. “And he was so easily led?”
“He seems to be,” James shrugged.
“This is welcome news, indeed,” Richard grinned. He sat at his desk and withdrew writing materials.
“I will await your letter,” James said and sat in a chair with a newspaper.
While his brother occupied himself, Richard scribbled a short note to Anne requesting she pass along the enclosed letter to Belinda. He poured his heart out and hoped she could feel his love and passion in every word. When he had finished and saw James on his way, Richard called Truman in to help repack. On his horse again for another gruelling trip that would test the limits of his still healing leg, he wished someone would invent a faster means to travel with greater comfort.
*****
“Oh, Anne,” Belinda fell into her friend’s arms once she arrived at Rosings.
A few days before, her parents had agreed to her travelling to Kent. It was almost enough to allow Belinda to hope that her parents had seen reason, at last, and she and Richard might soon marry.
“However did you get your mother to agree?” Belinda asked as Anne looped an arm through hers and they walked in tandem up the stairs.
“Mother does not read the paper very much. Neither she nor I had any notion of all this gossip until James wrote me.”
“You do not think she will grow suspicious?”
“If she does, she will only be on your side. I would have told her, but I did not wish to do so without your consent. The Gazette would have no idea what hit them with Lady Catherine de Bourgh rallying around you and Richard.”
Despite Anne’s assurances, Belinda did not feel better. The world could think of her as they liked. All she wanted was to be with Richard and be assured of his love.
“Now, never mind that. Come, you have a letter awaiting you in my private sitting room.”
Belinda’s heart hammered in her chest as she took in her friend’s meaning. Richard had written to her? Once seated in Anne’s comfortable room, Belinda’s hands shook as she received the sealed letter. She had never had correspondence from Captain Seth Rogers. He had died before any letters he wrote could be posted. Here, in her hand, was her very first love letter.
Reverently, she caressed her name on the envelope. Richard’s penmanship utterly suited him — confident, stalwart, and no-nonsense. Tearing it open, her eyes reverently read every word, alternately blushing and crying when appropriate.
Dearest Belinda,
Bravo my clever love on getting to Rosings! While we consider a way to surmount your parents’ arguments, we may, at least, manage to write one another through letters between James and Anne.
I must applaud your clear-thinking and bravery, such that has always appealed to me and I understood as part of your character in our earliest hours of acquaintance. After we parted that night, I became ill. When I awoke two days later, I was told I would never see you again. I wallowed in despair thinking my beloved Belinda had left me and cast me aside while you plotted. While I believed I would never see you again, you remained faithful. I must confess, I suspected you abandoned me. Will you forgive me for discrediting I could inspire such devotion? Now, I will never doubt again.
You feel it as I do, do you not? We are complete when together and belong to one another. We have joined as one already. A night which eclipsed my most daring fantasies and plays in my mind often. How often I imagined what it would be like to hold my Belinda in my arms! How I long for it again! Do you long for me as I do you? Do you feel the empty, gnawing ache in your heart as I do?
James and I have considered the situation. I will not hide the truth from you. We are investigating your father in hopes of making him more plaint to our opinion. I hope this does not pain you. If you have another plan, I would love to know it.
I will close for now but as you read, imagine my arms surrounding you. Imagine my lips giving you a gentle kiss. Imagine my heart beating for you for it will never beat for any other. And when we next meet, I will make all this a reality and more.
Yours,
Richard
“What does he say?” Anne asked as she scanned her own letters. When she lifted her head and took in Belinda’s face, she rushed to her friend’s side. “Oh, dearest! I cannot believe it! He has given you up?”
“No!” Belinda exclaimed through tears. “What makes you think so?”
“You are crying,” Anne said and passed over a handkerchief.
Belinda gave her a tremulous smile. “No, it is not that which makes me cry.” She sighed and pressed the letter to her heart. “He loves me.”
“Well, of course, he does!”
Belinda chuckled and shook her head. “You do not understand. We have said nothing of love.”
“Then how do you know?” Anne asked in a small voice.
Even through the haze of Belinda’s feelings, her heart went out to her friend. “Reading between the lines, it is all over his letter.”
“May I see?”
Belinda handed over her letter. “I must reply straight away.”
She hurried over to a table and withdrew writing supplies. She would follow his suit and wait to say the words until they next met but would not leave him in doubt of her feelings any longer. Additionally, she did have better plans than blackmailing her father. She held no anger at Richard and Arlington for doing what they believed their only option was. However, with girlish naivete, Belinda considered that she would rather not know the worst of her parent.
“Oh, my,” Anne breathed from across the room. “He does love you so much.”
“I do not know how I deserve such good fortune,” Belinda said in awe as she bent over her letter.
“Do I understand correctly?” Anne said as she brought the letter to Belinda’s side. Dropping her voice, she clarified. “You have visited Richard’s bed?”
Belinda blushed but met her friend’s eyes as she put down her pen. She saw no condemnation. “You will not fault me, will you? When I saw how my parents reacted to the article, I thought they would try to separate us. I did not yet have a plan o
n how to overcome their arguments. If I could not have my wedding, then I could have my wedding night.”
Tears misted in Belinda’s eyes. “We made vows to each other, and I knew our hearts would always be faithful even if life separated us. I have not been too awful, have I?”
As she spoke, Belinda felt the fear of that night claw in her heart again. It was a desperation she had not felt even with news of Seth’s death. Chest pounding, she focused on her breathing to calm.
“No, I do not blame you or mean to scold,” Anne said at last. “I suppose I am only a little envious.”
Belinda reached for her friend’s hand and squeezed it. “Do not lose heart. You and James may yet fall in love.”
Anne vehemently shook her head. “We will never have what you and Richard or Darcy and Elizabeth have.”
Fierce longing lit her eyes for a moment, and she shook her head to dispel the thoughts. “I envy your wedding night. James… he… he never came to me and then sent me away the next morning.”
Anne dropped her head, covering her face to hide her tears. “I do not know why it hurts or why I am surprised. He never wanted me as a wife,” she hiccupped. “It is just he could be so tender, at times, during our engagement. His kisses…”
She trailed off before raising her head and meeting Belinda’s eyes. “I had not thought I disgusted him so much.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I will be his viscountess, though. It matters not if I am not a wife in truth. He has promised to come back to me.”
Belinda hardly knew what to say. “Do you trust him?”
Determination filled Anne’s eyes. “Either he comes for me, or I will go to him.”
Chapter Five
In Huddersfield, Richard stopped for a drink and a meal at the local tavern before finding Major Lee, as Brigadier-General Gordon was at his estate in Chester again. Lowering his head as he entered the dark and cavernous meeting place, it appeared no different than most English public houses at first glance.
Richard sat at an empty table and awaited a maid to fetch him ale and stew. He expected nothing better. Refusing the carnal delights the maid wordlessly offered, he belatedly realised the environment lacked the usual noise.
Extraordinary Devotion: A Pride and Prejudice Novella Variation (When Love Blooms Book 3) Page 3
