Extraordinary Devotion: A Pride and Prejudice Novella Variation (When Love Blooms Book 3)

by Rose Fairbanks

  The subtle raising of eyebrows was the only indication from the ageing butler that he was as surprised as the stable boy to see Richard. Soon, he was shown into the blue saloon. Tea arrived before his hosts, and Richard chuckled at the amount of time he was kept waiting. All the while, he enjoyed the refreshments — especially a different type of biscuit than Darcy’s cook usually provided. Undoubtedly, the handiwork of Elizabeth. After fifteen or twenty minutes, he finally heard the steps of his cousin and new bride.

  “Richard, we were not expecting you,” Darcy said in his usual low voice and came forward for a hearty handshake.

  “Forgive me. I hope I did not interrupt anything.”

  Elizabeth blushed slightly as she curtseyed and Richard bowed over her hand. “Not at all. Please be seated.” She set to work on refilling Richard’s cup and plate.

  “No other guests? Where is Georgiana?”

  “I do not believe it is customary to entertain others so soon after marriage.”

  Darcy sent Richard a stern look, causing his lips to twitch. “Indeed.”

  “Georgiana is at Netherfield,” Elizabeth said.

  Darcy nodded in confirmation.

  “She hated choosing between lending support to Miss Bingley or staying with my sisters, but as Netherfield has more space and is such a short distance, we felt it the wiser choice.”

  Elizabeth spoke with confidence and naturalness as though she often arranged living arrangements for sixteen-year-old ladies. Richard examined his cousin’s response. He knew Darcy had not thought well of the Bennets before. Recently, there been some rift between Elizabeth and her father which nearly resulted in Elizabeth and Darcy being separated forever. Undoubtedly, Darcy had not wanted his sister in the same house as the man.

  “I will not keep you in suspense about my presence,” Richard said. “I have returned from another trip to Huddersfield.”

  Across from him, Elizabeth shuddered slightly and reached for her husband’s hand. He squeezed it tightly. The last time Richard was in Huddersfield, there had been an attack on one of the mills Darcy and his friend Bingley owned. Darcy’s arm had been wounded and was still in a sling. They had arrived in the area mere days after their wedding and Richard could not think of a more terrifying ordeal for a new bride to live through. All the more reason he wished to resign his commission as soon as possible.

  “I take it matters are not resolving?” Darcy asked.

  “Your mill is safe, for now, but others have not been so fortunate. Many others have been attacked. As you know, they are mostly unarmed. Vyse has sent even more troops to the area, resulting in the rest of the town in having to pick sides. Occasionally, we know of an attack because someone has lost their nerve and alerted the owner. More often, we are blindsided. Their most promising weapon is arson. However, last night, I overheard a plan to assassinate an owner.”

  Elizabeth gasped, and Darcy put a protective arm around her.

  Richard winced. “Forgive me for speaking so plainly. I did not mean to upset you, Elizabeth.”

  “Do not apologise,” she said graciously and reached for some tea. After taking a restoring sip, she assumed a rigid posture akin to a soldier’s. “I wish to hear it all.”

  Richard glanced at Darcy, who nodded in approval. “Darcy is not in danger. It appears these were employees of the mill and many of them had grievances against the owner. They alleged that he beats women and children.”

  Elizabeth paled, and Darcy firmed his jaw before speaking. “What is being done? Is the magistrate investigating these accusations?”

  “Yes, although hardly without prejudice against the workers. There had been an attack on the mill. Arson. Then I overhear this group wishing to kill the owner.”

  Darcy shook his head. “It hardly looks good for them. They will hang?”

  “Most likely,” Richard said.

  “I am sorry to hear of this, of course, but I do not think I can lend any support. I have no connections in the area.”

  Richard held up his hands to halt Darcy from expounding on his long-held opinions of not interfering. “I come for a different reason. Vyse has mentioned in London that he wished there could be a spy in their midst. Gordon and his major expressed the same. Installing an outsider into the croppers has been impossible. However, if some are now targeting owners and uniting with the workers, then it might work. I wondered if you knew of any trustworthy young men in your employ.”

  “Perhaps,” Darcy said while stroking his jaw. “Perhaps. Will you give me time to think about it?”

  “Of course. I came as a courtesy but have no orders, yet. If you can consider your options while I continue to London on the morrow, then my general will be quite pleased.”

  Darcy excused himself to his study to write a few letters of inquiry.

  “What an excellent soldier you are,” Elizabeth beamed.

  Richard could not like the praise. To be with Belinda, he should be resigning his commission. Even if he could never please her parents, she deserved so much more than the uncertainty of being married to a man in uniform.

  Elizabeth must have sensed his unease for she quickly changed the direction of the conversation. “How is Belinda?”

  “She writes all is well. She is now with Anne at Rosings.”

  “Oh!” Elizabeth replied. “I thought she was to be in London.”

  “Do you not know?” Richard asked.

  “I confess I am behind on my correspondence,” she blushed.

  Grimly, Richard explained the situation between him and Belinda. “I would be grateful to you and Darcy for any support you might have.”

  “Of course, we will help you in any way possible,” Elizabeth said. “I wish I had known! I will write her directly. You will forgive us if we have not been reading the newspapers. After the... incident it seemed that all they contained was bad news and we needed a break from such things.”

  “Very understandable,” Richard answered. “I do not wish to distress you further but do you recall if Wickham mentioned anything about the Crenshaw family? Or anything to do with me?”

  Lines marred Elizabeth’s forehead. “I do not believe so. Why?”

  “I had hoped to never hear that scoundrel’s name again,” Darcy spoke with ferocity from the doorway as he returned from his study.

  “I can sympathise,” Richard answered. “He is destroying my life from beyond the grave.”

  *****

  Several days passed with Belinda and Anne visiting Charlotte for the entirety. Mornings would include lessons in the kitchen and afternoons consisted of managing household accounts. At Rosings, Lady Catherine could not contain her impulses to lecture on anything and everything. Amidst belittling Belinda, she sang Lady Arlington’s praises for imaginary accomplishments. In private, Anne confessed that she hated her mother’s behaviour. She also dedicated time to learning from Belinda what she never had before. Belinda mused that if needed, she might make a decent enough governess or lady’s companion.

  Belinda ended Anne’s instruction on the pianoforte earlier than usual, for Dr. Andrews arrived to call on Anne — with Lady Catherine hovering nearby. Arriving in her bedchamber, Belinda found her maid weeping.

  “Betsy, whatever is the matter?” She pressed her handkerchief into the young woman’s hands.

  “Pardon me, ma’am,” she said dashing away the tears and standing. She attempted to resume her work, but Belinda caught her by the arm.

  “Betsy, tell me why you are crying,” she tugged the maid back to sit on the bed. “I wish to assist you. Please trust me.”

  Unshed tears glimmered in Betsy’s large brown eyes. “I had a letter from my mother. She is sick, and they cannot afford the medicine. I wish for anything that I had the money to send to her.”

  “Oh, you poor thing! Well, I will see to that straight away.”

  “Thank you, my lady,” Betsy said.

  Belinda could see, however, from the tense way the maid held herself that all was not yet rev
ealed. “Is there anything else?”

  “The medicine doesn’t cost very much,” she said. “I don’t want you thinking that I would be asking you to put yourself out.”

  “I see,” Belinda answered. “You are not to worry at all.”

  “Not that I spend all my money on frivolous things,” Betsy hastily explained. “I don’t want you thinking that I waste my funds either.”

  “What you do with your money is your prerogative.”

  “I normally send home four pounds a quarter but I haven’t for the past three times, and now they need it.”

  Belinda furrowed her brow. “What has happened that you cannot send money to your parents now? I cannot fathom what you spent the money on, but now I understand your tears. You are ashamed of your behaviour and what it has cost your family. Never mind, dear. We all make mistakes, and I shall be glad to assist you.”

  She gave an encouraging smile and squeeze to the maid’s hand. Helping her maid would not be very different from helping at the hospital.

  “My lady,” Betsy spoke with an edge in her voice Belinda had never heard before. “I have not been overspending. I have not received my pay, and so I have had nothing to send.”

  Belinda paled as her maid’s words sunk in. Her father had not been paying Betsy. Doubtlessly, this exile was even worse for her than it was for Belinda. Instantly, she considered the attitude of the staff at the estate. The stack of mail continually coming in but no one was there to answer it.

  “Betsy, are all the servants overdue payment?”

  Ever so slightly, she nodded her head. Her chin began to tremble. “I don’t want to have to find another placement. You are the best mistress! But I can’t stay and get no pay.” She dissolved into tears once more.

  “No, of course not,” Belinda said as she soothingly rubbed the maid’s back. After some time, the girl’s sobs decreased, and Belinda ordered her to refresh before resuming the task of Belinda’s afternoon toilette.

  During the meal, Belinda turned over what she had learned in her head. Was there more to her father’s refusal of Richard’s suit than she first considered? Was he in debt and incapable of paying her dowry? Rather than confessing his error, he thought to remove the necessity of exposing himself?

  As Lady Catherine droned on and more courses passed, Belinda felt nausea rise in her belly. She barely ate — something remarked on frequently by her ladyship — and excused herself to her room after the meal. After resting with a cold cloth on her head and her maid pressing broth and plain biscuits on her, she began to feel better. Anne knocked on her door just before supper.

  “Are you feeling any better?”

  “A little,” Belinda said weakly. “I wish I knew what was causing my symptoms. I suppose it is merely all the stress I am experiencing.”

  “That may be. We should have Dr. Andrews examine you at his next visit.”

  Belinda and Anne shared a smile knowing it would be in a matter of days but Lady Catherine would not enjoy giving up her time with the middle-aged physician. While they sat, Belinda confided in Anne about her maid’s situation.

  “I have enough pin money to send for the medicine, but I hate that Father is not paying the servants. I have written to Mother. She must not be aware. There is absolutely no sense in parties and shopping if we are not paying those in our employ. How they must hate seeing such extravagances!”

  “Do you think it has anything to do with his withdrawing consent over your marriage?” Anne asked.

  “I have considered the very thing. What is more, the timing is strange. At the very moment, Richard’s family is being attacked by Mr. Wickham, my father reverses his opinion of the man.”

  “I do not have any answers. I received a letter from James earlier, but I did not want to read it without you. I will need your help to decipher his meaning and to tell me if I am foolish to hope for more than we have now.”

  Anne withdrew a small note from her pocket. The two ladies put their heads together as they read the lines.

  Dear Anne,

  I hope you are well.

  As you have Belinda and Richard is away on duty, I thought it best to confide in you the information I have discovered. As you must know by now, the morning after our wedding, a vile article was in the paper saying that Richard had abandoned Belinda. It is not true at all.

  Anne gasped, and Belinda gave her a questioning look. “I will explain after we finish reading.”

  After investigating who wrote the piece, I discovered that, before he died, Wickham arranged for the notice to go out. I would be ashamed to tell you for how little such a thing was secured as it would give you no confidence in anything to read again.

  Concerned that the scoundrel was targeting our family, I pursued this information and all possible connections. Thankfully, it soon appeared that Wickham’s final attack on us was this article. However, Lord Crenshaw’s actions soon became suspect. Out of a multitude of options, he treated Belinda as ruined. Why would he do such a thing when marriage to Richard could solve all problems?

  My clerks have discovered Crenshaw has many accounts in arrears. He has not paid his creditors or staff in months. Like too many of our class, he has frequented the gambling tables for years. Unfortunately, his marriage articles were drawn up in such a way that he had total access to his wife’s funds. Money that ought to have been reserved for Belinda has long since been gambled away. She could now only marry a man of independent means, but I rather think Crenshaw would not approve of anyone so he could hide his misdeeds. If she is as faithful as Richard believes, she would never marry another, and only death would expose his mismanagement.

  You will know how best to confide this in her. When Richard returns, we will consider how to approach Crenshaw. Something must be done for them and for his estate.

  Your devoted husband,

  J

  “Oh, Bel,” Anne cried and flung her arms around Belinda.

  However, she had heard it all with a detached emotion. For weeks now, she had considered she ought to plan to proceed without her father’s blessing or money. Knowing he had spent her money and lied to her — probably even about his acceptance of Seth’s suit — angered her but, in light of the information from Betsy, it did not come as a shock.

  Out of the entire letter, Belinda’s heart was only moved by the words regarding Richard’s belief in her devotion to him. James supposed correctly. She had thought she loved Captain Seth Rogers. However, her feelings for him had no substance. They were like puffs of steam from a boiling pot. Any love she felt had been built on the idea of love. Her feelings for Richard were like the ocean. Tempests may sweep through it, and at other times it might be still. However, it could never run dry. If she could not marry Richard now, she would wait her entire life for him.

  A smile crossed her face, and Anne pulled back confused as to Belinda’s lack of tears. “You are smiling? What is it?”

  “First, I smiled about Richard trusting in my fidelity. Now, I’m smiling because I would much rather plot than wait. What use is waiting for him to amass a fortune when I am more than happy to live in poverty with him? Regardless of his future career, we shall elope at the first opportunity.”

  “It seems very strange to say after such a letter, but I am so happy for you!” Anne said. “You and Richard seem to have more raisins and currants in your mince pie than James and I have. We are all suet — leftovers with only a faint flavour and taste of anything with substance.”

  “Oh, dearest. Do not think like that,” Belinda assured her friend. “What were you going to tell me?”

  “Well, James sent me to Rosings the morning after the wedding. That was not what we agreed, and he blamed my health. In the letter, he confesses how alarmed he felt after reading the newspaper. I knew about the article, of course. I was so angry with being sent away, I did not consider it was the same day the report came out. I thought… rather I hoped he sent me away for safety.”

  “I think that is exactly it,”
Belinda squeezed Anne’s hand. “Do you not see? He does not want to tell you directly he worried about you but that only highlights his insecurity, not a lack of admiration. He trusted you with information and the sense on how to convey it to me. He absolutely respects you.”

  “Do you really think that?”

  “I do,” Belinda said firmly. “Do not give up on your marriage yet. He has had a great many things weighing on him, but you are never far from his mind.”

  “I suppose I will take being a duty to him,” Anne said with a sigh.

  “If he felt only a duty to your safety, he would not write at all, especially as it risked your anger. Now, I am quite tired and you ought to reply to your husband.”

  “Thank you for making me see reason,” Anne said. “And I may leave out the part that you read the letter with me.”

  Belinda laughed. “Yes, please do. He will be far too shy to write you loving words if he thinks I am reading them too.”

  Anne blushed and shook her head but this time did not negate Belinda’s words. After a quick good night, she left to join her mother in the drawing room. Despite the additional rest in the day, Belinda was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Chapter Seven

  After a night of rest at Pemberley, Richard continued his journey to London. Upon arriving, he immediately gave General Vyse his report of matters in Huddersfield and the surrounding area, including the newest complication of unsatisfied mill workers uniting with croppers. As expected, the General wished a spy could inform them of impending attacks or plans to assassinate mill owners.

  Thanks to Darcy’s help, Richard happily passed along the name of a young man named Jonah Stuart. He grew up in an orphanage in Derbyshire and took work in Derby at one of Darcy’s factories. He agreed to be their spy. Many young people came to Huddersfield and other areas looking for work or hoping to contribute to the unrest.

  Despite Richard’s initiative, Vyse looked at him strangely while he read reports from Gordon and Major Lee. Or perhaps it was merely Richard’s guilty conscience. He had never felt at ease with this attachment. He returned from the Continent expecting a medical discharge or to resign his commission. Instead, he now had to fight his countrymen. Men that only wished to protect their wife and children from abuse and make a decent wage. How strange that before meeting Belinda, Richard believed he had no heart — it had been too blackened by war — and now he found he sympathised against his orders. Having not enlisted out of patriotism, instead, it was a rash decision to seek adventure and leave behind England after an ill-fated love affair, he had never been blind to the failures of command or the motives of his mother country. However, Vyse said no words of rebuke and sent him home.