The Grace of a Duke

by Linda Rae Sande

  Clayton’s eyes widened. “The earl’s account is here, but it’s got a note on it about no further withdrawals being allowed by N. Bingham. The note was put in here just last week. A solicitor …” He paused as he consulted the writing on the foolscap, “Harold Fitzpatrick, acting on behalf of Edward Bingham, handled the change,” he said, returning his attention to Garrett.

  The estate manager schooled his features into an expression of boredom. So Nicholas Bingham had been raiding the family’s money. “Was there enough to cover the dowry? At one time?” he wondered then, hoping the lad would spill the original amount in the account.

  “At one time there was nearly fifty-thousand pounds in here,” he commented in awe.” But now, I hardly think so,” Clayton replied. “Two-thousand, fifty-three pounds,” he whispered, his head shaking from side to side. “Hardly enough for a widow used to a fine life to live on,” he added.

  Garrett held his breath for a moment. Hardly enough, indeed. “And there was no other account held here in the earl’s name?” he wondered. There had to be more somewhere!

  “Not that I could find in our records,” Clayton replied. “Maybe it was in someone else’s name?” he suggested helpfully.

  Garrett pondered the possibility, but quickly discarded it. Bingham would have had the dowry in an account of his own name, surely. At least there was the name of a solicitor he could track down.

  Garrett bade farewell to his former employee and took his leave of the bank.

  Chapter 20

  His Grace Takes a Ride

  Joshua galloped into Chichester just before noon, the events of the morning still fresh in his mind. Unable to sleep after the early morning bid to get information to Garrett, Joshua had left Lady Charlotte in her bed leaning against a mound of pillows he’d carefully arranged in place of his body. He’d kissed her cheek and bade her farewell before returning to his own room, determined to get dressed and be on his way to Chichester before most of the household was up. Gates had arranged for a groom to have his horse saddled while he quickly drank coffee and downed a slice of toast in the breakfast room. He’d been about to leave when Mrs. Gates reminded him that the vicar’s sister would be visiting him later that morning.

  Damn! he thought in dismay. He really couldn’t have her arrive to find him gone to town. She was not one to disappoint. “When Lady Charlotte is up and about, could you ask her to see any callers who come today? I have unexpected business in town and really must see to it right away.”

  Mrs. Gates’ eyes had widened. “Oh, so that’s what the rider was about this morning. Got the servants all up in arms, he did, what with him coming here so early in the morn. I’m sure Mrs. Thomas will be only too happy to visit with Lady Charlotte in your stead, my lord, seeing as how she’ll soon be …” She had stopped mid-sentence, aware of Joshua’s lifting eyebrow.

  “She’ll soon be what, Mrs. Gates?”

  The housekeeper had pursed her lips and blushed before leaning closer to Joshua. “Mistress of the house, of course,” she’d whispered, a brilliant smile appearing.

  Joshua had stared at his housekeeper, realizing almost immediately that he shouldn’t be too surprised Mrs. Gates already thought of Lady Charlotte as his future wife. “I take it you are pleased with that possibility?” he’d wondered, crossing his arms as he made the inquiry.

  Mrs. Gates’ eyes had widened again. “Well, of course, Your Grace! You’ve no idea how long I’ve waited to see you wed to that young lady. She’ll do this duchy proud, she will,” she gushed happily. “The entire staff is prepared to make ye a perfect wedding day. Just say when.”

  Joshua blinked once, twice, and then finally nodded to his housekeeper. Her husband, Gates, was rolling his eyes as he’d held Joshua’s hat and riding crop. “Please forgive my wife’s enthusiasm. Enjoy your ride, Your Grace,” he’d said as he held the door open.

  Nodding, Joshua had headed out the front door. And now that he was in town, he found he was looking forward to meeting with the archdeacon. He’d brought along a good deal of blunt, not sure how much besides the five-pound cost for the license the archdeacon would demand for a wedding to take place Saturday. However much it cost, he decided it would be worth it. Well worth it, if a dowry of ten thousand pounds was in his future.

  And even more worth it if Lady Charlotte ever truly loved him.

  The surprised archdeacon saw to the duke himself, telling him how very pleased the duchy would be to know their duke was about to marry. Although the man seemed suspicious about the quick arrangements, his eyebrow cocking in a manner suggesting a potential heir might already be on the way, he was quickly put straight when Joshua said, “Lady Charlotte’s twenty-first birthday is Saturday. This wedding is to be part of her birthday gift.”

  Although the charge for the marriage license was just the five pounds, Joshua gave the man another five and thanked him for his consideration. He was sure that if he wasn’t the duke, the archdeacon would have charged him far more than the going rate. Leaving the churchyard at a leisurely pace, Joshua contemplated how the next few days might go – his last few days of being a bachelor. It seemed a set of leg shackles was in his immediate future.

  And I’m about to put them on myself, he thought as he mounted his stallion and headed for home.

  The vicar’s sister, Mrs. Thomas, arrived promptly at ten o’clock in the morning. Accustomed to being taken to the shabby parlor where she had met with the Eighth Duke of Chichester twice since his ascension to the title, Mrs. Thomas was surprised when Mr. Gates instead took her to the newly completed west wing and introduced her to Lady Charlotte Bingham.

  “Mrs. Thomas, I am so pleased to meet you,” Charlotte said as she completed her curtsy. She reached out to take the older woman’s gloved hand and draw her further into the room. A few carpenters were nailing moldings in place while others were cutting lengths of the carved wood with hand saws. “I apologize for the mess, but I wanted you to be the first to see what will be the new parlor,” she explained as she took Mrs. Thomas to the worktable where her swatches were scattered about.

  The vicar’s sister put a hand to her ample chest as she surveyed the room and gave Charlotte another once-over. The woman seemed surprised at Charlotte’s presence; apparently, Mrs. Gates hadn’t been to church, or, if she had, she had neglected to tell anyone that Charlotte was in residence at Wisborough Oaks. “Do you suppose we might talk where there is not quite so much … noise?” Mrs. Thomas asked with a tentative smile.

  Charlotte kept her smile firmly in place as she realized the renovation wasn’t having the desired effect on the vicar’s sister. “Oh, of course, Mrs. Thomas. I just thought you might be interested. His Grace said you have given him valuable input about the parlor at the front of the house.” She led the way out of the new parlor, at first gesturing and then stilling her hands as Mrs. Thomas walked alongside.

  “His Grace thinks my input valuable?” Mrs. Thomas repeated, her eyebrows indicating surprise and a proud smile teasing the corners of her pursed lips.

  Grinning, Charlotte leaned sideways. “He is very embarrassed at the condition of what is the current parlor,” she explained quickly, “Which is why I am seeing to the completion of this new one. I think it’s important that it have a feminine touch, don’t you?”

  The older woman regarded her carefully, her broad face showing a bit of confusion. “I hardly think a household of two gentlemen need have a parlor suited only to women, Lady Charlotte,” Mrs. Thomas replied with a shake of her head.

  Realizing she was getting nowhere with the vicar’s sister, Lady Charlotte led her to Joshua’s study, allowing a surprised footman to open the door as she breezed in and moved to take the seat Joshua had used the day she had arrived. She surveyed the decidedly masculine room, its furnishings upholstered in dark fabrics. Since the woman had made clear her dislike for the current parlor, Charlotte guessed the study would be where Joshua intended to meet with Mrs. Thomas. “Could you have Mrs. Gat
es bring tea, please?” she asked as she passed the footman, who looked as if he was trying to decide whether or not to tell her she couldn’t be in the study. He nodded and left the room. The odor of cheroots and brandy hung in the space, but Charlotte acted as if she didn’t notice. Mrs. Thomas, on the other hand, took a handkerchief from her reticule and held it to her mouth for a moment.

  “Oh, dear,” the older woman said as she breathed carefully. “The vicar doesn’t smoke, and I’d quite forgotten how vile cheroot smoke can smell,” she said, forcing a conciliatory smile.

  “I do apologize, Mrs. Thomas. This is a room lacking a feminine touch, don’t you agree? But, at the moment, it’s the closest thing we have to a parlor,” Charlotte explained with a forced smile. “Now, His Grace had business in Chichester today and asked if I might meet with you. He said something about a village fair?”

  Resigned to the situation, Mrs. Thomas sat up straighter in the settee and regarded Charlotte for a long moment, as if she was trying to decide if Charlotte would indeed pass along her request. “Now, how is it you have come to be at Wisborough Oaks, milady?” she wondered then, her attention darting to the door when Mrs. Gates entered carrying the same tea service she’d brought that first day Charlotte had arrived. Saved by the tea, Charlotte thought with relief. She was tempted to answer Mrs. Thomas with a snide remark like, Well, by coach, of course.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Gates,” Lady Charlotte said as the housekeeper set down the tray and nodded first at her and then the vicar’s sister. “Are you acquainted with Mrs. Thomas?” she wondered as she lifted the teapot and began pouring tea.

  “Oh, aye, milady,” Mrs. Gates replied with a bright smile. “It’s vera good to see you getting out again, Meg,” she said with a bob in the direction of the woman. “You had us all worried last winter.” Mrs. Gates turned to Charlotte. “She had an awful ague.”

  A bit embarrassed, Mrs. Thomas smiled tightly at Mrs. Gates. “Thank you, Agnes. We missed you at service,” she added a bit peevishly. “Are you feeling well?”

  Having put down the tea tray, Mrs. Gates seemed about to leave. “Oh, aye.”

  Charlotte figured the two older women would be acquainted with one another, and she realized she needed a mediator when it came to dealing with the formidable vicar’s sister. “Mrs. Gates, would you please join us? Mrs. Thomas is here to propose what I think will be a most excellent idea for the duchy,” she begged, hoping her voice didn’t sound as desperate as she felt.

  “Oh, aye,” Mrs. Gates replied happily. “Here, let me help you with that, milady,” she said as she reached over and began adding sugar to the teacups that Charlotte had already poured. Charlotte smiled and sat back in her chair, trusting Mrs. Gates to the tea service.

  “I’m afraid it is my fault Mrs. Gates was absent from church,” Charlotte said quickly. “I showed up quite unexpectedly last week, and I believe she felt as if she couldn’t leave the household on my account.”

  Mrs. Gates beamed. “Nonsense, milady,” she whispered to Charlotte. She turned her attention to Mrs. Thomas. “Lady Charlotte arrived just when she was expected,” the housekeeper said proudly. “She’s to marry our duke, you see,” she announced to the obvious surprise of Mrs. Thomas. The woman stole a quick glance in Charlotte’s direction, realizing what a faux pas she may have committed in nearly giving the future duchess the cut indirect. “I’ve been waiting for her to claim this household for nearly eighteen years. Even told His Grace that this mornin’ before he left, I did,” she added, turning her attention and a brilliant smile onto Charlotte.

  Charlotte’s face colored up as she wondered how Joshua Wainwright reacted to that bit of news. Needing to get the attention off of her, she asked, “Now, what was it you wanted the duke to consider, Mrs. Thomas?”

  For the next hour, the three women chatted about the duke hosting a village fair. Given how busy duchy tenant farmers were during the summer, they decided it should be held in the autumn to celebrate the harvest and to provide an entertainment for those from Town to attend before they headed back to London for the winter months. By the time Mrs. Thomas left, Charlotte was on the best of terms with her, and not just because she had agreed to talk the duke into hosting the event.

  “I do hope we haven’t put too much on milady with this fair,” Mrs. Gates said after they’d seen Mrs. Thomas on her way in her small curricle.

  “Not at all,” Charlotte replied with a shake of her head. “I think His Grace will be pleased with us, especially if we do all the planning and the arrange the village men folk to build the booths and such,” she added with a mischievous grin. “Would you take luncheon with me so we can continue our work?” she asked then, not wanting to go back to the construction zone just yet.

  “Oh, aye,” Mrs. Gates agreed, and they headed to the dining room.

  “We’re doing what?” Joshua wondered, his brows furrowing as he pulled papers out of a saddlebag and placed them on his desk.

  “A village fair. In the fall, just after the harvest,” Charlotte explained, hoping she hadn’t overstepped her bounds by assuring Mrs. Thomas that she would see to it the duke agreed to the idea.

  Joshua regarded her for a moment, remembering the sight of her in a satin nightgown. She’s not wearing a corset! he thought happily. He moved to stand directly in front of her, finally taking her hand in his and brushing his lips over the back of it. A frisson passed through Charlotte’s hand and up her arm, making her arm jerk just a bit in his grip. “A splendid idea,” he finally answered. “Did you offer to help with the planning?” he wondered as he returned his attention to the papers he’d put on the desk.

  “Of course,” Charlotte nodded. “Was … Is that agreeable?” she asked, unable to tell from the tone of his voice or his body language what his true feelings about the fair were.

  “Excellent,” Joshua remarked then. “My mother used to put on a village fair. It’s been years since the last one. We’d had a bad harvest and no one wanted to celebrate. Once you skip a year, it’s easy to just let the next one pass, too,” he explained with a shake of his head. “Pity, too, because that’s where I learned to play cards. And had my first kiss.”

  Charlotte grinned at his recollection. “Who, pray tell, was the lucky girl?” she asked in a teasing voice.

  Joshua leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “The blacksmith’s daughter,” he said wistfully, a wan smile showing on his face.

  “Do you still wish to kiss her these days?” Charlotte wondered, joining him to lean against the desk.

  Hearty laughter erupted from Joshua, a sound full of happiness. It was the first time Charlotte had ever heard him laugh, and she smiled broadly. “God, no. She’s married to the pub owner, has about three stones on me, and at least six children,” he said, grinning broadly. His smile slowly left his face as he studied Charlotte, looking as if he wanted to ask her something but not finding the words to do so.

  Charlotte leaned her head against his shoulder, guessing at the unspoken question. “As many as you want, Joshua,” she murmured, her smile turning demure.

  Stunned by her statement, Joshua wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against the front of his body, one hand moving to the back of her head to pull it against his chest. “Thank you,” his whispered, kissing the top of her head.

  Chapter 21

  Mr. McElliott, Investigator

  The solicitor’s office was in Oxford Street, conveniently tucked into a space between a modiste and a shop displaying various stringed instruments. Garrett knew Madame Suzanne, the proprietor of the dress shop, from having visited when he escorted Jane there on one occasion. She wasn’t Madame Faribault, but he had no idea where that modiste’s shop was located, and time was of the essence.

  Madame Suzanne was most obliging of his unusual request for satin bed linens. She had just the fabric in mind, and she had a seamstress she thought could complete the work in a day. “As long as you do not require His Grace�
��s initials embroidered on the pillow covers, Annette can have these ready by ten tomorrow,” Suzanne promised, palming the crown he gave her as he made the order. When Garrett inquired about having a formal gown made for Jane, the French woman’s dark eyebrows cocked in a most devilish manner. “Why, Monsieur McElliott, you are not aware that a man cannot buy a gown for a woman? Unless she is your mistress, of course,” she whispered with a hint of conspiracy.

  Garrett wasn’t familiar with that rule, and his confused expression conveyed his ignorance. “Can I do so if it is to be her wedding gown?” he wondered, his voice low and his own eyebrows cocked in mischief. “And it’s my wedding gift to her?”

  The modiste regarded him for a moment and then smiled. “Has she said ‘yes’?”

  Frowning, Garrett replied with, “I would not be here if she said otherwise!”

  Madame Suzanne placed a hand on Garrett’s arm. “You are in luck. I have just the gown for your dear Jane,” she oozed, sliding gracefully toward a mannequin wearing a sapphire blue glacé silk gown under a gold net overskirt. “It is modest for a morning wedding, and the bodice is easily reworked to make it lower as a fashionable evening gown,” Suzanne explained as she swept her hand across the bodice of what Garrett considered an already low-cut gown. “Best of all, it is already Miss Wethersby’s size. I must have one of my girls add an extra flounce to the bottom, though, since she is so tall,” she said as she stood considering the gown. “And some gold lamé flowers, too, I should think, just along the bottom where we add the ruffle.”

  Garrett stood staring at the woman, not comprehending half of what she was saying but deciding it sounded good. “Can you do all that by tomorrow at ten?” he asked carefully, pulling another crown from the purse Joshua had given him.

  Madame Suzanne’s eyebrow cocked again. “But, of course, Monsieur McElliott. And you need matching gloves and a suitable headpiece made from the net, of course,” she explained to him, motioning him to the counter where she wrote up his bill. “Tomorrow at ten,” she assured him, handing him his receipt.