After the visit to the royals, Will and Elizabeth met Richard and Loretta, Georgiana, Kitty, Tom, and Alex at Gunter’s. Originally Jane and Perry were to join them, but they had sent their regrets stating that Jane was somewhat fatigued.
“Did you enjoy your time with the royals, brother?” Georgiana asked.
“I will wager that our brother did not notice them as he would have been staring at Lizzy in that besotted manner of his,” Alex ribbed his older brother.
“Sorry to disappoint you,babybrother, but I was aware of my surroundings. I cannot help that Lizzy has the voice of an angel that makes it impossible to concentrate on anything else when she sings,” Will responded.
Elizabeth blushed at the praise from her suitor. She looked around when she felt the eyes of someone outside her party on her, but in seeing nothing amiss, she dismissed it as unimportant. Instead, she turned to her cousin Georgiana and younger sister to talk to them.
The Earl of Granville was sitting in the corner and scowling at them. As he was watching them, he lauded his luck at being at Gunter’s at the same time by happenstance. He could see that it would be suicide to try anything inside of the establishment, as that damned Darcy never left her side. As he always ignored servants, he did not notice the huge footman looking at him as intently.
He was wise to refrain from any attempt where he was. He would not have been able to get close to her before he would have been dealt with, but he needed to marry her soon. He could not stave off the sale of his estate and townhouse for too many more days! He owed the bulk of his debts to a man they calledThe Spaniard,who would not hesitate to take his estate to satisfy his debts. He waited until the party he had been observing left Gunter’s before he stood and paid his bill. Even though money was in short supply, he needed to keep up appearances.
Granville followed them back to Grosvenor Square and waited, but waiting did nothing for him as he did not see his quarry again that day. He reluctantly made his way back to his shell of a townhouse on St James Square.
Chapter9
The Earl of Granville had seen Lady Elizabeth walk in Hyde Park, so he waited for her in the park on three consecutive days, but she had not been seen again. On the previous occasion, she had been with her suitor, and he thought he noticed some large footmen in the area. She also had a Great Dane with her, but from the white around the animal’s snout, he surmised that it would not be a problem.
Time was running out.The Spaniardhad given him an extension until the end of the current week to make a substantial payment on his over one hundred-thousand-pound debt; then, he would call in the debts and take his property. It was the first time in his life that Harry Smythe bemoaned the fact there was no entail on his estate or townhouse.
Granville left his townhouse that morning earlier than he liked to rise and headed toward Hyde Park. He sat on a bench away from the Grosvenor Square gate, where he had a clear view of those entering from the Square. He needed her to walk today.The Spaniardhad told him, in no uncertain terms, that he had granted his final extension. He told himself it was not his fault he had had such a long run of bad luck, so it was not his fault that he needed to do what he was about to do.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was a cold February day, but thankfully it was not snowing when Elizabeth left Matlock House for a ramble in Hyde Park. Two footmen walked ahead of her, Biggs and Johns behind her, and between them was Mrs Annesley. Even Aggie had condescended to leave the warmth of the rug before the fire to accompany her mistress. Though she was nine, when she was well rested, as she was as they left the house, a walk in the park was no trouble for her.
They entered the park with Aggie bounding about with more energy than Elizabeth had noted in a while. Elizabeth decided she would find a stick to throw for Aggie during her walk. As she walked, she was deep in thought about her Will, saddened that he had had to beg off the walk as he had a task to accomplish for his father that morning.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lord Granville saw Lady Elizabeth as she entered the park. He could see at least two or three footmen with her, her companion, and her old dog. He saw the footmen but judged that there was enough distance for him to achieve his aim before they were able to reach him, and besides, as big as they were, they would be slow and lumbering.
Noting the path that she was taking; Granville made his way by a circuitous route where the path was close to a copse of trees. His plan was totripand pull the lady down, tearing her dress in the process while making as much noise as he could to attract the maximum attention possible. She would have no choice then but to accept his offer to save her reputation. Her reputed dowry of over one hundred thousand was exactly what he needed to save himself and his properties from his creditors.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Will had been tasked to meet with his father’s solicitors that morning, which was why he was not able to accompany Elizabeth on her ramble in Hyde Park as he would have preferred. He hoped that the documents that his father needed him to review at Mr Reid’s office would not keep him there too many hours as he was hoping to spend the afternoon with his Lizzy.
He had never enjoyed his time in society as he had since Elizabeth’s coming out ball and all the subsequent events. He would never have believed that he, who had eschewed society as much as he had prior to the ball, would relish it now the way he did. He knew that the difference was Elizabeth, and without her, by his side, he would have been no keener for all the events that they had attended than he ever had.
Georgiana had always loved him, but now that he was on the cusp of proposing to Lizzy and making the two young ladies sisters, his sister showed him adoration akin to hero-worship. It seemed that Elizabeth had that effect on those around her.
His parents were no less pleased than Georgiana; they just did not show it in the boisterous manner she did. Alex was the only one who seemed indifferent. He loved his cousin, but whether she was cousin or sister did not seem to impact his life.
“Mr Darcy, welcome,” Mr Reid welcomed his client’s son.“If you will follow me to the reading room, the documents are ready for you.”
“Thank you, Mr Reid.” Will followed the man to the designated room, and thankfully it was not a big stack of documents—only about ten pages in total. No matter how much he wanted to be with Elizabeth, he would read the pages with care. This was his duty, and it was not in his nature to shirk any duty he had to perform.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Richard made his way to Jersey House to call on Loretta. It had been a few weeks of courtship, and his tender feelings had progressed to love. He suspected it was the same for Loretta, but he did not want to rush in headlong like it was a cavalry charge. He was hoping his lady would agree to take a curricle ride with him through Hyde Park.
The butler showed him in where the four members of the de Melville family were ensconced in a morning parlour.“Good morning, Richard,” Lord Cyril welcomed him.
“Good morning all,” Richard said, but his gaze was fixed on Loretta.“I would like to invite Loretta to ride with me through the park,” he requested.
“Is there room for her companion in the vehicle?” her father asked.
