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Chapter Twenty-Four
When Leah arrived at Gillingham Manor, she was shown straight to the Dowager Duchess, who was sitting in the parlor. She smiled at Leah kindly, and Leah dared to allow herself hope.
“Lady Leah,” the Dowager Duchess said. “How kind of you to visit me. Come in.”
“Your Grace,” Leah said, curtsying. “I’ve come on an urgent errand.”
“Oh, then do sit down,” the Dowager Duchess said, frowning in concern as she sat back down on the settee. “What can I help you with?” She looked toward the door, where the butler stood. “Tea, please, Mr. Sotheby.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the butler replied. Leah sat down across from the Dowager Duchess. She held a handkerchief in her hands—one of the newly monogrammed ones, with her future initials on it. She’d brought it to bring her luck—and to show her future mother-in-law how dedicated she was to making the marriage work. She held it, monogram side out.
“Now, My Lady,” the Dowager Duchess said, kindly. “What can I help you with?” She folded her hands delicately in her lap.
“Your Grace,” Leah began. “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to speak to your son on my behalf.”
“In regard to what?” While a frown furrowed the Dowager Duchess’s brow, her lips were curved upward in a sympathetic smile, which gave Leah hope.
“That our wedding be rescheduled immediately,” Leah explained, looking down at the monogram on her handkerchief. She rubbed her finger over the delicate stitching. “He seems to be so wrapped up in catching those criminals, that he hasn’t given it another moment’s thought. If I’m at all important to him, then he must act as though it means something.”
“Surely you don’t want to put your guests in harm’s way,” the Dowager Duchess said, gently. When Leah looked up at her, the lady was watching her, intently.
“Of course not! But what if they’re never caught? Is he just going to leave it go?”
“Certainly not, My Lady,” she replied. “My son is doing his best to ensure that justice be done.”
“He doesn’t ever come to see me anymore,” Leah said. “He never takes me for walks or anything. He doesn’t act like an engaged gentleman at all.”
“I can agree to speak to him on that account,” the Dowager Duchess replied. “But I cannot ask him to reschedule the wedding. Not when there are people who mean harm still very much in the county.”
“But you must—” Leah insisted. “He only listens to you, Your Grace.”
“I’m afraid that I cannot,” she repeated. “My son is the Duke. He makes his decisions without my interference.” She smiled at Leah, sadly. “I do know that he’s trying his best to do what he believes is right. If anything, my son’s heart is always in the right place.”
Leah nodded, deeply disappointed to find that the Dowager Duchess was not going to help her. She had thought that they were on their way to becoming very close, but clearly, Leah had been mistaken.
The tea things were brought, and the two ladies talked of other, less fraught topics. Leah struggled the whole time to keep her attention on the discussion. She had the niggling feeling that there was something that the Dowager Duchess was not telling her.
Inside, Leah was panicking. Her suspicions were now worse than they had been when she arrived. By the time that they had daintily sipped the tea, finished a small portion of tea cake, and exhausted most polite lines of conversation, Leah was desperate to return home.
“Unfortunately, I must return to Kirby Hall, Your Grace,” she announced.
The Dowager Duchess nodded, and both ladies stood. She took Leah’s hands in her own, pressing them. “I wish you all the best, My Lady.”
Leah looked the lady in the eye. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
As the Dowager Duchess accompanied Leah down to where her carriage waited, Leah wondered what it could be that she knew and wasn’t saying.
* * *
After freshening up and placing her bouquet in a little vase of water, Selina went to go and find her brother. He was in the library, furiously writing at the large wooden desk.
“To whom are you writing so intently?” Selina asked.
“To father,” he replied, not looking up. “To let him know that we’re heading to Staunton at the end of this week.
“You’ve gotten Jasper to agree,” she said, finding herself surprised. Thomas was known to be persuasive. But Jasper was a gentleman who was not to be swayed easily—especially when it came to herself.
“Reason is second to none,” Thomas replied, finally turning toward her. “It’ll be much simpler if Uncle Latimer doesn’t have to turn us out due to scandal.”
