Page 40 of The Uncouth Duke of Longford
“Go into the apothecary and see what Lord Chiddick purchases,” Rachel begged her, squeezing her hands. “Please, make yourself as discreet as possible so that he does not recognise you. If I go in, I am sure he will see my face and know it but he is not as well acquainted with you.”
Miss Renfrew opened her mouth and then closed it again, a steely look coming into her eyes. “Very well,” she said, as Rachel closed her eyes in relief. “Where will you be?”
“The bookshop,” Rachel suggested, as her friend nodded. “I cannot be seen. Please hurry, Grace. It is of the utmost importance!”
Without another word, Miss Renfrew turned and hurried towards the apothecary. Rachel, though she longed to wait outside and watch to see what might happen, forced herself to walk towards the bookshop, aware of the trembling which had taken a hold of her frame. That thought was not something she could escape, not now that she had seen Lord Chiddick enter that particular shop. Surely it could not be as she thought, forthat would mean the very worst of things, the most dreadful of circumstances but yet, it lingered in her mind nonetheless.
The bell to the bookshop tinkled as she pushed open the door. Without so much as a glance in the bookshop keeper’s direction, Rachel hurried to the window and, grasping a book at random, opened it and held it in her hands but kept her gaze fixed to what was going on outside.
There was no sign of either Miss Renfrew or Lord Chiddick. Rachel’s breathing grew quicker as she pressed her free hand to her stomach, aware of the tension there.It would make sense,she thought to herself, her worries rising steadily as she continued to gaze outside, waiting for someone to appear.It could be that Lord Chiddick is the one attempting to harm the Duke, though quite what his purpose could be for that, I do not know.
She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Swallowing her fears, she steadied herself and opened her eyes again, only to see Lord Chiddick striding back towards his carriage. Of Miss Renfrew, there was no sign.
Setting the book back down, Rachel made to hurry out again, though she waited for Lord Chiddick to climb back into his carriage and then drive away again so that he would not see her emerging from the bookshop. It took her only a few moments to make her way from the bookshop to the apothecary and, stepping inside, quickly found Miss Renfrew.
“Well?” She gripped Miss Renfrew’s hand, seeing her friend’s eyebrows furrowing. “Did you see what it was that he bought?”
“A few things,” Miss Renfrew replied, keeping her voice quiet as she glanced over her shoulder to where the apothecary himself was standing at the counter. “Laudanum, a scent ofsome sort and I did overhear him asking for something to deter rats.”
“Deter rats?” Rachel repeated, a knot forming in her stomach. “That is something that one’s servants would do usually, is it not?”
“Yes, I suppose it is.” Miss Renfrew frowned, pressing Rachel’s hand. “You have not explained anything to me as yet. Why should such a thing trouble you? Why should Lord Chiddick’s presence be so distressing?”
“Because,” Rachel whispered as the door opened to admit another gentleman and lady, “I fear that the person responsible for injuring the Duke of Longford might very well be his cousin.”
It took Miss Renfrew a few moments to respond. She simply gazed back into Rachel’s face, taking in what had been said and then, much to Rachel’s relief, shook her head and blew out a slow breath. “Goodness. That is rather worrying.”
“I do not understand what his motivations might be but all the same, given what I know of the Duke of Longford and his situation, I am concerned that there is some particular reason for his intentions.” Rachel released her friend’s hand. “I must go and speak to him at once.”
“To the Duke?”
Rachel nodded. “Do you think we might return home? Since we came in your carriage, I can always hail a hackney if you would prefer but – ”
“No, let us go at once. I will come with you, if you wish? It will keep everyone contented as regards propriety.”
Relief coursed into every part of Rachel’s veins. “Thank you, my friend. Hurry. The sooner I can get to him, the happier I shall be.”
***
“Your Grace?”
Rachel hurried into the room, her heart beating furiously as she saw him rise to his feet, a smile on his face. The butler had only just announced them to the Duke of Longford but Rachel had no time to wait. “Thank goodness you are home. There is something I must speak to you about at once. I – ”
“Good afternoon, Lord Chiddick.”
Rachel blinked in surprise, hearing Miss Renfrew’s loud voice from behind her. She turned, only to see Lord Chiddick bowing towards Miss Renfrew. Her whole body went cold as she smiled, then looked back at the Duke who was looking at her with concern in his eyes.
“Good afternoon, Miss Grifford.” Lord Chiddick bowed to her and then smiled warmly. “Forgive me. I can take my leave if there is something so urgent that you must speak to His Grace without pause?”
“Oh, no, please,” Rachel found herself saying, her smile fixed as she sat down in a chair, Miss Renfrew doing the same. “It is not at all serious.”
“No?” Lord Chiddick kept smiling as he sat down. “It certainly sounded serious.”
Rachel let out a broken laugh, looking to Miss Renfrew in the hope that she would be able to help her. “It may have sounded so but it is not truly serious in any way.”
“Unless you are concerned about the snubbing of the Duke to a dinner party!” Miss Renfrew exclaimed, laughing with a shake of her head. “We spoke to a particular friend who informed us that she has heard that a prominent dinner party is soon to take place but even though Miss Grifford’s family will be invited, His Grace will be absent from the invited guests!”
Rachel nodded fervently, seeing the Duke’s smile fixing to his face and wondering if he knew that this was all a pretense or if he was truly concerned about this dinner party. “I thought totell you, Your Grace but now that Miss Renfrew says it in that way, I realise that there is nothing of concern. Not really.”
