Page 50 of The Uncouth Duke of Longford
The Duke nodded, looking down and then, lifting her hand, pressing a kiss to it. “Of course I shall.” There was a softness inhis voice, a quietness there which spoke of a tenderness which Rachel clung to. “But I must keep you safe.”
“Very well.” Wishing that she was bold enough to push herself into his arms, Rachel let out a small sigh and then smiled. “But do return to me quickly. I will miss your presence even for a short while.”
“As will I.” Releasing her hand, the Duke directed her back into the direction of her parents and then, after a few moments, stepped away.
Epilogue
“You will confirm that it was Lord Chiddick?”
The footman nodded. “I have the vial also.”
Andrew’s eyebrows lifted, shock wrapping around him. “You do?”
Again, the footman nodded but pulled it out of his pocket, handing it to Andrew. “It says nothing but that is what I was given.”
Andrew inspected it, taking in the small brown bottle and seeing no interesting or distinguishing markings on it only for him to smile. “That is excellent. I will need to speak to Miss Renfrew but I am sure this can be used to convict him all the more.” Seeing the footman look away, clearly a little concerned, Andrew put out one hand and set it on the man’s shoulder. “You have done well and will be given the reward I promised. All that is required of you is a little more courage.”
“Yes, of course, Your Grace,” the footman replied, looking back at him. “Thank you.”
“You have it?”
A voice over his shoulder made Andrew turn, his hand dropping from the footman’s shoulder. “Lord Wrexham. Yes, I have the footman here and he has confirmed all. I even have the vial.”
Lord Wrexham nodded, his eyes a little round as he looked to the vial which Andrew held out to him. “Goodness.”
“And you have the other footman? The one who served me the Queen’s Cakes?”
Lord Wrexham nodded. “I do. He is waiting in the servants kitchen.”
“Then go and fetch him but wait by the door until we call for you,” Andrew instructed the first footman, who nodded and then stepped away. Looking back to Lord Wrexham, he gave his friend a small shake of his head. “It is at an end. I am displeased that I have to do this at the engagement ball but it must be done if I am to be protected – and if I am to protect Miss Grifford also.”
“Of course.” Lord Wrexham gestured to the door. “Are you ready?”
Andrew nodded, filling his lungs with air and then lifting his chin. “I am.”
The door opened and Andrew walked into the room, seeing the many faces turning towards him. Most had smiles, some were frowning as though still taken aback by his announcement of an engagement though Andrew paid very little attention to them all. Instead, he walked to the fireplace, turned and then, after a moment, held his hands high in the air. “I should like to make an announcement.”
The orchestra, who had already been prepared for this, did not lift their bows to their instruments but instead, set them down and vacated the room. Slowly but surely, those in the room all turned towards him and, little by little, began to quieten. Andrew caught sight of Miss Grifford as she came to stand by the edge of the crowd, her mother, father and Miss Renfrew near to them. Lord Chiddick, he noticed, as at the other side, opposite Andrew’s betrothed, which Andrew considered something of a relief.
“I should, first of all, like to thank you all for attending,” Andrew began, wondering exactly how he was to phrase this. “Unfortunately, it has come to my attention recently that there has been someone attempting to injure me of late… and another attempt was made this evening.”
Lord Wrexham caught his eye, giving him a small nod as he came to stand near to Lord Chiddick, though Lord Chiddick did not see him.
“There have been three attempts now to poison me,” Andrew said clearly, eliciting a few gasps from the listening crowd. “I have been saved from it, thankfully. First I received a warning from an anonymous source – though I still do not know who that was – and thereafter, my betrothed and then my friend saved me from certain disaster. I became more and more convinced that there was something going on, that someonewasattempting to injure me – to kill me, even! And what made it a good deal worse was that my father, who passed away some years ago, died due to a deliberate act.”
There came another round of gasps and Andrew waited for that to pass, aware of his hands curling into fists as he attempted to keep a hold of his own emotions. Talking about this was more difficult than he had anticipated.
“I will not go further into this, I will not express any details, only to tell you that I have discovered the culprit. I tell you all of this tonight so that you might be aware of the truth and so you might all protect yourselves from this ogre.”
“Who is it?”
Andrew turned to see Lord Carmichael taking a step closer, one hand on Miss Grifford’s shoulder, clearly not only concerned for her but also for Andrew himself.
“Let me explain,” he said, turning his attention now to Lord Wrexham who still stood near to Lord Chiddick. “This person not only caused the accident which killed my father but also placed poison in my drink and my food – and then paid footmen to take those specific items to me. I have one of the footmen from the previous attempt present and my own footman from this evening, who has told me exactly what happened and what has taken place. It is to my great relief that my servants are loyalto me for without that, not only myself but Miss Grifford would have been gravely injured, for the poison – the poison inthisvial – would have killed us both.”
Another gasp ripped around the room as Andrew held up the small vial. Ladies clapped their hands to their mouths, gentlemen turned to one another in shock… and Andrew let his gaze turn to his cousin.
“I have the two footmen here, cousin,” he said clearly, as Lord Wrexham clapped his hands and the two footmen stepped into the room. “They will both attest to what you have done. You paid them. You did something dreadful and paid them for their task though, I believe, they did not know what they were doing.”
