Page 21 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“This is not a gift!” Elizabeth insisted. “This is nourishment. There is a grave difference. You must eat if you wish to work!”
Lucy peered up at her and Elizabeth sighed. She moved the girl toward a high-back chair and gently sat her down.
“Please,” she insisted, her tone softer as she recognized the fear in Lucy’s eyes. “I will not breathe a word of this to a living soul, I swear it on my honor.”
Lucy’s eyes darkened dramatically and a thin, sardonic smile formed on her lips. The expression caused Elizabeth’s blood to run cold. It was clear the servant girl did not have high regard for the words which Elizabeth had uttered.
“What is it?” she murmured and placed the food on the table at Lucy’s side. “You may be frank with me.”
Lucy hesitated, her smile faltering slightly and uncertainty colored her eyes.
“Is there honor in noble blood?” she whispered. The maid’s voice was so quiet, Elizabeth strained to hear her. The question made her pensive.
“It should be that way,” she offered by the way of an answer but even as she spoke, her mind moved toward Lord Cooke and the Duke of Pembroke.
Lord Cooke certainly did not act with any great honor this evening,Elizabeth reminded herself.Albeit, he was quite drunk.
She wondered if that was merely an excuse but she brushed aside the question and focussed fully on Lucy who continued her thought.
“I do not think it is blood which makes you honorable, Miss Elizabeth,” Lucy sighed. Tentatively, she reached for a piece of cheese and hungrily gobbled it down her gullet. A small look of relief crossed her face and Elizabeth felt the same sensation in her chest. Watching the girl eat made her feel much better about how the evening had progressed. In the end, something good had happened, lightening her heart considerably.
“Where do you believe honor is formed, if not in the blood?” Elizabeth asked but it was not so much a question for the servant as it was to ponder for herself.
“I cannot say where it is formed, Miss Elizabeth but I do believe it resides in the heart.”
Elizabeth grinned at the romanticism of it but her skepticism was tinged with melancholy.
“I do hope my heart contains honor, Lucy,” she replied.
“Miss Elizabeth, you may be the only honorable soul in this house full of nobles.”
Elizabeth eyed her but Lucy was far too consumed with eating to pay her any mind. She had been right—the girl was closed to starving and Elizabeth watched with shame and anger as she devoured the bits of food she had been given. The servant’s words had affected her more than she wished to admit. She could see the girl had been terribly mistreated by the Baron of Fife but that did not mean other noblemen were cruel also, did it? Surely Lord Fife was an exception and not the rule.
Dear God,Elizabeth thought worriedly, her mind unavoidably turning to the Duke of Pembroke once more.I do hope so.
Chapter 7
Leonard rose before dawn on the morning of the wedding, determined to find Elizabeth and speak with her alone. It had been impossible with Priscilla attached to his side the previous evening, although Leonard had suspected that Elizabeth was purposely avoiding him. Priscilla had become a leaden weight, particularly when she had laid eyes upon Elizabeth. Not for the first time, Priscilla had displayed her propensity for jealousy, clinging to Leonard with more force than usual. It was not difficult to understand his fiancée’s fears. They were founded in this instance; Leonard was undeniably smitten with Elizabeth.
The household and guests were asleep, the night still resting over the horizon but a shot of grey waved through the sky, the promise of morning nigh. Servants already bustled through the manor, silently but busily.
“May I get you a cup of tea, Your Grace,” one boy asked and Leonard nodded.
“If you would. On the terrace—or have you a conservatory?”
“Indeed, Your Grace, to the east of the property. Shall I bring it there?”
“Please,” Leonard replied. He watched the boy scurry off and for the second time in two days, he noticed how young and thin was the household staff.
I daresay, if my servants were without meat on their bones, I would insist they eat more,he thought wryly and made his way through the grand house toward the conservatory. He found it without incident but when he entered, he found he was not alone. It was surprising to find another nobleman awake at such an hour on what promised to be such a festive day. After two days of activity, all else were deep in slumber, likely dreaming of the wedding to follow that morning.
“Pardon me,” the Duke said cordially when he chanced upon another man inside. “I do not mean to intrude. Would you rather be alone?”
The man spun from where he admired a row of blooming flowers and cast Leonard a charming smile. He gestured grandly with his arms outstretched, inviting the Duke closer with the movement.
“Nonsense,” he replied. “You are hardly an intruder. Please, come and join me. Shall I send for tea?”
“No need,” Leonard replied. “I have a cup on its way.”
