Page 28 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
“Where have you drifted off to?” David asked and Elizabeth blushed, worried that her younger sibling could read her thoughts.
“I cannot say,” she fibbed and turned her attention back to her brother. “Come along. It is time to eat.”
“You did not ask where we will go on our hunt,” David complained but he did follow his older sister toward the house where Frances had disappeared.
“I imagine you will tell me regardless,” she teased.
“Ah! There you are!” Lord Gordon proclaimed as they entered. “Elizabeth, you must have the servants pack your trunks. We leave in the morning.”
“Leave for where? This hunt which David is anticipating?” she asked. “Where is it and why should I have to go?”
She also wondered why she had not been told earlier but she saved that query for later. Lord Gordon smiled enigmatically.
“It is a family affair, my dear daughter and I assure you, one which you will enjoy.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose dubiously.
“Hunting? Father, I would much rather remain at the house, if you do not mind.”
The sense that she was dreaming was becoming more valid. More inane conversation, discussions which made little sense to her, followed by a series of covert smiles among the rest of her family made Elizabeth feel as if she had been excluded from a secret.
“In fact, I do mind very much,” the Viscount replied. “It will not be a family affair if the entire family is not in attendance, will it, Liza? Come along, daughter. I have already spoken to Isabella who has begun to gather a trunk for you.”
“Father!” Elizabeth groaned in exasperation. “I do not understand what is happening. Why must I come on a hunt?”
“You will not be hunting, Liza. You and Frances may go shopping and explore the virtues of a sprawling estate in our absence.”
She waited, sensing that there was more to come, something that her father was deliberately taking his time announcing.
“Father?” she insisted when he did not add anything else. “You must be clearer. Where are we going and why have I not heard of this previously?”
Father and son shared a sly look and Elizabeth suddenly felt as if she was in the middle of a plot. It was not a feeling she found pleasurable.
“You will know when we arrive,” Lord Gordon offered mysteriously but the secret way he spoke did not alleviate Elizabeth’s concerns.
“Father, I do not wish to be contrary but if you do not tell me, I am afraid I must refuse.”
Elizabeth could think of nothing she wanted less than to embark on a trip to parts unknown, not when David and the Viscount were acting furtive.
“Shall we tell her, David?” Lord Gordon asked and his son shook his head.
“I daresay we insist she wait.”
Elizabeth’s patience wore thin and her head was beginning to ache with the bantering going on about her like a swirl of fairies.
“Father! David! I do not wish to wait! You must tell me what this is about!”
Frances danced through the front foyer and her giggles met Elizabeth’s ears. She continued to clutch the letters from Herbert Barlough to her chest as she moved.
“Father, are we ready to leave yet?” she cried. “I have a trunk packed and I wear my heart on my sleeve!”
Elizabeth looked from sibling to sibling before resting her eyes on her father. Suddenly, she understood where her father aspired to travel and she began to shake her head at the thought.
“No…” she mumbled. “No, Father, I cannot go there.”
“I told you we should have made her wait,” David grumbled. “Now she will not come.”
“She will go. We have been invited,” Lord Gordon insisted firmly. “It would be rude to refuse.”
