The Duke's Revenge (5 page)

Murphy nodded, and the butler went into the
drawing room.

Gray stopped at the door
when he saw that Her Ladyship’s full attention was on the
Gazette
. He cleared his
throat with a cough. She looked up at him.

“
There is a man here to
see you, my lady.”

“
Who is it, Gray? Lord
McNeill?”

“
Nay, my lady, I have
never seen this gentleman before.”

“
What does he want? Have I
not told you that if it is one of those young bucks the Reverend
send to collect donation, even in this heathen snow, God permit,
then just make some excuses. Now do not bother me again.” She
turned her attention back to her newspaper.

“
But, my lady, he said he
has business with you.”

“
Just send him away, Gray,
do you not hear me?” she snapped and slashed the newspaper down on
the table.

The butler jerked at the intensity. He
swallowed and forced himself to proceed. “My lady, perhaps it is
better for you to see him. He said he’s a solicitor.”

Grace frowned, got up, and walked past the
butler into the hallway. At the door she saw a gentleman. As she
came toward him she asked, “You want to see me, sir?”

“
Ah, Lady Grace Westwood?”
Murphy bowed. “My name is Murphy McDonald. I am a solicitor, and I
have a
business
proposal for you, my lady.”

“
A proposal?”

“
Aye, my lady.”

“
What is it?”

“
I cannot say as yet, my
lady, perhaps inside the house?”

She studied him for a moment in silent, and
her eyes were sharp. “Very well, sir, I will hear this proposal of
yours.” She turned and led him into the house.

Murphy gave the butler his hat and followed
Grace toward one of the rooms along the hallway.

“
You may sit down, Mr.
McDonald.” Grace gestured to one of the chair in front of the study
desk. Murphy sat and placed his satchel down beside him. Grace eyed
the bag as she sat opposite him.

“
Well, Mr. McDonald, do
not delay much longer.”

“
Let see...” Murphy
started.

The housekeeper entered the room at that
moment with tea and muffins. She placed the tray on the table and
left the room again quietly.

Murphy continued, “I have this proposal from
my employer, who does not want to present himself until further
notice.”

Grace nodded and began to pour the tea.

“
Thank you,” he said,
taking the cup she handed him. “My employer is a very good friend
of mine, and he wanted me to present this proposal to you. Lady
Grace Westwood, you have a daughter, is that correct?”

“
Indeed, sir,” she said,
looking at him sipping his tea.

Secondhand tea, Murphy thought, as he placed
the cup down on the table and said, “My employer is very interested
in her, you see. He also knows of your trouble with money. He
propose that if she were to agree with him, my lady, he wants
her--”

He stopped there for a moment.

“
He wants her?” Grace
asked in surprise. “But surely, Mr. McDonald, your employer has
never seen my daughter.” She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. The
very thought that someone distinguish and rich has an interest in
Ivy caused a jolt of jealousy within her.

“
Do you mean to say, Mr.
McDonald, that your employer has requested you to ask me for my
daughter’s hand in marriage?”

Murphy paled and his hands
shook just a bit uneasily. He cleared his throat and said, “Err,
actually my employer has asked me to propose upon you
and
your daughter, err,
I mean he wants her all right but not for marriage, my
lady.”

“
What do you
mean?”

Murphy shifted in his seat again. “My
employer wants your daughter as his mistress, my lady.”

Grace just sat there, looking at him in
shock. Then she bolted up. “Mr. McDonald, my daughter is not a mere
commoner to become a man’s mistress. She is of noble blood, and she
will marry well,” she said in a low heated voice.

“
Lady Westwood,
I—”

“
Get out!”

Murphy stood and placed his satchel in front
of him as a barrier, just in case the woman attacked him. “I—”

“
I will not listen to you
further. Just get out, now!”

“
But, my lady, I am not
finished yet. Perhaps—”

“
We have no more to talk
about, Mr. McDonald. Leave now. If you must know, sir, a rich earl
has already asked for Ivy’s hands in marriage. Now, out with you,
sir!” she said, stalking toward the door.

“
Please, my lady, please
just listen to what I have to say first,” Murphy begged.

“
I will not!” she squealed
and turned the door handle.

Murphy looked at her angry face and knew he
had no choice but to force his hand. “Lady Westwood,” he said
slowly, “if you do not think this through thoroughly you will be
sleeping in the street.”

Grace turned to look at him. “What did you
say?”

“
Your debt has been
mounting,” the lawyer said. “You might know my employer; he is the
Duke of Lynwood. I was not supposed to even mention his name, but
you gave me no choice, my lady. You see over these past years you
have been over spending yourself. I do not know if you know this
but your loan has been increasing daily. Even this house and the
land you have in the country would not even pay off half of what
you owe the duke.”

“
Are you saying that the
duke would kick me out? That I am to live in the streets like mere
commoners?” she shrieked in dismay.

Murphy nodded. “I know that would not suit
you.”

Grace felt her knees weakened as she shook
her head.

“
There is a way out of
this, my lady,” Murphy said, looking at her pale face.

She turned to look at him and said very
calmly, “Please take a seat, Mr. McDonald, we have much to
discuss.”

Murphy nodded and walked back to his
seat.

She did the same and said, “What is going to
happen if I were to refuse his grace’s offer?”

Murphy looked at her with his white brows
raised. “Let me assure you, my lady, that the duke is not a greedy
man, he is a man of justice.”

“
A man of justice?” she
snapped. “He planned to kick me out of my house.”

Murphy widened his eyes.
“I assure you that I would do the same and no doubt, my lady, many
others when their debtor does not pay the due amount, and not only
that but has increases the debt ten times the amount in ten years.
And
that
, my
lady, does not include the interest.”

Grace fisted her hands. “I assure you that I
haven’t spent that much.”

“
And how would you know
that?”

She opened her mouth to reply but only to
shut it again.

Murphy knew she had no reply to that. “What
say we get this done with?”

She nodded with her face grim.

“
Now, if you were to agree
His Grace’s proposal,” he cleared his throat, “and your daughter,
of course, he will terminate all your debts in which the amount is,
now what was it?” He took up his satchel, opened it, and dug his
hand in to do some searching. A moment later he took out a piece of
paper. He put on his spectacle over the bridge of his nose and
scanned down the page. “Aye, the amount is one hundred thousand
pounds.”

Grace gasped.

Murphy glanced up at her and then continued,
“Not only that, my lady, he will also pay for the renovation of
this manor to its formal glory.” He nodded and looked up. He saw
the sudden spark of interest in her eyes. “And he will also give
you an allowance of five hundred pounds a year,” he added.

“
Five hundred pounds?” she
whispered, her eyes glinting in anticipation.

“
Aye, five hundred pounds,
a very comfortable sum indeed,” Murphy confirmed.

She turned to look at him. “Pray tell me a
little bit about His Grace.”

“
I assume you’ve already
know him.”

“
Nay, I don’t know him.
Everything was arranged through my dead husband, Liam. I’ve never
met the duke himself.”

Murphy chuckled and nodded. “The duke is
pretty famous for making his fortune. He did not inherit it though
he did his title and a huge amount of debts from his great uncle
who he had no idea existed. Not many nobles like him because they
think him not a gentleman for working.”

“
A true gentleman should
never work, Mr. Murphy,” Grace said curtly.

“
Is that what you think,
my lady?”

“
Aye, according to
Society.”

Murphy nodded and dug his hand into his bag.
He brought out another piece of paper.

“
What is that?”

“
A contract, my
lady.”

“
A contract?”

“
From what the duke had
conducted, he has a contract for you and your daughter to sign.” He
handed the paper to her. “What do you say, my lady? Of course,
we’ll give you time to absorb this, but His Grace want an answer in
about a week and no more.”

“
Such haste?”

“
Aye, that is what he
wanted. I shall come back in a week time in which I hope the answer
will be ready.” He picked up his satchel and stood.

“
Yes, Mr. McDonald, I
shall see you then?”

“
Thank you, my lady, until
then,” Murphy said and walked to the door.

Grace returned to the desk and sat down. She
looked at the paper and then picked up the quill.

***

Mrs. Johnson drummed her plumb fingers on
the kitchen table as she stared up at the ceiling. Tracy, the
kitchenmaid, walked back and forward impatiently with her hands on
her hips. Rena, the parlourmaid, leaned against the table top. She
looked relaxed but the fact was that she was in as much nervousness
as was the rest of the staff.

Finally, the signal came. Gray poked his in
through the kitchen door and said in bravado, “All right everybody,
the coast is clear. Her Ladyship and Ms Gale are gone.”

Rena and Tracy rushed toward the sliver
trays sitting on the table. Mrs. Johnson slid her plump body off
the chair and walked out the kitchen. The two maids trailed behind
her toward their destination.

They came to a door on the first floor, and
Mrs. Johnson produced a key from her hidden pocket. She inserted it
into the lock and did a click. The door opened, and they filed into
the room. Gray was the last to enter. Once inside, he search about
the hallway again from left to right, nodded with satisfaction that
all was safe and shut the door.

Ivy was standing at the window, watching
Uncle John driving her mother to the Staffordshire Town. They had
left in the new landau in which Lord McNeill had given to them as a
gift only a few months ago. She had no doubt also that her mother
would be buying more gowns and accessories again, with money from
their creditors. She wondered how her mother could do such a thing
when they were getting poorer everyday and the fact that their
debts were mounting everyday also.

Aye, her mother was an extravagant woman.
She did not care how much money she owed people just as long as she
got her fashionable gown and showing it off to the ton, she was
satisfied.

Ivy turned as Mrs. Johnson and the maids
walked in through the door.

Mrs. Johnson came to her and hugged her.
“Oh, m’ lady, why just look at you, so thin.”

The two maids placed the trays on the table
and they uncovered the silver lids, introducing delicious
breakfast. There were toasts, rolls, a jar of raspberry jam, and
butter in one tray, and the other tray contained tea set.

Ivy mouth watered for she had not eaten
since yesterday afternoon when the maids had sneaked her food.

“
Mrs. Johnson, Gray, Rena,
and Tracy, I don’t know how to thank you all,” she said. She wanted
to cry and her heart constricted by the care these people bestowed
upon her. If only her mother would do the same.

With that thanks, the four people just
mumbled something like ‘it’s all right,’ ‘a pleasure,’ and a nod
from both Gray and Rena.

Mrs. Johnson pulled out a chair for her and
said, “Now you sit down and have your food, m’ lady, we don’t want
you to go and get sick, you know.”

Ivy sat down and began to eat in leisure,
tasting the flavor and smelling the aroma of the delicious simple
meal that Mrs. Johnson had prepared for her.

“
I saw ye went into the
study ‘tis morning when that man came, Mrs. Johnson, did ye hear
anything?” Rena asked suddenly.

“
Who came, Mrs. Johnson?”
Ivy turned to look at the housekeeper.

“
I don’t know, m’ lady. Do
you know who the man was, Gray?” Mrs. Johnson turned to the
butler.

“
Aye, he’s a
solicitor.”

Mrs. Johnson glanced at Ivy. “I brought them
tea. They were talking but they stopped when I was there.”

“
What about ye, sir, do ye
know anything?” Tracy asked Gray.

He shook his head. “I left afterward, of
course, I thought nothing of it.”

“
That’s a shame then. I
thought Mrs. Johnson might know something since she went in.” Rena
looked at the housekeeper.