Mr Darcy's Legacy by Florence Gold

Author:Florence Gold [Gold, Florence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JAFF
Published: 2019-05-26T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

They have gathered in the dining room again – only the four of them. Mr Acton did not attend the dinner. With a very correct sense of the events he excused himself, he declared his tiredness, but in truth, he wanted just to let them decide when he might return to their meals.

“I have looked over the letters,” Lady Edwina said. “Mostly they are from Fritz to your mother, I imagine Anne had read them countless times as some of them are almost torn apart. Poor thing!”

Darcy remembered his mother’s parlour and could hear that noise, the panel that slid. In another sense, it was strange how his mother did not conceal it from him, for he was only a child, and he could have been indiscreet at that young age. But it seemed his mother knew him well, as he never told anybody about the portrait. Then, as he grew up, he completely forgot about it.

“There are some papers your mother wanted FitzRoy to have, they are sealed and tied up with a ribbon. I do not know what we should do about them. It is so strange that she did not leave a single word beside the letter from the solicitor, as if she left destiny or us to decide. We are calling him the Duke, but back then he was not, his father lived for three more years, but, when he died, it was too late for them. Maybe those letters were written after their separation and never sent. In any case, we can read only the letters intended to be read by us, for the others you decide if you will give them to FitzRoy.”

They were silently waiting for Lady Edwina to continue:

“Do you want me to read the letters?”

Again nobody said anything. They wanted her to make the decision; Edwina smiled, she had around her three children waiting for her to decide.

“Elizabeth, you read, you are the least involved now, my dear!”

Edwina’s tone was one of sweet command; she wanted to see if Elizabeth was strong enough to take on such a role.

Elizabeth looked at Darcy but, to her great surprise, his face was blank, offering no expression to help her understand his position. But she remembered the discussion they already had and decided that Lady Anne indeed wanted to take revenge on her fate and let the world know her story, and a mother’s world was her children. And then she remembered how close she had been to losing her Darcy and tears appeared in her eyes as she took the first letter.

“At the time Fitz was a baronet, but he used his family’s arms.” Lady Edwina said.

Indeed the blazon was at the top of the letter and Elizabeth could see the green griffon so masterly transformed in the ring Georgiana was still wearing.

My dearest,

Elizabeth stopped and looked at Lady Edwina, asking for advice.

“Continue my dear,” she said with a smile, “it is indeed the first letter, some do not have the dates, yet Anne was scrupulous in ordering them.

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