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Your very own Grace.

Elizabeth looked at the last line with pleasure as they had both adopted it by unspoken agreement when they wrote a letter to one another.

She rang for Arseneault to assist her with her ablutions and dressing so that she could join the family in the breakfast parlour, and then they would spend time comforting Amy if she still felt that she was ready to see the rest of the family later that day.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Younge was up earlier than his wont. He was to join Jones, Forester, and Barlow to spy on the family of toffs.

The men had some hard bread and coffee made on the fire by one of Barlow’s men.

As Mrs. álvarez had made it clear that she did not want to be disturbed early in the morning so the small kitchen in the cottage was not used.

The one aspect of the morning that Younge was not looking forward to the over two-mile ride on the back of a beast that he had no knowledge of how to control properly, but as the Commander of the mission he would not admit that fact to anyone.

The previous night he had dreamed of commanding a fleet of smuggling vessels with his Stealthy Runner as his flagship.

He did not notice the smirks on the faces of the men breaking their fast with him who knew that his beloved ship was no longer his.

He would take the seizing of his sloop very hard, but it would be irrelevant as he would soon lose his head.

At the manor house, the men, Captain Burnett in his lady’s getup, were breaking their fast earlier than usual when an express was delivered for the Earl of Brookfield. He broke the seal and read the short missive which elicited a grin of satisfaction.

“What is so amusing, Richard?” his brother Andrew asked.

“Younge’s sloop is now the property of the Royal Navy.

” Richard replied, his evident appreciation of the justice amusing his company.

“Even were the impossible to happen and the cur escaped, all he would find when he returned to Oakenholt is a contingent of Royal Marines waiting for him.” There was no doubt among those around the table that pigs would fly before Younge or his accomplice would be able to escape the ring of men that would surround them on their final day of freedom.

Richard turned to Captain Burnett and said, “You look very comely this morning, your Grace,” he teased.

“It is time for your morning ramble. By now Jones and his men, more than likely with Younge in attendance, will be in position so let us give them something to see.”

Burnett, shaved clean, bereft of his mutton chops and sporting a wig that closely resembled the duchess’s hair colour was dressed in a pale blue day dress.

One of the maids had done a creditable job of inserting some ‘womanly assets’ so he would not appear flat chested, and the dress had a high enough neckline so none of the hair on his chest was visible.

He would be at least one hundred and fifty yards away from where the watchers had secreted themselves, so there would be no danger of Younge being able to determine that ‘she’ was in fact a he .

Even had the Captain been closer, the wig that was being used had ample hair and was styled in a way to cover a good part of his face.

“I am ready, your Lordship,” Burnett said gruffly.

With wishes of good luck from the men at the table, Burnett and the maid stepped out of the front veranda doors and descended into the gardens.

To complete the ensemble, Burnett was holding a parasol which would make it that much harder to catch a glimpse of his face.

Younge, who was nursing a bruised rump and ego from the ride between the cabin and the point that they had left their mounts, was, or so he thought, the first to notice the lady and her maid descend the stone steps from the veranda to the gardens. “There she be,” he whispered.

His three companions nodded, making as if to hide themselves in the shrubbery more effectively and Younge emulated them.

They watched for almost an hour while the toff’s wife made a circuit in the gardens with her companion.

She stopped every now and then to greet an undergardener and then would proceed on her route.

What Younge could have no way of knowing was that the men that ‘she’ stopped to greet were none of them gardeners, but part of the contingent of guards currently at Pemberley.

At the end of her walk, the Duchess and her maid ascended the same stone steps and disappeared into the house.

Two hours later they were joined by one of Barlow’s men who had been tasked with riding into Lambton to acquire victuals, bringing those on watch sandwiches of cold meats and cheese.

The men who had not eaten since leaving camp devoured the sandwiches hungrily.

An hour or so after the four had eaten they saw the lady, now dressed in a riding habit, walk with a tall man they assumed to be the Duke, toward the stables where they mounted their horses and headed off to a destination that the men could not follow without detection.

In fact, once they were well out of sight and hearing range, the Duke and Burnett dismounted, and were met by some footmen and a groom.

In the days before Younge arrived at Pemberley, Burnett had learnt the basics of riding side-saddle.

He appeared proficient but was not unhappy when the short ride terminated, and he was able to get off the infernal saddle.

He had empathy for the way that women had to ride in society after having experienced the same himself.

The two men relaxed for a few hours while they discussed banal subjects.

At the appointed time, they remounted and returned to the stables.

Watching from their ‘secret’ place, Jones turned to Younge.

“We needs t’ see if t’ lady walks out ag’in,” he stated, and Younge nodded his agreement. “To ‘ard t’ try ‘n take ‘er on a ‘orse an’ wif ‘er ‘usband there.”

“I agree,” Younge said almost too quickly. The three men, after seeing the abominable skills that the man had on a horse, had no doubts that he would eschew any plan that called for an element on horseback. “Ya three waits ‘ere and see if you learn more while I returns to camp.”

The three bade him farewell and smirked as they saw him leave, convinced that his returning to their camp alone was so that no one would see his abysmal riding again, or mayhap he would walk, leading the horse the entire way.

Once Younge had been gone for almost an hour, Jones stood and made his way to the house.

The other two remained in the unlikely event that Younge returned and noticed Jones’s absence.

The men had a ready excuse if that unforeseen event transpired.

It did not. Younge had tried to ride part of the way back but gave up after a mile and did, in fact, lead his horse the rest of the way back.

When he arrived at the camp the men there pretended to not notice that he had been leading his horse and did their best to hide their amusement.

After handing the reins to one of the men, Younge limped back to the cottage where Johanna álvarez was awaiting him to hear the news of their quarry.

Younge informed her that the lady seemed to take a solitary walk in the morning and then rode out with her husband some hours later.

Johanna agreed that they would watch for one or two more days and that if the morning walks were repeated, that would be the best time to kidnap her.

Both left their meeting sure that they would soon have more money than they needed to carry out their plans for their future lives.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

At Broadhurst, Lady Loretta De Melville was most upset at the announcement that she had just read in the Times of London.

There was a royal announcement that informed the readers that Frederick Landgrave VII, Duke of Brighton was betrothed to Infanta Maria Teresa of Braganza, daughter of John VI of Portugal, the son of King Pedro III.

Retta was beside herself with sadness. She had been sure that the admiration was not one sided, that Frederick had admired her as she had him.

Her mother, wondering why her daughter had not joined the other ladies to break her fast, found her crying in her sitting room with the paper cast on the floor.

It did not take long before Lady Priscilla was able to determine the reason for her daughter’s tears.

Loretta told her mother between sobs that she had felt herself in love with the Duke of Brighton, and she believed that he held her in tender regard.

“Oh Retta, my dear Retta,” her mother soothed as she took her in her arms and gently rocked her back and forth. “You will only come out this upcoming season. Are you sure, my sweet daughter, that what you felt was not infatuation rather than love?”

“No!” Loretta said with certainty, though now forced to examine her feelings honestly, she was not so sure. “Mayhap…yes…I do not know. How would I know, Mama?” she asked as her mother dried her tears with a silk.

“It is not the same for each person in love, Retta,” Lady Pricilla soothed as she started to explain the one subject that defied all of explanations.

“I can tell you this, and it may be hard for you to hear, but our cousins would not have forced him to marry if he had a strong inclination for another.” She said nothing further as she allowed her daughter to assimilate her words.

“Then,” Retta sighed softly, “the attachment was more in my head than real.”

“Is that what you think, my sweetest girl?” her mother asked, knowing that her perceived pain would be far less if she came to the understanding on her own.

She was extraordinary proud that Loretta was so forthright with herself; many women are not so truthful and cling to things that are not truths just because it was a hope.

“How will I know when love is true, Mama? Please, tell me.” Retta asked quietly.

“To me, it means that you have found the one that you cannot imagine being without for the rest of your life,” Lady Priscilla told her daughter as she got a dreamy look thinking about her own love, her husband Cyril.

“The most important thing about love is that it has to be felt by both parties in order for it to grow and flourish.”

Loretta contemplated her mother’s words for a few minutes.

“If Frederick had tender feelings for me, or loved me, he would not have betrothed himself to another, would he have, Mama?” Lady Priscilla simply nodded.

“I do not know if I loved him or the idea of being in love, but thanks to your guiding me to my own truths, it must have been more an infatuation. I will try to curb myself in the future from such follies, though for a few moments, it felt so real.”

“I imagine that is why they are so hard for some to let go of. You have no idea how happy I am that you had this experience. Many never do and then end up breaking their own hearts much later when they have no recourse. You have done so now and can smile and wish him joy, and mean it, because you love him enough to want him happy. That is a special strength not all of us find.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head as she hugged her tight.

“Is there any other you might consider a future with? I promise not to push, tell, or watch overly closely when you are in company.” Lady Priscilla asked hopefully.

“When I imagine my future, I find that Frederick is not the only one that I could see as my life’s partner, and…

” she blushed at what she was about to admit, “…it could be that seeing Mary and Kitty falling in love made me want an attachment, in an attempt not to feel left out.” Her mother raised her eyebrows about to make a comment when the daughter spoke again first. “I am not envious of them finding happiness, Mother, it is just that I want that too and mayhap I convinced myself that something that did not exist in reality, existed.”

Lady Priscilla smiled at the lack of someone else, which meant that her daughter was ready to be pleased, and not just look for pleasure.

Taking in the full measure of the young woman before her, Lady Priscilla was proud, at seventeen her daughter was wise enough to put her hurt aside and move on, something others much older have a hard time doing.

She kissed her daughter’s cheeks and then summoned Retta’s Abigail to help her make her mistress presentable so that she could join the rest of the family in the day room.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Jones was shown into the library where the men were seated, he was introduced to Captain Burnett.

Jones reported that Younge had swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker, and that he was confident that after an additional day or two of reports of the same schedule for the morning walks, that Younge would order them to act.

The Duke of Derbyshire suggested that his ‘wife’ not ride out on the morrow so that the only predictable part of her schedule would be the morning ramble.

All the men agreed that it was a good idea.

Jones soon returned to the stand of trees.

A few hours later the three returned to camp to report that other than the times that Younge had witnessed himself the lady had not been seen outside the house.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Young Tony álvarez was happy with Mr. Elliot’s letter.

It was agreed that he was to come to Pemberley to confront his mother.

Tony packed a trunk and was about to go enquire about the post schedule when his friend, Hastings Stockton, insisted that he use the carriage that his father had left at his disposal while at Oxford, and asked Tony if he would like company on his journey into Derbyshire.

The carriage was accepted, but the offer for company was politely refused.

Tony knew that what he needed to do would not be pleasant and did not feel that he would be fit for company on this trip.

He noted that he would be happy to show Pemberley to Stockton another time when there was no unpleasantness to deal with.

Within an hour, Tony was ensconced in his friend’s chaise, and on his way to Pemberley for one last meeting with his mother.