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I t was a testament to how many in society loved and respected Archy by the numbers Elizabeth welcomed to come mourn with her and for the men to attend his funeral.

Pemberley and Snowhaven had been opened to receive the many who could not be accommodated at Castlemere.

The Queen and Regent had sent the same two royals who had attended their wedding.

There were men of every rank of peer, and more than one of each, as well as members of the lower nobility present.

Also there was no shortage of untitled men who had come to pay their respects.

Anthony had arrived to farewell his uncle without Charlotte.

She had presented him with a second son two days after the death.

It was the circle of life, deaths, and births.

The chapel at Castlemere could not contain a fraction of those who wanted to attend the funeral and honour the late Duke of Hertfordshire.

Hence it was held at the church in Lambton, by far the largest in the area.

Even so, many men stood to the sides and behind the pews, and still more listened through the open windows and doors.

It was a very long cortege which wound its way back to Castlemere for the interment in the crypt below the chapel.

Elizabeth, surrounded by her sisters—sans Mary—stood at the window in the largest drawing room which overlooked the chapel.

She had known her husband was liked and respected, but she had not understood it was to this extent.

As far as her eye could see, men, from the local towns, staff, servants, and tenants from the various estates owned by her late husband—her estates now—lined the drive, their hats or caps off, heads bowed as the black carriage carrying the coffin passed them.

None of them moved until all of the coaches following had moved beyond where they stood.

Matty had been very sad, as had Gracie and Winston without quite understanding why. The latter two could not grasp why Papa did not come to read to them. One day, when they were older they would understand.

Per Elizabeth’s request, no one had addressed Matty as ‘Your Grace’ yet.

She would wait to tell him when he was older and could understand it.

She was sure that the letter from Archy to be given to the children when Matty turned twelve, and the twins ten, would explain everything better than she was able to.

There was also a letter to read to the children a month after his passing.

Aunt Anne had explained Archy’s preparations when she had handed Elizabeth her first letter from Archy—she was told there were more—which she had not been able to bring herself to read yet.

Elizabeth had made a vow to herself she would read it when she retired to her bedchamber that night.

As yet, she had not been able to sleep in the bed she had shared with her beloved husband.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Elizabeth saw the coffin being drawn out of the undertaker’s hearse.

Her breath caught when she saw it. It reminded her of the last time she had been with him, at first light that morning.

His earthly remains had been placed in the casket, but it was not closed yet.

He had looked so peaceful in repose as he slept his eternal sleep.

Some tears had escaped—she no longer cried each time she thought of him—she had taken one of his cold hands and leaned forward and pressed her lips to it.

Tears fell freely then as Elizabeth had stepped back and nodded to the undertaker who had his assistants close and seal the coffin.

Now, as she watched it carried by Cousin John, Uncles Reggie, Edward, Frank, and Robert, and Cousin William, Elizabeth held her breath waiting for it to vanish through the chapel’s door.

As she was watching, William, who had been very helpful, especially with the children, looked up and inclined his head to acknowledge her before he entered the chapel followed by Prince Edward, relatives, and close friends.

They were the only ones who would attend the graveside ceremony in the chapel.

The rest of the men who had been at the church in Lambton stood outside the chapel, heads bowed reverently. Duke or tradesman, it was a moment of shared humanity that transcended rank.

Elizabeth allowed her sisters to lead her to a settee where Ladies Georgiana Russell, Elaine, and Anne waited to comfort her.

By and by, the men returned from the interment. William came and verified she was well. Once she indicated she was, he told her he would go look in on the children. Elizabeth appreciated how attentive he was to her children and how much they enjoyed his attentions.

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

Over the next sennight, almost all of those who had come to attend the funeral and condole with Her Grace departed the area for their own homes.

Anthony Barrington was one who, with everyone’s understanding, left soon after the funeral so that he could return to Charlotte and his new son’s side.

He promised he would visit again, to assist in any way he could, once Charlotte and his son could travel.

As the day drew nearer for Mary and Richard to return from their wedding trip, Elizabeth wrestled with her guilt over not notifying them as Mary had requested before they departed Castlemere. All Elizabeth could hope and pray was that Mary would not be too angry, and forgive her.

William entered the sitting room and could see Lady Elizabeth was deep in thought and whatever it was, was troubling her.

“Lady Elizabeth, I am afraid I interrupt your solitary reverie,” William stated as he bowed.

“You certainly do,” Elizabeth replied with a ghost of a smile; “but it does not follow that the interruption must be unwelcome. It is not good for me to be left alone with my thoughts for too long as of late.”

“I should be sorry indeed, if it were, but I would understand your need for peace. We have become good friends, and now we are related as cousins.”

“True. Are any others coming to join us?”

“I do not know but I think other than me who is disturbing you, the rest want to give you as much space as you desire.” William paused.

“I am at your service, anything you may need, even if you need to unburden yourself. You know, I believe if you share a problem, you reduce the burden of carrying it on your own. Do you not agree?”

“There is a certain logic there.” Elizabeth cogitated. She had come to like and respect William; he may be a good person to help her look at things from a different perspective. “If you are certain?”

“I am,” he replied succinctly.

“Before her wedding, Mary told me…” Elizabeth related what had been asked of her, and what she had decided to do, or what she had decided not to do.

“They will arrive in a matter of days and see the black fabric on the gate posts. What will Mary think of me? I am afraid it may cause a breach between us.”

“Did you promise to notify her and Richard?”

“No, no I did not. In fact, I tried to discourage her from asking it of me. Although I do not believe that will change her anger at not being informed.”

“With all due respect, Lady Elizabeth, at worst she will be disappointed.

Had you made a vow and unilaterally gone back on your word, I could see her anger boiling over.

In my humble opinion, she will forgive you easily.

I have not missed how close you are one to the other.

Not to mention, Richard will appreciate having the full month alone with his wife as they had planned.

“What you say makes logical sense, I suppose of late my vaunted powers of discernment have abandoned me.”

“Lady Elizabeth, the man that you loved, your husband, the father of your children passed away. If you did not feel discombobulated, I would think you lacked humanity. Even having foreknowledge of the event, I am sure, did not in any way lessen the blow. Your late husband was liked and respected by many as evidenced by the huge number of those who came to pay their respects to him and to yourself.”

Elizabeth did not know why, but she felt like she could talk to William freely. Who would have thought they would become so close as friends? Archy had told her to lean on those willing to help her, and that was what she would do.

“This is going to be so hard, William. Especially with the children. Matty understands what death means, but Gracie and Winston ask for their father every day. When they do it tears the heart from my chest. They are still too young to understand what has happened.”

“You are correct, it will be very difficult but never forget there are many of us who will assist you when you request it. Also, as time passes, it will get somewhat easier.” William paused.

“Do I overstep if I volunteer to teach Lord Matty to ride the Shetland pony your late husband purchased for him?”

“It is not overstepping. Did Archy tell you he had ordered the pony?”

“He did. He knew how keen Lord Matty was to learn and agreed that a small Shetland would be perfect for him on which to learn.”

“In that case, I will notify you when Matty is ready to begin his lessons. It will fill dual purposes. He will begin to ride as he has been begging to do for more than a year now, and it may, I hope, distract him from his grief, if only for a little while.”

William knew it would be a pleasure to help, regardless of whether Lady Elizabeth ever saw him as more than a friend.

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

Mary and Richard could not have enjoyed their wedding trip more if they had tried.

They had actually taken some time—well, a very short amount—to see some of the lakes.

However, most of their time they were lost in one another’s company, enjoying being married, enjoying the many benefits of a love match.