Page 39 of His Stolen Duchess (Stolen by the Duke #7)

Chapter Thirty-Three

T he afternoon was warm, but a thin mist had fallen over the churchyard as though placed there especially for Lysander’s visit. He stepped away from the carriage, walking toward the large wrought-iron gates.

The gates were open, and an arch curved between the walls on each side. Pale sunlight cut through the mist, but not enough to lighten the black metal. The walls were partly covered by lichen. A tall yew tree behind the wall had a raven sitting in it.

Lysander looked up at the bird, and it cawed at him.

“I don’t know your language, but your cawing sounds much better than the hurled insults of the colorful bird I have at home.”

Lysander shook his head as he walked through the metal arch. Was this what he had become? Was he a man who spoke to birds, knowing full well they couldn’t properly respond? At least he had only done so in his own company. It was when he started to do it in public that he needed to worry.

He left the bird behind, walking with his gloved hands behind his back to his younger brother’s gravestone.

Each time he returned to the cemetery, he envisioned the looks on his parents’ faces as they stood before the freshly dug grave with the small basket inside.

Even more vividly, he could recall the look his father gave him before they left the cemetery.

Perhaps that is not something I can forget, but rather, learn to live with.

Lysander went as far as he could on the path, then crossed the grass to the gravestone, making sure not to stand directly on top of the burial site. He crouched down to look at the headstone.

Augustus Cunningham, Beloved Son & Brother, 1792-1799

Lysander leaned forward and dusted some dirt from the headstone.

He hadn’t ever brought flowers for his brother.

There were flowers dotted around the cemetery in varying states of life and death, but Augustus’s grave didn’t have a place for them, nor would Augustus have wanted that.

He had nothing against flowers, but Lysander knew his brother despite only spending seven years with him.

He would have favored simplicity over adornments.

“Twenty-one years,” Lysander addressed the stone before him.

“I can’t believe it’s been that long. I would have loved to have seen the man you would have grown into.

You would have been a good man, I know that, and an even better brother.

You were always a good brother, Augustus.

I’m sorry I couldn’t find you in the water. ”

Seven years!

That was all the time his brother had been given on this earth.

Lysander closed his eyes and could hear his brother’s laugh.

He had laughed a few times that day as he ran his hand through the water, leaning over the side of the boat.

He’d flicked the water up at one point to splash Lysander.

He couldn’t recall his brother ever being annoyed or angry.

Perhaps it was the length of time or his fading memory, but he only felt joy when thinking of his brother.

Lysander could sense that he wasn’t alone, not in the ethereal sense, but in the very real, human sense. He stood up and turned around.

“I expected you to be here.” Thomas stood with his hat in his hand.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Lysander replied. “What are you doing here?”

“After how you were the other night, I thought you might need some company. I know today is the anniversary of his death. However, I expected you to come a little earlier. I’ve been here for a long time, waiting for you.”

Lysander chuckled. He’d never laughed at his brother’s grave before.

“Thank you for coming, Thomas.”

“I’m glad you’re doing better.” Thomas passed his hat from one hand to the other as he approached the grave. “I still can’t wrap my head around something like this. Only seven years old. The world can be so cruel sometimes.”

“Yes, it can. Although often, the world is not such a bad place.”

“You certainly sound in a better mood than when I last visited you.” Thomas clapped his friend on the back. “You almost sound happy.”

“I went to visit Lady Eastbeck this morning. I dealt with her.”

Thomas tilted his head to the side and raised one eyebrow. “And when you say, ‘dealt with,’ what exactly do you mean?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t harm her. I went over there and spoke to her about the situation, and I made it clear that if she doesn’t leave the country within a week, then I will be forced to take additional measures.”

“And?” Thomas asked.

“I believe she will be gone soon. Abbington departed the country in shame after being abandoned at the chapel on his wedding day, and I am sure there are some additional problems he left behind, namely, children that he denies, but that won’t be the reason he remains over there as long as he has money.

He is having far too good a time. I hope Lady Eastbeck finds her way to him, because she will surely put an end to Abbington’s fun. ”

“And Georgina? Does she know about any of this?”

Lysander shook his head. “I don’t like to lie to her, but perhaps it is not a lie if I don’t ever speak about it.

I only want to protect her. She doesn’t need to know she was ever at the center of all of this.

I believe Eastbeck and Abbington will not return, and even if they do, I will take care of them, but Georgina won’t ever be at peace.

She will forever be looking over her shoulder, even if there is nothing for her to worry about. Not when she is with me.”

“He would have liked her, Lysander.”

“Augustus?” Lysander asked. “You can’t know that.”

“Not truly, but I’m sure of it.” Thomas stood shoulder to shoulder with his friend, both looking down at the headstone.

“From the little you have told me about your brother, and the little I know about Georgina, I understand they are both similar in many ways. They are both good, happy, and considerate of others. They are bookends to your life so far.”

Lysander looked at his friend, waiting for him to explain what he meant.

“You were a boy once, and I know you were happy and liked to skip through the meadow, picking up flowers and smelling them.”

“Do you know me at all?” Lysander asked.

Thomas laughed. “Perhaps you didn’t do that, but you were happy back then, back before it happened, right?

Perhaps you didn’t pick flowers, but I’m sure you went hunting, ran around the halls with your brother, and got into mischief.

Stole tarts from the kitchen. Caught frogs in the stream.

Climbed trees. Does any of that sound familiar? ”

“Perhaps,” Lysander admitted.

“Then, the accident,” Thomas pointed out. “You changed from that day on. Gone was your happiness, and you pushed everyone away.” Thomas pulled up his collar against the slight chill in the air. “There was only one who was strong enough to stand with you. A beacon of light in the darkness.”

“Yes, but he eventually left, and I was stuck with you,” Lysander pointed out.

“Ah!” Thomas waved a finger in the air. “He makes jokes on the anniversary of a tragedy while we stand in a cemetery. That brings me to the second bookend. She has changed you. Perhaps into the boy you once were, or into someone else completely. Whoever that person is, he is a man who makes jokes, and I like him. We have two bookends of happiness and a long block of misery in the middle. Yet, the bookend at this end of your life has the potential to be enduring. If you will let it.”

“I know.” Lysander continued to stare at the gravestone.

Thomas put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s time to stop punishing yourself.”

“I know,” Lysander repeated.

“He would have wanted you to be happy, and I know you know that to be the truth,” Thomas said.

“I didn’t know your brother, and you barely had time to know who he was and could be, but you know that much.

He would have wanted you to be unconditionally happy, and it’s time to break free from the heavy chain tethering you to the past. If you don’t, then you are a dunderhead. ”

Lysander didn’t respond to his friend’s words. He stared down at his brother’s grave as the words seeped into him. He knew them already, but it was good to hear them from someone else.

There was no way to know what his brother would have thought about anything, but he liked to think that most people would get on well with Georgina. She was a good woman.

When Lysander looked up again from the grave, the mist was dissipating in the afternoon sun. Everything was a little brighter.

He nodded at Thomas. “Thank you.” He then turned from the grave and walked away, but stopped after a few paces. He turned. “Did you ride here on your horse?”

“I did.”

“Might we switch? I can have my driver take you anywhere you like. I need to ride more quickly than the coach can take me. I don’t want to waste any more time.”

Thomas pointed to the east side of the cemetery. “My horse is tied to a tree. He is swift.”

“Thank you, Thomas. You are a good friend.”

Lysander took off at a run. There was no more time to lose.

Lysander knocked on the door of Emily’s townhouse. He waited for a moment before the butler answered the door.

“I need to see Georgina,” Lysander demanded.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but she is not here.”

“Then where is she?”

“I am sure I will be able to find out for you, Your Grace, if you allow me just a moment.”

“What is the meaning of… Your Grace?” Ambrose asked as he appeared in the entryway.

He was followed in short order by Emily.

“I need to speak with my wife,” Lysander demanded. “Where is she? I know she’s here.”

“She’s staying here, but she went out,” Emily said.

Lysander pushed his temper down, knowing that he was only angry at himself and not the people before him. “Where did she go?”

“I don’t know,” Emily said. “She mentioned that she needed to be alone—she wanted to get some air. I think she went for a walk, and she wouldn’t let me go with her. I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Lysander growled. “I need to see her now.”

I need to see her before it’s too late.

Ambrose held up one hand to the Duke. “All right, let’s all just calm down.”

“No, she did mention something else,” Emily admitted. “She said something about going back to the start. About how she must live her life, and something about making different decisions. I don’t know. It didn’t seem all that important at the time, but maybe it was.”

“She spoke about going back to the start?” Lysander asked.

“Yes. What does that mean?” Emily asked.

“I think I know,” Lysander said. “If she returns here, don’t let her leave again. I’m taking my wife back home where she belongs.”

He turned, left the residence, and strode to Thomas’s waiting horse. He swung himself up and over its back in one fluid motion. Then, he was on his way again.

It was time to find his wife.