The Heart of Marriage Chapter 10

 The Fitzwilliam carriage rolled up the drive to Rosings Park. Inside, Ovi Longwell, the junior solicitor to the Fitzwilliam and Darcy families, wore a grim expression on his face.

“Why so worried, Ovi?” Richard Fitzwilliam asked, as nothing he said managed to lighten the mood of his friend since their last stop in Whyteleafe.

“I don’t believe Mrs. Wickham will appreciate our news. That her son will not inherit the estate.”

Richard Fitzwilliam shrugged. “Buck up, Georgiana is a survivor. I’ve underestimated her before and lived to regret the day. I am confident she planned for the inevitable,” he said.

“Well, we shall see.” Ovi’s lips curled into a weak smile.

The carriage rumbled to a stop, and Richard exited first, greeted by Frederick de Bourgh and his son Julian de Bourgh. The men exchanged introductions after Mr. Longwell and the clerk, John Braddock, joined them in front of the imposing stone home. The whole party from London was invited inside to the grand foyer of the medieval styled county home.

Richard looked around furtively for his cousin, suddenly worried that she was not present. Instantly, he worried about leaving her behind to deal with the de Bourgh heirs on her own.

“I do not see my cousin, is she well?”

“Georgiana?” the elder de Bourgh asked, and Richard nodded. “Her son was fussy after tea and she is upstairs helping the nurse,” he said.

“Nurse?” Richard asked, surprised as there had not been a nurse the last time he visited.

The younger de Bourgh nodded. “We believed it best for her and the child,” he said.

Finding himself shocked by the sound of things, Richard tuned out Mr. Longwell explaining what all of the men already knew: Rosings Park would return to the de Bourgh family.

“As I was saying, the difficult part is that with Sir Lewis de Bourgh predeceasing his wife, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, we have two benefactors. Mr. Frederick de Bourgh is the rightful heir of Rosings Parks and items purchased during the time of Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s lifetime. Mrs. Anne Fitzwilliam is the rightful heir of her mother’s possessions and purchases made after the death of her father.”

Julian de Bourgh groaned, attracting the notice of the others. “So is he here to count the silver?” he sneered, pointing to the young man with a dowdy coat on, standing behind Mr. Longwell.

Ovi Longwell looked behind him to where Julian pointed, and then turned around and stepped aside for Mr. Braddock could speak for himself. Only the younger clerk did not.

“Speak man, this is the job,” Ovi whispered.

John Braddock nervously fumbled for words as he looked over the massive collection of items spread out across the room.

“How-how many rooms is the estate again?” he asked, pulling out paperwork from his leather case.

“Sixty-two, and another ten in the Dowager’s Cottage,” Mr. Longwell said, dryly.

Mr. Braddock appeared to calculate the amount of work in his head. “Yes, yes, if the inventories of the house have been maintained—” he said, interrupted by Richard’s laughter.

“Best write to my cousin Darcy there, de Bourgh. My aunt was terrible at records and he would likely have kept them out of her paws from editing the ledgers,” he said. Then he bowed to allow Braddock and Longwell to make further inroads with the proper heirs. “I am going to see my cousin, if you don’t need me?”

The elder de Bourgh nodded to the former military man and Richard escaped the parlor like the many times he found an excuse to leave and spend time with Anne, before they were married.

With the inventory on his mind, Richard couldn’t help but admire the opulence of his aunt and uncle’s estate. The walls were adorned with expensive looking tapestries. Knowing precisely where the nursery was, he could hear Georgiana speaking with another woman he presumed to be the nurse.

He approached the door to find that it was slightly ajar, and he spied his cousin sitting in a chair opposite the nurse. Richard decided not to interrupt them just yet. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe and listened for a moment.

Georgiana was clearly agitated by something as she anxiously fussed over her son. The nurse, however, tried to soothe Georgiana’s worries with kind words and gentle touches.

“He is just a bit fussier than usual today,” the nurse said reassuringly. “I am sure he will settle down and soon be his normal happy self.”

“But he’s getting more and more fussy each day. Perhaps we should call a doctor?”

“Miss, it is the way with all babies. He’ll be fine now, you should get some rest,” the nurse said, and the young mother sighed.

Richard took that as his cue to knock softly on the door. “Is my nephew causing trouble already?” he asked.

Georgiana looked relieved to see her cousin, a drastic difference from the last time they were together, just a few weeks ago. Richard looked her up and down to notice any defect in her care, any sign of maltreatment by the de Bourghs. But there were none.

“I think he needs a doctor. His cheeks look flushed, and he won’t—” she started, and stopped as the child began to wail once more at an ear-piercing volume.

Richard looked at the nurse who glanced away from the child, with an expression he found odd. “Georgie,” he asked, as he scooped up the child and handed him to his mother. The babe instantly turned his head to root for his mother’s breast. “Do you still have your milk? I believe he is hungry.”

With a look of horror at her cousin, she admitted that yes, she did still have the ability to feed him, but that was the nurse’s job.

“Let me speak to the nurse for a moment in the hall, and meanwhile, try to feed the lad. See if that sates him,” he said, escorting the nurse who now kept her face downcast to the floor.

With the door to the nursery shut, they could still hear little Thomas fussing, but he quickly quieted and Richard assumed his mother found success with her bosom. But his old military habits resurfaced and he felt there was something suspicious going on.