Page 54 of Code Name Duchess


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Victoria’s condition concerned him. She hadn’t left her bed since receiving the news of her uncle’s confession. The physician called on Victoria daily, and kept her sedated in a dreamy semi-conscious state from which she only escaped when the laudanum wore of, and the reality of what was now her life crashed down upon her again. She’d fall into a fit of despair, requiring more of the precious tincture.

Winnifred had been in a similar state the first couple of days, but thankfully, the now-familiar numbness had taken her over since then.

“—from Mr. Markham?”

“Mr. Markham?” Seth asked, having missed the first part of her question. He found himself daydreaming and escaping into his thoughts more often these days—there was some respite in it.

“I asked if you have spoken to Mr. Markham or Mr. Weston.”

“I have. Mr. Weston has assured me his contact within the Roamers is still working to get information about the whereabouts of…” He could not bring himself to say,the remainsorthe bodies. Too painful, too macabre was the description. “I am sure he will let us know as soon as he finds out anything. I wish Elton would tell us how much money he wants. I will pay anything. I would have always paid anything. I always considered material things secondary to love and family.”

She squeezed his hand but said nothing. There was nothing to say. The past couldn’t be changed. All they had was the future. And even that was no comfort right now, as they were in a state of purgatory until their family members could be given a proper burial.

A gentle mewing escaped from the wooden cat house where Bell presently fed her kittens. He glanced back and saw one of the kittens, an orange and white one, stumbling out of the little house, its amber-colored eyes open. He reached for the kitten, gently lifted it, and placed it in his lap.

The innocent, small life in his lap made him smile as he petted him.

“It looks as though you have been adopted,” Winnifred said with a lightness in her tone that pleased him. The animals provided her with relief, and he could now see why.

“That is how I came to be the human Mummy to Bell. She, too, chose me. But not as a kitten. She followed me home one afternoon as I returned from Hyde Park. She followed me the entirety of the way, can you imagine?”

“You are right, it sounds as though she chose you.”

They sat on the blanket for another hour or so, although neither spoke. Winnie lost herself in her book, an Ann Radcliffe novel, while Seth played with the kitten until it fell asleep in his lap.

The silence between them did not bother him. Seth found that these days he did not have much to say. His mind was much too occupied with the events of the past few weeks. He could only imagine what would’ve happened if Mr. Weston had not come to call on him, wishing to inquire about the content of Elton’s letter, just as Winnifred set off toward Clerkenwell. For if Mr. Weston had not been there, Mr. Keating might be free still.

How brave Winnifred had been to confront him as she did. And how much he had wanted to plant a facer on her uncle when he ridiculed her, telling her that the word of a woman did not account for anything. Well, it undoubtedly counted now. For once Keating went on trial, Winnifred would testify against him. And even though she had expressed her wish that he be spared the gallows, Seth intended to make sure the man was at the very least sent away to the colonies.

It wasn’t until the sun sank in the distance, and the world was tinged in a bright orange and pink glow, that Seth rose from his blanket and stretched his legs.

Winnie looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Must you leave already?”

He smiled down at her. “I have been here most of the day. I am afraid I have yet to call on my cousin to give him the news. And I really ought. He is the only family I have left. He may wish to be at the funeral, once we know when that will be.”

Winnifred got up. The kitten had long since made its way back into the warmth of the wooden house where Bell now lay on her side, all four kittens near her.

“That is perhaps for the best. I shall accompany you to the door.”

The two slowly made their way across the garden, and were ascending the narrow stone staircase, when the French doors to the garden flew open and Victoria stormed out. She looked like a mad woman. Her hair cascaded down her back while her gown, a simple black gown with the buttons not all the way done up in the back, blew in the breeze.

The lack of nourishment was evident in her frail frame and sunken cheekbones.

“Winnie!” She called out. The gravely tone in her voice spoke of the many days spent in silence.

“A letter has come!”

Winnie stood frozen and stared at her sister. “Victoria… You haven’t left your bed in days.”

“And I was not going to. But then Hester delivered this letter.” She waved the piece of paper in her hand through the air, creating a whooshing sound as she did.

“And I am ever so glad she did. For it is the notification we have been waiting for.” To Seth’s puzzlement, a smile spread on her lips as she waved the letter.

“From Elton? But…”

“Let me read it to you,” Victoria demanded and beckoned them to come up the stairs. She cleared her throat which only marginally improved her voice.

“Miss Keating,