are sweet to offer, miss. But my home is England. I have family in the north, a rather large one actually. I am at an age where I can retire in peace and be near them.”
“But how shall you live?” Darcy asked.
“I set money aside over the years—for a rainy day—and that day has come. My sister is a spinster, and she will allow me to live with her. My brothers are farmers with wives, children, and grandchildren. The good Lord knows I shall be happy.”
On the floor, at the foot of the bed, Maxwell whined. Darcy picked him up and set him in Mrs. Burke’s lap. “He is yours now. You will take care of him, won’t you?”
Mrs. Burke cuddled the little dog close. “Oh, I shall. Thank you, Darcy.”
“My grandmother would have wanted you to have him.” She ran her hand over the dog’s head, and then heard a horse gallop down the drive. Her heart skipped. Had Ethan received her note? It had to be him. She rose and rushed over to the window, threw back the curtains and peered down into the courtyard.
“Is it Mr. Brennan?” Mrs. Burke said.
Darcy’s hopes were dashed when she saw Langbourne swing down from the saddle in his black cloak, the pale morning light showing on his angry face. “No. It is Mr. Langbourne.”
“Dear, Lord.” Mrs. Burke set her handkerchief aside and joined Darcy at the window. “We shall surely have an unpleasant time now.”
Disappointed, Darcy stood back, squeezed Mrs. Burke’s hand, and went downstairs to meet him.
33
By the time Darcy stepped off the last step into the foyer, Langbourne had cast off his hat and cloak. A cold draft blew against her as a servant closed the front door, but did not abate the fever racing through her nerves. She fixed her eyes on Langbourne as he removed his gloves.
“Where is my wife?” His voice sounded raspy, his tone irritable.
Darcy faced him. “Upstairs, I believe. She hoped you would come.”
“A most inconvenient time for Madeline to have passed on. I suppose you shall blame me.”
Darcy said nothing, only looked him straight in the eye. With an uneasy gait, Langbourne turned to the maid. “Bring me something to drink. I don’t care what it is as long as it will soothe my throat. There was a hard wind riding here.”
When the maid gave her curtsey and was gone, he approached Darcy. She felt a shiver wash over her, but remained where she stood. He drew her hair between his fingers. “You, at least, made it to Meadlow in good health. I have no doubt Charlotte will grow jealous of you, but do not mind her cold ways. She never interferes.”
Darcy recoiled. “You go too far, sir.”
“Not far enough.” He looked up the staircase at the sound of footsteps. Charlotte appeared and Darcy observed with perplexity the genteel smile that graced her mouth upon sight of her wayward husband. She loves him. Why?
“You came so quickly,” Charlotte said.
“Well, when someone dies in one’s house, one should take care of the details. I could not leave it up to you to deal with. You do not have the head for it or the fortitude. It was, however, ill-timed.”
“As if this could have been marked on a calendar,” Darcy said. “It is not Charlotte’s fault. Perhaps if you had left Madeline at Havendale, she would still be with us, and you sir, would not have been so put out. I told you she was ill and could not travel.”
He sneered. “There’s that bold tongue again.”
For a moment, they stared into each other’s eyes. The contention between them flared. Coupled with the grief she felt, her loathing of him grew to unbearable proportions. She drew her skirts around and rushed back up the staircase to the room given her. She locked it, then threw herself across the bed and wept.
A funeral carriage drew up to a rear door at Meadlow. Two men dressed in black carried the body of Madeline Morgan away. Darcy asked to accompany them back, but they shook their heads at her and said it was something just not done.
Charlotte knocked on Darcy’s door and spoke to her through it. “Everything is settled. You should stop weeping, Darcy. You must make plans as to what you will do now that Madeline is gone.”
“I wish to go to Fairview and then home,” Darcy answered back.
“Then go. I will not stop you.”
She listened to Charlotte step away. Neither she nor Langbourne cared what happened