The turnkey unlocked the cell door.
“I have no energy for it.” Derrick stepped through the door and slapped Rigby on the back. “I don’t know how you did it, but I’m bloody grateful. You’re worth your weight in gold.”
“It was easy, my lord. A complete injustice. I’m deeply sorry things have turned out the way they have.”
“And I.” Derrick shook his head in utter disbelief. He still couldn’t get his mind around losing Hector in that dreadful manner. “I must return home and bathe. I smell like I spent the night in a lushery, and I have a very important matter to deal with.”
Rigby grinned. “I see you’ve learned some of the vernacular, my lord.”
“Quite an education,” Derrick said, ineffectively dusting his soiled coat.
***
Bella dined with her parents in the long summer twilight. The hours had passed as she’d waited for Derrick to come or to send a letter. Nothing.
Lord Maudling had written, however, stating his intention to call at two o’clock the next day. It could mean only one thing.
Her father’s spirits had brightened at the news as he carved the roast.
Her mother eyed her anxiously as Bella picked at her meal. “Are you unwell, my dear?
“No, Mama.”
Not wishing to add to her mother’s worries, Bella swallowed a piece of beef, which promptly stuck in her throat. She hurriedly sipped her glass of claret, a wine she didn’t care for, to wash it down.
“I read something in The Times this morning about Lord Eaglestone, which only confirmed my opinion of him,” her father said, his jaws working furiously.
With a feeling of dread, Bella put down her knife and fork. “What was that, Father?”
“Shot and killed a fellow in the park. His cousin, no less. I don’t wish you to see him again, Bella.”
“I would never have thought Eaglestone capable of such violence.” Mama patted Bella’s hand. “Do eat, dear, you need your strength.”
For what? Bella wondered gloomily. She ate a small piece of potato as her mind spun. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on the newspaper.
“Why isn’t my mother at the table?” Father demanded.
“She had a tray sent up. She’s a little fatigued,” Mama said.
“Why? She’s not ventured outdoors since her trip to Bath,” he said as he dissected a baked beet.
“May I be excused?” Bella asked as guilt piled upon guilt. “I’ll go up and see her.”
“But you haven’t eaten anything,” her mother said. “We have cocoa flummery for dessert. Your favorite.”
“I’m watching my figure,” Bella said.
“Nonsense. Men like curves,” Father said with a smile at her mother. He waved his arm. “Go if you must. You’re spoiling my appetite.”
Bella escaped and rushed straight to the study. She snatched up the newspaper and read it quickly before climbing the stairs. The article stated baldly that Derrick had shot his cousin. Couched in those terms, it sounded dreadful.
In her room, her grandmother sat eating her dinner. “Mother said you are fatigued, Gran.”
“I am, but a lack of sleep won’t kill me. To be honest I’m so angry with my son I don’t wish to look at him over the dinner table.” She eyed Bella and nodded toward the newspaper. “I don’t believe you mentioned this.”
Bella sank down onto a chair. “I didn’t want to upset you.”
Gran took it from her and rested her glasses on her nose. “I prefer you to be honest with me. Did you think I would judge him harshly? I knew what that cousin of his was capable of.”
“It was Hector’s fault. He shot first. Derrick was resourceful and brave. I know he didn’t want to kill his cousin.”
“Whatever their weaknesses, an Eaglestone would not shoot a man in cold blood.”
“Lord Maudling is to call tomorrow. I expect he’ll propose.”
Gran pushed her plate away. “You’re going through with this for your father’s sake?”
Her shoulders heaved with distress. “I have to.”
“I never wished that for you, Bella. Your father refused to discuss it.”
Bella twined her trembling fingers together, her heart heavy. “He’s determined.”
At the sound of the doorbell, Bella jumped up.
“Who could be calling at this hour?” Gran asked.
Filled with a ridiculous sense of hope, Bella ran to the top of the stairs as the footman, Gerald, opened the door. Derrick’s husky voice rose from the front hall. Leaning over the banister rail at his dark head below, she almost called to him.
She hesitated when her father appeared. She couldn’t hear his words, but the tone of his voice would have frozen anyone in their tracks. But not Derrick. Her heart soared.
“I beg that you hear me out, Sir Randolph.”
Perhaps with a thought to his finances, her father hesitated. “Very well. Come into my study.”
They disappeared from view.
Bella ran down the stairs and put her ear to the door, just as her mother came into the corridor. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Lord Eaglestone is inside. He’s speaking to Father.”