Seven Minutes in Heaven(113)

Few people in all London were foolish enough to go against the Duke of Villiers, especially when he was shoulder-to-shoulder with one of his oldest friends, the Duke of Beaumont.

“In fact,” Villiers concluded, “this is a monumental waste of time, and someone needs to state the obvious. I came to know Lady Lisette very well during my wretched, foolish attempt to court her. That was long before she eloped with a young, very young gentleman, of course.”

The Duchess of Gilner had been staring at her gloved hands throughout the witnesses’ testimony, but she looked up at that.

Ward flinched. In his soft, yet implacable way, Villiers was about to tear his grandmother to shreds. Lady Lisette was no one’s dream of a parent—and her failures were about to be laid at the duchess’s feet.

Ward didn’t want his grandmother ravaged by the duke.

Before he thought the better of it, he stood.

Villiers stopped in mid-sentence. “I cede my speech to the man of the hour.” He stepped down from the witness box.

Ward walked over and entered the box.

“This is most unusual,” the Lord Chancellor said, his peruke of white curls listing precariously as he watched Villiers return to his seat beside the Duke of Beaumont.

“My solicitors are prepared to call many more witnesses to the bench,” Ward said, “but the Duke of Villiers has an excellent point.”

“I gather you would like to make a statement,” His Lordship said dryly.

Ward turned to the assembly. He hadn’t looked at the peeresses’ section. He didn’t look now either, but he knew Eugenia was there. She may hate him, but she loved Lizzie and Otis.

“I knew Lord Darcy many years ago and he was an extraordinarily kind and guileless young man,” he said. “Perhaps those traits made him vulnerable to my mother’s courtship, if one might call it that. I have learned from my half-siblings that he grew to be a superlative father.”

Rustling from the benches.

“Lord Darcy raised his children to be as gracious and thoughtful as he. For example, though they had little formal schooling, they know Latin and speak French fluently. He was a better father than many of us could hope to be, protecting and caring for his children under extremely disadvantageous situations.”

The hum in the room turned to dead silence.

“I am honored by Lord Darcy’s trust in me,” Ward said quietly. “While I could never have imagined that my school friend at Eton would become my stepfather, I am honored to be part of his family, and I wish to carry out his last wishes to the best of my ability. The Dowager Duchess of Gilner has questioned whether an unmarried man should be allowed to raise children, so I will tell you that I have plans to marry.”

Even the rustling of the peeresses’ finery and the swish of their fans had stopped.

“I am in love with Mrs. Eugenia Snowe, and I mean to marry her,” he said, his eyes ranging over the benches of men before him. “She may refuse me. I will ask her again. If she refuses me yet again, I will raise Lizzie and Otis by myself, because I shall not marry another woman.”

His words hung in the air, and finally, finally, Ward allowed himself to look toward the peeresses’ benches—only to see Eugenia’s back as she left the chamber.

A deep breath seared his lungs. She had rejected him. His muscles clenched and his hands curled into fists. He had to follow her—

He couldn’t follow her.

“My half-siblings are mourning their mother and father,” he said instead. “Lizzie, who is nine years old, has chosen to wear a veil, in order to hide her grief from the world.”

There was a collective murmur of sympathy from the room.

“I would ask you not to take my siblings from me,” he said, keeping his voice even. “Not only was it Lord Darcy’s wish, but when she contracted a lung ailment and understood she was dying, our mother, Lady Lisette, instructed that her children be brought to my house.”

His grandmother was staring up at him, her brow knit.

“I know that many of you despised my mother—our mother—and I fully understand your reasons. Lady Lisette was a deeply troubled soul. With my knowledge of her character, I was confident that my siblings had been woefully neglected. I am happy to reassure you that, although they had an unusual childhood, they were loved by their mother, as well as by their father. I will give you but one example: young Lord Darcy has a pet rat named Jarvis.”

A gasp went up from the peeresses’ bench.

“Our mother sewed a tiny velvet cloak fit for the opera for Jarvis, and a satin cloak in case he received an invitation to a ball. Lizzie and Otis were loved by her to the best of her ability. Her wishes should be honored.”