Love, Liberty, and Other Bad Ideas

11. Rumour Has It

After Elizabeth had updated her sister on the Duke's wickedness, for the first time revealing the truth of what happened between him and her dear Mr. Pimston, Catherine knew that her plan with Mr. Grogan was a worthy endeavour indeed. Before Catherine learned of the Duke's history, she felt a sort of guilt for what she had planned, but now that she knows the truth about his character, she has no regrets.

"Do not worry, dear sister," Catherine starts, "the Duke will not stop by here tonight, I will make sure of it."

"How can you be so certain?" Elizabeth responds, getting ready to depart for Pimston's townhouse. "If he arrives and I am not here, surely he will know who I am with."

"Mr Grogan informed me that he was hosting a card game tonight and the Duke is to attend." She tells her sister, "the Duke would never turn down an opportunity to show his wealth."

"Perhaps Mr Pimston and I stand a chance after all." Elizabeth states with a warm smile.

"I will distract Robert and Eloise whilst you are gone." Catherine tells her in reply with a soft smile, "I would do anything for you, dear sister."

"You are too good to me," her sister smiles back, then picks up her reticule before leaving out the back entrance of the house in pursuit of Mr. Pimston.

"Catherine? Is that you?" Her brother calls, making his way towards the door.

"Yes, I am in the kitchen." She tells him, and he enters looking around suspiciously. "Anything the matter?" She knows better than to tell her brother the truth, it is not that she does not trust him, but the fewer people that know about Elizabeth and Pimston's secret affair, the less likely they were to get caught.

"I was looking for Elizabeth," Robert starts, "I need to run the order of events for the next week by her immediately. It appears she has double booked herself."

"She has turned in early," his sister lies, "she was not feeling very well, you see, the heat of the midday sun has affected her in a terrible way. It would be best to let her rest until morning, she will be better equipped to prioritise her schedule then." Lying came naturally to Catherine, though she did not have to use this skill very often.

"Perhaps I should take her some tea, it may make her feel better," Robert starts, looking around the kitchen for a cup and saucer.

"No, brother," Catherine interrupts, "she is already asleep, you do not wish to wake her, do you?" She asks, then sets her eyes on a selection of small pastries at the side of the room, "come, I'm starving and don't wish to eat alone. Will you share a pastry with me?"

With her brother distracted, Elizabeth found no issue in arriving at Mr Pimston's townhouse unnoticed, and he was incredibly pleased to see her. It was instead Mr Grogan's card game with the gentleman of the town that caused rumours to spread.

"I see you've been spending time with the Eastcombe girls, Your Grace," Grogan started when they were alone together in the corner of the room, sharing a bottle of port.

"Yes, indeed," the Duke replied with a smug grin, ever so proud of himself, then leant in closer, reducing his voice to a whisper, "the town is yet to hear of this but we are to be wed."

"Perhaps now that you are engaged she will stop sneaking around with old Pimston." Grogan quietly responds, causing the Duke to squirm where he stands.

"You've seen them together?" He questions through gritted teeth. Though he was aware of their dalliance, he most certainly did not want the other men about town to know about it.

"Catherine is quite careless," Grogan explains to him, "being new to London society she does not realise that people watch your every move. I heard them talking earlier about meeting in secret tonight. I see why Pimston is drawn to her, of course, but Lady Catherine is far better suited to a man of your standing-"

"It's Lady Catherine that Pimston wants?" The Duke interrupts, unsure of the information he had just gathered. "You're sure of this?"

"Very sure." Grogan confirms with a single nod of his head, "as I was talking to Lady Catherine earlier she let slip that he saw her the other day at her townhouse. Pimston always keeps to himself, he would not be acting this way if he did not have affection for the young girl. And by the way she speaks of him, I would argue she is extremely fond of him also."

The Duke processes his words for a few seconds before replying, "interesting." He mutters, then clears his throat before continuing, "like you say, all of this shall stop now that we are to be married." For in that moment, the Duke set his sights on a new prize. He always viewed Elizabeth as the beauty of the family, but if Catherine was the one Pimston loved, beauty did not matter. All that mattered to him was bringing pain to the man that once threatened to ruin his reputation. And one thing the Duke does not take lightly are threats, even if the person making them never even planned on following through on them.