The Contract Duchess, a Regency Romance: Key To My Heart Book 1

Chapter 1 - Derrick

Derrick Williams stomped down the hall, the noise of his footsteps only mildly muted by the thick rug. Clenching his hands into tight fists barely kept him from ripping the portrait of his just departed father from the wall and hurling it to the floor.

How good it might feel to smash the ornate frame into tiny shards. He could almost see the paint flake off of the late Duke of Chesterton's bulbous nose as he ground the heel of his best riding boot on the face of the man who reluctantly raised him. He glared at the painting, contemplating numerous ways to reduce the canvas to its individual threads; his favorite idea included scattering the bits around the property so the birds could build nests with them. Such treatment of the dead man's likeness seemed fair, as in life he had set in motion the destruction of Derrick's plans for the future with equally exhaustive effort.

All his life, Derrick had been trained to perform his duties well. He learned his numbers looking at his father's ledgers, and when he wasn't studying with his tutors, he followed the Duke of Chesterton as he tended to the estate. Later he had been the sole witness to the man's deep abiding grief for his wife. In the aftermath of drinking and depression, Derrick swore never to fall in love or get married; any pain so severe as to make a man forget his dignity should surely be avoided at all costs. He resolved to keep any interactions with women short and formal as much as possible.

Upon arriving at the solicitor's office, he anticipated immediately being addressed as Duke Chesterton, but the lawyer simply motioned him to a chair near his desk. Only a few other people occupied the large office; this was not surprising, given his father's aloof attitude toward most everyone, and the poisonous pen he welded against anyone who slighted him. Derrick sat stiffly on the edge of the uncomfortable chair, icy tendrils of foreboding caressing his mind.

Given his father's assets, Derrick thought the reading would be long and detailed. His father had been precise about the value of things, both people and property. He used every opportunity to inform others of his assessments, and he would not have wasted this one.

The small number of people present would shorten the reading, but not much. A quick glance revealed five individuals he did not immediately recognize. The four men wore dark suits nearly identical to his own, their appearance varying only in their choice of cravat knots. The woman was clothed in a fashionable black gown topped with a veil so thick only the faintest outline of her features was visible in the light of the flickering oil lamps.

The lawyer called the group's attention to the front of the room by loudly clearing his throat. The sound echoed off of the mahogany paneling in the quiet, and Derrick braced himself for what was to come. It was worse than he had ever imagined.

"Thank you all for coming. The deceased, his Eminence, Reginald Williams, the Duke of Chesterton, dictated and signed this will while of sound mind and body many years ago, and an addendum was added near the beginning of his recent illness, while he yet retained a sound mind and mostly sound body. You are all gathered here as you are mentioned either by name or as a group in this will." Here the lawyer paused and looked at each person carefully. "Are there any here who do not wish to hear this reading?"

Derrick's mind raced. What addendum? He had hardly left his father's side since his illness began. When had his father had time to summon a solicitor and draft an addition to the will? Moreover, what new information was now included that was not present in the original document? His foreboding became a dragging sense of dread, and he drew in a deep breath to steady his nerves.

Hearing no reply to his inquiry, the lawyer turned his attention to the papers on his desk. "Now then, the Duke has decided to leave the property near the river to his nephew, Fergus Beltrain. He leaves the most recently purchased properties to Blain Edgewater, the son of his childhood friend."