That Sunday, The Fairleigh sisters went to the church in that neighbourhood as employees of the Blackmere House. The duke and the duchess went in their own carriage, while Eliza and Lucy joined the servants' carriage.
Lucy already became friends with the house maids and the cook. Their trip was short and merry.
The church was a beautiful one, and the parishioners were a mix of the nobles, the middle class in the same area, and the servants from those houses and families.
Eliza was already sitting comfortably at the back row of the church, when she saw the duchess and her grandson walking to the back of the church.
"Did you need something, Your Grace?"
"Yes. You," Elinor answered briefly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Come sit with me. I need someone to discuss the sermon with."
Sit with the duchess? What, at the front pew?
"But—I'm sure that's not allowed!"
"It is. My previous secretary always sits with me as well."
Eliza looked around Lucy and the other servants, as if she was asking for their help.
"Listen to her, Miss Fairleigh. I am not enough of a discussion partner anymore," Nathaniel replied, looking amused.
"A girl's point of view is closer to mine than yours," Elinor replied bluntly.
"Go," Lucy said. "Don't make them wait."
Finally, Eliza got up and followed them.
She then sat at the end of the pew, as Elinor sat beside her, and after that it was the duke. There were two other people at the left side, and they both greeted the duchess and the duke.
Eliza felt so misplaced that for the first few minutes, it felt hard to breathe. But the duchess then patted her knee, and she could relax and focus with the sermon.
Once it was done, it was the custom to let the duke and the duchess leave first. The priest stood at the church door. Nathaniel walked out first, as the men took off their hats and the women curtsied as he passed. The same treatment was given for the duchess.
Eliza followed behind the duchess. Rumors already spread that Duchess Elinor got a new, young secretary. She felt extremely nervous, as the whole church was indeed looking at her. But not unkindly. Some people even greeted her with "Miss," as she passed.
The drama continued when Eliza walked to the servants' carriage.
"Where are you going, Miss Fairleigh?" Asked the duchess.
"To the servants' carriage, My Lady."
"No. You're coming home with me. I need to discuss the sermon with you."
Eliza was too shocked she became speechless.
"Don't cause a scene," the duchess warned.
The duke helped his grandmother climb the carriage, holding her hand. Then he entered, and sat beside his grandmother.
The carriage driver helped Eliza climb inside, and she sat in front of them.
The whole neighborhood witnessed this, but it was completely fine and not frowned upon, because the duchess's previous secretary also always travelled in the same carriage with her and her grandson.
The people talked about "the duchess's new secretary."
"She was so young. Nice-looking as well. Very pale, though. Like she's scared out of her wits."
"But she seemed like a pleasant girl. Smiled at me as she walked out."
The gossip continued, but then died quickly. Eliza was not controversial. Perhaps too young to be in her position, yet they all knew the duchess would never give such an important job to anyone unqualified.
However, there was one person standing at the gate that would not forget Eliza that quickly.
Harold Whitcombe had been spying on her, hoping to catch a glimpse.
As someone who used to take advantage of the girls working under his roof, Eliza became a mirage for him. The one who got away.
Therefore, he became obsessed with her.
It disturbed him how the duke rode in the same carriage as her. He was very handsome too.
In his dirty mind, it was clear to him that the two would have an affair. It angered him so much to think about it.
*****
"Hemph, the priest's sermon was about loyalty, but at the front pew, the three men were famous in this neighborhood with adultery! Oh, the hypocrisy, I truly cannot bear it!!!" Elinor commented dramatically in the carriage.
Eliza was sitting in front of them. She stared at the duchess, amazed with the dialogue opening, the fact that the duchess was inviting her to gossip, as if she was someone close to her. She even looked at Nathaniel unconsciously, perhaps for a clue of what she should say.
But Nathaniel only smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Um, which three men, Your Grace?" Eliza tried carefully.
"The ones sitting on the pew directly across you!"
Eliza tried to remember. She was actually far too nervous to remember the people around her, yet she quite remembered how they looked.
"But aren't they—old, My Lady? They must be in their fifties, at least!"
"Sweet summer child! Did you think old men behave better than the younger ones? In a lot of cases, they are much, much worse. The longer you are in our society, the more you will understand this."
"That's…so—surprising. They all behaved so calmly, despite the priest preaching about "honorable men are loyal to their wives.""
"They are the worst. They have been players since they were in their early twenties! They disgust me so much!"
"Aren't they all still married?"
Elinor laughed. "Of course they all are. The wives are the faces of their families. The wives host dinner parties and the weddings of their children. Such is the life of us nobility! The wives are expected to be loyal, to be the epitome of virtue as the husbands were free to have affairs with whomever they please."
"The Blackmere men are not that bad though, Grandmother. I need to remind you before Miss Fairleigh sees me in a bad light."
"I stand corrected. Yes, Nathaniel, that is correct. Your grandfather was quite devoted in his era. A bit hard to express himself, but loyal. His life was boring, even. The townhouse, the family estate, the parliament, his club, and his study. A night out twice a week, exactly every Monday and Tuesday evenings. His life was such predictable clockwork. And then of course there was my son Alexander, who loved my daughter in law so much that he—that he—"
Unable to continue, Elinor reached for her handkerchief and dabbed at her sudden tears.
Nathaniel was silent, looking out at the window as the gesture of letting his grandmother have an emotional moment without judging her. However, Eliza was shocked.
"Your Grace! Are you alright? Are you unwell?"
"She's alright. She's just….missing my father, that's all."
"Yes, yes. I'm alright. I just—perhaps I need some tea."
"That's very easy to fulfill then, Grandmother, since we're home already," the duke replied, as their carriage entered the front lawn.
*****
After she freshened up in her room, she was going to the kitchen downstairs to have lunch with the household staff, but Sterling was waiting for her in front of her bedroom door.
"Her grace asked you to have Sunday lunch with her and the duke, Miss Fairleigh?"
Eliza gaped in a very non-elegant manner. "I'm sure that can't be—"
"Her previous secretary had meals with her and the family regularly in the past. It is an accepted occurrence in this house. You will not be impertinent if you attend, since you were invited."
"Th—thank you, Mr. Sterling."
She followed the butler in silence, hoping she wouldn't do anything wrong during the lunch.