Chapter 37
Alexander handed Violet up into the carriage and then joined her. He gave the address of her Great Russell Street home to the driver but Violet stopped him.
“Driver, please take us by the most circuitous route possible. I wish the journey to take at least an hour. You will be recompensed for the trouble.”
“Right you are, Your Ladyship,” the driver said, pulling at the brim of his hat.
Violet reached over Alexander to pull the door closed.
As the carriage rumbled away, she reached up to pull down the blind that served to cover the window.
Then she did the same on the other side of the carriage.
Finally, she took Alexander’s face between her hands and kissed him.
The kiss went on and on. The bumps and sways of the carriage faded into the background.
At some point, Alexander seized her about the waist and hauled her into his lap.
Strong hands touched her cheeks, then caressed her hair, his lips all the while pressing insistently against hers.
She pulled back after an eternity, looking into his eyes. “Is it over? This frightful threat that he was holding over us?”
“It is, lass. And no, I won’t let you correct me.
You need to accept that you’re marrying a Scot.
Without Ambrose to lead the opposition, the Bill will be passed.
Sebastian can marshal the votes now. It will be child’s play with Ambrose and his pals stepping aside.
So, I’ve no mair need to put on the accent or worry about my words. ”
“You do not,” Violet agreed. “And I do not need to worry about the rules of society, the rituals, and all the…the…god-damned propriety!”
She flushed bright red, eyes wide at her own daring. Alexander threw back his head and laughed aloud.
“It’s fun, isn’t it? Cursing and just letting it all out. Say what you like about the ordinary working folk of Glesga, they can speak their minds. None of this repressing of what you’re feeling. It’s no healthy.”
Violet laughed. “It will take some getting used to.”
Alexander kissed her again, fingers stroking her neck.
She put a hand to his chest, spreading her fingers and pushing the loose laces further apart as she did.
Then she lowered her head and pressed her lips to the taut muscle she found there.
His chest had a covering of soft dark hair and was quite the most masculine thing she had experienced.
When she lifted her head, she was breathless.
“Oh my!” She breathed.
She stroked his neck, following the touch with her lips and hearing his breath catch as her lips explored.
Alexander’s hands roamed downwards, feeling the swelling of her bosom and then hips.
She leaned back against him, relying on his strong arms to hold her upright.
When they came apart for the second time, she pressed her lips to his neck and lifted her feet onto the seat, curling up in his embrace.
“Will you not miss the Ton, lassie? You are so well known in this city.”
“That was my previous life. I feel like I have been reborn, ready to start a new chapter,” Violet said.
“There is so much more to life than knowing what jewels to wear at a Duchesses’ ball.
Or what the latest fashions are in hats or dresses.
I threw myself into those things because I believed there was nothing else of value I could offer.
That there was nothing in my life other than that.
I did not have parents or siblings. I had nothing but my position within society.
And helping my cousins take their places.
I want more from my life though. I want love… ”
“Children?” Alexander asked.
“Yes, God above, yes!” Violet enthused, lifting her head. “And you?”
“I want a family around me. I never knew what that was like. And once I have outwitted the blackguard who is robbing me blind, or rather Lillian has, I want to put that fortune to good use. I have more money than one man could spend in a lifetime according to Gellert. I intend to make it work for the good of all those who did not have my good fortune.”
“Then it seems we are not completely done with the Ton,” Violet said. “We will need to move in the right circles, recruit the right people to our cause if we are to make a success of that.”
“Then it is fortunate that I will have a wife who is an expert in that,” Alexander said.
A thought occurred to Violet then. “Lillian may not be as keen as she was. She and I had a falling out over Ambrose.”
Alexander raised an eyebrow.
“It is not like that,” Violet said. “She thinks that I put myself before him in order to steer him away from her. She thought that I had seen him show an interest in her and became jealous.”
“Then you should tell her why he is not a suitable man for a husband. Not for either of you,” Alexander said.
Violet thought about it. She wanted a sister almost as badly as a father. But she had always suspected that George and Charlotte were not her parents. Lillian did not even suspect. To tell her would be to turn her world upside down.
And for what purpose? So that I may claim her as my sister. So that I can call her by that name? It would be selfish in the extreme. And what if she does not want to be my sister. What if she rejects me for telling her and showing that her entire life thus far has been a lie?
“No, I do not think I can tell her. Perhaps not ever,” Violet said.
“Surely you must. She is your sister,” Alexander said. “Would she not want to know?”
“Not at the moment. The shock will be absolute for Lillian, coming out of a clear blue sky without warning,” Violet replied. “I cannot tell her. Not yet.”
Alexander nodded slowly. “Then how will you let her down concerning Ambrose?”
Violet lifted her shoulders. “I do not know.”
It took three hours before the carriage arrived outside the Ravendel’s London residence.
Alexander gave Violet one last passionate kiss before allowing her to disembark.
Then he took the carriage to Westminster.
There he would set the wheels in motion that would result in his Bill being approved by the Lords and sent back to the Commons to prepare for its submission to Royal Assent.
Violet entered the house, her mind full of what she would tell Lillian.
George appeared almost before the door was closed behind her.
“Violet? What happened? That rogue, Lorchester, came here looking for you. I regret to say that his argument swayed me. I told him where you could be found.”
“It is of no consequence, Uncle. He found me and the matter has been resolved. I know who Lord Godstone is. In relation to me…and…one other,” Violet said.
George stopped halfway across the hall, almost freezing in mid-stride.
“He told me everything and…at the request of his daughter, he has decided to drop his opposition to the Bill. A vote will be tabled as soon as possible.”
George’s mouth fell open. “But…what…how…I do not understand. It was always agreed that you would never be told. To protect your mother’s name as well as yours and…”
Violet hurried to him and embraced him warmly. “You do not have to say more, Uncle. I am grateful for all the precautions you took. I know that you and Aunt Charlotte did what you did from a position of love.”
“Of course we did, child! Your mother was a good woman and so are you. She could not help with whom she fell in love nor that she gave in to weakness. I would not see her condemned for that.”
“Whatever are the two of you talking about?” Lillian demanded.
George jumped at the sound of her voice. Violet ran through the conversation they had just had, in her mind, wondering how much she could possibly have heard.
Surely, I did not name Lillian as my sister. Nor did Uncle George. She may ask who the one other was that I mentioned. I pray she was not within earshot at that moment. It will make things too complicated.
“A revelation, Lilly,” Violet said. “Come down and I will tell you all.”
Lillian descended the stairs, watching Violet warily. “Does it concern Lord Godstone?” she asked.
“It does,” Violet said.
“If you are about to tell me that you are marrying him, then I would rather hear nothing more about it,” Lillian said.
“Lillian! The very idea!” George blustered. “Whatever makes you think such a thing?”
“Why should I not. Lord Godstone showed me kindness and interest and then Violet…” Lillian began.
“Discovered that Ambrose Devereaux is my real father,” Violet interrupted calmly.
Lillian was caught with her mouth open. She stared at Violet in disbelief.
“I had deduced it from clues in what he said to me about his family home in Norfolk and what mother recorded in her journal. Remember the one you found?”
Lillian nodded mutely.
“When I saw that you were considering him as a potential suitor, I felt I had to intervene. He would be your Uncle, after all. Not by blood of course but…” Violet said.
“Still close enough to be quite, quite wrong,” George blustered.
“Besides, you can do a lot better than him. Truthfully, I was forced into becoming subservient to the man to protect my sister’s reputation and hide the truth from Violet, but now that it is out, I will denounce him a thousand times to you.
Why, he’s old enough to be your father.”
Violet struggled to keep from gaping. George went quite red in the face and began to bluster. Lillian put a hand to his arm, then one on Violet’s arm.
“Neither of you need worry. I did not seriously consider Ambrose as a romantic interest. I just found that I enjoyed being the center of attention for a while. And it seemed like Violet had recognized that and was trying to make herself the center. As she so often is. I am sorry, Vi. I hope you can forgive me?”
Violet hugged her impulsively. The fact that Lillian was her sister but didn’t know it made her weep.
But there was happiness mixed in with the sorrow.
With Lillian as her best friend once again, it would not be unlike having her as a sister.
With Lilly on one side and Alexander on the other, she felt strong enough to do anything.
“There is nothing to forgive. Nothing at all. The Duke, Alexander, has asked me to relay to you his most urgent need of you. His estate managers are robbing him blind and he wants to get his estates in order. Uncle George, I know that you do not care for his politics but your blessing would mean so much to me. You will always be more of a father to me than Ambrose ever could be,” Violet said.
“Well, I will take it with all the seriousness that a father should. I feel it only right that I discuss the matter with your Aunt. And that His Grace visits us at Ravendel Park to seek our consent. That would be respectful and would go a long way to proving his worth.”
“I’m sure he will be most happy to do so,” Violet smiled.