Sara Bennett (28 page)

If Oliver really loved her—and who knew whether or not he really did?—he might pretend it didn’t matter. But it did matter. It would matter to him, eventually. He would come to hate her.

Better not to put either of them in such an uncomfortable and ultimately disastrous position.

Despite how much she longed to.

“I
want ye to come and live here, lass.”

Fraser looked thinner than ever, his hands like claws upon the covers. The big tabby cat had curled up on his bed today, comfortably within stroking distance, and with one eye on Vivianna.

“Alone?” she said. “My family would not approve.”

“Yer family,
” he muttered. “I am yer family!”

“But I have only just met you, Fraser.”

“My blood runs in yer veins!” he shouted, and then he began to cough. Vivianna found him water, and helped him lift his head to sip.

Vivianna supposed that no matter how rude and nasty Fraser could be, he was her father, and soon he would be gone. She, who had always been weighed down by her sense of responsibility where others were concerned, found herself caught between the need to be a daughter to him and the wish that her father was someone else altogether.

She could not like him, and she knew he did not like her.

They were bound together by the ties of a kinship that exhilarated neither of them. And that made her sad.

At one time Vivianna had believed that finding her parents would make her the happiest woman in England, but it wasn’t so. She had always had contentment—her life at Greentree Manor and her work with children. But a full and boundless happiness, what was that? Those fleeting moments with Oliver? The time she had spent in his arms, talking with him, sparring with him? But that, she reminded herself, had been an illusion. That man wasn’t the real Oliver…was it?

He hadn’t called upon her since Lawson’s arrest. Of course, he had been busy. Word had got about that Lord Lawson was under close arrest for the murder of Anthony, although he had yet to formally confess. It was whispered that Lawson was enjoying the notoriety, and there were rumors of further unsavory matters perpetrated by him in the course of his long career. Bribery and threats, beatings and disappearances. According to the newspapers, Oliver was the hero of the hour. Lord Montegomery was no longer a scoundrel and a rake, but the nation’s savior. It had a fine ring to it.

And he would see justice done eventually, Vivianna was certain of it.

Marry me. I love you.

Perhaps she should have gone to him, but she had been afraid. Vivianna, the fearless reformer, was suddenly shy of him. Besides, what would she say? She was the bastard daughter of a courtesan and her lover; Oliver was the last of a proud and aristocratic family. And now she had finally realized just how big a chasm there was between them, and it frightened her.

A tear leaked beneath her lashes and ran down her
cheek. She missed him. She missed everything about him. Her life was empty without him.

“Lass?” Fraser’s thin, clawlike hand reached out and brushed her skin, capturing the tear. His hazel eyes were uncertain, a little dismayed. “Why do ye weep?” he demanded. “There’s nothing to greet for. I dinna mind dying. I am old and my life is lived. Ye are young and yers is still to come.”

“There was a man…”

Fraser snorted. “A man,” he said in disgust. “Now ye can have any man ye want, girl! Have a dozen if ye so wish.”

Vivianna couldn’t help but laugh. “A dozen may be a little much for me, Fraser, but I will keep it in mind.”

“And dinna choose one who will hurt you, lass,” he added, eyeing her seriously. “I willna have my girl hurt by any man, woman, or child.”

“I will be careful, Fraser. Thank you,” she added, touched almost beyond words.

He nodded, and then sighed and closed his eyes. “I am tired now. Go away and leave me alone.”

Vivianna crept to the door, but she was smiling. Perhaps there was more to Fraser than met the eye. Perhaps, somewhere in that tough and prickly heart, there was a small, warm patch with her name on it. Perhaps there was something in him to like, after all.

A liveried servant showed Oliver into a sitting room at Buckingham Palace and closed the door. The royal couple stood together, he tall and handsome, she shorter and plumper. Both men bowed deeply. It was the queen who spoke first, her slightly protrudent eyes fixed on Oliver.

“I believe you have done us a great service, Montegomery.”

Oliver stepped forward to take the queen’s outstretched hand and sketch a kiss upon it. “Your Majesty, it was my pleasure.”

“A most unpleasant business,” Prince Albert said with his thick German accent, shaking his head gloomily. “I believe you have given up a year of your life to find the perpetrator of your brother’s death.”

“My brother was murdered, Your Royal Highness. I always knew he had uncovered a secret concerning Lord Lawson—he had hinted as much to me. I…Unfortunately he never had a chance to tell me exactly what that secret was. But I knew he had found some letters, personal letters, incriminating letters. It was only a matter of finding them.”

“We have seen the letters you found hidden at Candlewood.” Victoria pursed her lips. “What took you so long to find them?”

“I did not know of my grandfather’s secret hiding place, Ma’am, although my brother did. At first I believed the entire house would have to be taken down to find them, but fortunately that will no longer be necessary.”

“I can hardly believe it,” the queen said in a bewildered voice. “I know that Sir John had plans to run the country through me, and for years he tried to dominate me and intimidate me. However, I was made of stronger stuff, and when I came to the throne I threw off his attempts, and now he is banished. But Lawson, too? Once he was prime minister, did he mean to bully me, just as Sir John Conroy bullied me and my mother?”

Albert patted her hand comfortingly.

“I
liked
him, Albert, almost as much as I like Lord Melbourne.”

“Never mind. I am sure, in time, you will grow to like Sir Robert Peel, too.”

The queen looked unconvinced.

Albert gave her a fondly exasperated look, and then turned to Oliver. “You have done Her Majesty a great service. It doesn’t bear thinking that a man such as Lord Lawson might have remained unmasked and eventually have become prime minister. A man who would kill another to prevent a scandal. You have our deepest gratitude, but tell me, is there something you would like in return? Some service we can render you, my lord?”

Oliver tried to clear his thoughts. He had avenged Anthony’s murder, brought to justice the creature whose hunger for personal glory and ambition was so great that he would have done anything to feed it. And yet there was someone else. Someone who very much needed the assistance of the Queen of England and her consort, Prince Albert.

Oliver told them what was in his mind.

The royal couple exchanged a glance. “A very odd request,” Victoria said primly, her eyes flashing with disapproval—she was clearly not amused.

“We owe Montegomery a great deal,” Albert reminded her.

Victoria sighed, and bowed her head regally. “Very well, then. It shall be done.”

Vivianna looked down at her hands in their long white gloves, clasped in front of her white satin gown. Her chestnut hair was dressed in ringlets with ribbons, and Lady Greentree had given her a string of
pearls to wear about her neck for this most auspicious occasion.

She knew she looked as unlike Vivianna Greentree from Yorkshire as she had ever looked. She felt like a stranger, too. It did not seem real, any of it.

Who could have imagined that she would be introduced to the queen? By particular invitation? It was almost the same as being presented at one of the queen’s drawing rooms.

“Better,” Lady Greentree had informed her, “because you will not have a lot of other hopefuls pushing and shoving. There will be just you, Vivianna. Oh, I am so glad! Do you realize what this means? All the gossips, all the people who have cut us, will be silenced. If the queen will accept you, then so must everyone else!”

Once Vivianna would have declared that they must take her as she was, and she still might have, but not when her family had suffered so for her sake.

She wondered if she would forget her name or trip on her hem. It was such a great honor for a girl of her dubious background, and she did not want to spoil it.

Fraser was aware of that, too. He had insisted on seeing her in the gown Elena had made for her. He had been propped up in his bed, the big tabby cat sitting beside him. Both pairs of eyes had watched Vivianna cross the room. Fraser had nodded, his lined and yellowy face suddenly almost benevolent as he had smiled. “Aye, ye’ll do,” he had said with quiet pride. “Ye’ll do, daughter….”

Vivianna, who had thought herself prepared, found that when she arrived at Buckingham Palace she was woefully nervous. She was led into an elegant anteroom, and there waited for half an hour before she
was taken to the drawing room where the royal couple were awaiting her.

She came forward, as she had been instructed, trying to remember the intricacies of the curtsy. She seemed to get through it without too many wobbles.

“Miss Greentree.” The queen was small and plump, with a round face and large eyes. Recognizing her from the opera, Vivianna thought she was prettier close up. It was a pity she towered over her so.

“Your Majesty.” She managed the words above the frightened thumping of her heart.

The queen spoke firmly. “Miss Greentree, I do not approve of you, but that is not why you are here today. I have been prevailed upon, by someone who has done me a great service, to give you the gloss of my approval. You can be sure that after this visit no one will snub you. No one will dare. Albert?”

The prince, handsome in a blue jacket and buff trousers, gave his wife an amused glance. “Her Majesty is very conscious of her debts, Miss Greentree, and she owes your sponsor a great deal.”

“My sponsor, Your Royal Highness?” Vivianna managed. “I have a sponsor?”

The royal couple exchanged a glance. Prince Albert smiled.

“Yes, Miss Greentree,” he said in his heavy German accent, “you do have a sponsor. It is Lord Montegomery, and believe me, he has your welfare in the forefront of his mind.”

“He does?” Vivianna managed. “Sir,” she added belatedly.

Prince Albert nodded. “Indeed he has. He did not tell you, then? Ah, perhaps it was meant to be a surprise. You see he was very much afraid you would feel
the displeasure of London society because of your father and your mother, and he did not think it just. I myself am a great believer in marriage and the vows made before God, but I can see that your parentage is no fault of your own.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

His gaze fixed upon hers with an intensity that was rather startling. “I believe you work hard for the poor, Miss Greentree. I find such selfless service admirable. I, too, would like to see the many wrongs in this country righted.”

Vivianna smiled with sheer joy. Here was a man after her own heart, an ally, and unlike herself, he was in a position to make a great deal of difference to the wrongs he spoke of. And it had been Oliver who brought her to his attention, Oliver who made it possible for her to meet him.

“I am very glad to hear you say so, Sir,” she said. “I am very glad indeed.”

“Lord Montegomery is very handsome,” the queen said, with a sideways glance at her husband. “Do you not agree, Miss Greentree?”

Vivianna wondered what she should say. In the end she told the truth. “Yes, Ma’am, he is very handsome.”

The queen nodded, but there was a twinkle in her eye. “You must visit us again, Miss Greentree. Come to one of my drawing rooms before your wedding.”

Wedding?

“I…of course, Ma’am.”

It was over. She was dismissed. Vivianna curtsied once more, and exited from the room backward, and the attendant closed the door.

Lady Greentree was waiting for her, her eyes shining with curiosity. “Well?” she demanded.

“They are almost like ordinary people,” Vivianna said, still a little shaken. “Almost.”

Lady Greentree laughed and hugged her. “You are a very fortunate young lady. You will see. This will make a very great difference to your life in London from now on.”

“Mama,” Vivianna whispered, “it was Oliver. He did this for me. He…he sponsored me.”

Lady Greentree’s brow wrinkled, her pale eyes quizzical. “Are you sure, Vivianna? Oliver Montegomery?”

“Yes, Oliver. He did it for me. To please me.”

She felt her heart swell within her, and such happiness that she could hardly stop smiling. The savior of the nation really did love her, after all.

The following morning there were dozens of invitations to sit upon the mantel at Queen’s Square—Vivianna Greentree, social pariah, was an overnight success.

“Vivianna, you are so lucky!” cried Marietta, her eyes wide. “I am so jealous. Why can I not meet our mother? I want to ask her so many questions.”

Vivianna smiled at her younger sister. “That is exactly why you cannot meet her. Not yet.”

“The Beatty sisters are here to see you, Miss Vivianna.” Lil was at the door of the sitting room, her eyes sparkling.

“Thank you, Lil, I’ll come and…”

But it was too late. Miss Susan and Miss Greta were inside the room, clasping her hands, their faces radiating happiness, their eyes teary with joy. They began to speak, their voices a confusion of intermingling words, but somehow Vivianna made sense of it.

“Miss Greentree! Lord Montegomery has given
Candlewood to us. Given it to us, as a gift! He will make repairs at once, he says, while we are at Bethnal Green. He will sign Candlewood over to the shelter in perpetuity!”

Vivianna could not speak. After a moment she managed an “Oh,” and a tear ran down her cheek.

Oliver had done this? For the children?

But in her heart Vivianna knew he had not done it for the children, not wholly.

He had done it for her.

And the time had come to beard the monster in his den.

“Miss Greentree is here to see you, my lord.”

Hodge looked disapproving, as always, but Oliver wasn’t deceived. The butler had been looking out for Vivianna every day. And she had come. At last. He could understand she had been busy: By all accounts she was a success. With her passionate views and her way of saying exactly what she meant, Vivianna would be considered fresh and original. Her parentage would never be truly forgotten, and there would always be those who held it against her, but there were many more who were willing to overlook it and like her for herself.