Lord Buckingham’s Bride (9 page)

A group of horsemen was riding wildly along a beach, their mounts' hooves splashing through the shallow waves that broke against the shingle. Alison watched them and her gaze was drawn inexorably to one palace in particular. It was an astonishing sight, topped by a cluster of blue, green, and gold domes and with a facade that might have come directly from Byzantium. Never before had she seen such a palace, and it was viewed as if in a dream, for she gazed at it through the spray and mist of countless fountains, some of them dancing as high into the air as the palace's domes.

Nikolai glanced at her. ‘What do you think, Miss Clearwell? Do you admire my palace?'

‘Your palace? How very fortunate you are. It's very beautiful indeed,' she replied honestly.

‘I am flattered that you think so,' he murmured, his dark eyes upon her. ‘One day soon I will take you there, you have my word upon that.'

She looked quickly at him, thinking she detected an odd note in his voice, but he just smiled and indicated the shoreline again.

‘You see? It is possible to sail close to the land, but only if the master of the vessel knows the channels and sandbanks like the back of his hand. The captain of the
Irina
is the finest pilot in these waters, and he is the only man who would dare to take such a large schooner this close to the shore, and do it at speed. We will soon be in St Petersburg, but the
Pavlovsk
will not reach there until tonight.'

A lookout shouted from his post, and his call sounded faintly in the stateroom.

Nikolai smiled again. ‘St Petersburg has been sighted, Miss Clearwell. I am sure that your stay there will be an experience you will never forget.'

Again she glanced uneasily toward him, but there was nothing in his eyes to suggest that he spoke with any hidden meaning. All the same she was glad when Francis rested his hand over hers, so much so that she couldn't help curling her fingers tightly in his.

There was nothing to add depth to the scene as the
Irina
sailed from the Gulf of Finland into the beautiful city that Peter the Great had founded a hundred years before on the Neva delta. The river only flowed the forty-five miles from inland Lake Ladoga, and as it reached the sea, it divided into four main arms that were joined by countless other streams and tributaries. Peter the Great hadn't been satisfied with what was already a vast amount of water and had ordered the cutting of many canals to further enhance the capital that was to be his ‘Window to the West,' the glittering achievement that would win the envy of the modem world. As glorious as Venice itself, but on a much grander scale, the new capital was so low-lying that the presence of so much water always made it vulnerable to flooding, and so the inhabited islands were all protected by immense Finnish
granite
embankments that kept out all but the severest of floods.

The city was an incomparable sight as the
Irina
sailed up the main artery of the Neva. Classical facades shone yellow, pink, white, and pearl gray in the bright midday sun; blue, green, and gold domes pierced the sky; and reflections shimmered on the dark-blue water. There were many green pleasances, for every palace and mansion had a garden, every square had walks that would soon be shaded by spring leaves, and every street was lined with trees. Spires, pillars, statues,
and monuments gleamed in the crisp northern air, and there was a sense of grandeur and spaciousness such as Alison had never
encountered
before.

The Neva was a quarter of a mile wide where the
Irina
dropped anchor just before the crowded pontoon bridge, known as the Isaac Bridge, which was put in place every summer to connect Vassily Island to the north with Admiralty Island to the south, where the
administrative
heart of imperial Russia was situated. There was no need for bridges in the winter because the river froze so firmly that it was easily possible to walk across from island to island. There were other pontoon bridges where the channels of the Neva were wide, but where the waterways were narrower, there were permanent stone or wooden bridges connecting the various different parts of the delta.

Vassily Island was the largest of the islands, and was also the commercial and academic center of the city. As well as the Academy of Arts and the Academy of Sciences, there were crowded quays where many vessels were discharging and loading cargoes. These quays were busy again after the long hard winter, and the foreign vessels moored there were some of the first to enter the city after the Neva had melted. This was where the
Duchess of Albemarle
would have come alongside and where the
Pavlovsk
would arrive tonight; it was also where the
Duchess of Albemarle
's sister ship, the
Duchess of Clarence
, would tie up in a day or so's time.

The cobbled wharves were cluttered with crates, sacks, and bundles, and a constant flow of carts drawn by heavy horses was to be seen passing to and fro. Winches shrieked and men shouted, but these sounds were drowned suddenly in an ecstatic pealing of bells as the churches and cathedrals of the capital rang out for midday.

On Admiralty Island, or the South Side, as Captain Merryvale had said it was called, the pontoon bridge joined the land in front of St Isaac's Square, where a bronze equestrian statue of Peter the Great had been placed on a huge block of stone. On the far side of the pontoon bridge, away from the
Irina
, the South Side stretched away along the waterfront in a superb line of administrative buildings, including the soaring gilded spire and weathervane of the Admiralty itself, the czar's Winter Palace, and the Hermitage, where so many priceless treasures were on display that it took days to inspect them
all. Facing the Neva across St Isaac's Square was newly completed St Isaac's Cathedral, which was considered unsatisfactory and was already to be rebuilt to an entirely new design, while on the nearside of the square, closest to the
Irina
, the South Side became the one-
and-a
-quarter-mile embankment of English Quay, one of the finest
residential
streets in St Petersburg.

Palatial mansions with balustraded roofs faced northward over a wide paved avenue toward the river and Vassily Island directly
opposite
. There were symmetrical windows, tall porticoes, grand pilasters, and walled gardens where the sheltered trees were already in leaf. More trees graced the embankment above the water, and were
interspersed
with elegant three-branch streetlamps which at night shone on both street and river. English Quay was a very fashionable place to be seen, and on summer evenings the cream of society, including the imperial family, were to be found strolling its length. Fine carriages drove past the mansions, all drawn by no fewer than four horses because distances were so vast in St Petersburg that two horses would soon have tired. Ladies and gentlemen as stylish as their counterparts in Paris or London were taking the air along the pavements, and many small boats and several elegant private barges were moored at jetties from which wide flights of stone steps led up to the street above.

Nikolai stood watching from the deck of the
Irina
as Alison and Francis were rowed toward the steps that were nearest Thomas Clearwell's residence. His dark eyes were half-closed and his lips a set line. After unwittingly telling the truth by correcting herself over whether the
Duchess of Albemarle
was to have had passengers or a single passenger for the last part of her voyage, she had then
deliberately
lied again. She had insisted that she and Lord Buckingham were both to have sailed to St Petersburg on the
Duchess of Albemarle
, and yet, he Nikolai Ivanovich Naryshky, knew that Lord Buckingham had booked passage on the
Pavlovsk
. And then there was her unusual knowledge of the shallow waters of the gulf. In spite of her ready explanation, there was something disquieting about the incident. It all confirmed his suspicion that there was more to the two English
lovebirds
than met the eye, and it made him all the more determined to get to the bottom of it all. He couldn't afford to let them outwit him, and now that they were here in St Petersburg, where his power and
tentacles reached into every corner, it wouldn't be long before the whole business had been satisfactorily settled.

A thin smile played on his lips as he thought of Alison. Yes, soon everything would be settled to his complete satisfaction.

T
he rowing boat was still some way from the steps leading up to English Quay, and Alison shivered as she sat in the stern next to Francis. She glanced back toward the
Irina
, which gleamed very white out on the dark-blue water of the Neva, and she could quite clearly see Nikolai standing on the deck watching.

She looked uneasily at Francis. ‘I've made a bungle of it, haven't I?' she asked frankly, keeping her voice in a whisper for fear that the man rowing the boat might understand English.

‘It can't be helped,' replied Francis with equal frankness.

‘But what exactly did I say that was so wrong? I know I was
foolish
when I mentioned the shallow navigation in the gulf, but there was something else, wasn't there?'

He nodded. ‘It was when he prompted you about us both sailing from Stockholm on the
Duchess of Albemarle
. I fear he has already checked and knows full well that I was never booked to sail on any vessel other than the
Pavlovsk
.

She stared at him. ‘Then that must mean that he now truly suspects we're being less than honest with him?'

‘I would if I were he.'

She was appalled to think that she'd given them both away. ‘I'm so sorry,' she said in a small voice.

He put an arm quickly around her shoulders. ‘I think the damage was done long before now, Alison. Since he asked you so pointedly about our sailing arrangements, I've been considering everything that happened from the moment you arrived at the Dog and Flute. If he was curious enough about us to inquire concerning the passage we'd
booked, maybe he was also curious enough to ask certain questions at the inn itself.' He met her eyes. ‘There was a flaw in our story, Alison, and I wish I'd seen it before now, because I think that that flaw is the reason for his great interest in us. You told him that I had asked to be placed in the room next to yours, but I didn't ask any such thing; indeed, it would have been quite obvious to anyone making inquiries that pure chance was the only reason I was in the adjacent room.'

Tears suddenly filled her eyes. ‘And that was my fault as well, wasn't it? If I hadn't said—'

‘You had to say it once you had embarked on your story. I don't blame you for any of this, please believe me. Circumstances dictated what happened, and you said what you had to get away from him. It didn't work, and so I had to intervene.'

‘But it's still because of me that the prince is so intent upon what we do. You have to see the czar, but the prince can put a stop to that in a moment if the whim takes him, which it might do easily now that he's found us out in mistakes of my doing, and now that he's here in St Petersburg—'

‘He can still be fobbed off,' Francis interrupted quietly. ‘There is one obvious way to get ourselves out of this scrape, and I've known we must take it ever since I saw the
Irina
at Kronstadt.'

‘Obvious way? I don't understand.'

He smiled a little, putting his gloved hand to her cheek. ‘I know you don't, Alison, but I said that I'd do the right thing by you, and I meant it.'

She flushed slightly, remembering the moment he had said those words to her. He had also called her the sweetest of innocents, and he had kissed her. ‘I still don't understand,' she whispered.

‘I wasn't jesting when I told Naryshky we would be married as soon as the necessary special license could be obtained. I intend to make you my bride as soon as possible.'

She stared at him and then drew back sharply. ‘What are you saying?' she breathed incredulously.

‘Simply that I must do the logical as well as the honorable thing.'

‘Have you taken leave of your senses?' she cried, and then realized she had allowed her voice to rise sufficiently for the sailor to look curiously at her. She lowered her tone again. ‘Francis, I know that
your mission here is vital, but to go to such inordinate lengths—'

‘I don't mean to do this simply because of the reason I'm here,' he interrupted, putting his hand to her cheek again, ‘although I admit that it must be my most immediate consideration. So let us take that point first. Our government has been forced to use me in order to place vital information in Alexander's hands. He has to receive those documents if Bonaparte is to be thwarted and peace is to continue. Naryshky and his sister admire Bonaparte, and do all they can to promote his cause, which naturally means preventing any possible approach from Britain. Naryshky now has reason to doubt that I'm simply a devotee of the turf, and he's obviously wondering if we're also more than just the ardent and besotted lovers we've pretended to be. We've made some slipups, but they're not insuperable, especially if we do indeed go through with the marriage.'

She stared at him. ‘You make it sound so simple.'

‘No, Alison, it isn't simple, I'm just saying that I think Naryshky's suspicions could be allayed if we go through with the marriage,
expecially
if he's there to witness the ceremony.'

‘But you love Pamela, Francis,' she said. ‘You love her very much, far too much to want to have me as your wife.'

He met her eyes. ‘I did say that delivery of the documents isn't my only reason for wishing to do this. Another reason is that I've compromised you, a fact that is bound to get out now that Naryshky is also here in St Petersburg. As far as he is concerned, we've been behaving like man and wife, for we've spent nights alone together. We don't yet know how well acquainted he is with your uncle and
step-aunt
, which means that there is a very real possibility that he will tell them about us. What do you imagine will happen then?'

‘I don't know, I haven't thought about it.'

‘Then think about it now. If we say nothing, can you imagine their reaction on hearing what he has to say? And if we take the precaution of acquainting them with all the details, they'll undoubtedly back us up, but they will also see that your reputation and virtue have been grossly jeopardized. Your uncle will find himself responsible for a niece who has yet to be launched into London society, but whose chances of a good match have been ruined by her involvement with a man who could quite easily do the right by her if he so chose. Under
those circumstances, he is bound to insist that I marry you, and he would be justified.'

‘My reputation may be ruined here in St Petersburg, I can see that, but no one in London is going to know about it.'

‘No? Alison, St Petersburg is a city of some two hundred and thirty thousand inhabitants, of which nearly one thousand are British. Those British citizens have family in England and have friends and relations who visit them here. Look at your uncle's house. Do you see that carriage and four drawn up outside?'

She looked toward the imposing mansion. It had a colonnaded porch and finely proportioned windows, and on one side of it there was a walled garden that extended to the boundary of the
neighboring
property. The garden wall was pierced by an elegant wrought-iron gateway through which could be seen leafy paths, fountains, and
statues
. The double front door was painted dark blue, and a maid was busy polishing the lions-head brass knocker. The carriage and four of which Francis had spoken was waiting at the curb outside.

‘Yes, I can see the carriage,' she said, ‘What about it?'

‘I saw it arrive a moment or so ago, and I saw the lady who emerged and called at the house, which can only mean that she is acquainted with your uncle and step-aunt. Her presence has put an effective end to my prospects of ever marrying Pamela.'

Alison's lips parted in astonishment. ‘But who is she?'

‘Her name is Mrs Arabella Fairfax-Gunn; she's the most notorious and dangerous gossipmonger in England, and she also happens to be a confidante of Pamela's mother, the Duchess of Marchington. She'll go around with a bell the moment she sniffs anything out, and she
will
sniff it out, you can be sure of that. Her instinct is unerring where possible scandals are concerned, and at the very least she will discover that you and I met in Stockholm and then traveled here together, without so much as a maid to make things proper. She mixes very thoroughly in high society and never turns down an invitation, which means that sooner or later she is bound to come into contact with the prince, whose knowledge of our activities is titillating, I think you'll admit. One way or another, whether we marry or not, news of what we've been doing is going to travel back to England, and the moment the Duke and Duchess of Marchington get wind of it, they'll put a
stop to the betrothal. And if you were Pamela, Alison, would you believe my protestations of innocence? Here I am, on the loose in Europe and surrounded by all manner of tittle-tattle concerning goings-on with her best friend.'

‘But if she loves you—'

‘You're very beautiful, Alison, very beautiful indeed, and even Pamela will think there is no smoke without a certain amount of fire. By the time Mrs Fairfax-Gunn has finished embroidering the tale with all manner of lascivious detail, you may be certain that the whole of London will believe you and I to have indulged in a very passionate and torrid affair.'

‘What if you're mistaken and it wasn't Mrs Fairfax-Gunn?'

‘Alison, no one else on earth could possibly look like that. She's just under five feet tall and almost as wide, and she always wears the brightest shade of vermilion because her late husband once foolishly told her that it made her look youthful. There's no mistake, the person who just entered your uncle's house was Mrs Arabella
Fairfax-Gunn.
' He took her hands. ‘We're almost at the steps now, Alison, and so we must decide right now what story we intend to tell when we enter the house. For all the reasons I've just given, I want you to marry me, Alison, and I want the ceremony to take place as quickly as possible. I must protect my mission here and I must protect your good name; I cannot hope now to marry Pamela, as I think you must realize.'

‘But you don't want me,' she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

‘If you imagine I'm indifferent to you, I think you underestimate yourself,' he said softly. ‘I find you very attractive indeed, Alison Clearwell, sometimes far too attractive for my peace of mind.'

‘But you don't love me.'

He didn't say anything.

‘Francis—'

‘If the reasons I've already given don't persuade you, perhaps you should consider your father. When he returns from Jamaica, he hopes to use the fortune he's made to launch you into society with every possible advantage. If you refuse to marry me now, you'll be at the center of a scandal that will cause your father a great deal of
unnecessary
distress. He'll return to find his daughter's name ruined and
her chances of ever making a good match spoiled beyond redemption. Is that what you want for him?'

‘That isn't fair, Francis.'

‘I don't mean to be fair, I mean to make you see sense. Marry me, Alison, and spare everyone an endless number of difficulties.'

‘But, what of Pamela? She's my closest friend.'

‘Pamela will never be my wife now, make no mistake about that. Please, Alison, for all our sakes.'

‘I don't know what to do …' Confusion swirled through her.

‘It's very simple, Alison, just say yes.'

‘Francis, we'll be marrying for all the wrong reasons.'

‘Many marriages have succeeded on far less than we have.'

She looked into his eyes. ‘Is this what you really want?' she asked softly.

‘Yes, Alison, it's what I really want.'

Her lips trembled. Briefly she saw Pamela's accusing face, and her conscience cut through her.

‘Just say yes,' he whispered, his fingers closing persuasively over hers.

She found herself nodding. ‘Yes,' she breathed. ‘Yes, I'll marry you.'

He exhaled slowly with relief. ‘You won't regret it, I swear it, Alison.' The boat nudged the foot of the steps, and he glanced up toward the top of the embankment far above. ‘When we go into the house, we'll tell your uncle and everyone else exactly what we've told the prince. And since your uncle is bound to agree in order to protect your good name, I think we can consider the matter settled. I'll also tell the same story at the British embassy when I report there. No one need ever know that we aren't a love match.' He stepped ashore and then turned to hand her out of the boat.

She hesitated for a moment, for she felt as if she was being swept helplessly along. ‘I wish there was another way.'

He drew her closer, tilting her face toward his. ‘Alison, do you find the thought of marrying me totally abhorrent?'

‘No, no of course not,' she said quickly. Abhorrent? She was halfway to loving him, but she didn't want to win him this way.

‘I don't intend to make you my wife and then discard you. I mean to do the right and proper thing by you in every way, but first I must
attend to the reason I'm now here in St Petersburg. That must come before all else, you do understand, don't you?'

She nodded. ‘I promised in Stockholm that I would do what was required of me, and I still stand by that.'

He smiled a little wryly. ‘But I'll warrant you didn't think so much would be expected of you,' he murmured.

‘That will teach me to make promises to strange gentlemen,' she replied, attempting to disguise her true turmoil by making light of it.

‘And it will teach me to take on the mantle of St George,' he said, smiling, but then he became more serious. ‘I'm truly sorry to have forced all this upon you, Alison. In Stockholm you wanted to flee safely home to England, and if I'd allowed you to, then none of this would be happening now.'

‘And maybe your subsequent decision to press on to St Petersburg on your own would indeed have incurred much more suspicion from the prince.'