Scandal By The Ton (13 page)

Julia sighed. When she returned home tomorrow, she would have no option but to ask Dottie to teach her all she knew about sex.

"Welcome home, darling. I truly missed you. The only thing that kept boredom at bay was my skirmishes with Claire. Well, that and writing the column. It gave me a new lease on life."

Julia kissed her grandmother. "I missed you too. I've been thinking about giving up writing
Scandal by the Ton
. I don't suppose you'd consider taking it on permanently?"

"Why my dear, if you are serious, I'd like nothing better. It will give my days a purpose, and the thing I shall enjoy the most is doing the research!"

"Then it's settled, and I can devote my writing time to Bess of Hardwick."

"How did you enjoy your stay in Hertfordshire? You weren't lonely, I hope."

"No, I wasn't lonely at all." She hesitated. "Nicholas Royston was there."

"Such an amazing coincidence."

"Not really. I suspect you had a hand in it." Julia suddenly sank down into a chair. "Oh, Dottie, everything was perfect until he found out I was Ann Onymous."

"Ah, so that's the reason you decided to give up the column. Well, perhaps it's best. Dabbling in scandal isn't a suitable occupation for a diplomat's wife."

"There's little chance of that. When he found out I wrote
Scandal by the Ton
, it ruined everything. He left abruptly without saying goodbye. I'm afraid it's over between us."

"Not quite. Lord Royston entrusted me with a letter for you." She retrieved it from her writing desk and handed her granddaughter the envelope.

Julia's pulse quickened.
He wrote after all!
She looked at the letter in her hand and hesitated. She felt extremely vulnerable. If his words were cold and condemning, she would feel bereft. She weighed the apprehension she felt against the faint hope that Nicholas Royston's words would be kind rather than cruel. She forced herself to push away the anxiety that almost overwhelmed her, tore open the envelope and read:

Dearest Lady Julia:

Forgive my abrupt departure. I was unexpectedly recalled to London early this morning.

Upon my return from the Continent, I intend to claim the forfeit you owe me.

Rest assured that all your secrets are safe with me, at least for the present.

Nicholas

Julia realized she had been holding her breath, and let it out with a sigh of relief. "He was unexpectedly recalled to London," she told Dottie. "He didn't leave because he was angry with me."

"Of course not," Dottie assured her. "I gathered he was on a mission for the war office."

"Yes, he mentions the Continent." Julia felt her cheeks warm, as she again read that he intended to claim the forfeit she owed him. Her blush deepened as she recalled his exact words:
I want more than kisses. I want permission to court you, with a view to marriage.

Julia's mouth curved as she re-read the last line, with
its implicit threat. If she allowed him to have his way, he would keep her secrets safe. She laughed out loud at the audacious idea that jumped into her head.
There is no need to ask Dottie to teach me all she knows about sex. Nicholas Royston is the man for that job.

"The house seems quiet. Is Mother not here?" Julia asked.

"No, and we have the Prince of Wales to thank for it. Prinny felt a need to visit the Chalybeate Springs at Tunbridge Wells and the Duchess of Devonshire decided she too could benefit from taking the waters."

Julia laughed. "I can guess the rest. Lavinia couldn't bear the idea of her sister-in-law Georgiana enjoying herself in Tunbridge, so decided to join the party. Then Mother manipulated Lavinia into issuing her an invitation."

"Precisely. Why anyone would travel thirty miles to sit around drinking glasses of brown water that taste of iron filings, I shall never understand.  She could have saved herself the journey by sucking on the iron railings in Berkeley Square for all the good it will do."

Julia laughed. "Well,
we
will certainly derive health benefits from her journey. I shall go and unpack." She opened the door to her bedchamber and saw that her trunks had been brought upstairs. When she raised her eyes and saw the empty book shelves, she let out a scream.

Dora came running, and Dottie left her sitting room when she heard Julia's cry of distress.

"Where are my books?" Julia asked the maid.

"They are gone, Lady Julia.

"
Gone
? Gone where, pray tell?"

"Lady Shelborne gave instructions that your chamber must be cleaned from top to bottom before you returned from Hertfordshire. She told me to get rid of all the dusty books. I didn't dare to anger her by disobeying her orders."

Dottie arrived and heard Dora's explanation. "Spleen! Vitriolic spleen! Your mother knows your books are precious to you and that's precisely why she ordered Dora to get rid of them."

"Dora, what did you do with the books?" Julia demanded.

"Thomas helped me to carry them downstairs. We stacked them in the back hall of the servants' entrance. He offered to get rid of them, and that's the last I saw of them."

Dottie rang for the young footman-in-training and when he arrived, she questioned him.

"Thomas, we have a mystery on our hands. There may be a reward in it for any who can solve it. You helped Dora carry all my granddaughter's books down to the servant's entrance. What happened to them after that?"

The young footman looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I loaded them on a hand cart. I decided to try and sell them at the bookshop in Shepherd's Market. I asked the butler for permission before I did it, ma'am."

"Oh, thank goodness you took them to the bookshop," Julia said with relief. "I shall go to Shepherd's Market immediately and buy them back."

Thomas looked shame-faced. "I never got that far, my lady."

Dottie poked him with her walking stick. "What the devil do you mean, boy? Speak up!"

"I was trundling the cart down the back street, when a man stopped me and asked where I was going with the books. When I told him I was taking them to the bookshop, he offered to buy them from me on the spot."

"Dare I ask how much he coughed up?" Dottie asked faintly.

Thomas eyed Dottie's stick and confessed, "Five bob."

"Five shillings?" Julia said with a gasp. She looked at her grandmother with despair. "I must have paid forty or fifty pounds for those books over the last year."

Thomas was astounded. "Blimey, the bloke gulled me!"

"What did this man look like?" Julia begged.

Thomas said, "Average bloke, on the portly side. He spoke like a gentleman, if that helps."

"Oh, immeasurably," Dottie said tartly. "A man in Mayfair who speaks like a gentleman."

Julia said hopefully,
"Perhaps this fellow sold them to the bookshop."

"There's a slim chance, I suppose. Thomas, have Toby ready the carriage. We'll start at Shepherd's Market and pay a call on all the bookshops in the district."

Four hours later, Julia and her grandmother returned home both tired and disappointed. "Well, we didn't find any of my books, but at least I was able to buy a few history books that will help me with the story I'm writing."

"Tomorrow, you can work on your book and I'll write my column about Lady Melbourne."

"I understand she has led a colorful life to say the least."

"My dear, you don't know the half of it. Her first lover after she wed Peniston Lamb was Lord Coleraine, and rumor has it that the Earl of Egremont bought her from Coleraine for thirteen thousand pounds. Her fourth son George was fathered by the Prince of Wales. I often saw them together at her country residence, Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire."

"Didn't Lord Melbourne object to all these lovers?" Julia asked.

"On the contrary, he encouraged them. Each one furthered his political career."

Nicholas Royston reported to Lord Grenville at the Foreign Office the moment he arrived back in London. "I'm afraid Austria has agreed to sign a treaty with France. After Napoleon's army defeated the Austrian troops at Marengo, he allowed them to evacuate from Italy on condition that Austria sign a peace treaty."

Grenville frowned. "Bonaparte is becoming all-powerful."

"The victory has increased his popularity. Not only does he wield sole power over the military, his appointment as first consul gives him political power. Our diplomats in Paris have had secret negotiations with him. Bonaparte has no intention of restoring the King of France to power. He will reform France according to his own vision."

Royston handed over sealed communiques from John Hookham Frere and when Grenville broke the wax and opened them, they contained secret letters from Napoleon for Prime Minister Pitt.

"Do you know the contents of Bonaparte's missives?"

"I haven't read them. They are for the Prime Minister's eyes only. But a shrewd guess would be truce proposals between Britain and France. Britain has the greatest navy in the world and we control the seas. Napoleon would lose any naval battle against us. Since Bonaparte cannot beat us, he likely proposes to join us."

Grenville nodded. "Your thoughts mirror mine exactly. The problem is that I don't trust Napoleon Bonaparte. He would betray any signed peace treaty to further his own ends."

"Amen to that. But I have every reason to believe that Prime Minister Pitt trusts Bonaparte even less than you do, my lord."

"We can only hope." Grenville shook Royston's hand. "I am aware of the constant dangers you encounter in your missions, especially in the City of Paris. Thank you for your service, my lord."

When Nicholas arrived home, he was greeted by his brother.

"I've done it!" Michael was bursting with excitement.

Something in his brother's eager exclamation kept Nick from making a cynical reply.

"While you were away, I stopped dithering about and made up my mind to do something for my country. I purchased a lieutenancy in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment."

Nicholas felt dismay. "The
infantry
?"

"Yes. The Redcoats!"

Nick stared at his young brother and valiantly masked his apprehension. "Do you have your uniform?" When his brother nodded, he said, "Go on... let's see what it looks like." When Michael hurried from the room, Nicholas closed his eyes and tried to come to terms with what the reckless young devil had done.
Christ Almighty, the infantry is cannon fodder.
He unclenched his fists.
Mick is a man full grown. The decision is his, not mine.
By the
time his brother returned dressed in the bright lieutenant's uniform, Nicholas had composed himself.

Michael held his arms wide and grinned. "What do you think?"

"I think you have made an honorable and courageous decision." He embraced his young brother.

"After my training, I'll be stationed in Gibraltar."

"That's a safe enough place, but the regiment could be sent into battle at any time."

"None of us know what the future holds. I've wasted enough of my life. From now on I'm going to make it count for something."

Michael is right. I too have wasted enough of my life. I know what I want, so why not reach out and take it?

Chapter Fourteen

Julia was thrilled when she received two dozen yellow roses. The card that accompanied them said:
I will be calling upon you at six this evening. Nicholas.

"He's coming at six. That gives me no time at all. Come with me while I dress."

Dottie followed Julia to her bedchamber, ready to give her advice. "I think it's a pity Claire won't be here when his lordship calls upon you."

"Personally, I think it's a blessing that Mother is away." She opened her wardrobe. "What shall I wear?"

"Wear something fashionable so he'll be tempted to take you somewhere to show you off."

"I like this cream silk chiffon."

"Yes, it's delicate and subtle; perhaps too subtle. You need something vivid to set it off. I have the very thing. I shall give you my new peacock taffeta redingote. The style is far too young for me."

"Thank you, Dottie. I've had my eye on it ever since you bought it."

"Put up your hair and I'll lend you my diamond and turquoise earrings.

In less than an hour, Julia was dressed, coiffed, and awaiting her caller with breathless anticipation.

Nicholas arrived promptly at six and Hastings brought him up to Dottie's third floor sitting room. He did not come empty-handed, but brought a nosegay of orchids for Julia's grandmother.

"Very pretty indeed. Not many men realize that flowers will get them farther than flattery."