by Platt, Meara
“Why are you suddenly fussing with you hair, Violet?”
“I was thinking how I ought to style it.”
“I thought you said Forester wants you to keep it unbound.”
She nodded. “He does.”
“So, where’s the problem? I can see why he suggested it. Every man watching you will believe you walked out of his dream. He’ll imagine running his fingers through your dark curls.”
Of course, she knew Romulus would seriously maim any man who attempted it.
“They’ll all be wishing you were theirs and believing you are singing to them alone.”
“I can’t believe you are agreeing with him.”
He cast her a wry smile and arched his eyebrow. “In truth, neither can I. But he’s right about this. Your medieval costume will have them thinking they are heroic knights and you are the damsel in distress they must rescue. I can’t repeat what else they’ll be thinking. I can only say this is what crossed my mind.”
She sighed.
“Men spend their blunt freely when their low brains are engaged. You, my innocent and utterly ravishing wife, will have them in a low brain frenzy. They’ll be hurling wads of pound notes onto the stage.”
“Fine. Enough. I’ve agreed to wear the medieval gown and keep my hair unbound.” She snorted. “Damsel in distress, indeed. Two of the songs in my repertoire are medieval ballads. I suppose this outfit makes sense.”
She’d rehearsed those ballads and others each day at the Royal Society hall with one of London’s best-known pianists to accompany her. Jameson had mentioned they would have to pay the man out of the proceeds, for he would not play without being compensated. Violet hoped his fee was not exorbitant, but since Jameson had already agreed to the terms, there was little she could do about it.
Belle and Honey had gone with her to each rehearsal. Also with them was a burly, watchful footman. Neither Uncle John nor Romulus trusted the three of them to be left on their own, even though they were never alone in the Royal Society building.
It mattered not that the place was crawling with scholars and stodgy professors, as well as the occasional nobleman who came to admire the ancient swords, artifacts, and bones kept under glass in the Society’s small museum near the hall.
Violet toyed with her own cup of coffee, absently twirling it in her hands as she took a deep breath for the twelfth time this morning.
Romulus arched an eyebrow. “You’ll be perfect, Violet. Don’t work yourself into a state.”
“I can’t help it. It’s hitting me like a wall of stone tumbling off an ancient fortress. I–”
Their butler strode in with a note for her. “Ma’am,” he said, bowing as he handed it to her.
She opened it and groaned. “Belle isn’t feeling well. It’s this weather. The morning rain and now the sudden chill. I knew it would affect her lungs. Honey will likely stay with her, and I’ll have neither of them with me tonight.”
Romulus set aside the newspaper he’d obviously been hoping to read while he finished his coffee. “Love, your Aunt Sophie will be there with John and your other uncles. So will Daisy, Dillie, and their husbands.”
“But they’ll be occupied in the front of the hall, making certain everyone pays the entrance fee. I suppose Jameson and Valerie will calm me down.”
“And Finn will be guarding the receipts. His brothers will be helping out as well.”
She managed a smile. “The Brayden tadpole-wildebeests.”
He leaned forward and grinned. “Lady Miranda will be in the audience as well. She’ll take a battle axe to anyone who dares disrupt your performance.” He reached across the table to take her hand, enveloping her cold fingers in his big, warm palm. “I’ll be there, too. There’s that little matter I must tend to at the Admiralty, but it shouldn’t take up more than an hour of my afternoon. I’ll be home in plenty of time to escort you to the recital hall this evening.”
She shook her head. “Picking up your cabin boy is no little matter. How odd that you should be asked to bring him to your home and have him ride with you to Cornwall, don’t you think?”
Romulus shrugged. “It is a bit unusual. I usually meet my cabin boys when I’m on my ship, but since The Plover is still under repair, I suppose it is just as efficient to bring the boy along with me. I’m riding to Cornwall anyway. He’ll be no bother.”
“The Lord Admiral will know the boy is being well looked after while in your care. I wonder if he’s related to the king.”
“If the lad is, then he’ll be my commander by the time he’s eighteen. I had better stay in his good graces.”
Violet knew he was jesting, but the sudden summons to collect this boy struck her as odd. “He’s welcome here, of course. I wish they had waited until tomorrow. After all, didn’t you say the Lord Admiral himself will be in attendance tonight? Surely he understands how important it is for me to have you by my side.”
Romulus nodded. “Which is why he arranged for me to retrieve the boy well before your recital. It is quite likely this matter could not wait.”
“Do you know the boy’s name yet?”
“No. Wasn’t mentioned in the note.”
Violet shook her head. “Most odd. I’ll lay odds he is related to the king.”
“Then I’m honored to be entrusted with his care.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “Ugh, and you really mean it, too. Sometimes, I wish you weren’t so wonderfully noble. Should we bring him with us to the recital? I hate to leave him on his own mere hours after you bring him home. The Mayhew girls will take excellent care of him, but it isn’t the same as having us. He might enjoy an evening of music.”
“Said no boy ever,” Romulus muttered. “We’ll ask him which he’d prefer. How’s that?”
“Perfect. And he can stay in the ancient relics room with me if he begins to tire and doesn’t wish to remain in the hall with everyone else. They’ve thoughtfully placed a settee and small table in there for my use tonight. Let’s bring along a pillow and coverlet. Perhaps a few apples and toys. He can eat, play, or sleep in there while I’m singing on stage. No one will disturb him, other than Finn when he locks the receipts in the vault where they keep the smaller relics.” She cast him a triumphant smile. “There, all figured out.”
She noticed Romulus was not smiling along with her.
“Do cheer up Romulus. It’s a perfect solution. What can go wrong?”
*
The route to the Admiralty was becoming quite familiar to Romulus. He’d been riding back and forth each day this week, the Lord Admiral having suddenly become his most ardent supporter and seeking his opinion on naval tactics, battle preparedness, ship design, even which wines to stock in the flagship wine cellar. Romulus hardly considered himself an expert on that matter.
“Ah, Brayden. Just in time. Let me introduce you to your new charge, Lord Innes Buchan, son of the Duke of Buchan.”
The boy stepped forward. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Brayden. I look forward to serving under your command.”
Blessed saints! A duke’s son? And not just any duke, merely one of the most powerful men on this sceptered isle. How in heaven did his offspring get sent off as a cabin boy? “My lord, the pleasure is all mine,” Romulus said, quite impressed by the poise of this nine-year-old who had a thick mass of curly blond hair and green eyes the hue of an English meadow in summer.
“Thank you.” He cast Romulus a nod of acknowledgment. “Lord Admiral Melville speaks quite highly of you. I look forward to sailing with you on The Plover.”
Was the lad a tiny forty-year-old in disguise? He’d never met a child who appeared so grown up. As the boy was escorted out of the war room to bid farewell to the governess who had brought him down from Castle Easingwold, just north of York, the Lord Admiral gave him a quick account. “He’s the fifth and youngest son of Buchan, sired by the duke and his second wife.”
“And she sent him away?” He could not comprehend why a mother would wish to be rid
of such a boy.
“Wife number three has insisted he be sent away. The boy’s mother, wife number two, died in childbirth when he was born.”
Romulus felt a tug to his heart. “Poor lad.” Violet would be beside herself to fuss over him. Indeed, the Farthingales might quite suffocate the boy with love, something he doubted Innes had ever experienced. Certainly not a mother’s love, and certainly not from his stepmother.
“The duke loves the boy, but he cannot have him underfoot right now.”
“What about preparatory school? The boy is old enough.”
“His father would like him to experience life aboard a ship. I suspect he wishes to groom the lad as a future First Lord Admiral,” he said with a wry smile.
Romulus nodded. “The country will be fortunate to have him leading the Royal Navy.”
“I heartily agree. So, try to keep him alive and uninjured, Brayden. He’ll be sent to Eton when he’s older, but for now, he is all yours.”
The boy walked back in the room.
“Come along, my lord. My wife is eager to meet you. She’ll have lemonade and ginger cake waiting for us. Do you like ginger cake?”
The boy nodded, his blond curls bobbing with vehemence. “My favorite.”
Romulus decided it was a good thing he’d been ordered to take charge of the boy today.
Violet melted at the sight of him and had to struggle to hold back her tears when Romulus took her aside a moment to tell her of the boy’s circumstances.
“It is unpardonable the duchess would insist on sending him away,” she whispered.
“She views him as a threat. Perhaps the duke sees too much of his second wife in the boy. I suspect his second marriage was a love match. Wife three does not wish to compete with that.”
“How is this the boy’s fault? The duke might grow to love her if she showed love toward his son.”
Romulus kissed her on the forehead. “Then she’d be you, and the duke would fall hopelessly in love.”
She rolled her eyes and tsked. “My lord,” she said, turning to the boy, “would you care for more ginger cake?”
“Yes, I would.”
Once Innes had finished, she asked him if he enjoyed playing marbles. When his eyes lit up, she went next door and came back a few moments later with two boys slightly younger than Innes. “These are my cousins, Charles and Harry. They are champion marbles players.”
Charles held up a pouch and rattled it. “I have aggies and alleys, and shooters and taws.”
“Any mibs and ducks?” Innes asked quite seriously.
Harry, the youngest, nodded. “Bumblebees and jaspers, too. Charles has them all.”
“Bumblebees,” Romulus remarked, grinning over their heads toward Violet. “Those are my favorite.”
The boys played for over an hour, stretched flat on their stomachs on the parlor floor and rising only to grab a milk biscuit or currant scone before dropping to their knees for another round of marbles.
By six o’clock, Charles and Harry were returned next door, escorted by Violet and a footman.
Romulus took the opportunity to ask Innes if he’d like to remain at home under the care of the Mayhew girls, or come with him and Violet to the Royal Society hall. “My wife and I would be delighted if you joined us. But the choice is entirely yours.”
“Truly? She won’t find me inconvenient?”
“Not at all. In truth, she’ll probably miss you and worry about you if you don’t join us.”
His eyes lit up. “She would? Then may I go with you, Captain Brayden?”
“Yes, my lord. You are most welcome.” Bollocks, the boy tore at his heart.
By seven o’clock, Romulus and Innes were standing in the entry hall, waiting for Violet to descend the stairs. When she did, the blood rushed into Romulus’s head…and lower, of course, because his low brain had taken control again.
Young Innes gaped at Violet, his jaw dropping and his eyes about to pop out of their sockets. “Is she an angel?”
“She certainly looks like one, doesn’t she?”
Innes nodded.
Hell, if a nine-year-old boy could fall in love with her on sight, how would the grown men in the audience respond? He was glad the wildebeests would be joining them. He’d position them in a line in front of the stage to catch any fools who attempted to run onto it.
As for him, he’d do his best to keep an eye on Forester and his sister, although it would be harder to do now that Innes was coming with them. He’d draw Finn aside and issue another warning about that pair.
Finn would be angry with him, for the caution would be taken as an insult. He’d apologize to his cousin afterward.
He took Violet’s arm and helped her into the carriage, then gave the lad a boost in. Romulus took the bench opposite them, stifling a smile at the look of wonder on Innes’s face. Of course, the boy was staring at Violet, and she was smiling back at him, a lovely, openhearted smile that would shoot straight to any man’s heart.
He suddenly became wistful.
He would be leaving for Cornwall shortly, leaving Violet behind. They’d coupled often enough that she might be carrying his child. They would not know it for some time yet. But in watching her gentle manner with Innes, his love for her swelled. She’d be a good, kind mother to their children.
He gave silent thanks for whatever had brought them together. Those bees. The Book of Love everyone was beginning to believe was magical. The tiny termagant, Lady Withnall. Perhaps all three played a part in uniting him with Violet.
He supposed it did not matter.
Whatever the reason, he was grateful for it.
Now all he needed was this night to pass without incident. Why were the short hairs on the back of his neck still spiking in alarm?
Chapter Nineteen
A crowd was already gathering in front of the Royal Society by the time Romulus’s carriage drew up to the building. However, the carriage was steered to a spot toward the back of the hall, and they were all escorted inside through a side entrance that led down the small passageway directly to the ancient relics room where Violet and Innes would remain until her performance began.
The relics room, as the Duke of Lotheil had promised, now contained a settee and small table. Atop the table was a pot of tea and several cups. “How thoughtful of the duke,” Violet said. “Would anyone like tea?”
“No, love. But I shall pour you a cup if you wish to have some. How about you, Innes?”
“I’m fine, Captain. None for me.”
Violet nodded. “Nor for me. I can’t put anything in me so close to my recital time or I’ll be belching out the songs.” She then belched a few notes.
Innes thought her antics hilarious.
He exchanged a glance with Violet, loving her more for this. She wanted the boy to laugh.
Innes now looked at her in adoration.
Romulus understood why. Here was an angel who could belch. What more could a man want in a woman?
“Love, I’m going to see what’s going on in the grand hall. Innes, do you want to come with me?”
His eyes grew wide. “May I?”
“Yes, of course. But stay close to me. The hall will be packed by now, and the First Lord Admiral will not be pleased with me if I lose you.” As much as Violet liked the boy, Romulus knew she needed a moment alone to concentrate on her performance and do whatever throat exercises one did in preparation…or whatever one did before walking on to the stage, ready to appease a hungry audience.
To his dismay, he realized he did not even know which songs she was going to sing. The list had been planned between Violet and the Foresters, but she had told him which songs and it now escaped him.
Not that the song list mattered much. What mattered was that she had told him, and he had forgotten. He’d been so caught up in Admiralty matters, he’d dismissed this recital as unimportant.
Yet, Violet was the most important thing to him. How could he have shown such lack of interest? He fe
lt worse because she had never once called him to task for it.
He shook out of the thought and concentrated on locating the Foresters amid the crowd. He couldn’t see them, but they had to be in here somewhere. He knew they’d arrived ahead of him and Violet.
He expected to find Jameson Forester front and center, taking all the accolades for himself. He led Innes in a turn about the hall before going out front to where Violet’s cousins and their husbands were collecting the entrance donations. Finn would likely be with them, and wherever Finn was, Lady Rawley was certain to be close by.
He quickly introduced Innes to Dillie and Daisy and their husbands, then asked them about Finn. “Have you seen him?”
Daisy nodded. “Our box was full, so we gave him the receipts taken in so far. He went to place them in the vault in the relics room.”
“He went alone?”
Ian frowned. “He’s a big, hulking Brayden. Who is going to mess with him?”
“Besides,” Gabriel added, “the hall is a crush. Perhaps there are a few pickpockets about, but no one is going to steal the donations in front of a hundred people.”
“Lady Rawley accompanied him,” Dillie said.
“Christ! And where’s Forester? Have any of you seen him?”
Ian’s frown deepened. “Not in a while. He was here earlier, but–”
“Innes, stay here. I’ll be right back for you.” But Innes clung to his hand and wouldn’t release it, no doubt petrified he was about to be abandoned again.
“Come, Lord Innes,” Dillie said gently, “take the seat between me and Daisy. You can help us take in the last of the donations. I promise you, Captain Brayden will return shortly.”
Romulus shouldered his way through the crowd and back to the relics room the moment Innes let go of his hand. He heard Ian calling behind him. “What’s going on?”
Romulus briefly confided his concerns about the Foresters. “I could be wrong.”