“I am blessed by your love, and some day I will be worthy of it.” Ella kissed his chest and wrapped her arm across him. He felt her warmth along the length of his body. She inhaled deeply before closing her eyes to the outside world. He took a steadying breath, filling his lungs with the scent of her. James’s fingers mindlessly traced lines up and down her bare arm. He wanted so desperately to make things right for Ella. Tonight his prayer would be for his elaborate plan to work. Maybe if it did, their marriage might bring her the happiness that she had brought to him.
Carlton House glowed with a thousand lights as Thornhill’s party entered. Fowler purposely told Sir Louis that his party would leave Briar House at nine when, in reality, they left shortly after eight. That way, frustration would follow Levering to the Prince’s private quarters, and the pompous baronet would react impulsively. The duke had instructed his staff to “play dumb” when the baronet fussed about being left behind. Mr. Horace and Murray knew the drill; that is why he had brought them from Cornwall; Thornhill could trust them.
The Averettes, Cashémere Aldridge, and Miss Grace Nelson joined Fowler, the Duchess,Velvet Aldridge, and Gabriel Crowden. The duke ushered them to their assigned seating after they were announced very royally. To ready them to play their parts in the farce he had concocted, James Kerrington positioned Aidan Kimbolt, Carter Lowery, Marcus Wellston, and John Swenton about the room.
“Are you prepared?” James whispered as he handed his card to the waiting footman.
Ella’s voice shook. “Not at all.”
“Let us think of this as our first public acknowledgment of our nuptials. I placed a notice today in the Times.You are my wife and countess, and I want the world to know of our love.”
“It is more than a public celebration,” she insisted.
“It is what we wish it to be, Ella, and I wish it to be a declaration of our joining. I shall introduce you to our future king as my wife. As a countess, you hold great sway in this country.” James placed her hand on his arm.
Ella looked chagrined when she said, “I apologize, James. Of course, our first appearance as a married couple should be my focus. You have given me the protection of your name and have done everything possible to wipe away my sins. I can never thank you enough.”
“I have no use for your gratitude, Ella. We are partners in life, and we will see this through together.”
Before she could answer, the captain of the guard announced, “Viscount and Viscountess Worthing,” Almost immediately, well-wishers surrounded them, allowing them to relate the story of his father’s illness leading to their rushed marriage. “Yes, Lord Linworth attended the ceremony,” she told one group of acquaintances, as James assured three elderly gentlemen, “We had planned to wait until the end of the Season, but the Earl insisted that we lay the groundwork for my eventual assumption of the title.” Most of the ton felt very smug, having recognized Lord Worthing’s interest in Eleanor Fowler and her preference for him over the lowly Sir Louis Levering. Ella heard Lady Lucas tell the Dowager Lady Martindale as they returned to their table, “I told you repeatedly Fowler would never tolerate his sister’s alliance with a baronet when a future earl waited in the wings.”
Finally, they made it to Fowler’s table. “Phase one is complete,” Crowden muttered as Worthing seated Ella next to his friend.
“Now, we just must wait for the baronet to fall into the trap,” James whispered to his friend, but he shot a worried look at his new wife.
“What do you mean the Duke is not here?” A red-faced Louis Levering looked up into the wrinkled chin of Fowler’s butler, Mr. Rogard Horace—the man’s upper-servant face made of pure granite. The Realm had scripted the baronet’s reaction.
“His Grace waited until a quarter past the hour, but he felt he could not keep the Prince waiting longer.”
“But His Grace specifically sent word that we were to leave at nine.”
Mr. Horace kept the smirk from his lips. “I cannot say, Sir. Let me ask Murray.” With a flick of his wrist, Mr. Horace summoned the footman forward. “What message did you leave at Sir Louis’s residence today?”
“Sir Louis was not available so I told his landlady what His Grace had instructed me to say. I told her to inform the baronet that His Grace would leave Briar House at eight so his party might be seated at Carlton House before nine.”
Levering cursed under his breath. “Now what am I to do?”
“Shall I hail a hack, Sir?” Mr. Horace followed Fowler’s orders exactly.
“A man cannot arrive at the Prince’s residence in a hired hack!” Levering’s face turned a deeper shade of red.
“I suppose not, Sir, but if you do not mind my saying so, it would seem a larger offense, if invited, not to appear at Prince George’s gathering. One could always dismiss the hack a few blocks away and arrive on foot.”
Levering jammed his beaver on his head. “Then order the hack immediately, Man.”
Mr. Horace kept a hired carriage already waiting just down the street, having paid the driver well to refuse other fares. Within a minute, the coach pulled up before the residence; Mr. Horace held the door for the baronet, and Levering was on his way to what he thought would be a renewal of his scheme.
Right before Mr. Horace closed the coach’s door, Levering asked, “Was Lady Eleanor part of His Grace’s party?”
“I did not personally see His Grace’s sister, as I was in another part of the house when the Duke departed, but I am of the understanding Lady Eleanor will attend.” As the carriage rolled away, Levering touched the diary he brought as insurance to Ella’s behavior. A smile played across his face as the nighttime shadows swallowed him in their grasp.
CHAPTER 16
LEVERING DISMISSED THE HACK two blocks from his destination, but a very damp misty rain greeted his steps for those two streets.When he entered the hall, the first person he saw was Aidan Kimbolt, whom Worthing had posted by the door as part of his plan. “What are you doing here?” Sir Louis barked as he wiped his face with a cloth provided by one of the servants. “Checking on me?”
“Of course not.” Kimbolt smiled deceivingly, taking in Levering’s disheveled appearance. He wondered if the Captain had ordered the rain as well. “I am escorting the daughter of a viscount who is new in town—just arrived from Scotland. By the way, Thornhill appeared some time ago; I thought you had backed out.”
“A mixup on times,” Levering grumbled. “Is Lady Eleanor here?”
“She is.”
“Good! I am tired of her games!”
The viscount leaned casually against a doorframe. “Prinny is making his way about the room, greeting his guests. If you hurry, you can be at Thornhill’s table when the Prince speaks to them. It would go a long way toward solidifying your claim on the lady if the Prince believes her to be yours.”
Levering straightened his waistcoat and jacket. “The chit will have no choice.” He tapped his inside jacket pocket to feel the security of the diary under the lining.
“By the way,Worthing is here also.”
“He had better stay away from Eleanor.” Levering strode to the door and handed his card to the captain of the guard to announce. From his vantage point at the top of the stairs, he could see the Thornhill party bowing to the Prince. “Just in time,” he muttered as the servant called out,“Sir Louis Levering of Huntingborne Abbey.”
“Levering is approaching the building,” Worthing whispered to Bran and Crowden. “I am stepping away from the table. Support Ella as best you can.”
James kissed Ella’s hand and whispered, “Keep your chin up.You are a Viscountess—a Duke’s daughter and the wife of a future Earl. That means something in England. You are above this.” Ella nodded, but she did not look at him.“Crowden is beside you, and I will be less than ten feet away.” He paused before adding, “I love you.”
Her head turned to him. In a plaintive voice she added, “I love you, James Kerrington.”
Indulgently, he smiled at h
er, recognizing her anxiety before he walked away to talk to Marcus Wellston. He knew that what he planned would not sit well with his new wife, but it was for the best—the way to be rid of Levering forever.
Prinny’s entourage appeared before the table, and Thornhill’s party rose to their feet to bow low to their country’s future king. A rippling murmur of “Your Highness” filled the area.
“Your Grace,” Prince George acknowledged Bran. “I am pleased to see Thornhill now attending our simple gatherings.” Prinny gestured with a heavily ringed hand to the settings for nearly two hundred attendees.
“We are honored by your continued acknowledgment, Your Majesty.”
“I am told you served us well in the East.” Prinny looked carefully at the others about the table, lingering over the females in the group.
“Thank you,Your Highness.”
“Might you make the introductions, Fowler?”
“With pleasure,Your Majesty.”The duke turned to the others in his group. “I am sure you are familiar with my aunt the Dowager Duchess of Norfield.”
“Your Grace.” Prinny kissed the back of Agatha’s hand.
“Gabriel Crowden, the Marquis of Godown.”
“Ah, another of Shepherd’s sheep.”
Crowden bowed again. “Yes,Your Highness.”
“My cousins, Viscount and Lady Averette, and their niece Miss Velvet Aldridge, as well as Miss Grace Nelson.”
Prinny inclined his head toward all of them and took a full canvass of each of the young ladies.
“And my sister,Your Majesty, Lady…”
Before Bran could finish, the Prince interrupted, “Lady Fowler.” He bowed over her hand. “Queen Charlotte was quite taken with you.”
Ella curtsied. “Thank you,Your Highness, for remembering, but it is now Lady Worthing.”
“Lady Worthing?” An amused eyebrow rose. “And when did you become Lady Worthing?”
“Just last week,Your Highness.”
Bran picked up the conversation. “My sister and Viscount Worthing had expressed their affections for some time, but I stubbornly refused because I felt Lady Worthing had been denied Society during my father’s long illness. I asked them to wait until she had experienced a Season, but the Earl of Linworth took a turn for the worse. He was anxious to see his son well settled, and as we had no real objections to the connection, I reluctantly agreed to a private ceremony at Linton Park, where the Earl might witness the marriage himself.”
“Very compassionate of you, Thornhill.” Prinny leaned in to speak privately to Ella. “I had considered asking you to walk with me about the room, Lady Worthing, but you are too new a Viscountess to be interested in the attentions of even a prince.”
Ella blushed to think the Prince Regent found her attractive. “I am honored,Your Highness, but you understand the early affections of marriage.”
Prinny opened his mouth to respond, but Louis Levering appeared from nowhere and caught Ella’s arm sharply in his grasp. “Your Highness,” he bowed to Prinny, “I am Sir Louis Levering of Huntingborne Abbey, Lady Eleanor’s betrothed.” Everyone in the vicinity of Fowler’s table gasped, aware of Levering’s audacity in speaking to the Prince without being spoken to first, and in his manhandling of Eleanor Fowler Kerrington.
Prinny rarely stuttered in surprise, but today was the exception. “Lady…Lady Eleanor’s betrothed?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Levering, not understanding the break in propriety he offered, puffed up with confidence at being recognized by the Prince.
Instantaneously, Worthing materialized. He caught Levering’s hand, the one he used to hold Ella, and bent it backwards, causing Sir Louis obvious pain. James knew that Levering had abused Ella in a similar manner, and he could not help but return the favor. “You will never touch my wife, Sir!” James menacingly declared. “No one, including our most Royal Highness, would dare deny me satisfaction, Sir Louis.”
Fowler pushed forward, as did Crowden. “I will be your second, Worthing.”
“Your husband?” Levering ignored the clear invitation to a duel issued by Worthing. “How can that be, Eleanor? You are betrothed to me.”
James purposely shoved Levering into Crowden so the marquis could deliver a perfectly disguised punch to the baronet’s kidneys.
Worthing’s arm came around Ella’s waist, pulling her out of Levering’s reach and giving her the confidence to confront the baronet. “I never gave you permission, Sir Louis, to use my familiar name,” Ella retorted as she sought her husband’s protection.
Totally out of his element and too angry to think straight, Levering blurted out, “I need no permission to use your familiar name, Eleanor. I have been more familiar than that with you.” Another gasp reverberated throughout the room. Ella buried her face in James’s shoulder, ashamed of what everyone had heard.
“Sir Louis,” Prinny’s amused voice caught everyone’s attention. “I do not believe this is the time to make such charges.”
“But, Your Highness, you do not understand—they…” He pointed to the members of Fowler’s party. “They have thought themselves above a baronet. Ask them if you do not believe me. I escorted Lady Eleanor about town on more than one occasion with the understanding that she would be mine at the Season’s end.”
Thornhill placed himself beside Levering, while Crowden remained behind the baronet. Bran answered Levering’s accusation. “Sir Louis,Your Highness, is our nearest neighbor to Thorn Hall in Kent, and while I was away in the East, my family held an acquaintance with him before our trip to London, although it is my understanding it had been several years since they last saw him.When we first arrived in our nation’s capital, my sister had a riding accident in Hyde Park, and Sir Louis happened to be there and came to her aid. Those two factors allowed me to give permission to Eleanor to ride out with the baronet, but there was never anything beyond neighborly gratitude on my sister’s part. Lord Worthing engaged her heart long before we took residence in London.”
“Then why did you allow Lady Eleanor to travel to Nottingham with me?”
Ella sobbed into James’s shirt, and Velvet moved to shield her cousin from the prying eyes of the ton.
“My sister, Sir Louis, never traveled anywhere with you,” the duke’s voice boomed out. “What craziness is this? You are a madman!”
“A madman?” Levering sputtered. “We will see about that. Ask him!” Sir Louis pointed to Kimbolt, who lurked along the perimeter of the gathering crowd. Cashé held his arm, and Carter Lowery made part of their trio. Prinny motioned the viscount forward. “Tell him, Collins.”
Kimbolt bowed respectfully to the group. “Your Highness.”
“It seems Sir Louis believes you might corroborate his story. Is there a reason Levering calls you Collins?” Prinny evidently thought this the best party he had thrown in a long time, for he gestured several of his party forward so they might hear better.
“That is his name,” Levering declared. “Allister Collins. He was in Nottingham with Lady Eleanor and me. In fact, I gave her to him for the evening.”
By now, the dining room rang with silence. Except for Ella’s sobs and Levering’s labored breathing, everyone else waited for what the baronet might say next.
The viscount did his best thespian imitation, looking concerned for Levering’s sanity and empathetic for Lady Eleanor. “Your Majesty, as I am not Allister Collins, I have no idea of what this gentleman means by his rantings. I am sure you are aware,Your Highness, that I am an associate of Thornhill, Crowden, and Worthing. In fact, this evening I entertained Fowler’s other cousin, another Miss Aldridge.” He motioned for Cashé to join him. “Your Highness, may I present Viscount Averette’s niece, Miss Cashémere Aldridge of Edinburgh.”
“Miss Aldridge.” Prinny’s acknowledged the newcomer with an eye for her beauty.
Levering could have simply left in embarrassment at this point, but he heard the ton tittering behind him, and in a panic, he plowed ahead, trying to save his tat
tered credibility. The question of flight played through his mind.Within his bosom the thoughts rang true, but he did not flee. A quick glance at Velvet Aldridge confirmed the identity of her sister, and an echo of what the man he had known as Collins had said, I am escorting the daughter of a viscount…just arrived from Scotland, echoed through his mind. “Then if you are not Allister Collins, what is your name, Sir?” Sir Louis demanded.
“I am Aidan Kimbolt, Viscount Lexford of Cheshire, as if it is any of your concern, Sir.”
“And I guess,” Levering now pointed to Carter Lowery, “he is not your man of business!”
Lowery joined the group. “Your Highness, I am Carter Lowery, Baron Blakehell’s son. I work in the Home Office, but I am no solicitor by profession.”
Levering turned on Fowler again. “Are you going to claim your sister never removed herself from London, Thornhill? She ran off from me in Nottingham and has been hiding ever since.”
The Duke used his best condescending tone when he responded. “Each time you called at Briar House, I explained that my sister took a holiday to the Lake District. I simply did not tell you that she traveled to Derbyshire to meet Lord Worthing’s family when the Earl’s health demanded it. It was none of your concern, Sir.”
“You allowed a duke’s sister to travel alone?” Levering charged.
“Besides her maid, Eleanor spent time with Miss Nelson.”
“There is no Miss Nelson!” Lever ing’s voice resonated in the room.
Ella flinched, but James wanted her to stand up to the man. While her brother argued with Sir Louis, he surreptitiously bent his head to speak to her ear. “Listen, Ella, to what is happening. No one believes him.You are my Countess. Be the aristocrat. Do not give Levering domain over you the way you did your father. Take back your life.”
For a few brief seconds, she did not respond, then Ella’s shoulders stiffened, and she raised her head at last. “I believe,Your Highness, that my brother has introduced you to Miss Nelson.” Her voice trembled, but Ella raised her chin in defiance.
The Scandal of Lady Eleanor Page 30