Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady

by Diane Gaston

  ‘Oh, Jack!’ Nancy rushed inside and flung herself into his arms, her tears flowing again. He looked over her shoulder at Ariana with a question in his eyes.

  She made a gesture for him to wait.

  ‘Sit down, Nancy.’ He coaxed her over to the chaise-longue.

  ‘I’ll make tea.’ Ariana left them and went into the galley.

  She could hear Nancy’s halting explanation and her brother’s outraged response. Now she had two upset persons on her hands.

  She carried in the tea.

  Jack was pacing. ‘Tranville has interfered enough. It is time I dealt with him.’

  Nancy turned white. ‘Mama will not like it if you quarrel with him.’ Her eyes grew huge. ‘You mustn’t fight a duel!’

  ‘It would serve the man right,’ Jack muttered.

  ‘No!’ Nancy wailed.

  Ariana hastily placed the tray down and sat beside her. ‘Your brother will not fight a duel.’ She stared at Jack. ‘Will you, Jack?’

  He continued to pace. ‘Of course not, but I will deal with him.’

  She pointed to the tea. ‘Let us drink the tea and calm down a little.’

  ‘I want no tea.’ Jack glowered. He headed toward his bedchamber. ‘I need to change my shirt.’

  Nancy blinked away tears. ‘Are you certain my brother will not fight a duel?

  She clasped Nancy’s hand. ‘I am very certain.’

  ‘He dislikes Tranville so.’

  Ariana disliked Tranville, as well, for causing so much unhappiness to these people she cared about.

  Ariana poured her a cup of tea. ‘Here, drink this. It will help you feel better.’

  She took a sip and sighed. ‘I wish I could tell Michael about this. I should so like to talk with him.’

  ‘When will you see him next?’ Ariana asked.

  ‘Dinner tonight, if he comes. But I probably won’t be able to speak with him alone.’

  The mantel clock sounded half past four.

  Jack stepped out of his bedchamber, still tying his neckcloth. He looked at Ariana. ‘Are you not late for the theatre?’

  Nancy looked alarmed. ‘I have made you late!’

  Ariana patted her hand. ‘Actresses are supposed to be late on occasion.’ She made Nancy look at her. ‘Would you like to come with me to watch the rehearsal? It will be a nice diversion.’ She glanced at Jack. ‘You could collect her later or I could send her home in a hackney coach.’

  Jack turned to his sister. ‘Nancy?’

  She nodded, wiping away her tears with her fingers. ‘I could come back in a coach in time for dinner.’ She looked at Jack. ‘Will you tell Mama where I am? I—I’d rather not face her right now. Tell her I will not be late.’

  ‘I will.’ Jack buttoned his coat. ‘Let us leave immediately. I want to catch Tranville if he is still with Mother.’

  Ariana gave Nancy her cloak and wore one of the shawls she had originally brought for the Cleopatra costume. Jack walked them to the Strand to put them in a hack. Luckily one waited nearby.

  He helped Nancy into the coach and turned to Ariana.

  She placed a hand on his cheek. ‘Take care, Jack.’

  He covered her hand with his. ‘That is usually my warning to you about Tranville.’

  Their gazes locked for a moment before he helped her into the carriage. As it drove away, she watched his figure recede in the distance.

  Perhaps Nancy’s prediction of doom had infected her as well, because Ariana could not help but feel her future with Jack had also undergone a dismal change.

  Once the feeling took hold of her, she could not shake it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jack hesitated only until the hackney coach was out of sight before walking with a determined stride to his mother’s door.

  When he entered, Wilson was dressed to go out.

  ‘Mrs Vernon was just sending me to your studio, Mr Vernon.’ The manservant peered behind him. ‘Miss Nancy is not with you?’

  ‘She was with me until a moment ago,’ Jack explained.

  He heard his mother’s voice coming from her bedchamber at the end of the hallway. ‘I am merely concerned, Lionel.’

  ‘Nonsense. She’s run to her brother,’ Tranville answered. ‘Leave her.’

  ‘I merely wish to know for certain.’ His mother emerged from her room and saw him in the hall. She rushed up to him. ‘Jack? Jack? Is Nancy with you?’

  ‘No, Mother. She has gone with Miss Blane to watch her rehearse.’

  ‘She’s gone with Miss Blane?’ Tranville emerged from his mother’s room.

  Good God. Had Tranville taken her to bed while her daughter’s whereabouts were unknown? And she had gone? The two of them were abominable.

  ‘She wished to see the rehearsal.’ Jack looked from one to the other. ‘I see you found something to occupy yourselves in her absence.’

  ‘Jack!’ His mother blushed.

  ‘See here, boy—’ Tranville began.

  Jack held up a hand to silence them. He walked to the drawing-room door. ‘I would speak with you both now.’

  Wilson gave Jack a very fleeting look of approval before turning to his mother. ‘Do you have need of me, ma’am?’

  ‘No, no, Wilson. You may go back to whatever you were doing.’ She followed Jack into the drawing room.

  Tranville walked in after her and closed the door behind him. ‘You have no call to talk to your mother or to me in that tone, boy. In front of a servant, as well.’

  Jack spun on him. ‘Stubble it, Tranville. The servants can hardly be shocked by anything that happens in this house. I came here out of concern for my sister. I demand to know what is going on with this marriage business.’

  ‘It is a wonderful offer,’ his mother said in a weak voice.

  ‘When did you learn of it, Mother?’ Jack asked her.

  She looked as if he’d asked an odd question. ‘Lionel told me of it this morning.’

  ‘Was the settlement arranged when he spoke to you?’ he continued.

  ‘Of course.’ She lifted her chin. ‘Lionel saw to everything.’

  Jack turned to Tranville. ‘You negotiated a marriage settlement for my sister without discussing it with her family first? What gave you that right?’

  Tranville’s eyes flashed. ‘A regard for your family. Is that not sufficient for you?’

  ‘Lord Ullman is a wealthy man,’ his mother interjected.

  ‘That may be so,’ Jack replied to her. ‘And if he is a man of good character and Nancy desires him, I can find no objection. But we know nothing of Ullman. Tranville made these arrangements without a word to you, to Nancy or to me.’

  Tranville took a step towards him. ‘How dare you question me, sir? Ullman is a gentleman. I made the arrangements because I saw a way to help your sister and I seized upon it.’

  ‘Nancy will want for nothing married to him,’ his mother explained. ‘She will have security.’

  Jack ignored Tranville. ‘As I understand it, Mother, you will want for nothing if Nancy marries this gentleman. You will have security.’

  ‘See here,’ barked Tranville. ‘I’ve had enough of this.’

  ‘I will have security?’ his mother repeated. ‘I do not comprehend your meaning.’

  Jack inclined his head toward Tranville. ‘The marriage settlement included an arrangement for Lord Ullman to assume your financial support. Did Tranville neglect to explain that part to you?’

  She turned to Tranville, her eyes wide. ‘Is this true, Lionel?’

  Tranville gave Jack a murderous look, but he spoke to Jack’s mother in a placating tone. ‘Mary, I did not wish to trouble you with such details—’

  ‘My mother is Nancy’s guardian.’ Jack countered. ‘She should have been told all the details, especially the one that so involved her.’

  His mother wrung her hands.

  Tranville clasped her fingers. ‘I thought only of how you dislike dealing with numbers.’

  ‘But I should like
to have known this.’ His mother’s voice was barely audible.

  ‘You could have included me on the numbers,’ Jack countered. ‘As Nancy’s brother, it would be logical for me to deal with the financial part of her marriage settlement.’

  ‘You?’ Tranville laughed. ‘What do you know of such matters?’

  ‘I have lived in the world. I know its costs.’ He had supported himself on his half-pay and his art commissions for almost two years now. ‘And I know my sister.’

  His mother blinked rapidly as she looked up at Tranville. ‘I did not know you wished to be rid of my support, Lionel.’

  He reached for her again, but she stepped back. ‘Mary, my dear girl. I would never renege on my promise to you. I made this request by design. It fulfils my promise. Otherwise I should not have made it.’

  ‘It saves you a great deal of money,’ Jack added in a sarcastic tone.

  Tranville turned on him. ‘That is of no consequence. It is your mother’s reputation I was thinking of.’

  ‘My reputation!’ she cried.

  ‘By having Ullman take over your support, I restore your good name.’ His tone was mollifying.

  She returned a very sceptical look.

  He stepped forwards and stroked her arm, speaking soothingly. ‘You see, no one could perceive anything untoward about your son-in-law paying for your support. In this manner, I erased any obstacle to your daughter’s acceptance in polite society. Or yours. Ullman marrying Nancy and taking over your support removes any taint of impropriety.’ He smiled patiently. ‘Surely you cannot argue with that.’

  Her expression remained wounded. ‘You have not expressed concern about impropriety before this.’

  ‘Indeed, it seemed the least of your concerns,’ Jack inserted.

  Tranville shot him an angry glance, but put an arm around Jack’s mother. ‘My dearest, surely you understand how the situation has changed. I have an obligation, with my title, to marry again—’

  She wrenched free. ‘Marry again?’

  ‘Of course I must marry again.’ He made himself look regretful.

  Jack stepped forwards. ‘You damned hypocrite. You are planning to marry.’

  It seemed clear to Jack now why Tranville had so suddenly dropped his interest in Ariana. He was courting some society miss and keeping his nose clean of mistresses in the meantime. Explaining Jack’s mother’s support to the young lady’s wealthy papa might have created a nasty problem for him. Ullman had come to the rescue.

  Jack shook his head. ‘You took it upon yourself to negotiate with Ullman so you could rid yourself of any further connection with my mother and marry without impediment.’

  Tears welled up in Jack’s mother’s eyes. ‘Is that true?’

  Tranville glared at Jack before focusing back on her. ‘I must marry, Mary. I must keep the title in my family and that means ensuring the heir will be of my blood. I must sire more sons. Do you not see that the war almost took my only one? Edwin’s injury could have cost him his life.’

  Only because Jack and two other soldiers had refrained from killing him in Badajoz.

  ‘I need more sons. You must see that, my dear,’ Tranville pleaded. ‘It is my duty.’

  ‘I’ll hear no more about it.’ She pulled away from him. ‘If—if you will pardon me, I—I must speak with Cook about dinner.’

  Jack frowned as his mother rushed out of the room. It pained him to see her so wounded, but it was long past time she recognised Tranville for the man he was.

  As soon as she was gone, Tranville wheeled on him. ‘That was not well done of you at all.’

  ‘Not well done of me?’ Jack laughed. ‘The responsibility rests on your shoulders, Tranville.’

  Tranville’s eyes bulged. ‘I refuse to apologise for arranging a proposal for your sister that is far better than she deserves. Nor for negotiating a marriage settlement that protects her and your mother.’

  ‘Cut line, Tranville. You do not have my mother’s interests at heart. You embarked on this plan to rid yourself of any ties to a former mistress so some young lady equally as hapless as my sister will think you promise fidelity.’

  ‘You malign me greatly. Do you not remember who I am?’ he shouted in outrage.

  ‘I do indeed know who you are,’ Jack’s voice turned low. ‘You are the man who keeps my mother tied to you, in case you should ever have need of her.’

  ‘You cur!’ Tranville’s face turned red. ‘This is the thanks I get for using my position to help your family. Let me tell you, your sister is damned lucky any man would want to marry her, let alone a peer of the realm.’

  Jack leaned into his face. ‘My sister would do credit to any man. She is a fine person.’

  ‘She is tainted by her mother.’

  Jack’s hand curled into a fist. ‘And, you, sir, are the man who tainted my mother.’

  ‘You ungrateful wretch,’ Tranville shouted. ‘I rescued your mother from poverty.’

  ‘Even if that were true, you could have assisted her without requiring she repay you in bed.’ Jack’s anger filled every pore of his being. He was hard pressed to keep control over his fists. The last time he experienced such anger had been at Badajoz, finding Edwin.

  The emotion sparked the rumble of cannon fire in his ears.

  Spittle dripped down the corner of Tranville’s mouth. ‘It was my money that sent you to school and purchased your commission—’

  Jack ignored the pounding of the guns in his head. ‘Because my mother saved for it—’

  ‘Because I was generous enough that she could afford it.’

  Jack turned away, forcing his mind to stay in the present time. The battle he needed to wage at the moment was with Tranville.

  ‘Do not profess generosity.’ Jack raised his voice above the din in his head. ‘My mother continues to repay you. At your whim.’

  Jack’s mother had left the door ajar and their voices carried far enough for the servants to hear every word. Jack could not care. He was fighting on two fronts, the war in his mind and the one with Tranville.

  Nancy climbed down from the hack and walked up to her door. From the drawing-room window she could hear Jack and Lord Tranville’s raised voices, but she could not hear what they were saying. She cringed, hating angry words, but she must involve herself in this shouting match. It was about her.

  She’d been a coward to run away from her mother and Lord Tranville. A grown woman would see it as her responsibility to deal with them. It was her marriage they were planning, her future. She must act on her own behalf.

  By the time she and Ariana had arrived at Drury Lane Theatre, Nancy had calmed enough to remember that a woman had the right to refuse a proposal. All she need do was say no. She told Ariana she wanted to return home to tell her mother. She knew Jack would support her wishes.

  Nancy hurriedly opened the front door and entered quietly. In the hall, the voices sounded even louder. She froze.

  ‘Do not try to tell me, Tranville,’ she heard Jack say, ‘that Ullman suggested taking over Mother’s support. It was you, thinking of your own plans to marry.’

  Nancy frowned. Lord Tranville was planning to marry? That’s why Lord Ullman would be supporting her mother?

  ‘I have explained enough to you, you insolent puppy!’ Tranville responded. ‘I did this for your mother and your sister, because of my esteem for them both.’

  ‘Drivel,’ Jack shot back. ‘And what happens if my sister refuses Ullman? What then? Do you continue to pay my mother’s support?’

  ‘Your sister would be a fool to refuse his offer,’ Tranville cried, his voice rising to a shrill sound. ‘In fact, you can tell her this. I will cut off your mother’s funds if your sister refuses Ullman.’

  Nancy gasped. Cut off her mother’s funds? What would happen to her mother then? She’d have no money. Worse, her heart would be broken.

  ‘This is how you honour your word to my mother?’ Jack’s voice was scathing.

  ‘As far as I am concer
ned, I fulfil my promise by making this arrangement with Ullman. I’ve ensured her support and that is what I promised her.’

  Lord Tranville was forcing her to marry Ullman. Nancy started backing towards the outside door.

  Jack went on, ‘As far as I am concerned, both my mother and sister are well rid of you. I will support them.’

  ‘You?’ Tranville laughed. ‘We will see about that. I can ruin you with a word—’

  Nancy put her hands over her ears and groped for the doorknob, opening the door enough to slip out. Again outside, she covered her head with the hood of Ariana’s cloak and walked slowly and mournfully to the Strand. Her legs felt as if they were weighted with rocks and her heart felt even heavier. If only she could curl up in a ball in some alleyway. Perhaps she would freeze to death by the morning.

  She lifted her chin. That was ridiculous and childish, and it was time she set aside childish thinking. If nothing else, today was forcing her to grow into a woman and to face the world as it really was.

  Lord Tranville was not the man she’d believed he was her whole life. If he loved her mother, he would not leave her without a penny and marry someone else. He just wanted to bed her mother, that was all.

  Nancy covered her mouth and breathed rapidly against the sick feeling that idea created.

  Tranville used her mother merely for carnal reasons, and Lord Ullman, with all his talk of being lusty, wanted her for the same reason. This was not Romeo and Juliet. One meeting with a person could not create love. Ullman could not possibly love her.

  Neither her mother nor her brother could protect her from her fate. Lord Tranville held the strings and was playing them all like the puppets she’d seen at the fair.

  If she refused Ullman’s proposal now her mother’s heart would be broken, Jack’s career as an artist would be ruined, and they’d all be poor.

  For once in her life it was her responsibility to take care of the family. She must accept Lord Ullman.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt terribly alone. She walked toward Somerset House. At this moment, she was in great need of a friend.

  She wanted to see Michael, to tell him how her life had changed since their carefree walk through Covent Garden that morning. Unlike earlier that afternoon, she was not rushing blindly to Michael’s side. She merely wished him to know what she must do, for if she did not, what would happen to them all?