0062412949 (R)

DEDICATION

For my mother. Whose spirit of selfless caregiving inspired the theme of this book. And who knew I was a writer before I did.

CONTENTS

1. Dedication
   
2. Chapter One
   
3. Chapter Two
   
4. Chapter Three
   
5. Chapter Four
   
6. Chapter Five
   
7. Chapter Six
   
8. Chapter Seven
   
9. Chapter Eight
   
10. Chapter Nine
    
11. Chapter Ten
    
12. Chapter Eleven
    
13. Chapter Twelve
    
14. Chapter Thirteen
    
15. Chapter Fourteen
    
16. Chapter Fifteen
    
17. Chapter Sixteen
    
18. Chapter Seventeen
    
19. Chapter Eighteen
    
20. Chapter Nineteen
    
21. Chapter Twenty
    
22. Chapter Twenty-One
    
23. Chapter Twenty-Two
    
24. Chapter Twenty-Three
    
25. Chapter Twenty-Four
    
26. Chapter Twenty-Five
    
27. Chapter Twenty-Six
    
28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
    
29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
    
30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
    
31. Chapter Thirty
    
32. Chapter Thirty-One
    
33. Chapter Thirty-Two
    
34. Chapter Thirty-Three
    
35. Chapter Thirty-Four
    
36. Chapter Thirty-Five
    
37. Chapter Thirty-Six
    
38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
    
39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
    
40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
    
41. Chapter Forty
    
42. Epilogue
    
43. Acknowledgments
    
44. An Excerpt from
    The Viscount and the Virgin
    
45. About the Author
    
46. Copyright
    
47. About the Publisher
    

CHAPTER ONE

No. 21 Henrietta Place
Mayfair, London, England
May 1809

N
othing of record ever happened in Henrietta Place.

Carriages did not collide. Servants did not quarrel in the mews. No one among the street’s jowly widowers remarried harlot second wives. No one tolerated stray dogs.

Families with spirited young boys boarded them in school at the earliest possible age.

A calm sort of orderliness prevailed on the street, gratifying residents and earning high praise from Londoners and country visitors alike. It was a domestic refuge. One of the last such sanctuaries in all of London.

Certainly, the stately townhome mansion at number twenty-one was a sanctuary to Lady Frances Stroud, Marchioness Frinfrock, who had been a proud and attentive resident since her marriage in 1768. With her own eyes, Lady Frinfrock had seen the degradation and disquiet that had become prevalent in so many London streets: noble-born men fraternizing with ballet dancers in The Strand; week-long ramblings in Pall Mall. And the spectacle that was Covent Garden? It wasn’t to be borne.

What a comfort, then, that Lady Frinfrock would always have Henrietta Place, where nothing of record ever happened. Where she could live out her final days in peace and tranquility.

“It looks to be fair for a second day, my lady,” said Miss Breedlowe, the marchioness’s nurse, crossing to the alcove window that overlooked the street.

“A fog will descend by luncheon,” said the marchioness, frowning.

“If it pleases you, we could take a short walk before then,” the nurse said. “To Cavendish Square and back? Spring weather is so unpredictable, we should take advantage of the sun before it disappears again for a month.”

“Cavendish Square is not to be tolerated,” said Lady Frinfrock.

Miss Breedlowe looked at her hands. “Only so far as the corner and back, then?”

“Not I,” said the marchioness, pained.

A sigh of disappointment followed, as it always did. How unhappily accustomed Lady Frinfrock had become to her nurse’s chronic sighing. It was obvious that Miss Breedlowe endeavored to be patient, although, in her ladyship’s view, not nearly patient enough. In return, the marchioness rarely endeavored to be agreeable enough.

And why should a woman of her age and station be prodded through an inane schedule of someone else’s design? To be forced to engage in robust activities intended for no other purpose than to move her bowels? If her inept solicitors felt that her alleged infirmity warranted the nurse-maiding of sullen, sigh-ridden Miss Breedlowe, then so be it. They could cajole her to compensate and house the woman, but they could not force her to abide her. Or to walk to Cavendish Square when she hadn’t the slightest desire to do so.

Miss Breedlowe cleared her throat. “Perhaps tomorrow, then.”

Lady Frinfrock made a dismissive sound. “If you wish to walk to Cavendish Square, Miss Breedlowe, pray, do not let my disinterest detain you.”

The nurse turned from the window and studied her. “I had hoped to discover an activity that we might enjoy together.”

“A vain hope, I fear. I am a solitary soul, as the tyrants at Blinklowe, Dinkle, and Tuft, would comprehend if their service to my estate extended beyond calculating my worth in shillings and pounds and subtracting their yearly portion. Instead they have shackled me to you.”

To her credit, the nurse did not blanch, but she also did not reply. The marchioness looked away. If such frank language could not elicit some measure of honesty from the woman, perhaps it would scare her into not speaking at all. Either would be preferable to her current trickle of disingenuous small talk, not to mention the incessant sighing.

“I dare say your planters are the most beautiful for several blocks, my lady,” Miss Breedlowe said after a moment. “Do you direct your gardener in their care?”

“They are not the loveliest on their own accord, of that you can be sure.”

“How talented you are.”

The marchioness snorted. “You can but see what becomes of a garden when left unattended, even for a week. Just look at the deplorable state of Lord Falcondale’s flower boxes and borders, if you can bear it. Such an eyesore.”

“Oh, yes. The new earl. Which house is it?”

“Number twenty-four. There. Directly across the street. It’s been in his family for an age.” She gently tapped the window with her cane. “His late uncle, the previous Lord Falcondale, paid fastidious attention to the upkeep of those planters. Tulips and ivy mostly, this time of year. Simple flowers, really. No effort to maintain, but perfectly lovely if kept headed and weeded, which he did. Not to mention his staff swept the steps and stoop several times a day, even in the damp. But now his far-flung nephew has inherited, and I fear the entire property will fall into disrepair.”

“Hmmm,” said Miss Breedlowe. “That would be a great shame.”

“Doubtless it seems like a small thing to you, but this sort of irresponsibility can bring about the demise of order and calm in a quiet street like our Henrietta Place. It doesn’t help that number twenty-two,” she gestured again, “next door to Falcondale’s, has been unoccupied and for sale these last five years. The house agents keep it up, but there’s no substitute for the loving care of a devoted owner and staff.”

“Indeed.”

“To make matters worse, the new earl is completely unresponsive to neighborly suggestion. I dispatched Samuel to speak to his gardener, only to be told that the man has let him go, the careless sod.”

“Dismissed his gardener?”

“He sacked the whole lot. I’ve since learned that every servant has been turned out. Now I ask you, how is a house of that size to be maintained without staff?”

“I can only guess, my lady, but do take care. It would not warrant you to become overset.” She ventured small steps toward the marchioness.

“The demise of order and calm.” Lady Frinfrock tsked, waving her away. “The demise of order and calm.”

As if on cue, a carriage, buffed to a sun-sparkling sheen, whipped around the corner, thundering down the cobblestones from the direction of Welbeck Street.

“Who the devil could this be?” the marchioness whispered. She drew so near to the window, her breath fogged the glass. The carriage careened toward them at a breakneck pace, slowing slightly as it neared Lady Frinfrock’s front window. With eyes wide, the marchioness watched it jostle past her house and well beyond the weed-ridden planters of Falcondale’s front door. Only when it reached the unoccupied house at number twenty-two did it lurch to a stop, the coachman yanking the reins as if his life depended on it.

“Such traffic in the street today,” Miss Breedlowe said.

“Nonsense.” Lady Frinfrock pinned her gaze on the carriage. “There is no
traffic
in Henrietta Place. Not on this day or any day. Such recklessness? A conveyance of this size? It’s wholly irregular!”

“Indeed. Perhaps a neighbor is expecting out-of-town guests?”

“No relation to the occupants of this street could afford a vehicle so grand,” she said. “Except, of course, for me. And I have no relatives.”

“Not even the new earl, Lord Falcondale?”

The marchioness harrumphed. “He cannot afford even a gardener.”

The carriage door sprang open, and Lady Frinfrock leaned in.

“Oh, look,” said Miss Breedlowe, cheerful interest in her voice. “It’s a young woman. How beautiful she is. And her gown. And hat. Oh, she’s brought someone with her. A companion. Hmm. Perhaps a servant?” Her voice went a little off, and she crooked her head to the side, studying the two women collecting in the street.

“Is that an
African
?” Lady Frinfrock nearly shouted, planting both gloved palms on the spotless glass of the window.

“I do believe her companion is an aboriginal woman of some sort,” Miss Breedlowe said, her voice croaking, as she moved herself closer to the glass.

“But whatever business could they have in Henrietta Place?”

Miss Breedlowe reached out a hand to steady her. “Do take care, my lady. Perhaps we should return to the comfort of the chairs.”

“I shall not be comfortable in chairs,” said the marchioness, swatting her away. “But has the young woman come alone?” She tapped a bony finger on the glass. “Where is her family? Her husband or parents?”

“Perhaps the men who have accompanied her are her—”

“Servants, clearly,” interrupted the marchioness. “Look, Miss Breedlowe. Trunk after trunk. Crates and baskets. Oh, God. They are conveying it to Cecil Panhearst’s old house. It’s been sealed like a tomb since 1804.”

“So they are. Perhaps you’re to have a second new neighbor.”

“A lone young woman and an
African
?” She placed her hand on the window with no mind to the smudged glass.

“Highly likely, I’d say. It would appear they are . . . Yes, they are unpacking.”

“Well, that cannot be,” Lady Frinfrock declared, shaking her head at the street. “I won’t stand for it. Not without knowing who she may be or where she came from. And why she is accompanied by an African.”

“Oh, do not worry,” Miss Breedlowe said. “The servants will learn her story soon enough. If she has any staff at all, they will talk with the other servants on the street.”

For the first time since the carriage arrived, the marchioness lifted her eyes from the window and turned to stare at the nurse.

“Why, what an excellent idea, Miss Breedlowe.” She raised her cane and jabbed it in the direction of the startled younger woman. “How resourceful you are.
The servants will talk
.” She raised one eyebrow.
“They will learn her story soon enough
.
”

As Miss Breedlowe stared in disbelief, the marchioness scrunched her face and then swung the tip of her cane in the direction of door.

“Oh, no, my lady,” said Miss Breedlowe, backing away. “You cannot mean me.”

“Oh, yes, ’tis exactly what I mean. Finally, a suitable application for your indeterminate hovering and resigned sighs. We shall devise a reason for you to approach her, and you will discover her business in my street. It is our duty as mindful, responsible residents to know.”