Jacqueline finally passed a hand over her face. “No, that won’t be necessary. I … Perhaps I was mistaken after all. I was so panicked that it never occurred to me I might have been dreaming. I thought you were only trying to excuse yourself. But if you are quite sure, then I am prepared to accept your explanation. For Cyril’s sake.”
“That is very generous of you,” Nicholas said, his voice dripping with irony. “And does that mean that you are also prepared to accept my wife?”
“Do not push me, Nicholas,” Jacqueline said coldly. “There are certain standards which you might have ignored, but the polite world will not.”
Nicholas looked at her with thinly veiled disgust. “Really? You might be surprised. What is it you cavil at the most? The fact that Georgia was in your employ? Or is it that you believe she has no breeding?”
“I refuse to go into this with you,” Jacqueline said with annoyance. “You may have no judgment as to how to behave, but I have, and I am sure Lady Horsley would agree with me. We have said quite enough. Let us leave it alone, if you please. You cannot want to embarrass your wife any further.”
“You are quite right. I think Georgia has been embarrassed enough. I only wish to set the record straight, for my wife has every bit as much right to be in this room as you have.”
“What do you mean?” Jacqueline said sharply. “Just what do you mean by that?”
“Jacqueline. Can you not see it?” Marguerite said, taking her shoulders none too gently and turning her to face Georgia, whose eyes she’d avoided during the entire conversation.
Georgia met Jacqueline’s eyes evenly enough, but as she did, she thought of what this woman had done to all the people she loved and she felt her insides twist. It was almost impossible for her to believe that another human being was capable of such deliberate cruelty. The thought helped her to steel herself against the enmity in Jacqueline’s eyes.
“What is it I am supposed to see?” Jacqueline said, shrugging off her sister’s hands. “I see my dressmaker, who had the impudence to run off with Raven’s nephew without giving any warning. I see an upstart who has no place here. I see—”
“Our sister Eugenie,” Marguerite interrupted. “You are looking at her daughter. That is what you see, Jacqueline. You see your own niece, Eugenie’s daughter, standing before you. I wonder how that makes you feel.”
“No. I don’t believe it. She’s lying.” Jacqueline sounded almost panicked. “She was in my household long enough to learn all sorts of things about our family! And now she thinks to make herself respectable with this absurd claim? It is ludicrous! I cannot credit that you believe it, Marguerite!”
“Oh, I believe it, Jacqueline. It would be impossible not to. I discovered quite by chance that the woman before you was born in August 1797 and named Georgina Eugenie Cameron. I am sure you are delighted to hear of it.”
“Good God!” Lady Horsley exclaimed with shock, her lorgnette flashing to her eyes as she reexamined Georgia. “Not dear Charles’s daughter? Tell me, child—is this true?”
“It is true. Charles Cameron was my father,” Georgia said, her throat suddenly tight with unexpected tears.
“Oh, my dear … oh, my dear child, I can scarcely believe it! That’s what’s been pricking at me—I knew there was a resemblance! If it isn’t the most extraordinary thing! Charlie’s daughter. Oh, those were tragic times. Near broke my heart, it did, and his parents’ too.”
“It broke my parents’ hearts as well, Lady Horsley,” Marguerite said. “But my father felt he had no choice but to believe the story, given the source. You’ll be happy to know all of it was untrue, as Georgia’s birthdate will confirm. Charles and Eugenie were quite innocent of any wrongdoing.”
“Well, of course they were. Of course they were. Charlie was a good boy. The allegations were ridiculous. Can’t think how these sorts of things get started, although I do seem to remember where this story came from quite well.” Her eyes went straight to Jacqueline, who stiffened but said nothing, pretending complete disinterest.
“Humph,” Lady Horsley said with disgust. “It just goes to show that some people never change. But never mind, it’s all water under the bridge now and can’t be helped. Old Ewan will be overjoyed to know he has a granddaughter at last, and one born on the right side of the blanket. It is a pity Georgina didn’t live to mark this day, for she would have been terribly happy. Goodness, I feel quite like crying, and I haven’t indulged in tears in years. My dear Georgia, allow a sentimental old woman to bestow a kiss upon you, for I find I am truly overwhelmed.”
Georgia, blushing fiercely, but terribly touched, moved over to Lady Horsley and bent down. But it was she who kissed the woman’s wrinkled cheek, and she who wiped the tears from it afterward. “Thank you, Lady Horsley,” she said quietly, her own voice choked with emotion. “Thank you.”
“For what, dear child? For what? It is I who should thank you for reminding me of my dear godson. It was one of the saddest moments of my life when that gentle boy was so maligned, his life destroyed almost before it had begun. And here you are with his eyes, and such a look of your grandmother. No wonder Charlie named you after her. Well, if this isn’t a fine day indeed. So, what say you now, Jacqueline? Are you going to continue to slander your own niece? I believe you called her no better than a harlot, with manners to match?”
Jacqueline’s eyes flickered back and forth between them. “I … I don’t know what to say,” she said, passing her tongue over her lips. “I had no idea. How was I supposed to know? I thought she was something quite different.”
“It is no longer of importance,” Marguerite said. “It is quite clear that Georgia is Charles’s and Eugenie’s daughter. You must be terribly pleased.”
“I … Yes, of course. I am only surprised. Overwhelmed.” It was Jacqueline who now looked ill.
“Yes, I can scarce imagine your emotion,” Nicholas said caustically. “I know how strong Georgia’s emotion was to learn of her relationship to you. And my own, naturally, not to mention your sister’s. You must feel quite bad about having maligned Georgia in such a way, now that you know the truth of the matter. I am certain you have every regret. Haven’t you, Jacqueline?”
“Yes … yes, of course.”
“Yes, naturally you do. It appears you have made a number of errors of judgment. I am delighted to have had them corrected this evening. I have discovered, you see, that it is rather difficult laboring under a cloud of undeserved disgrace, and I certainly did not want my wife to have to undergo the same experience. Ah, well,” he said, turning his back on her, “there’s no point dwelling on the past. If you’ll excuse us, Lady Horsley, I hear the waltz striking up. I think I shall ask my wife for a dance. Jacqueline clearly needs time to recover herself.”
“No … wait,” Jacqueline said, aware of every eye upon them. “I feel I should … Not having known, of course, that you were my niece … Well … It is most awkward, naturally, but I feel J must welcome you to the family, Georgia.” She moved toward her, and Georgia could not help recoiling.
“Thank you, Lady Raven,” she said, dropping a low curtsy, thereby avoiding Jacqueline’s attempt to kiss her cheek, for the gesture went directly over her head.
Lady Horsley snorted with laughter. “Very prettily done, my dear,” she said. “Now, off you go with your husband, but don’t you forget to come back and sit with me later. There is much I wish to discover.” She turned her attention to Jacqueline. “Well, I must say, I have never thought much of you or your tactics, but you’ve gone and made a real hash of it this time. I truly wonder how you think you are going to recover the situation. I doubt very much it will be possible. And I must say, it gives me great satisfaction to see you finally about to receive your just desserts. Believe me, I will do all I can to help it along. If I were you, my dear Lady Raven, I would make myself scarce. There is not a thing left you can say without making yourself appear a bigger fool than you already have.”
Jacqueline took one deep shuddering breath, then spun on her heel and marched off, her head held high.
Lady Horsley nodded. “Very clever,” she said to Marguerite and George. “Very clever indeed. A stroke of genius, in fact. I can hear the lot of you cooking this one up. And I must say, I would love to know the true story, for I do believe Daventry was offering a very sanitized version of events.”
“Nicholas has told the true story to no one save his wife,” Marguerite said. “But you can be sure that he was not the villain of the piece.”
“That much I do believe. There was a look on his face that told me as much. It is a pity he did not defend himself in the first place.”
“Apparently his uncle’s honor meant more to him than his own,” George said. “But I doubt we’ll ever know. Nicholas would have the story he told tonight stand.”
“A wise decision,” Lady Horsley said, pushing herself to her feet with a grunt. “A very wise decision. Now, rejoin your guests, and I’ll start doing my job. I’m going to see to it that Charlie’s daughter is received with every bit of approbation she deserves, and her fine husband along with her, for Daventry has suffered far too long under your sister’s slings and arrows. Oh, this is going to be a very great pleasure indeed.” She stumped off, chuckling to herself, and George exchanged a quiet look of satisfaction with his wife, then took her hand and led her into the crowd that was waiting agog for enlightenment.
“Come here,” Nicholas said, pulling Georgia into his arms and moving her into the waltz. “That was exhausting but quite gratifying. How are you, sweetheart? You managed beautifully.”
“I didn’t do a thing—I just stood there like a sack of flour, Nicholas!”
“I don’t think you in any way resembled a sack of flour. You very wisely held your peace. I am sure the temptation to box Jacqueline’s ears must have been great.”
“Actually, I was concentrating more on staying upright. There is something about die sight of that woman that makes me want to run and hide under a bed.”
“I know the feeling,” Nicholas said with amusement. “I have been pushed to hiding from her myself. But all in all, I think things went quite well. Lady Horsley certainly seemed prepared to believe the story.”
“Nicholas, you were brilliant! Jacqueline did not have a chance against you! I have never before seen you so … so
menacing.
I’ve always thought of you as such a gentle man, but I had been faced with your contained anger tonight, I should have gone flying from the room in terror.”
He grinned down at her. “You told me to emulate Harry, and so I did. I routed the French, did I not?”
“You did, my darling, you did, and without a drop of blood shed. I am very proud of you.”
“I think it went quite well. It was a good plan. Now all we have to do is see how Jacqueline reacts after the fact.”
“And everyone else,” Georgia said, glancing around, then quickly bringing her attention back to the waltz, for she had practiced it for only a week and was not completely sure of herself.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry,” Nicholas said, leading her easily, not the least concerned with her lack of skill. “The biggest obstacle was Lady Horsley, and if you look over toward the door, you will see that she is very busy putting the word in the right ears. What a stroke of luck that she was your father’s godmother. By the by, if I’m correct, your grandmother must have been Georgina Savile, the younger daughter of the Earl of Hargrove and a renowned beauty, so there’s another aristocrat to add to your list. When the dance finishes, we will no doubt be besieged by various interested factions claiming kinship. Enjoy your last few minutes of privacy. I think you have had a grand success without even having to open your mouth. I wonder if you feel blessed or cursed.”
“Only blessed, and that because of you. Nicholas, I think you are very wonderful.”
“Do you, sweetheart?” he said, looking down at her with a tender smile. “You do have a tendency to glorify me, but I must say it feels rather wonderful to have my reputation restored. Well, maybe restored.”
“Absolutely restored.’’
“We’ll see. The
ton
are a fickle lot. Your acceptance is guaranteed. Mine is still slightly questionable. I did manage to frighten the hell out of Jacqueline, though. Did you see the expression on her face when she thought I’d told the entire story to her sister?”
“Oh, yes, and when you brought up Cyril too. That was a fine moment, for I could see she couldn’t tell how much you knew, but she was worried.”
“Witch,” Nicholas said succinctly. “She puts me in mind of Morgause. Her morals are about on a par. But let us forget about Jacqueline for a few minutes, anyway. It seems we’ve thought of nothing else for the last fortnight, and it’s still far from over. I want to concentrate on nothing more complicated than holding you in my arms and relishing the feel of your toes upon mine.”
That remark caused Georgia to burst into laughter. She did not notice in the least the heads that began to turn toward them in fascination as the story started to make its appointed rounds, nor Jacqueline’s flight from the room as she realized the tide had suddenly and irrevocably turned against her.
Cyril watched Nicholas and Georgia through the veranda window, just as he had watched the confrontation with Jacqueline. He had slipped out of the house the first chance he’d had, finding that he was acutely uncomfortable with the people Lord Clarke had made such an effort to introduce him to. He had nothing in common with them. Nothing. He probably never would. He far preferred being alone in the dark.
He sighed and leaned back against the wall, something inside of him sad and heavy. He wasn’t sure what it was, although he knew it was all tied up with the stain on his soul. It almost hurt sometimes to see the happiness that Nicholas had found with Georgia. It wasn’t that he begrudged Nicholas his happiness, for if anyone deserved it, Nicholas did. It was just that he knew it was something that he would never have himself.
He often thought about killing himself, but that would probably only compound his sins. Not that he thought God even existed: he hadn’t believed in God for some time now. What it really came down to was that he was far too much of a coward. But there were times such as now when he didn’t know what to do with the terrible, bleak melancholy that ate away at him like a great weeping canker in his soul.