position in Society is unassailable."
Outraged, Victoria stared at him.
Have
you lost your senses? Do you honestly
believe I will allow Jessica Atherton to
assist us in this manner? Not in a million
years. / will not be indebted to that woman
again."
There was a beat of silence from Lucas's
end of the table.
Again?" he echoed at
last.
Are you by any chance implying you
already feel indebted to her for having
performed the introduction that led to our
marriage?"
Don't you dare tease me, Lucas. I am
not at all in a mood to be teased. This is
awful. What on earth shall I say to Aunt
Cleo? How will we get out of this?"
My advice," he said as he rose to his
feet,
is that we do not try. Your aunt is
quite right. It would be a wise move to
make an appearance in the ballroom of
a hostess such as Jessica Atherton before
the Season is over. It would set the seal of
approval on your marriage as far as Society
is concerned."
Victoria could not believe her ears.
Never. I absolutely refuse. This is one
issue on which neither you nor my aunt
can make me change my mind. I have had
more than enough of Jessica Atherton and
her generous, kind assistance. I do not care
if I never see the woman again as long as
I live. I will not go to London if it means
having to attend a ball in our honor given
by her. It is unthinkable."
Lucas walked to her chair, leaned down,
and kissed the top of her curls.
My dear,
you are overreacting. The whole notion of
letting Jessica give us a reception seems
quite reasonable to me."
It is the most unreasonable thing I have
ever heard."
We will discuss it later when you've had
a chance to calm down. Now I must be
off. The vicar is due to arrive shortly."
I will not be budged on this, Lucas. I
warn you." She glared at his back as he
exited the breakfast room, and then, when
she had finished fuming, Victoria reached
for the third and last letter. She examined
it curiously but failed to recognize either
the handwriting or the seal.
Impatiently she opened it. A pamphlet,
a newspaper clipping, and a short note
fell out of the envelope. The note was
unsigned and it was extremely brief.
Madam: Given your interest in matters
of intellectual inquiry, the enclosed
should intrigue you greatly. It appears
the dead do not always remain so.
The note was signed with a single initial:
a
W."
With a sense of dawning dread, Victoria
picked up the pamphlet and read the title:
On Certain Curious Investigations into the
Matter of Using Electricity to Reanimate
the Dead."
The newspaper article was a detailed
account of how a coffin which had
recently been exhumed had been opened
and found to be empty. The theft of
the deceased was presumed to be the
work of a ring of body snatchers who
were in the business of supplying the
medical schools with corpses. There was,
however, some speculation that a certain
group of experimenters had purchased the
body for their experiments with electricity.
The authorities were concerned.
For the first time in her life that she could
remember, Victoria felt faint. She nodded
sharply to the footman to indicate she
wanted more coffee and watched numbly
as he poured it into her cup. The dark
brew seemed to fall from spout to cup in
slow motion.
Very carefully, because she did not quite
trust the steadiness of her fingers, she
picked up the delicate china teacup and
swallowed most of the contents in one
gulp. The light-headed sensation passed.
When she thought she could manage
the act without collapsing, Victoria got to
her feet, collected the envellopes and their
contents, and went upstairs to her room.
Lucas was aware of being in an excellent
mood as he made his way across the hall
and into the library. He looked about him
with satisfaction.
stone vale was a far different place than
it had been when he had inherited it.
Fine woodwork gleamed once more under
new layers of polish. Faded draperies
had been repaired or replaced. The old
carpets had been cleaned to reveal their
subtle, beautiful patterns, and the windows
sparkled in the morning sun.
The house was fully staffed now and
the domestic routines were already well
established. The footmen wore their new
livery with obvious pride and the food
served at table was fresh and properly
prepared.
Through the library window Lucas
could see the progress the gardeners
were making under Victoria's direction.
The small conservatory she had ordered
would soon be finished. Several trays of
unusual plants were on their way from
London.
Lucas knew that all the progress that
had been made in and around the house
itself was the direct result of Victoria's time
and attention. Her money alone would
not have achieved the miracle of turning
stone vale into a home. That feat required
a woman's touch.
She had brought something infinitely
more valuable than her inheritance to
this marriage, Lucas acknowledged. She
had brought herself with all her natural
enthusiasm, intelligence, and generous
nature. The staff and tenants adored
her. The villagers were proud that she
found their shops worth her patronage. The
fact that the tradesmen's bills were always
paid promptly did not go unnoticed, either.
The quality of merchandise available in the
village was already markedly improved.
He had chosen well, Lucas told himself
as he studied the garden through the
window. He had almost everything he
could want in a wife, an intelligent lady
for his days and a passionate creature of
fire and spirit to warm his bed at night.
What more could any man ask?
But the raw fact of the matter was
that he was oddly unsatisfied. He had
discovered of late that there were a few
other things he wanted from Victoria.
He found himself longing for the sweet,
tremulous words of love she had withheld
from him since the day of their marriage
and he wanted her full and complete
trust.
He probably did not deserve either her
love or her trust, but lately he had come
to realize he would not be able to rest
until he had both. He did not care for
her businesslike approach to her fate. This
marriage was not just another financial
investment for her, by God. He would
not allow her to go on treating it that
way much longer.
He glanced at the painting of Strelitzia
reginae that he'd brought downstairs earlier
and propped on his desk. Every time he
looked at it he remembered Victoria's
glowing expression that night at the inn.
/ think I have fallen in love with you,
Lucas.
The door of the library opened just
as Lucas was adjusting the position of
the painting so that it would be visible
from the chair on the opposite side of
the desk. Reverend Worth was ushered
into the room. He beamed at his host
and brandished a magazine.
Latest issue
of Agricultural Review," he announced.
Thought you might like to see it."
Very much. Thank you, sir. Please sit
down."
My, there will certainly be a lovely
prospect from these windows when Lady
stone vale finishes with the gardens." The
vicar peered out at the ongoing work as
he took one of the mahogany armchairs.
Your wife is a fine woman, sir, if you
don't mind my saying so. A man could
not ask for a better helpmate."
I was just thinking something along
those lines myself."
You realize, of course, that in the village
they've started calling her their Amber
Lady on a regular basis?"
Lucas grinned.
I won't worry until
the tenants start calling me their Amber
Knight.
I would not want them to think
their landlord is a ghost. They might get
the notion they can delay the payment of
their rents until the afterlife."
Rest assured," the vicar told him with a
chuckle, that they view you as altogether
real and quite solid. Definitely not a ghost.
You are a natural leader, stone vale, as I'm
sure you're well aware. And leadership is
precisely what this land and the people
on it have needed for some time. Which
reminds me."
Yes?"
The vicar arched his brows knowingly.
Word in the village has it the Amber
Knight and his lady were running about
again late last night."
Is that so?"
Seems a certain lad of the village
reported seeing them. Personally
I questioned what this particular lad was doing
out at midnight himself, although I believe
I can hazard a guess. In any event,
apparently his meeting with the knight
and the lady changed the lad's mind about
pursuing an extremely dangerous career as
a highwayman. The boy has chosen to go
to work in your stables, instead."
A much safer, if less exciting job."
Yes, indeed." The vicar smiled.
The lad
is basically a good boy, and as he has the
responsibility of caring for his mother and
sister, I am particularly pleased that the
knight did not deem it his duty to see
the young man shot down on the road or
hung."
Lucas shrugged.
Perhaps the knight has
already seen far too many young men die
senseless deaths. I imagine even a ghost