Nero's Fiddle (36 page)

“I don’t know.” Nessy wiped a tear from her eye. “I wanted a boy, for Gideon.”

Laughter came from the foot of the bed. “God has blessed me with another woman. I shall teach the new mite alongside Bella to ride, shoot, and do military manoeuvres. They will be the equal of any boy, you wait and see.”

Nan smiled at her friend then turned her face to worry her bottom lip. A girl could be more accomplished than a boy, but what did it matter? She could never inherit a title or hold together an estate.

Dusk ticked into night when the noise came from above. The airship blocked out the emerging moon as it hovered over the topiary lawn. Gideon and three of the male staff stood on the dewy grass. A cry of, “Look out below,” was heard before a rope dropped to the ground. The rope was attached to the bottom of a swing, to hold the platform steady as those above lowered a man over the side. Once his feet touched the grass, he undid the harness around his waist and strode toward Gideon.

“Bill,” Gideon said as the two men shook hands. “We did not expect you, but Nessy will be gladdened by your presence.”

“Are they both well?” the older man asked as they entered the house.

“Yes, an easy delivery and a healthy girl. Come, I will take you to her.”

They discussed small matters as they walked to the house and climbed the stairs. The Earl pushed open the bedroom door.

“Bill!” Nessy’s tired demeanour perked at the sight of her former lover.

“I’ll leave you be,” Gideon said as he closed the door and allowed them privacy, knowing these few moments would be all the time Bill could steal to see his daughter.

An hour later, the older man descended the stairs and met Nan and Gideon in the hall.

He stopped in front of them, his hands thrust deep in his pockets. He cleared his throat twice before he could cough out the words troubling him. “I have asked something momentous of Nessy. Something not for myself, but for another who is bereft at this time.”

A frown passed between husband and wife. Before Nan could speak, Bill continued.

“I will leave her to make her decision, but it is most vital she makes it quickly. If things are to be done, we must act before morning and the upmost secrecy must be kept. Send me an aethergraph with her decision.”

Gideon nodded and showed Bill to the waiting airship. He left in full dark, a shadow raising up into the belly of the enormous troop ship. The propellers drowned out the noise of settling birds as the airship turned toward London.

Nan raced up the stairs and found Nessy cradling her daughter and crooning a lullaby, a hand stroked her dark locks.

“What is going on? Bill said he asked something important of you, what was it?” Dread clutched at her heart. She prayed Bill did not want Nessy to leave them, to set her up as his secret paramour under the nose of his new wife.

Tears shone in the other woman’s eyes. “He has given me the chance to save our family.”

Nan perched on the edge of the bed. “Our family does not need saving, dear heart. I don’t understand. What does he want you to do?”

Nessy traced the child’s face with a fingertip, as though memorising every pore and contour. “A family member delivered a child today. It was a long and difficult labour, like your own. The surgeon tried, but failed to save both and the baby did not draw breath. The midwife has advised the mother that she will never bear another, her arms will be as empty as her womb.”

Nan watched Nessy’s constant stroking of the child, face, limbs, hair. Alarm grew in her stomach as she watched the new mother soak up her child. As though she did not expect to see her tomorrow.

“Bill has asked if I would consider giving our daughter to be raised in the dead child’s stead.” A tear slid down her cheek and dropped on to the baby’s swaddling clothes, leaving a dark spot.

Nan grasped her friend’s arm. “No. No. He cannot take your daughter.”

Nessy patted her hand and turned her attention back to her sleeping baby. “She would be loved and raised as the legitimate daughter of a noble couple.”

“She will be loved here, Nessy. No one can care for your child more than us.”

A shake of her head. “The world will only ever see my darling daughter as the bastard child of your companion. What future is there for a common-born girl of unknown parentage?”

Nan kept shaking her head, trying to stop her ears from absorbing Nessy’s words. “She will be raised in the nursery with Bella. You know we would never treat her any differently. You are the sister of my heart and your child is one of our family.”

“Here, yes, but beyond this estate?” Tears fell down Nessy’s face. “And what if anything happens to Gideon? With no heir, you know we will all be out on the street with only our wits to support us. Four women and not a single man to protect us.”

“We are not lacking in wits, my dear, we would survive quite well I’m sure.” Moisture threatened Nan’s vision. “Please don’t do this, Nessy. Not your child. Don’t give up your child.”

Tears coursed down Nessy’s face but an odd calm settled over her. “A woman with no child, ever, can you imagine the depth of her grief and emptiness? Can you imagine your life without the joy Bella brings?”

Nan’s heart broke; Bella was the jewel of her life. Could she have lived without her little girl and a barren body? Nan’s tears fell silently, dropping to her hands where she clutched at Nessy. “You cannot seriously consider this.”

“Bill has made me a promise. There is some benefit to him being a noble after all. He has connections, he has promised to make things right. I have made my mind up, Nan. This is for the best, for my darling girl and for us.”

“No.” Nan sobbed at her friend’s sacrifice and they joined hands over the child, feeling the rise and fall of her tiny chest as she slumbered. Her face at peace, with no inkling of the catastrophic decision about to be made for her future.

“She will live a privileged life and Bella’s future will be safe.” Nessy squeezed Nan’s hand. “Send word to Bill, I will not be swayed.”

Plans were swiftly put into motion. Claudette wrapped the child in a warm blanket. Nessy removed the bracelet from her wrist and tucked it around the child’s neck, the small pendant against her skin. One kiss on her forehead and she passed the sleeping newborn to the midwife.

“You know what to do?” Gideon asked as she cradled the precious bundle to her chest.

“Yes, there is a carriage waiting below for us, with the physician inside. I will deliver her direct into her new mother’s hands.”

“Thank you.” Nessy turned her face to the pillow where tears spilled down her cheeks as the sobs shook her body.

Leicester, Wednesday 12
^th
February, 1862

ara let rip an oath that was a unique blend of cussing she acquired in Texas and a touch of something she learned from Jackson.

“Quite,” Nate commented from by the window. His lips twitched at his wife’s creative invective.

Fun-loving, man-eating Nessy was the queen mum.

“Your child went to the Duchess of Kent.” Cara stared at Nessy, trying to comprehend that her grandmother’s lifelong companion was in fact the queen’s mother. Or more accurately, Queen Victoria was the love child of her grandmother’s common-born friend. If this juicy titbit of gossip hit the newspapers, it would push the American civil war from the front pages as furore erupted across England and Europe. Victoria would be forced to abdicate. If the crown went to Prince George, her cousin, England would become a vassal state of Germany. The British people would rebel before they bowed to another country, which would leave a scramble to find an heir not already occupied ruling another country. The power vacuum could lead to civil war on both sides of the Atlantic.

She blew out a whistle. Perhaps Nolton had been on to something when he tried to wrest the crown for himself. At least he was English and legitimate. Although probably too dead to be of any use now.

Fresh tears shimmered in Nessy’s eyes at the memory of the heart wrenching decision. “Her child did not live and she had no hope of any other. My babe was born at the same time. Bill asked if I would surrender our child, to live in her daughter’s place.”

“And so the conspiracy is revealed,” Fraser threw in from his couch. His pencil scratched over the notebook as he copied down every damning word.

“We never imagined the succession would fall to her. The duke had two older brothers, everyone expected them to father multiple children. We only sought to offer some comfort to a distraught mother.” Nessy sat by Nan, who embraced her friend and wiped away the tears.

Cara let out a long breath; her mind spun and tried to grasp all the random threads and implications. “Nolton said the Duke was not Victoria’s father, and he was right. But he missed out the tiny fact that the duchess wasn’t her mother, either.”

Fraser sorted through the confusion to bring the discussion back on track. “The duchess’ companion must have known and passed knowledge of events to Thomas Dalkeith, somehow. Perhaps a deathbed confession to cleanse her soul before she met her maker?”

“Who else knew, Nan?” Cara asked, wondering how many people had carried the secret and calculating how many corpses they could expect.

“On our side, me, Nessy, Gideon, Bill and Claudette. On the duchess’ side of the deal, her physician, her companion and a maid who was present at the child’s stillbirth.”

“Out of those, only you two are left alive.” Nate pushed off from the window. “We need to find Dalkeith. If he is trying to silence the conspirators, then his attention will turn here next.”

Connor stiffened in his corner, his fingers curled around the arm, his body tensed to intervene if the viscount came too close to the inspector.

Fraser fidgeted in his chair. “We need to do so without alerting him that we know. Otherwise, he may scarper with the artifact.”

Cara knew what she had to do and Nate was not going to be happy with the arrangement. “After my discussion with Bertie last night, I am sure I can elicit an invitation to his private rooms, which will give us an opportunity to locate Dalkeith. We should be able to nab him before he ties up the last few strands of this web.”

Nate’s growl rumbled through Cara’s body but he never made a sound. He wouldn’t voice his dissent with her plan in front of others. “We’ll find out where he is, quietly.”