Realm 02 - A Touch of Velvet (21 page)

Bran shifted uncomfortably with her closeness. “Velvet, I cannot do this now,” he half protested.

“I thought you did it quite well. When would be a better time than now?” she teased. Since the day he had impulsively kissed her, Velvet’s enticements had become more forward. When he spared her a second thought over the past few days, Bran thought of Velvet’s innocence–of her vulnerability, but then as he skillfully evaded her advances, Bran saw a very different Velvet. He remembered the one who climbed to the top of the pin oak to rescue the stable cat and the one who wielded a play sword as well as any of the local boys, despite being half their size. “It was I,” he had told himself, “who put her on the pedestal. Who only remembered her as the princess in her fairy tales.” Now, he was not certain which Velvet he kissed.

“I should not be participating in these secret moments when more important issues require my attention.” His hand drifted instinctively down her arm. Catching her hand, Bran pulled Velvet to sit beside him.

“May I be of assistance?” She leaned against his shoulder, resting her right arm across his chest.

Bran turned to kiss her forehead. “You do just by being here.”

They sat in companionable silence for several minutes before she snuggled closer. “Bran, you can tell me. I am not a gilded bird in a cage. Please do not attempt to protect me.”

He let out a deep sigh. “I should not. I do not want to worry you.”

“I worry. I worry about you. About Ella. About Thornhill.” She kissed his cheek lightly.

“I always held such dreams of you and Ella. Every night. All the years I was away, I dreamed of you two. Of the three of us together again. Running across the rolling hills. Laughing and dancing and happy at last. Then the night–that night–the night of the fight with my father would break the bubble, and the reality of what all I had lost would shake me to my core. I had hoped when I returned to Thornhill, I could obliterate all the ghosts. Put them to rest. I could bring you and Ella happiness, but I keep making the wrong turns. I brought danger to Kent with my former connections, and I have permitted Eleanor to place herself in danger.”

Velvet sat up suddenly to look at him. “You mean with Levering? I knew Eleanor was in trouble. She could not turn from a man like Viscount Worthing to take up with the likes of Sir Louis. Back at Thornhill, she never liked for anyone to even mention the Leverings as our neighbors, and then she takes up with the man.”

“Eleanor does it for Thornhill; she wishes to protect the estate and me and you.” Regret polished off the words.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

For the next twenty minutes, Bran described everything he knew of Eleanor and Levering. All along he had thought to protect her, but now he told Velvet the truth of what Eleanor had suffered. He shared all his qualms of the soundness of his plan. Only with Velvet could he share the degradation Ella had known. Although they had never spoken of the late duke’s proclivity for seduction, Velvet knew what went on at Thorn Hall.

“Are you certain it has something to do with your father?” she asked.

“It can be nothing else.” With his fingertip, Bran traced a line from her temple to her mouth’s corner.

Velvet turned her head to kiss his palm. “So we wait to hear from Viscount Lexford?”

“By this time tomorrow, Ella will be at the hunting box. If all goes well, Lexford should have her on her way to Kerrington’s estate by night’s end.” He caressed Velvet’s cheek. “I just pray her safe tonight and that I did the right thing by listening to Lexford.”

“His advice seems sound.” She leaned back into him. This time Bran encircled her with his arms; his chin rested on the top of her head. “Ella is strong; she survived the Duke.”

Velvet thought aloud. “May we wait together?” All thoughts of enticement had left them; they needed a different type of comfort.

“I would cherish that opportunity.” Bran tightened his hold. “Remain with me; I need to hold onto the dream.”

Chapter 11

Bran nearly pounced on the servant wearing the Linworth livery when the man appeared in the Briar House foyer. A caged animal, he had paced the halls for four days. Only Velvet had ventured near him; everyone else had given him a full circle. Bran snatched the letter before Mr. Horace had an opportunity to present it on a silver salver. Turning toward his study, he stopped at the blue sitting room’s door and simply nodded at Velvet. She immediately excused herself from a handful of gentlemen callers and followed Bran down the long hallway.

“Is it from Ella?” she asked as she entered the room and closed the door.

Bran already held a letter opener in his hand. “It has Worthing’s insignia in the wax.” He gestured to a nearby settee, indicating he would join her there.

“Thank, God,” she gasped as she collapsed onto the seat. “Worthing has protected her.”

“I pray that is the case.” Bran sat beside her. As he unfolded the multiple pages written in a close hand, he rasped out the first few words before he could steady his nerves.

Fowler,

A miracle occurred at Linworth Park today. A wagon driven by Lexford’s man Lucifer brought me the most precious of cargos. Lady Eleanor and her Hannah reside under my roof, and I should tell you when your sister returns to London, she will do so as my wife. That is my wish, and I will do everything in my power to make it so.

Although I will preface what I will share with the knowledge that you will suffer as have I, this is what I know. Listening to both Lucifer and to Lady Eleanor has ripped my soul to the quick.

Once I secured your sister’s immediate needs of food and shelter, I sought Lucifer for information. Lexford’s man tells me that it was your idea to send Lady Eleanor to me. For that, I am forever in your service. Lucifer described the nature of the party to which Levering escorted your sister. You are aware of those particulars. Lexford is to come here later today, and I will learn many of the details I am currently missing. I will ask him to accompany me to Northamptonshire. I have sent a servant ahead to reserve rooms at the inn in Blisworth. Please meet me there Wednesday evening, as we need to confer on how to resolve the issues haunting Thornhill. If they are available, bring Crowden, Swenton, Lowery, and Wellston. I need the power of the Realm with me now to turn this for our benefit.

“You will go?” Velvet looked cautiously at Bran.

“I would go to the ends of the earth for Worthing. Considering he takes up Eleanor’s cause, how might I refuse?”

Velvet did not argue; she just settled in closer to him as he read on.

The next part is most difficult to record. I have spoken to Lady Eleanor, and she shares the most sorted facts. It is inconceivable that a woman of Eleanor’s ilk might live under such a shadow. As I have expected from the first night I found Lady Eleanor sleepwalking at Thorn Hall, your sister suffered under the late Duke’s hand.

“Viscount Worthing mentioned Ella’s sleepwalking earlier,” Velvet confided. “But I do not understand His Lordship’s words regarding your father.”

“If the viscount mentioned the late Duke,” Bran barely whispered, afraid to say the words, “then Father took advantage of Eleanor.”

“Tell me...it cannot...cannot be,” she stammered.

Bran caught her hand. “Let us discover what His Lordship wishes us to know, with the understanding we will never be the same.” He swallowed his anger and began again.

Lady Eleanor describes what happened in terms of
love
. When Lady Fowler passed, and you argued with your father and left Thorn Hall, Lady Eleanor turned to her only parent for love, and William Fowler responded in the only way he knew how. I shall not dwell on the specifics. You understand without the words. This continued until Lady Eleanor reached fifteen years, and then the late Duke withdrew for over a year. His control became mental games. The late Fowler often asked Eleanor to prove her love for him. That is what I heard when I found Lady Eleanor that first night in the library.

Velvet now had tears running down her cheeks. “Why did I not see it? How could I be so unaware? Poor...poor Ella.”

“I should never have gone away. It is my fault; I should have tolerated my father’s depravity. I could have saved Ella.” Bran’s free hand fisted, but the anger turned inward as he returned to the letter.

Somewhere towards the end of that year of reprieve, your father developed a friendship with Robert and Lillian Levering, Sir Louis’s parents. No one knows how things developed, but, eventually, the duke brought Sir Robert to Lady Eleanor, literally, offering his own daughter to a stranger. When Eleanor objected, Fowler threatened to take Miss Aldridge instead; therefore, your sister submitted.

Velvet gasped, “She did it for me!” Her lip trembled with the words. “Oh, my God! Ella tolerated such depravity to save me. I do not think I could survive the degradation.”

“Eleanor was always the strong one.” Bran slid his arm around Velvet’s shoulders before he began again.

Eventually, Lillian Levering joined her husband and Fowler. Lady Eleanor often served as a way to enflame the others. However, as the Leverings demanded more and more, the Duke put a halt to their coming to Thorn Hall.

The current situation evolved from a diary Lady Levering kept. She thoroughly described their encounters, often mentioning the Duke’s name, as well as Lady Eleanor’s. Sir Louis found the diary and blackmailed your father for several years. I fear, Your Grace, we can now put the question of
3L
in the resolved column.

“3L?” Velvet asked.

“Unusual payments out of the estate expenses. I could not explain them until now.” He returned his attention to the letter.

According to Lady Eleanor, Sir Louis thought himself safe when you did not return to Kent, as the baronet has an alliance with your Cousin Leighton. With your appearance, things changed. Now, Sir Louis threatens to send pages of his mother’s diary anonymously to every
ton
member. Lady Eleanor’s childhood mistakes will be the talk of Society. She swears she will marry Levering rather than to let that happen. Yet, I refuse to permit her such a sacrifice. I will eliminate Levering first.

Sir Louis staged the Hyde Park attack to weasel his way into your good graces. However, none of us truly accepted him, which increased the baronet’s desire for revenge. Now, we must free Lady Eleanor from Levering’s hold. I have some ideas, but I need the Realm’s input to make them work. We will discuss them at The Fish Bowl Wednesday evening. We will need what you have already put in place, as well as Crowden’s personal skills. We must secure Lady Levering’s diary and then find a way to bring down Sir Louis. Unfortunately, we must share some of this information with others. Those who assist us will require a working knowledge of Sir Louis’s perfidy, but as much as possible, I wish to protect your sister.

One thing I will ask Lady Eleanor to do is to write several newsy letters home. I will send a man to the Lake District to mail them. This will assist us in maintaining the ruse for others. Of course, Sir Louis will know the deception, but he can say nothing because Lady Eleanor is supposedly with her friend Miss Nelson. The first of those letters should arrive within the next few days. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to use them effectively.

Until we meet...

J. K.

“I must set things in motion,” Bran rose to return to his desk.

Velvet followed him. “How might I be of assistance? May I go to Northamptonshire with you?”

Bran hesitated, actually considering allowing her to accompany him, but then he knew how the other Realm members might react. They would “guard” their words, and for this, they required a free exchange of ideas. “It is not prudent, my Dear. Although I would cherish your being with me, I require someone I can trust to maintain a countenance in London. What if Sir Louis comes looking for Eleanor? I need you to be that person. Can you do this for me? Can you do it for Ella?”

“Of course, I can. Just tell me what you require of me.”

“Let me send out notes to the others first, and then you and I will discuss the best way to handle the rest of London’s Society, as well as Sir Louis’s eventual return.”

*

Six men sat around a large table in the private dining room of The Fish Bowl Inn. They leisurely ate, comfortable in the knowledge that they knew each other as few men do. They each had carried his “ghosts,” but none of them judged how their friends had come to the Realm. They had accepted the unknown and offered respect and loyalty.

“Do we understand our roles in this charade?” Worthing asked. “We all know what we are doing?”

“I wish you had asked something of me besides feigning friendship with the baronet,” Bran grumbled. “Could I not just beat him to a pulp?”

“As much as I would like to see Sir Louis meet with a
sudden accident,
I want no shadow to remain for Lady Eleanor. Lexford, you have contacted the baronet?”

“I did. My letter told Levering that I expected payment of his debts as soon as I arrived in London. The baronet still owes me a substantial sum, and I will twist the knife until he discloses the diary’s location. I warned the
gentleman
that I would tolerate no defection on his part.” Kimbolt popped another slice of cheese into his mouth.

Worthing nodded his agreement. “Swenton, do you suppose you could buy up some of Levering’s blunt. I will stand you, as I am certain will His Grace. That will assist Lexford in tightening the hold on Levering.”

Bran readily agreed. “Whatever it takes, John. I am good for it. You have the wealth of Thornhill in your efforts.”

“I will see to it right away, Captain. I already have a list of the baronet’s many creditors. It should not take much to convince them to sell me his personal notes.”

Bran took a slow sip of his wine. “Crowden, your skills will come into play as soon as Lexford locates the diary.”

“Do we have any idea where I should begin my search?” Crowden leaned back in his chair.

“Soon.” Lexford acknowledged with a salute of his glass.

“I am looking forward to it,” the Marquis asserted. “London Society bores me; I require some excitement.”

Lowery asked cautiously, “Has Lady Eleanor agreed to this plan?”

Worthing offered a secretive smile. “I have not told her everything. His Grace and I discussed it. To be truly free of Sir Louis, Lady Eleanor must face down the baronet. We will make Levering appear a fool. He will come to the Prince Regent’s party thinking he can reclaim Lady Eleanor only to find her under our protection. No one touches those that the Realm affects. The baronet will say something foolish, and either Fowler or I will call him out. Levering will either run away in shame or die with the dawn.”

“How will Prinny react to a duel?” Crowden mused. “Could that not be dangerous?”

“I am betting that the Prince will take offense at Levering making false claims regarding the daughter and sister of a duke,” Worthing shared. “Prinny takes it personal when those of a lower rank usurp their betters. Lady Eleanor would never consider a mere baronet in Queen Charlotte’s scheme. Propriety must be maintained; and although at times our prince may be slack in his own proprieties, he will see to what is right in this matter.”

They all nodded in the affirmative. Everything finalized, Worthing stood to end the meeting. “I will expect all of you at Linton Park next Friday,” he announced.

Swenton laughed lightly. “And for what purpose would that be, Captain?”

Bran stood also, lazily draping his arm over Kerrington’s shoulder, jostling his friend good-humoredly. “The Captain has decided to take orders from my little sister. A special license from the archbishop means Worthing becomes my brother in life, as well as in arms.”

Although Bran’s tone draped itself about all the well-wishers’ shoulders, the others at the table congratulated Kerrington in earnest. Jabs about Lady Eleanor bringing down a great man took precedence. Finally, Lexford declared, “It is time, Worthing. Lady Eleanor will be the perfect complement to your brashness.”

Worthing’s smile grew by the moment. “Of course, having Fowler for a brother is a detriment.” He purposely shrugged off Bran’s arm. “However, Lady Eleanor makes up for her brother’s shortcomings.”

Swenton came proudly to his feet, and the others followed. Raising his glass he toasted the man they followed into hell. “To the Captain!” he declared.

“To the Captain!” the rest of the men called in unison as they raised their glasses in respect.

“To my brother!” Bran announced. “I can think of no one I would rather have as part of my family.”

Much later, Bran reluctantly answered the door of his room. He had drunk too much last night and was to bed less than two hours, but he staggered to where the sound came. When he released the bolt and cracked the door, a sliver of light assaulted his eyes, and he squeezed them closed.

“Fowler,” Worthing’s voice came from the near darkness of the inn’s passageway. “I am leaving.”

Bran eased his eyes open, letting the light in a little at a time. “Leaving? What time is it?”