Love's Justice (Entangled Scandalous) (17 page)

Chapter Forty

Mrs. McCreery opened the door for Victoria and her father as they returned from the solicitor’s office. “You have visitors, miss. The Earl Percy and the countess are here.”

Victoria didn’t wait to remove her cloak but rushed ahead while her father removed his overcoat.

“How good to see you both. We have just been to see my solicitor.” She would have liked to add more, but her father entered the room behind her.

“Father, this is Lord Percy and his wife, the countess. This is my father, Mr. Westwood.”

Her father extended his hand to Henry, nodding to Edith. “If you are friends with my daughter, you are friends with me as well.”

“Please, sit. Everyone.” Victoria handed her cloak to Mrs. McCreery, who hovered near the parlor door. “Please have tea brought, Mrs. McCreery.”

“Yes, miss.”

“Welcome back to England, sir,” Henry said. “We hope your stay will be a bit longer this time. Victoria has made many friends in London, and I’m sure she would like to introduce you to them.” This statement led to a subtle but sharp elbow jab from his wife.

“I would hope, Mr. Westwood, you sympathize with your daughter’s plight in the lawsuit.” Edith was not at all subtle in her straightforward question.

“I sympathize and take much of the blame. I went to see Lord Stanford yesterday. The man and his rooms were disgustingly filthy. He had a whore with him in the middle of the day. Today, my own solicitor warned me he had an unsavory reputation. I deeply regret I didn’t vet the man properly the first time. But saying that, I must also add I regret the whole of it. I should never have tried to force my daughter into such an arrangement. I love Victoria, but I showed it in a most inappropriate way.”

Mrs. McCreery reappeared. “Your tea, miss.”

The tension in the room disappeared. Henry engaged her father in a business concerns while Edith and Victoria enjoyed light conversation.

Henry rose when they had finished the tea. “Well, we should be on our way. I would like you and Victoria to join us for New Year’s Eve. We are having a few friends over. I’m sure my father would be delighted to meet you, sir.”

“If my daughter has no other plans”—he looked over to Victoria, who nodded her acceptance—“we would be more than happy to join you.”

“Then we will see you tomorrow at eight.”

…

Victoria moved aimlessly from room to room in the Percys’ home. She couldn’t relax. The Percys’ New Year’s Eve party was lovely. Her father seemed more amenable than he had been for some time. But with the trial looming over them, it was hard to celebrate, and Victoria had one other fear. She doubted Henry and Edith would put her in the awkward position of running into Hugh, but she remained skittish just the same.

“Victoria, do sit down. You are upsetting me as well as yourself.” Edith had positioned herself on a satin brocade sofa in the middle of it all.

Victoria sat beside her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone would notice.”

“We are all concerned about you. You will worry yourself to the bone. It will all be over soon. Certainly, your father supporting your position is a wonderful thing. Henry and I feared the worst.”

“I only wish he had seen reason sooner. All of this would not have happened.”

“You’re right, of course.” A sad smile offered her condolences. “Henry spoke to him, you know.” Edith judiciously did not name Hugh.

“Perhaps he should have left it as it is.” Victoria’s voice cracked with emotion.

“Don’t say that, my dear. Please, things will turn out. You’ll see.” Edith looked around the sofa for something. “I think I’ve left my shawl in the library. Would you mind fetching it for me? I hate to impose, but I’m quite exhausted tonight with all the celebrations this week.”

“Of course I’ll get it for you.”

“There’s no hurry to rush back. I believe Henry had a fire started in there so it should be quite cozy.”

Victoria rose and wandered off toward the library. She stood in the doorway. A fire crackled in the fireplace. How kind of Edith to give her a moment’s respite from the partygoers.

There was little light except from the fireplace. She walked slowly into the room, Edith’s shawl momentarily forgotten. She went to the fire, soaking up the heat it offered and inhaling its reassuring scent. Her will was floundering. She had always been strong. She still could be, she told herself. It would only be a week or so, and then she would be free of this onerous burden. She could flee London and return with her father to New York. She cared little about her own reputation.

She questioned her own single-minded stubbornness and inability to compromise. Headstrong and perhaps a bit arrogant, she had always barged ahead regardless of others.

It wasn’t just his fault that he had chosen to distance himself. Somewhere deep inside she knew that.

For the first time, she allowed herself to cry. The tears seared her skin. She wept at the loss of innocence. Not her virginity. She had lost something even more important. She had lost the false pride that allowed her to think she, and she alone, knew the truth and she alone was left to battle the injustices of the world. It was an arrogance, perhaps of the worst kind. She was not the only one who sought fairness in the world. Hugh had made her realize this. He was as committed to justice as she. And there were many others. She could no longer believe herself more dedicated than them.

A sob escaped, shaking her shoulders and sending a chill through her.

The light behind her from the hall slowly faded. The door to the room closed, and she turned around.

She let out a sound. Half gasp, half cry.

“I was wrong. I was frightened. Frightened by my feelings for you that overrode all my good judgment. I am not a callous man. I should never have written what I did. It was a coward’s way out. You deserve better. I had to explain and beg your forgiveness. I had to see you. I don’t care what the risk. I fear losing you more than anything else in this world.”

She rushed forward into his arms. Burying her head in his shoulder, she clasped him so tightly, she thought she’d never let go.

“Shh, shh. No one need know. Henry and Edith have sworn their secrecy. We can at least have this moment.”

She raised her head. He kissed her then, deeply and satisfyingly. He trailed kisses down her neck, and she laid her head back to allow him access to its most sensitive parts.

He had his back against the door, protecting them from intruders. She sobbed then. From relief, from frustration, from worry. She rested her head against his shoulder, tightening her grasp.

She spoke barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t bear it if you lost everything because of me. But I don’t think I could bear losing you either.”

He tightened his grasp as well and kissed the top of her head. “I can weather anything if I have you beside me.”

His words gave her courage. She stepped back out of his embrace. The tears in her eyes made him shimmery and exceedingly handsome. “What are we going to do?”

“I will not recuse myself. Stanford has threatened your life if I do. But I will have to make my decision based on the law as it currently stands. The result may not be fair or just. You have to understand that.” He took her face in her hands.

A month ago, she would
not
have understood. She would have railed against the injustice and held her views so tightly no one could pry them from her.

But that was a month ago. “I wouldn’t want you to do anything else. I don’t think I would love you as I do if I even thought that anything else was possible.”

“What has made you so brave?” he asked, brushing away her tears.

“Difficult men,” she responded with a smile.

She cradled his face in her hands and drew him toward her. She kissed him using all the skills she had learned from him. It was satisfying to return the favor. Satisfying and frustrating. She wanted more. So much more. Images of their lovemaking were still fresh in her mind. She wanted him to love her physically as well.

She rested her head against his shoulder again, barely content to only be pressed closely to his warmth and comfort. “My father has realized his mistake. He will testify on my behalf.”

“Henry has told me.”

“What will become of us if he decides to destroy us?” She did not need to put a name to the man who held their fate in his hands.

“His reputation is well known. Perhaps he cannot harm us in any serious way. People will be skeptical of his motives.”

“But what about his threats? What if he tries to hurt you? He has had no qualms about threatening my life.”

“We will deal with that when the time comes. Who knows. The decision may go in his favor.”

She pulled back again to study him to see if he was teasing. He wasn’t. It was oddly consoling.

“You cannot stay in here much longer. You will be missed. And I need to leave before the guests start departing.”

“No,” Victoria whispered.

“I must. I will see you soon.”

How different it would be to see him in court. How had a matter of weeks changed things so completely?

“Will you wear your cloak with the fur trim around your neck that you wore to the prince’s party?”

She looked at him, puzzled.

He circled her face with his hands. “The fur will replace my hands, a warm reminder of how much you are loved.”

She pressed a kiss into each of his hands in turn. And when he drew her toward him, she tried to savor it. Perhaps they would never be this free again.

They kissed deeply and repeatedly. Reluctant to part. Eager to postpone, if only for a moment, their fate.

“I love you. I love you more than I ever thought possible,” he said.

Victoria bathed in the astonishment in his eyes. “And I love you. More than you even know,” she whispered in response.

“Victoria? Are you in there?”

“Yes, Father. I’m coming.” She remembered the shawl and ran quickly to gather it. Hugh was still in the doorway, blocking her path.

She didn’t know if he would step aside to let her go. She didn’t know if she wanted him to. Slowly he moved to where he would be hidden by the door when she opened it.

Reluctantly, she opened the heavy door and shielded her eyes from the bright light of the hallway and her father’s prying eyes.

Chapter Forty-One

Emily embraced her. “Oh, Victoria, it’s so good of you to come.” Less than two weeks after Edward’s death and her miscarriage, Emily was headed home to New York. She looked deathly pale and the cold wind threatened to blow her away.

“Do you have any time?” Victoria asked. “When does the ship leave port?”

Emily’s father nodded toward Victoria with a sad smile. “Spend time with your friend, if you like. We have several hours before we leave. I’ll see to the luggage.”

“There is a pleasant-looking tea shop just there. Do you see it?” Victoria said.

“Yes.” Emily turned to get her parents’ approval.

“Go with your friend and join us later onboard,” Emily’s mother said.

“Come then and we shall gossip.” Victoria smiled warmly and slipped her arm through Emily’s. They made their way carefully among the stacked luggage ready to be loaded onboard and the crates of vegetables and chickens and everything else needed for the eight-day voyage.

They entered the small shop. It was neat and clean and, most importantly, warm. Victoria guided Emily to a corner far from the tables filled with those waiting to embark.

After they sat and ordered, Victoria asked, “How are you truly, Emily?”

“I am still quite dazed by it all. Mother and Father want me home, and I cannot say I am against it. But I’m afraid it will all be lost.”

“What will be lost?” Victoria asked.

“My husband, my child. It was not all bad. Edward was basically a very kind man. I think perhaps that is why he…” She didn’t finish. “He didn’t want to see me subject to all the humiliation.”

“Or perhaps he didn’t want to face the humiliation himself,” Victoria offered as kindly as she could. She was amazed Emily still saw everyone and everything in the kindest light. Her friend was in far too fragile a condition. Victoria couldn’t argue with her parents’ decision to take her home, even though she would miss her lifelong friend terribly. For the first time, Victoria realized she herself wouldn’t be going home. Certainly not anytime soon.

“I don’t want to forget them,” Emily continued.

“Then you won’t.” Victoria reached out to pat her friend’s hands. “I am only just realizing myself how strong the ties are that bind us to people and places.”

“I worry about you, Victoria. What will become of you? If you lose everything, you will be forced to return home. Your father has been very unsympathetic to your position.”

“My father has returned to England, and his opinion has changed dramatically. I think he has begun to understand my plight and promises to be supportive of my defense.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I knew he would come around to see what he was putting you through. When all this is settled, will you return to New York? It would be so lovely to have you there.”

Victoria didn’t want to disappoint her friend, but she couldn’t promise. “I think I will be staying here for a while.”

“But you hate it here. You’ve raged about it from the moment you set foot in England.”

Victoria smiled. “You’re right. But things can change.”

“What would make you change your mind?” Emily’s wide eyes indicated her amazement. “I know you well. You do not change your mind willy-nilly like some women. It must be something very serious to have caused you to change your plans.”

“It is something wonderful,” Victoria hinted.

Emily sat back in her chair, and color came to her cheeks for the first time. “You have met someone. Oh, how wonderful!” She leaned forward and took Victoria’s hands. “I have hoped and prayed for so long. You could not share any happier news than this. He does not care about the lawsuit about all the gossip? He must truly be remarkable.”

“He is. He says he will love me regardless of the outcome of the trial. He is a wonderful man. Filled with integrity and knowledge. He does not begrudge me my views on women and their rights. In fact, he supports me. I didn’t think such men existed.”

“Who is he? Perhaps I know him.”

“Sadly, I cannot say. Not now. But I promise to write as soon as I can.”

“Yes, you must promise.” Emily had come out of her stupor. She was as excited as when they had been schoolgirls together.

“You have your whole life ahead of you, Emily. You must know that. Do not let the current unhappiness affect your future. I know you will find someone equally remarkable. You will find happiness again.”

Emily’s eyes were filling with tears. “You have been a kind and good friend all these years. I wish you much happiness. I will remember what you’ve said.”

“Please don’t upset yourself.” Victoria found her emotions taking hold as well.

Their tea finished, they rose and embraced. Both overwhelmed. Both feeling the loss deeply.

“You must go and join your parents. I don’t envy you your trip across the Atlantic in this weather. But at least in New York you will be free from this infernal fog.” Victoria laughed through her tears.

“I can’t wait to see them skating in Central Park. And the snow…how I long for snow.” Emily smiled broadly. “Thank you, Victoria. Thank you for everything.”

“You are more than welcome, my good friend. Have a safe voyage.”

The two women parted reluctantly. Victoria stayed in front of the tea shop for a long time watching her friend as she headed to the ship.

As Emily was about to disappear from view, Victoria whispered, “I wish us luck, my dear friend. We both are in desperate need of it.”