Surrender (59 page)

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