The Bartered Bride (43 page)

Wrenching his mind away from the intimacies of the night, he studied the seated rows of Britain's aristocracy. Today they were. not his judges, but his peers. Many of them were poker-faced in a way suggesting embarrassment-after all, they'd very nearly executed an innocent man, and in some cases judgment must have been based on distaste for his foreignness rather than the facts of the case. Other expressions were more welcoming, particularly from those lords whose consciences were clear where Gavin was concerned.

Traditionally two sponsors of equal rank introduced a new lord, so Gavin was flanked by Kyle and his brother, Lord Grahame. It was startling to see the twins together, identically dressed. Catching his glance, Kyle winked. At least, Gavin thought it was Kyle.

First Kyle, then Dominic, gave brief, flattering introductions of the seventh Lord Seabourne. At this point, Gavin was supposed to take an oath of allegiance to Crown and country, then quietly sit down. On some later date he would give his maiden speech on an uncontroversial topic, and anyone who spoke after him would offer compliments on the speech. All very orderly.

Yet when he stood, once again unreality crashed in on him. How could a lad who'd grown up barefoot in Aberdeen be about to join the House of Lords? How could a blunt American sailor be putting down roots in England? His gaze went to his wife again. Most of all, how could a man who had thought himself incapable of loving again be so lucky as to find a woman like Alexandra?

With sharp insight, Gavin realized that before he could move into this amazing new life he'd chosen, he must turn this ceremony into a statement of who and what he was. Though in the future he would be a dutiful and well-behaved earl, today he would speak his heart.

"My noble lords, this is a most unexpected honor," he said in a voice honed on the open seas.

"Having been born in Scotland and raised in America, my mind and heart were shaped by rebellion and republican ideals. I embraced the belief that all men are created equal in the sight of God, and I scorned the concept of a decadent aristocracy."

His gaze swept the chamber. "I was truly horrified to discover that I had inherited an earldom, and that it was as much a part of me as my blood and bone, impossible to disavow. Then this august body judged me, and condemned me to death."

Frowns appeared at his bad taste in bluntly referring to such an awkward matter. He didn't care. He lacked the flourishes of traditional orators who had been trained in rhetoric, and must rely on American directness.

"That was the day when I truly came to respect this chamber and the men seated here. Not for the mistaken verdict that came of my trial, but for the proof that even a peer of the realm is not above British justice. For the first time I recognized that what I love most in America is rooted in British custom and law, and I hope and pray these shared ideals will keep two great nations forever friends.

"British justice and love of freedom have joined with compassion to create a society that is a beacon for the world. It is Britain that has led the fight to end slavery, which is an abomination in the sight of God." His gaze went again to his wife. A lesser woman would be shocked at the way he was speaking out against tradition, but Alex nodded fierce approval.

"In the last decade, the Mother of Parliaments has created reforms to better the lot of men, women, and children throughout this great nation, and the work has only just begun. I hope to join here with other men of goodwill to help shape the Britain of the future-a land where justice, honor, and compassion will prevail."

Though traditionalists among the lords looked pained, the reformers nodded approval. Across the chamber the other American-born peer, Lord Markland, was openly grinning. Today Gavin had claimed his ground, and in the future he would work with men of like mind to build a better world. That was not a bad goal for a man's life.

Solemnly he took the oath of allegiance and became a member of the House of Lords for the rest of his natural life. The remainder of the short session passed quickly, and at the end a group of approving peers surrounded Gavin to shake his hand and welcome him to the House. The Duke of Ashburton said with a glint in his eyes, "Some of the noble lords are already regretting that you cheated the hangman." Gavin laughed. "They'll regret it more before I'm done."

He was turning to Lord Markland when Alex appeared through an aisle that opened for her through the crowd. Clasping his hand, she said softly, "I am so proud of you, my love." He gazed into her aqua eyes, forgetting his surroundings in his wonder at how they had found each other. "The greatest prizes. are the hardest won," he murmured. Then, because he'd already broken plenty of rules today and might as well break another, he kissed her.

The East Indies are the world's largest archipelago, with more than thirteen thousand islands sprawling across two million square kilometers of tropical seas. In the early nineteenth century, the cultural range reached from ancient, sophisticated societies to some of the most primitive tribes on earth. Almost seven hundred languages are still spoken in modern Indonesia. While Islam is the dominant religion of the islands, Bali has retained its Hindu traditions, there are pockets of Christianity, and ancient animistic customs are visible almost everywhere.

Given that rich diversity, I've taken the liberty of creating the fictional island of Maduri (not to be confused with the real island of Madura, which is adjacent to Java). The Lion Game is my own invention. Bali has a dance called the Sanghyang Jaran that is performed by young boys and involves dancing around and through fire while in a trance, but fire walking as a male rite of passage is also pure imagination on my part.

The Komodo dragon, largest reptile in the world, is real enough and can be extremely dangerous, but since the beasts are apt to spend hours sitting still without so much as a twitch, I devised a specially bred strain of them for fighting purposes.

The wine vaults under the docks were quite real, including the unique white fungus dripping from the roof and the cats who patrol to keep the rat population at bay.

To call the British legal system in the nineteenth century complex is an understatement of massive proportions, so it's not surprising that peers had their own form of justice, including practices different from the standard courts. The Lord Ferrers mentioned in the story was real, almost certainly mad, and hung at Tyburn in 1760 a mere four months after murdering his steward for no good reason. Other cases I've read of peerage trials indicate that usually the lords were disgracefully easy on their own, which is probably why being tried in the House of Lords was abolished in 1935.

And for those of you who are not cat people, they really do deposit dead rodents as a sign of affection for the humans who feed them.

(unknown) --raw scan by Anonymous

(2005-01-08) --(v1.0) proofed and reformatted by NickL