The Mercenary Major (8 page)

His aunt, who had been regarding him with keen interest, now dropped her gaze from his.

“Lady Letitia,” he said gently, “you’ve been very kind, but it would only embarrass you among your friends to try to marry me off to someone above me. It would be like selling short weight or cheese filled with sawdust or sprouted grain.”

“Jack,” said Letitia, looking up at him. “Trust me to find you a wife who will not regard you as a hollow cheese.”

He laughed again. “Do you know George Bertram?”

“Montford’s youngest?”

Jack nodded. “He lost an arm at Waterloo, and he doesn’t go about among the
ton
anymore.” That was understating it if Gilling’s latest report were true. “Can you find George Bertram a girl, too . . . Aunt Letty?”

Her eyes widened at his use of
aunt
, and she seemed to hold her breath. “If I promise to help your friend George, will you promise to consider my heiresses?”

“Blackmailed at every turn, I see,” he said. But he grinned. He had discovered at the Stavely rout that he was in no danger really, unless his aunt knew the girl with the gray eyes and cool manner.

A knock at the morning-room door interrupted them.

At Letty’s cheerful acknowledgment, the door opened, and Briggs announced, “Lord Faverton.”

Behind Briggs was the young carriage driver of the day before. His gaze met Jack’s and slid away, and Jack saw again the puzzling moment under the oaks when the younger man had refused to shake his hand. So he had met his cousins after all.

“Reg, dear,” said Letty, rising and glancing between the two silent men, “you must—”

“Morning, Aunt Letty,” said the young lord, and turned to Jack.

“Change your mind about shaking my hand?” Jack studied the young viscount. His own hand was at his side. His cousins apparently were as cold as the uncle who had cast off his mother.

“Dash it all,” his cousin said. He looked like a raw recruit about to execute a distasteful duty without any conviction of its necessity. He drew himself up. “Sir, I am to tell you that you have no place here. You are a fraud, and unless you leave this lady and her household, his lordship, the Earl of Dorward, will investigate and expose your deceit and prosecute you to the full extent of the law. His lordship will allow you one week to reveal your true identity and remove to some other situation.” He paused, and his glance flickered briefly over the covered platters on the sideboard. Then with an air of strained resolution he continued. “My sister and I and our neighbor Miss Carr thank you for coming to our assistance yesterday afternoon.”

Jack registered the name Miss Carr, and found himself suddenly amused by the situation.

“Reg, how splendid that you’ve met Jack,” said Letty. “Sit down, dear, and tell me what this is about.”

Reg backed toward the door, but his eyes wavered toward the sideboard. “I can’t, Aunt Letty, Father . . .”

“Nonsense,” said Letty. She waved Jack back into his seat, rose, crossed to the sideboard, and lifted the cover on a plate of buns. “Come and help yourself, Reg, and when you’ve had a bun, we’ll decide what to do about this start of your father’s.”

Jack could see a brief resistance in Reg’s eyes, but clearly there was as little conviction behind it as there had been behind his speech. By the time the scent of the sweet pastry had reached him, Reg had accepted a seat, and by the time he had consumed two of the fragrant buns, he was telling his aunt in some detail about the Favertons’ first week in town. Jack found the chief interest of the narrative to be the frequent, careless mention of Tory.

It was at yet another mention of her name that he caught Reg Faverton’s eye, and the young man fell silent.

“So, Victoria said what, Reg?” prompted Letty.

Reg dropped his gaze from Jack’s. “She suggested that we investigate Major Amberly ourselves, but dash it all, that’s not what I came to London to do, and it seems dashed rude to be investigating someone who might be your cousin.”

Jack swirled the last bit of coffee in his cup. Now he understood Letty’s eagerness to push him into the world of the
ton
. His mother’s family and friends believed him to be an impostor. Victoria Carr would not be deceived by his clothes and his connection to Lady Letitia. She would not mistake him for a gentleman. In fact, she was eager to prove he was something less. If Aunt Letty wanted him to fall in love with an heiress, Victoria Carr was one he could pursue without any danger to either of them.

“Jack
is
your cousin,” Letty was saying.

“You have proof, Aunt Letty?” asked Reg, plainly relieved at the earnestness of her tone. “Is there something we can show to Father?”

“The proof is right in front of you, Reg,” said Letty with a wave of her hand, indicating Jack. “And I think you would do well to become acquainted with your cousin.”

“Aunt Letty,” said Jack, “you put Lord Faverton—”

“Lord Faverton?” said Reg. “Now that’s going too far. Even if you’re the biggest fraud in town . . . Major Amberly, you did save my bacon yesterday, and I can’t have you ‘milording’ me.”

“Exactly,” said Letty. “Reg, you have fulfilled your father’s request, and as you promised you would investigate Jack, I think your best course of action now would be to spend the day with him.”

“Grafton and I were going to Jackson’s Saloon this morning . . . Jack. If you’d like to come along.”

“Wonderful,” said Letty. “An entertainment that I could not offer you, Jack, and certainly one that no gentleman in London would pass up.”

Jack regarded his cousin across the table. Reg seemed genuinely interested in having Jack accompany him. Other officers had mentioned Jackson’s, and Jack had to admit a certain curiosity about the place. And he was bound to hear more about the beautiful Miss Carr as long as he was in Reg Faverton’s company. He accepted the invitation.

“Well then,” said Letty. “You two be off. I will call upon your mother this morning, Reg, to let her know that you’ve done everything your father could have wished and that you are continuing your investigation of Jack.”

“But Aunt Letty, Mother will likely have the vapors if you call.”

“Then who would be more helpful in such a case than I? Really, your father can do nothing in Wiltshire to control your mother, and I think it’s time she realized that. And we must plan an evening at the theatre tonight.” She smiled at them both equally and left the room.

Silence reigned at the little cherry-wood table where Katie and Victoria and Lady Dorward sat looking at an array of fashion plates. For a few moments the plates—of an Angouleme pelisse in crimson velvet with a white sarsenet lining, a faun-colored walking dress with blue silk at the border, and a peach satin ball gown with a border of tulle and roses—had lifted their spirits. Then the countess had spoken in her sweet voice, saying with tragic emphasis, “But it is quite pointless to consider what you shall wear to this or that affair, girls, when you are not ever to go about in society at all.”

Victoria and Katie traded glances. If Reg had any resolve at all, he had by now delivered the earl’s ultimatum to the impostor. However, recalling the easy courage of the purported Major Amberly in the face of an angry mob, Victoria doubted the earl’s threats would disturb the man. Yesterday she had been confident she could face him, but a night of trying to dismiss his image from her thoughts had made her willing enough to send Reg. She picked up the picture of the crimson pelisse and tried once again to put aside her recollection of Jack Amberly.

Then Stook cleared his throat at the door, and without any announcement, Letitia Faverton breezed in.

“Charlotte, dear,” she said, stretching out her arms to embrace her sister-in-law, “what a beast my brother is to send you off to town with such tiresome restrictions! Not receive me? Not call on me? Pooh!”

Charlotte Faverton stood and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. “Oh, Letty,” she said, allowing herself to be hugged, “we never meant to be rude, but how could we call with Dorward insisting you’ve been taken in by an impostor?”

Letty moved to hug both her niece and Victoria, telling them with her glance that she thought an explanation due.

“I suppose Reg told you we were here, Letty,” said Victoria.

“You mustn’t blame him,” Letty replied. “He said everything Walter could have wished.”

“He did apologize to cousin Jack, didn’t he?” asked Katie. “We were very rude to . . . him . . .yesterday.”

“You saw this Major Amberly person yesterday?” exclaimed Lady Dorward faintly. “If your father should hear of this—oh, dear . . .”

“Do sit down, Charlotte,” Letty urged, “and we’ll have the girls explain. I did not get a clear idea of yesterday’s encounter before Reg and Jack left this morning.” She guided her sister-in-law to a yellow- striped sofa.

“They left?” said the countess. “Reg went off somewhere with Jack Amberly, with the man who says he’s Jack Amberly? What will Dorward say?”

Letty patted the countess’ hand. “Charlotte, dear, if you think Jack’s an impostor, do call him one. Reg took Jack to Jackson’s Saloon. Although you may not precisely approve of milling, gentlemen of the most exalted rank frequent the place, and I am grateful to Reg for taking Jack because it has been difficult to get Jack to go about among the
ton
at all.”

Victoria studied Letty closely. Did she not find it suspicious that her supposed nephew avoided society? But Letty was exclaiming over the faun walking dress with the blue trim and encouraging Charlotte to think of it.

“Now, Victoria,” she said, “could you explain yesterday’s encounter?”

Victoria did, finding it necessary to omit only the most minor details, such as the feel of Jack Amberly’s hands at her waist and the look in his eyes when they met hers.

“I quite comprehend your surprise,” said Letty when Victoria had come to the end of her tale. “Of course, you need not doubt Jack any longer.” And her voice promised irrefutable proof of the man’s identity.

Victoria felt herself stiffen, peculiarly on edge as she waited for Letty’s evidence. Katie and the countess leaned almost imperceptibly forward. But as Victoria held herself still, Letty’s wide blue eyes closed briefly and her hands clenched in her lap as with a sudden resolution.

“He has his mother’s eyes,” she said.

“His mother’s eyes?” echoed Charlotte. “But Letty . . .”

“You didn’t ask for any proof of his identity?” asked Victoria.

“I never thought to, dear, but I suppose Walter will require some proof if Jack is to claim his inheritance.”

“Does Cousin Jack have an inheritance?” asked Katie.

“Yes, dear, he has the estate that belonged to Helen and a settlement that would have been hers after her husband’s death. Walter and I are his trustees.”

“Oh, Letty,” said Charlotte, “can this Amberly person really inherit Helen’s property after all this time? Because I don’t think Dorward anticipated . . .”

“Letty, have you told Major Amberly about the property he stands to inherit?” asked Victoria.

After the slightest hesitation, Letty nodded. “I had to let the boy know his prospects, though perhaps, if Walter is going to prove difficult, I shall have to help Jack to a rich wife. Charlotte, do you remember Cassandra Hagwood? Her daughter Eustacia is a considerable heiress and quite pretty. And then there is Sarah Nevins—such lovely manners and perhaps twenty thousand a year.”

“Letty,” Charlotte squeaked, “you’ve introduced this young man to the
ton
without any real proof that he is Helen’s son. If his claim is false, Dorward will never forgive you for embarrassing the family.”

For a moment Victoria thought she detected the most uncharacteristically fierce look in Letty’s eyes, and then it vanished and Letty said with a touch of wistfulness, “I suppose I’ve been quite foolish and susceptible to the man’s charm.” Fresh distress overcame Lady Dorward, and Letty turned to Victoria. “Victoria, you seem to be the only one with a clear head among us. Would you be willing to observe my nephew and test his claim? An impostor is bound to make a slip sometime, isn’t he?”

Victoria nodded. At the very least she meant to confront the man and make her own judgment about him.

“Now,” said Letty, “I want you all to join me at the theatre tonight. Walter can hardly object to your attending a public entertainment, and he can’t stop you in any case.”

Jack Amberly’s arrival at the theatre created a brief stir in the pit. He entered with Reg and two other gentlemen just before the first piece and was greeted by shouts from the laughing crowd of gentlemen. “Bandit, Bandit!” And as the major presented Reg to the other gentlemen, Victoria could not help wondering what Reg was about. He was making it excessively convenient for the purported major to establish his connection with the Favertons.

“There’s our cousin,” whispered Katie at Victoria’s side.

“Or the impostor,” replied Victoria.

The major looked up and offered Letty a smile and a nod. His eyes met Victoria’s briefly and glanced away. Then he nodded to a black-haired woman in one of the boxes in the first tier along the side of the theatre.

“That’s the lady we saw yesterday, isn’t it, Tory?” asked Katie.

Victoria nodded. It seemed the Mercenary Major was well-established in polite society, and she had no doubt he owed his acceptance there to Letty Faverton. If he were to be exposed as an impostor, it would be Letty and then the Favertons who would suffer the embarrassment. Her own dream of establishing her independence in London would be hurt as well. It really was necessary to learn the truth about this man.

At the interval Reg was the first to reach their box.

He greeted his mother and aunt with careless politeness and pulled a chair up beside Katie and Victoria.

“You look bang up to the nines, Tory,” he said. “Like the play, Katie?”

“Reg, where have you been?” Katie asked.

“With Jack.” He leaned forward and there was an unmistakable odor of claret about him. “Everyone knows Jack. Goes everywhere.”

“Have you been drinking?” asked Katie. “All day?”