“You’ll be happy to know,” Trem said, “That your Uncle Charles sent only a short congratulatory note. He did say something about hunting grouse in Scotland next year—it seems he expects to be invited. For that little token of filial affection, he seems prepared to be very accepting.”
“He can grouse hunt all he wants on my Scottish lands,” Augustus said, throwing up his hand, “Then, who is a problem?”
“The two main issues, as I see it,” Catherine interjected, “are the objections of certain family members, and then the coverage in certain scandal sheets—those with, shall we say, more Tory sensibilities.”
“You know, the absolute worst ones, the ones you would expect,” Henrietta chimed in. Olivia knew that Henrietta edited the influentialThe Lady’s Magazinewith her friend Miss Cassandra Seymour. Augustus had told her that some in thetoncomplained that the publication had become too politically radical under their tutelage. These charges were ones, she understood, that Henrietta relished.
“I suppose nothing can be done about those,” Olivia said, “We’ll just have to bear it. Are they being very terrible?”
“They are not being kind,” Henrietta said, delicately, “They sneered at Percy’s marriage, too, mind you—but they kept it within certain limits because Percy is close friends with the Templeton heirs and Mr. Templeton has a rather large investment stake in nearly all of the Tory-leaning papers.”
This news surprised Olivia. She had not known such influence could be wielded over the scandal sheets.
“Luckily, I have my own connections,” Henrietta continued, “As a newspaperwoman, of a sort, myself. My publisher, Mr. Redmond, knows the editors at these publications and, thus, he knows their weaknesses. He is even friends with a few, despite their rivalries. He has suggested that if I extend certain high-society invitations to these men and their wives, that they would almost certainly be willing to cease printing unflattering items about your impending nuptials. I have written to them just now and expect that they will be become much more…pliable.”
“Thank you, Henrietta,” Olivia blurted out, shocked that this young, vivacious lady had such power at her fingertips.
“Of course. Anything for you and Monty.”
Trem smiled at his wife, clearly besotted by her cleverness. “She’s a marvel, I know.” He then cleared his throat. “And I may be of help with one of your relatives who seems a bit… overwrought.”
“Who?” Augustus asked.
“Your aunt Miriam.”
Augustus groaned. “I knew she would be trouble. What does she want now?”
“Who is your aunt Miriam?” Olivia asked, having never before heard the name.
“My father’s sister,” Augustus said, “I doubt she is really scandalized by our marriage. But she always wantssomething. Between my father and myself, we have given her more over the years than any sister of an earl could ever want—houses, jewels, money, and yet, still, she is sulky and resentful. She is a pain in the arse.” He paused. “But how can you help with her, Trem?”
“You know our lands border one another,” Trem said, “In Hampshire. For years, she has wanted me to host a hunting party with her, because her home is not large enough to accommodate the many, many guests she wants to invite. I have always put her off, obviously. But, I thought, she might be more amiable on the subject of your marriage, if I wrote to her and said that it is byyourexpress wish that my wife and myself agree to host such a party with her.”
“Brilliant,” Augustus gasped. “That would be—Trem, I would be so grateful.”
The next hour or so was filled with similar revelations and resolutions. His friends would identify someone who was objecting to their marriage, who was making noise about estranging herself and Augustus from their social notice, and then they would produce a solution. Leith promised to use his mother’s influence at Almack’s to quell the objections of several society matrons who were in a flutter; John promised to invite an irascible second cousin and another difficult uncle to Edington Hall for his annual shoot. And Catherine promised to use her influence at the Horticultural Society to placate Augustus’s cousin who had written with her objections—it turned out that the woman desperately wanted to give a lecture on the fauna in her gardens. Such a privilege, it just so happened, was in Catherine’s power to bestow.
At the end, it seemed, Augustus’s friends—her friends,now, she supposed—had solved nearly every obstacle in the way of societal acceptance of their nuptials. Olivia was speechless with gratitude and from the shock of having so many powerful people willing to advocate for her.
The only issue was that Augustus now had a mountain of correspondence to conduct.
“All of these bribes and lightly veiled threats won’t write themselves,” he said, with a laugh. “After all, I suppose it is a small price to pay for this unusual wedding present you are all giving me.”
“You should have Leith write them for you, Monty, really,” Trem joked in response, “I am sure he can still do your hand. Olivia, I hope you are not shocked to learn that your fiancé used to get Leith to do his Latin lessons for him. I am not sure Monty ever learned a syllable of the language. Just as I am not sure if Leith ever read any of those history books they used to make us sweat over.”
For a moment, Trem’s speech settled on her, an alarm sounding within her at odds with his easy smile.
Leith could write in Augustus’s hand.
She met Augustus’s eye and saw that it was too late.
Something feral glinted in her fiancé’s eye.
No,she thought, but before she could say it, he was out of his seat.
And before anyone, perhaps even Augustus, knew what was happening, he had Leith by the throat and pushed up against the Duchess of Edington’s tasteful wallpaper.
“You absolute bastard. It was you! It was fuckingyou, all this time. And you never told me.”
