“The house itself was built on the site of a medieval fortress. My grandfather retained the curtain walls and the moat. It makes for an impressive entrance, I can tell you. And quite unique. The house rises on an island, set in gardens finer than anything outside of the Tuileries.” He paused, looking at Violet for a moment. “That is in Paris.”
Violet widened her eyes slightly and nodded, catching a sharp retort on the edge of her lips.
As if I would not know where the Tuileries is! I must take care. One wrong word and my reputation will suffer, in the eyes of this man at least. And from him to many others.
“Indeed. That must be quite a sight,” she said.
“It is. It must be seen to be believed. Quite magnificent. The King himself has remarked so, when he was Prince of Wales he visited on more than one occasion. No other house in Norfolk has played host to him as many times.”
Harker’s was a building with two bay windows and a front of red brick with the characteristic white, London stucco. They went inside and were ushered to a table by one of the windows, apparently reserved for Ambrose. The dining room was busy and Violet exchanged polite greetings with some, and eye contact and smiles with those furthest away. Ambrose strode through as though the other diners did not exist, exuding arrogance. ButViolet noted the looks and whispers as they passed by. The Earl of Godstone was a man who turned heads wherever he went.
Violet sat in a chair opposite Ambrose and cast a furtive eye to the clock that stood in a corner of the room, visible just over Ambrose’s shoulder. She settled herself to fulfill her social duty and tried to keep her thoughts from a wild Scotsman.
Chapter 14
Alexander paced the room, resisting the urge to watch Violet’s departure from the nearest window.
I am not some wet-behind-the-ears boy falling for his first love. But, by God, she is a fine woman. One to inflame a man’s senses.
He strode back into the drawing room, snatching a decanter from a sideboard and removing the crystal stopper. He took an unhealthy swallow directly from the decanter, a trickle of brandy finding its way down his chin. Then he remembered himself, and wiping it with the back of his hand, he turned back to the sideboard and picked up a glass. Pouring the drink into the receptacle felt a more civilized thing to do. He tipped the glass back in a sharp motion and swallowed the drink.
Enough to give me some Dutch courage. I have never needed to steal myself against the temptations of a lassie before.
Finding himself at the window, he looked out, for a moment lost in thought, lost in the memory of recent events. He could still feel the softness of her skin, the heat of her body. The delicious, tender moistness of her lips. The urge was in him to go to her house, once again scale the wall and wait for her to go out to the hut that had been built for her under the shelter of the trees. Certain women that he had known, some of noble birth, would have welcomed such daring. Would have been aroused by it. Perhaps Violet would be too.
But he could not afford to take such chances with this woman. Those who had come before had been passing fancies. He had been used by them, attracted because of his ruggedness or the thrill of his uncivilized nature. In truth, he had used them, taking pleasure in seeing those who had once been so far above him, laid low, made helpless by their own lust. Violet was different. He needed her and she had already shown that she was capable of refusing him the aid he requested because she feared that his reputation would stain her own.
So my reputation must be whiter than the snow. Pure. I can do nothing about my past but I can do something about my present. I will not be the marauding Scot that everyone thinks I am. A patron of cheap taverns and dockside gambling dens.
The urge to fill his glass came to him and he resisted it. Turning, he hurled the glass he held into the fire, taking satisfaction in the sound of it shattering in the cold grate. That was another idiosyncrasy from his past, a legacy of poverty. So many nights had been spent sleeping on the streets of Glasgow that he found himself uncomfortable in a room too well-heated, eventually feeling as though he was being smothered. Instead, he choseto keep his house cold, savoring the sight of his breath fogging before his eyes.
A knock came at the door.
“Come in!” Alexander called out, turning from the window and folding his arms, leaning back against the windowsill.
“I beg your pardon, Your Lordship,” said Jenkins, his sole manservant.
Jenkins had dark hair, combed severely back from his temples and a face well-schooled to stillness in all circumstances. Alexander had never seen the man break a smile or express any discernible emotion. Nothing could shake the man’s detachment. He held a folded piece of paper in his hand.
“A runner brought this from the House, Your Lordship,” he intoned. “I was made to understand that it was of the utmost importance.”
Alexander started across the room, taking the note, and hastily unfolding it. He scanned the elegant handwriting, immediately recognizing it to be the work of Sebastian. It was summoning him to the House and urging him to make haste.
“Damn it! Whit’s gaun on, noo?” he whispered, lapsing into his native Scots.
Jenkins was unflappable. “A reply, Your Lordship? The runner is waiting.”
“Aye, I’m leaving now. I’ll be there at the back of twelve,” Alexander said, glancing up at the servant’s clock on the mantelpiece.
Another novelty for him. Another luxury taken for granted by everyone around him. Being able to tell the time of day precisely by looking at a clock. An example of unfathomable engineering and a symbol of wealth. Growing up, only those he and his mates had called Toffs could afford a clock.
And I’ve been surrounded by them ever since getting to London! I cannae believe it sometimes.
Jenkins had been standing with one hand behind his back. Now he revealed that he was holding a pair of socks and a pair of riding boots.
“I took the liberty, Your Lordship,” he said.
Alexander grinned fiercely, taking the hosiery and footwear.
