Fall From Grace (Victorian Vigilantes Book 4)

  Victorian Vigilantes Book 4

  Fall From Grace

  Wendy Soliman

  Victorian Vigilantes Book 4

  Fall From Grace

  Copyright © Wendy Soliman 2016

  Edited by Perry Iles

  Cover Design by Jake Dixon-Smith

  This e-Book is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations contained are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance of actual living or dead persons, business, or events. Any similarities are coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any method, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

  The Author – Wendy Soliman

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  Chapter One

  London, Autumn 1852

  Jacob Morton, Earl of Torbay, settled himself beside Olivia Grantley, his soon-to-be countess, in the drawing room of her modest home. She had turned her Chelsea residence into an unpretentious haven of tranquillity that reflected her character and good taste perfectly. The moment he crossed its threshold Jake felt embraced by its simple elegance and Olivia’s always challenging but never dull company.

  Olivia kept few servants and those whom she did employ discretely left the affianced couple alone the moment dinner came to an end. Only Tabitha, Olivia’s grey and white cat, remained behind to act as chaperone. Jake smiled at the simplicity of Tabitha’s existence as he looked at her, stretched full length in front of the small fire that warded off the chill of the autumn evening, whiskers twitching at some phantom image conjured up by her feline subconscious.

  ‘Are you otherwise engaged three weeks hence, my love?’ he casually enquired, finally posing the question he had been waiting all the evening for the right opportunity to voice.

  Olivia had somehow managed to tuck her feet beneath her voluminous crinoline and lean against his shoulder; a tricky manoeuvre that she executed with ease and grace. He tightened the arm that circled her bare shoulders and inhaled the subtle aroma of floral perfume that clung to her hair, intoxicating his senses.

  ‘I assumed…’ She blinked up at him, her large eyes luminous in the dim light provided by one small lamp and the glowing fire. ‘Are we not leaving for Arndale as agreed? Or do you intend to rush off ahead of me to attend to all the duties that await you in Torbay and leave Tom and me to negotiate the vagaries of a tediously long railway journey alone?’ She shrugged a little too casually. ‘I am yours to command, naturally, but it seems pointless to travel separately. Besides, if you are anxious to avoid my company before we are married, perhaps the decision to wed requires further consideration.’

  Jake chuckled. ‘I would not recommend that you attempt to renege on your promise, my sweet,’ he said lightly, ‘since I fully intend to hold you to it.’

  ‘Ah, now I comprehend. You mean to bully me into abiding by your wishes. I thought you were well enough acquainted with my character not to attempt such an obvious ruse.’ Her eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘In case you had not noticed, I don’t respond well to heavy-handed tactics.’

  ‘I must take your word for it since you have yet to voice objections to anything I do to you with my hands.’

  Olivia swatted at his chest. ‘You have me there, you fiend!’

  ‘Going back to my original question…three weeks today‒’

  Olivia shook her head. ‘I don’t have the first idea what you are referring to.’

  ‘We were to marry quietly and without fuss in Torbay.’

  ‘Indeed we were.’ Olivia canted her head, her glance furtive. ‘Perhaps it is you who are having second thoughts, in which case you can be sure that I will release you from your obligation.’

  Jake kissed her forehead. ‘You don’t get rid of me that easily.’

  ‘I have it!’ She sent him a playful smile, undoubtedly aware just what a profound effect that particular smile had upon him and how hard it was for him to concentrate upon anything other than the activity it brought to mind whenever she chose to deploy it. ‘You have decided that fatherhood is not for you after all and are finding excuses to delay the inevitable.’

  ‘Even I cannot delay the arrival of our child,’ he replied, placing a protective hand on her still almost flat abdomen. ‘Indeed, I impatiently await his or her arrival. But it is that event which has caused me to rethink our plans.’

  She furled her brow. ‘I still don’t have the pleasure of understanding you.’

  ‘In just three weeks’ time, my angel, you will become my countess at St. George’s Chapel, Hanover Square, in front of as many members of the aristocracy as can be troubled to return to the capital to witness the happy occasion.’ Jake hid his anxiety with a smile as he awaited her reaction. ‘After which we shall not have to maintain this ridiculous charade of keeping separate households.’

  ‘Just a minute!’ Olivia’s head lifted from his shoulder and her feet hit the floor far less elegantly than she had removed them from it. ‘We agreed this would be a quiet affair. As it is, you will shock society rigid by marrying the most notorious woman in all of London. It would be in very bad taste to labour the point with a flamboyant wedding in a fashionable location. The place will likely be packed with gawkers keen to bear witness to the fact that you have finally taken complete leave of your senses, turning my quiet wedding day into a bear garden.’

  ‘We have discussed this matter already, at considerable length.’ Jake let out an impatient sigh. ‘I am at a loss to know how to convince you that I am not ashamed of you.’

  ‘Which is not the point.’

  ‘What is the point, my lovely, is that you are carrying my child. The moment your condition becomes apparent, a situation which even those obligingly wide skirts that are in fashion cannot conceal indefinitely, rumours will…’

  ‘Ah, I see your point.’ She leaned against him again and kissed his lips. ‘You are afraid that gossip will abound and the general opinion will be that I deployed my wicked wiles to trick you into matrimony.’ Her eyes danced. ‘What else could persuade the most eligible bachelor in London to settle for such a wanton female?’

  ‘Wanton, wicked and wily.’ Jake matched her mood with a provocative grin. ‘What an enticing prospect. Society will delight in taking that view, I dare say, since they enjoy nothing more than gossip and speculation without concerning themselves with the actual facts.’

  ‘Oh, naturally. Where would be the fun in that? Matrons delight in a scandal in the making to discuss over tea and crumpets while they shake their multiple chins at the shockingly loose morals that prevail nowadays. If no suitable scandal should happen to be in vogue, they can be depended upon to invent one.’ A gurgle of laughter escaped her. ‘Besides, placing the blame upon my behaviour will salve their wounded pride.’

  ‘Good heavens.’ Jake’s brows sh
ot up. ‘Whatever can you mean by that?’

  ‘As if you didn’t know.’ Olivia shook a finger at him, at her most playfully whimsical. ‘Many of those sanctimonious old harridans have been attempting to interest you in their dull daughters for years now. To have resisted their charms is one thing, but to settle upon me instead will both offend and infuriate.’

  ‘Whereas their husbands will all envy my good fortune.’

  ‘What a suggestion to make!’

  ‘I sit suitably chastised.’ He tried very hard to ignore her provocation as he explained his reasons for changing the location of their wedding. ‘I want the world to know that you are my choice and that I haven’t been coerced into making it,’ he said softly, covering one of her hands with his own. ‘You insist that you are notorious, and I am aware that the condemnation you received in the court of public opinion when your husband met such a violent end rankles to this day.’

  ‘True, but then the evidence against me was compelling.’ Her head resumed its place against his shoulder as she squeezed his upper arm. ‘If not for you, I would have been hanged for Marcus’s murder.’

  ‘A crime which you did not commit, and the whole world would know it if only you’d permitted me to make Hubert Grantley’s act of fratricide public knowledge.’

  ‘That would have ruined the reputation of his widow.’

  ‘And salvaged your own. You don’t owe Margaret Grantley anything. She was one of the first to turn her back when you were accused.’

  ‘And now regrets jumping to that conclusion.’ Olivia sighed. ‘Everyone who matters to me knows the truth, Jake, as do the authorities. Besides, even if Hubert’s actions were known, I doubt whether that would absolve me from blame in the eyes of the tattle-mongers. They enjoy destroying my character, and who am I to spoil their pleasure?’

  ‘You pretend not to care about the opinion of others, yet your actions defeat your own argument. It was you who insisted upon returning to your own residence immediately after we resolved the problems created by your brother-in-law and duplicitous maid.’

  ‘I had preparations to make for my removal to Torbay,’ she replied in a tone that lacked conviction. ‘I could not make them from your house.’

  ‘Then there is now nothing to prevent you from returning to it,’ Jake said, knowing that she wouldn’t and choosing not to press the point. He could wait three more weeks to have her as a permanent fixture in his bed.

  Three weeks and not a moment longer.

  As things stood, he was in a constant state of frustration. He had been able to deny his growing feelings towards Olivia until they’d given in to their mutual attraction and sated their lust. Now he didn’t seem able to concentrate upon anything else.

  ‘It wouldn’t do to keep confusing Tom.’

  Jake smiled and allowed that untruth to remain unchallenged also. Tom, Olivia’s young son from her first marriage, was the most adaptable of children and adored being in Jake’s Grosvenor Square mansion. A small army of footmen was always on hand to join in his more boisterous games if Olivia felt disinclined to participate in them herself and, thinking back to his own childhood, he could still recall just how tempting those miles of bannisters were to a boisterous child with a point to prove.

  ‘We shall marry in three weeks here in London and it will be the happiest day of my life,’ Jake said with conviction.

  ‘Did you tell Walpole of our plans to marry when you met with him yesterday?’ she asked, referring to the Home Secretary. ‘I dare say he was appalled.’

  ‘Quite the reverse. He was overcome with jealousy.’

  Olivia laughed. ‘That old windbag?’

  ‘Besides, he has bigger problems. Derby’s minority government cannot last, and if Disraeli’s budget doesn’t get through the house there will have to be a coalition.’

  ‘Ah, so the politicians are thinking of their own skins rather than the welfare of the people they are elected to represent.’

  ‘Of course they are,’ Jake rolled his eyes. ‘When do they not?’

  ‘Well, I care nothing for them but I do care about your involvement with an ungrateful government that uses you as a scapegoat.’ She shuddered. ‘God forbid that they should be seen to involve themselves in some of the situations they don’t think twice about throwing you into.’

  She referred to Jake’s undercover work for the government. When the establishment needed to distance itself from delicate or dangerous situations on home soil, Jake and his aristocratic band of vigilantes were frequently called into action. Olivia, whose skills were many and various, had formed part of that band after her acquittal for murder. Jake had promised her that his government work would cease now that they were to be married, and he intended to keep his word. He had made no such promise regarding deserving individuals whose plights often reached his ears and whom he helped because he had the influence and means to so do. Olivia, to her credit, had not asked him to abandon those causes, each of which Jake considered on its merits and often discussed with her before deciding whether or not to take it up.

  ‘I have made my position clear,’ he assured her, idly toying with one of her escaped curls. ‘I shall formally announce our engagement in tomorrow’s newspapers, just in case there are one or two who are not already aware of it. Families will be drifting back to the capital soon, and it will be easier for our friends and relations to attend‒’

  ‘Relations?’ She sat upright again. ‘You do not have any. Well, none that are close.’

  ‘But you do,’ he said in an urbane tone, aware that they had reached an area of contention and that she would fight tooth and nail against his next suggestion.

  ‘Ha! None that I wish to know.’

  ‘I can understand why you want to have as little as possible to do with your parents and brother,’ Jake replied softly, his fingers gently massaging the back of her neck until the rigidity left her body and she groaned with pleasure. ‘They disowned you when you were most in need of their support.’

  ‘And now will not stop plaguing me for a reconciliation, pretending to be remorseful when I knew very well that all they really care about is my fortune.’

  ‘Even so, appearances must be maintained. It will only be for a few hours. Besides, someone must walk you down the aisle.’ He raised a hand to cut off her protest. ‘Only imagine how much more gossip it will generate if your father does not undertake that role, or if some enterprising newspaper hack discovers that your family had not even been invited to the ceremony. Everyone will say that they disowned you because they still suspect you of being involved with Grantley’s death.’

  ‘Very likely, but‒’

  ‘Those jealous of your beauty and your position as my wife will fabricate reasons why you could have been the mastermind, even if there is no evidence to show that you actually committed any crime. You and I were having a passionate affair and Grantley was getting in the way of it. You were so desperate to become my wife that…’

  ‘No!’ She looked truly shocked. Jake didn’t tell her that one or two whispers of that nature had already reached his ears since news of their forthcoming nuptials had started to circulate. ‘That would imply that you and I were in league.’

  ‘Hmm.’ He touched her lovely face with gentle fingers, aware that he was using underhand tactics. Adorable in her indignation, she would invite her family to their wedding to save his reputation, but didn’t care about her own.

  ‘I suppose they had best be there then,’ she said, plucking at the fabric of her skirts. ‘You realise, of course, that once my grasping relations set foot inside your house and observe its opulence, you will never be rid of them.’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry about that, my love.’ He pulled her into his arms. ‘The only time I can be described as a soft touch is when it comes to granting your every wish.’

  ‘Prettily put, my lord.’ She touched his lips with her own. ‘Well then, if you’ve already made the arrangements, I suppose we might as well marry here in London. Besi
des, it will save Eva and Isaac the tedium of the journey to Torbay. They are the only people I really want to have at my wedding, apart from you, of course.’

  ‘And they will be there. Isaac is to stand as groomsman. I have already asked him and he is glad to oblige. I imagine Eva will attend you.’

  ‘And little Gracie as well.’ She lifted a slender shoulder in a shrug. ‘I had not really thought about it.’

  ‘You are a most unusual bride. Most ladies think of little else and have every tiny particular arranged in their minds, even before finding a husband.’

  ‘I am not most ladies.’

  ‘For which I give daily thanks.’ Jake reluctantly disentangled Olivia from his arms, glanced at the clock and stood to take his leave. ‘If you insist upon maintaining appearances then I had best go. And you, my love, must shop for your trousseau. Charge everything to me. You have a duty to beguile me with your bedroom attire. Not that I can guarantee it will remain upon your person for long, but still…’ He thought about persuading her to allow him to stay, suspecting from the ardent expression in her eyes that her capitulation would be easily achieved, but reluctantly decided to let her play her games. Three weeks was not so very long. ‘You can leave all the other arrangements to me.’

  She stood too and he engulfed her in his embrace. ‘Then I shall wear myself out visiting Harvey Nichols tomorrow and then call upon you at Grosvenor Square to tell you what outrageous amounts I have spent.’ She flashed a wicked smile. ‘I hear tell that some of the latest silk undergarments leave little to the imagination and are positively scandalous.’ Jake groaned as thick lashes descended over sparkling eyes. ‘After all, I have a scandalous reputation to live down to.’

  ‘You pretend to want me to leave.’ Jake condemned her with a look. ‘But you know very well that talking about such matters will likely have the opposite effect.’ He kissed the end of her nose. ‘You have made your point, you little tease, and won this particular skirmish. Enjoy the victory because I will have my revenge.’