The Earl And The Nightingale (Historical Regency Romance) Page 21

  “It is I, Lord Jonathan Anderson-Reese, Earl of Yarmouth,” he declared with authority.

  “You!” said Alastair. “What happened to my employee Mr. Bagshot?”

  “Your employee?”

  “Indeed. I had him make sure you were not frittering away your money. Now, where is he?”

  “Dear God, man! How can you have hired such a brute? He tried to spirit my paramour away and take advantage of her.”

  “Paramour? That French wench is your paramour?”

  “She is indeed, and in fact, she is my intended bride. That brute broke all the rules of chivalry and forcibly advanced on her. I was forced to defend her honor and he was shot.”

  “Shot? What do you mean by shot? I didna hear a thing about that!”

  “Well, now you have. He pulled a pistol from his breast pocket and aimed it squarely at me and discharged the thing. It was fired at close range, but because he is a fool, he missed. I, on the other hand, am not a fool and I successfully defended her honor. Your man is dead, sir!”

  “You brutish bastard!” cried the Scotsman. “I’ll flay ye alive for that. He was my best employee; never let a man get away with missing a payment else he’d feel the blade between his shoulder blades. What’ll I do now?”

  “You can go to the devil for all I care,” said Jonathan. “I have had enough of this threatening behavior. I believe I owe you fifteen thousand guineas. Well, here it is,” he said, holding out a heavy pouch full of money. “It is all there, I give you my word as a gentleman.”

  Alastair opened his door further and said, “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to consult me books. There’ll be an amount of interest you’ll need to pay me as well, and that is not an inconsiderable sum at eighteen percent per annum.”

  “Now see here!” said Jonathan with alarm. “You mentioned no such thing, and I will have you know that I am a student of mathematics and economics at Oxford. I happen to know the rate of interest charged by a reputable lender is five percent. If you want that amount, you shall have to come after me on your own, for I was told by you I had until the end of February to repay you fifteen thousand guineas. Well there it is. Now leave me alone!”

  Jonathan dropped the pouch of money into Alastair’s hand and turned to leave. He felt a bony hand on his arm.

  “You’ll pay what I say or I’ll have the law on ye, ya blackguard!”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Interest

  When Jonathan planned to go repay Alastair Kerr, he had not been expecting violence. So, he was taken by surprise when the old man reached out as he was turning to leave. He felt a bony hand on his forearm, causing him to react poorly.

  “Now see here!” said Jonathan whirling around and lashing out, smacking Kerr on the nose. He looked around, trying to gauge if he needed to protect himself.

  Kerr staggered backward and nearly fell, but regained his foothold in a moment. “Get back here, you cur!” he snarled, as he lunged forward.

  “Away with you!” cried Jonathan taking hold of the bony arm and pushed Kerr back into the building, slamming the door on him.

  He leapt down the stairs, and ran to the hack, tossing him three shillings as he leapt into the cab. “Drive away right now!” he cried.

  The driver whipped the horses into a lather and had them galloping away before Kerr could reopen the door.

  After several blocks, it was clear that nobody was following them, and the driver slowed the cab to a trot, and called to Jonathan.

  “My Lord, where are we goin’?”

  “Yes, yes,” said Jonathan, looking out the window. “Take me to Wimpole Street!” The driver, laughing to himself, whipped the horses, making Jonathan fall back into his seat.

  Only a quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the Wimpole Street home. Jonathan leapt out and rushed in the front door.

  Cecily was sitting in the drawing room with her mother Margaret, who had arrived only minutes before.

  “I assure you, mother, Jonathan has been acting with the utmost discretion. As you know, he has always been very good with numbers, and these last few days have been no exception.”

  “I only ask because we had a visit from the disreputable moneylender a few weeks ago in Lincolnshire. He was most unpleasant, threatening scandal to the whole family. I do hope you are right about Jonathan, though I confess I am a trifle worried he has acted - or reacted - with rashness.”

  “Well, let’s ask him ourselves, shall we? I see he is pulling up in front of the house as we speak. Let’s have a talk with him,” said Cecily.

  The front door burst open and Jonathan flew in, breathless. Mrs. Porter rushed toward him, snatching his cape from him.

  “Is everything alright, My Lord?” she asked.

  “Why of course, Mrs. Porter! And I must tell you I am deeply in your debt. That chap Screed you suggested I speak to was most helpful. I can report that this family is officially out of debt as of this moment.”

  “I am very glad. Although I hear your mother brings some troubling news. She is within, in the drawing room.”

  Jonathan nodded. “I shall speak to her and calm the rough waters.” He looked into the drawing room, as Margaret and Cecily rose.

  “Mother!” he said, smiling and approaching her. “What are you doing in town?”

  “Good afternoon, Jonathan,” she said. “I have only just now arrived from Stafford Manor. The fact is, I had a most unpleasant visit from one of those gentlemen who spoke with us about your father’s will.”

  “You must be referring to Messrs. Braithwaite or Kerr,” said Jonathan.

  “Yes, it was a Josiah Braithwaite,” said Margaret. “He threatened me with all sorts of penalties and unpleasantness if you did not repay the loan your father took out.”

  “Really?” said Jonathan in astonishment. “I am a little surprised, since I repaid it several days ago.”

  “You did?” she said, frowning. “How curious.”

  “Indeed. I had a meeting with this fellow named Uriah Screed, an American, who advised me to raise the money through cribbage, and I can report that I have succeeded. In fact, I come just now from the business of Alastair Kerr, having repaid the full amount.”

  “And Braithwaite? He was most unpleasant.”

  “I cannot understand that, mother, for I have already repaid him.

  “Well, I am sure it is none of my affair, but it was most disconcerting.”

  “Rest assured, Mother, I shall get to the bottom of this mystery. But mother, I am very glad you have arrived, notwithstanding the unpleasant news, for I have happy news!”

  “Really?” interjected Cecily. “Don’t tell me you have finally proposed to Miss Cordelia de Montmorency. She was making reference to this all day yesterday at her ‘at home’ time.”

  “What’s that?” said Jonathan, surprised by this news.

  “Oh yes. She mentioned you visited her and that you spoke of your situation. She hinted to me and a number of other young ladies that a proposal was in her future.”

  “Dear God, preserve me!” said Jonathan, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I am afraid she is very much mistaken. I cannot marry her, for I am promised to another, pending Mother’s agreement.”

  “Oh Jonathan! What delightful news. I am overjoyed to hear this. Who is the young lady? I hope she has a good station in life,” said Margaret.

  “I daresay, she is one of the most talked-about young ladies in all of England,” said Jonathan teasingly.

  “Well, well!” said his mother. “Don’t leave me on tenterhooks! Out with it. What is her family like? How old is she? Where does she come from?”

  “She comes from across the pond,” said Jonathan. In many ways, he tried to present this news in a very normal way, knowing full well it may be taken badly.

  “An American?” said Margaret, filled with excitement. “I had heard of these daughters of wealthy tycoons who have been flooding into our ports of late. I read something about it only yesterday in The
Times. Is she the daughter of some mining tycoon?”

  “She is not an American of any sort, Mother. In fact, this lady is twenty years old and of French extraction.”

  Margaret’s face fell. “French? Why, darling, they are the enemy!”

  “The enemy? Oh Mother, really! That war ended nearly a decade ago. This is preposterous!”

  “You didn’t have the experience of living through it, wondering on a daily basis if one were to live another day.”

  “I see your point, and I shall endeavor not to marry General Napoleon, but this young lady, who also did not live through it, has nothing to do with that.”

  “Well, I suppose if she is a daughter of a deposed nobleman or something, living in England for a long time, you may have a point. For these people were also escaping the tyrant as much as we were.”

  “Again, I am afraid to disappoint you, Mother,” said Jonathan. “For the young lady whom I hope to marry is none other than The Parisian Nightingale!”

  Margaret looked confused. “I am dashed, Jonathan. What is this you are saying? A bird?”

  “A singer, Mother. A very brilliant and beautiful singer from Paris.”

  “Paris? Oh no, my dear, that won’t do at all! We will have no Frenchies in the family. That simply won’t do at all. By Jove, my son, you know the war only ended a few years ago. I think marrying the enemy should be universally regarded as preposterous.”

  Cecily had been observing this whole interchange. “Mother, I think your opinion on this should be tempered by a meeting. Why don’t we arrange a tea with Mademoiselle Monteux?”

  “What care I for this Monteux woman? Does she have some sort of relationship to this nightingale person?”

  “She is The Parisian Nightingale, Mother. Garance Monteux is her name. I was merely referring to her title.”

  “Title? That is no title. That is a horrible advertising ploy to get old men to buy her flowers. I have heard the stories about these actresses. I am not sure I want my son married to one. Think of the scandal.”

  “Mother! Garance is not an actress. She is a world-renowned singer. She has performed for the Pope.”

  “How is that better? Dear God, is she a Catholic, as well? Oh Jonathan, this is frightful. I cannot agree to such a union.”

  “Mother, I need you to understand she is the person who helped me to win back the fortune we now have, and she is dear to me in a way no person has ever been. Other than you and Cecily, of course.”

  “I am sorry, Jonathan, but I have read too many romances about young gentlemen and actresses and they never end well.”

  Jonathan sighed. “I was afraid you would react badly. But you do not understand how important she is to me, and I have known her for quite some time, and we have had the most exciting adventures! I assure you, she is of the highest moral character.”

  “Jonathan, you are a very young and excessively handsome young man. It is well-known that these actresses take advantage of young men of means.”

  “Mother, when I met her, as you know, I was a virtual pauper. Garance helped me to win this money back.”

  “What is a Garance?”

  “That is her name. Her name is Garance Monteux, and she is from a very good and prominent Parisian family.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I only mean that, unlike we English, the French have abolished their aristocracy. They are all equal under the law. It is a democracy, you see.”

  “As are we!” said Margaret with some disdain.

  “Well, of course we are, but we have hereditary peerages, where they do not. At least, I think that is the case.”

  “Well, that is no affair of mine. My point is, she is French and an unknown quantity.”

  “She is very well known to me, and she was instrumental in winning back our fortune, Mother!”

  “Winning? What on earth do you mean? You won what money back?”

  “Indeed, I did, and I did it with her assistance, and I might add, it was at considerable risk on her part. At one point, she was taken by a ruffian who threatened her honor and her life.”

  “Jonathan! This is far too much for me to absorb all at once.”

  “I understand Mother, but this is a very important issue to me. This fortune that father squandered was lost, as I later learned, at a number of disreputable gambling dens. But I went forth, and with her assistance, I bet some money at these tables and won a large sum at these places.”

  Margaret gasped and flung herself upon the nearest divan. Cecily, who had been listening to this exchange with an amused look on her face, partially made up of disbelief, and partly of delight, looked at the two of them and smiled.

  “Mother, Brother— pray, let us not argue about this. The fact of the matter is, Jonathan won the fortune back and we now have a good fortune in our possession. Jonathan, you know you shall be the heir to the Earldom of Yarmouth, and it is of the greatest importance, not only to restore the fortune, but the good name of our family. Do you really think marrying a singer is the best way to do that?”

  Jonathan looked at Cecily with astonishment. “Et tu, Cecily?” he said slowly and sadly.

  “What do you mean? Are you upbraiding me for having pride in our family name? I am astonished by your brazenness, Jonathan. You have known since you were born that it is the singular duty of a young gentleman who would inherit a title to uphold the good name of his family. I confess, I met and enjoyed Mademoiselle Nightingale on a superficial manner, but I hardly think she is a fitting bride for an earl.”

  Jonathan stopped. He looked down for a moment, and then, when he raised his head again, he spoke slowly and carefully. “I met with those moneylenders who had visited us in Lincolnshire, and they showed me interconvertible proof that father had taken out a loan, and they gave me until the end of February to pay it back.”

  “How much money was this?” asked Margaret.

  “It was twenty thousand guineas.”

  Margaret gasped. “That is a king’s ransom. How on earth did that happen?”

  “Well, Mother, you have read so many romances about actresses taking advantage of gentlemen, but your husband, rest his soul, spent almost our entire fortune on a game called Pharaoh. It is a card game that is almost entirely a game of chance.”

  “Your father would never do that.”

  “Then why were these fellows hounding me for the repayment?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest idea. Was there a woman?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, was your father having an affair?”

  “I have no evidence of that, and I doubt it very much. He was a gambler, not a philanderer.”

  “Well, that is a blessing, I suppose.” Margaret knit her brows, and Jonathan could tell she was upset. He just didn’t know exactly which news item upset her the most. “You said you won it back... What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean, I went, with Garance, to these gambling dens and we played with money, and I won some of it back. I met with an American fellow named Uriah Screed who advised me, based on my knowledge of mathematics, to play cribbage, and I won. Consistently.”

  “Surely, you didn’t win all that money back. How did you get the money to bet on these things?”

  “It is very complicated, but I pawned my gold watch -”

  “You pawned the gold watch that has been in the family for generations?”

  “Mother! That watch has not been in the family for generations. It was worth one hundred pounds, and I gave it to Uriah Screed.”

  “Uriah Screed? Who in the devil is that? He sounds like an undertaker.”

  “I told you, Mother, he is an American. A very clever American with deep connections in the underworld of gambling. He advised me to play cribbage and he was correct. I have to go to him today and get my watch back. And I need to find some information.”

  “I hope you know what you are doing, Jonathan. But, if I may be frank, this sounds very suspect to me.”


  Cecily, who had been sitting there enjoying this banter, suddenly roused herself and cut in. “Mother, I think we are missing the larger picture here. You see, Jonathan came and took control of this mess and made it into a success of sorts. I should think you would want to congratulate him rather than casting scorn on all his decisions. Do you not think it wiser to do that?”

  “Cecily!” said Margaret, shocked at the outburst. “I am only acting in my son’s best interests. In the interests of our family. You may believe the world is changing very quickly, but I assure you, a scandal like this would be the ruin of our family. Nobody has ever married entirely out of the class, never mind the country. This is not the sort of thing a young man may even contemplate in these times.”