She searched the room for her husband. She had last seen Matthew, accompanied by another gentleman, going out the doors leading to the terrace. Perhaps he was still there.
This was the first time she had been introduced to a group of people as his wife.
It was disconcerting not to be treated with the deference usually accorded her as a princess, yet it was also rather refreshing. When gentlemen kissed her hand and gazed into her eyes this evening, the object of their attraction was the woman before them, not the title. Even so, she was surprisingly ill at ease at being publicly proclaimed Tatiana Weston, Lady Matthew. She might lie better than Matthew, but her conscience apparently worked as well as his. Even if the title and the name were both legitimate, she could not ignore the feeling that she was deceiving everyone she met.
Worse, these Effingtons were a remarkably friendly and candid group. Unlike most noble families of her acquaintance, these people seemed to enjoy one another’s company. In truth, they appeared to actually like each other. It was most disconcerting and provoked the oddest twinge of envy. Certainly, she loved her father and brothers, but the time they spent together was surrounded by the pomp and ceremony of office. Dinners were state occasions, balls were public events, a few hours on horseback were significant undertakings, even a picnic outing involved a full entourage and advance planning.
Would she miss the trappings and accoutrements of a royal life? A life spent always in the light of public scrutiny and private pressure? A life of princely wealth and personal power?
Of course she would. She would be the worst kind of fool if she did not. Tatiana did not especially look forward to living on Matthew’s income. However, she did have substantial personal wealth that would remain hers regardless of her position, even if there was an excellent chance Matthew would not accept it. Well, she would not dwell on that possibility now.
Thus far, Lady Helmsley—or Marianne, as she had insisted Tatiana call her—had introduced her to what was possibly every Effington in existence. She would have no trouble remembering the current Duke and Duchess of Roxborough—they were a duke and duchess, after all—but the myriad of other faces, titles and names of children, grandchildren and cousins could not possibly be committed to memory without extensive study. She would much prefer having Matthew at her side during all this. Even if the man did not know these people personally, he was familiar with the family itself. Besides, that annoying sensation of dishonesty still plagued her. At least with Matthew here, she would have his looks of disapproval and the double meaning of his comments to distract her from any nagging feelings of guilt.
She reached the row of French doors and stepped out onto the terrace. Stars twinkled above and candles set in elaborate candelabra flickered on a more earthly plane. The night was warm, the breeze gentle and the faintest floral scent lingered in the air. All in all, it was the perfect setting for a romantic assignation or an illicit rendezvous. She couldn’t resist a wicked smile. If Matthew was not now on the terrace, it would be a fine idea to find him and accompany him here.
She moved away from the doors. “Matthew?”
“Oh, he left quite some time ago. With his brother, I believe.” A voice sounded from the shadows.
Tatiana’s blood froze. The champagne glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the stone terrace.
“It must be the night for family reunions, do you not think so… Your Highness?”
Tatiana drew a deep breath, marshaled all her courage and forced a cool, unconcerned note to her voice. “What are you doing here, Cousin?”
“What? No pleasantries? No declarations of how very much you have missed me? No pretense at affection? How disappointing.” The Princess Valentina sauntered out of the shadows. “But as to your question, I was invited.”
Tatiana raised a brow. “I doubt that.”
“Very well.” The older woman shrugged. “The gentleman I am with was invited. He is some sort of distant relation to these Effingtons and really quite boring, but he does prove useful. This gathering was most fortuitous as well, and I understand I have your presence to thank for that, although I had already convinced him that it would be the height of disrespect not to pay a visit to the dowager duchess.”
Tatiana folded her arms over her chest. “Why are you here?”
“For the exact same reason you are here, dearest cousin.” Valentina shook open her fan and waved it before her face as if she were discussing nothing more important than the latest bit of royal gossip. “What a pity the fabled Heavens of Avalonia are missing. And for such a long time too. Such a shame for the country and, especially, for the ruling branch of the House of Pruzinsky.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Oh, do cease the pretense, Tatiana, you know exactly what I am talking about. However, if you insist, I shall play your silly game.” She heaved a sigh of boredom. “I know the Heavens have disappeared. I know this was only discovered recently. And I further know their disappearance dates back to Princess Sophia’s leaving Avalonia some fifty or more years ago.”
“You should be in prison,” Tatiana said coldly.
“My, that was certainly abrupt and most impolite. Not at all like you.” Valentina shook her head. “Prison would not agree with me.”
“Yet prison is where I shall make certain you end the rest of your days.”
“I will not pack my bags just yet.” Valentina snapped her fan closed. “Where do you think you are? You have no authority here. I doubt these English are even remotely aware of events in Avalonia. However, do not think I have not taken precautions. It would be the height of foolishness not to, particularly with our cousin, the viscount, and his charming wife here. Did you know I have met her? It has been quite a chore avoiding her this evening, yet I have managed it. Have you met them?”
Tatiana nodded.
“Beaumont is quite attractive and every bit as annoying as the rest of you. I can lay my current situation, in part, at his feet.”
“It is not his fault you failed in your attempt to seize power.”
“My, my.” Valentina winced. “It does sound so harsh when you say it that way.”
“Forgive me.” Sarcasm dripped from Tatiana’s words. “I do so hate to sound harsh about such things as treachery or deceit or treason.”
“Yes, well…” Valentina waved the comment away as if it were of no significance. “These things happen when one is fighting for a cause.”
“The only cause you have ever fought for is yourself.”
“And is there a better cause? My welfare goes hand in hand with my country’s. It is an attitude you fail to understand.” Valentina shook her head in a disparaging manner. “You are so sanctimonious and noble, but it is that very misplaced sentimentality that will spell the end of Avalonia. It is a weakness that cannot be afforded. Neither your father nor your brothers nor, I would imagine, you have any idea how to take a country in the precarious position of Avalonia’s into the future. How to ensure its survival and prosperity.”
“And you do?”
“I know when you speak of the great rulers of history, those who led powerful countries and created vast empires, the word nice is rarely ever used.”
“Then obviously you are suited to rule,” Tatiana snapped.
Valentina raised a brow. “My, the little princess has at last developed a bite. I wondered why they sent you to find the Heavens.”
“No one sent me.” Tatiana drew a deep breath. She knew better than to argue with Valentina. “You stole the letter from my room.”
“Stole is not entirely accurate. In point of fact, that letter belongs as much to me as to you. It was, after all, written to our grandmother.” Valentina shrugged. “I simply arranged to have it delivered to me. It has told me nothing I did not already know, but if you found it useful, I suspect so shall I.”
“And you sabotaged Lord Matthew’s balloon.” Tatiana narrowed her eyes. “Or should I say you arranged the sabotage.”
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br /> “One does what one can. I was really rather surprised to see you here at all. You and his lordship must be extremely lucky. I was certain you would end up in France somewhere or the channel or, better yet, dead. A shame, of course, but unavoidable.” She studied the younger woman curiously. “Who is he, this Lord Matthew of yours? He is quite handsome.”
“He has nothing to do with any of this.”
“I doubt that. I’d wager he has a great deal to do with all of this.” She smiled slowly. “I must say, you are full of surprises. You have always been such a dear, sweet, unassuming thing. The perfect little princess. I would never imagine you to be traveling around England pretending to be the wife of a lord and hiding your true identity. I wonder what all these charming people would think if they knew you were deceiving them.”
“I am not deceiving them. I have simply not seen fit to reveal facts that scarcely matter.” Tatiana raised her chin slightly. “Regardless, I suspect my identity would be of far less interest to them than yours. Particularly to Viscount Beaumont.”
“Perhaps. But by the time you return to the ballroom I shall have, reluctantly, taken my leave. My only real purpose tonight was to greet the relation I have not seen for ever so long and see what I might possibly do to impede her progress.
“Besides, you can scarcely reveal me without revealing yourself. For whatever reason, you do not wish to do that. And I have followed your lead as well. I too am using a name I have no particular claim to.” Valentina tossed back her head and flipped open her fan. “Allow me to introduce the Contessa de Bernadotte.”
A primal, urgent and almost uncontrollable urge to tear the other woman’s throat out gripped Tatiana. For an endless moment, she struggled against it. She drew a steadying breath.
“Phillipe always did prefer his cheese and his wine well aged.” Tatiana kept her expression cool, her voice level. “I had no idea that preference extended to women as well.”
Shock widened Valentina’s eyes, then she laughed. “Well said, Cousin. I am impressed. You have indeed changed. But then, I suppose an unfaithful husband of, to be blunt, legendary exploits will do that to a woman. Even a princess.”
“One is either strengthened by the fire or consumed by it.” For the first time since their encounter began, confidence filled Tatiana and she smiled. “I was not consumed.”
Valentina hesitated, her gaze assessing. “Not yet.”
Tatiana wanted to laugh with the odd satisfaction of being equal to this woman. “Not ever.”
“Perhaps I have misjudged you. What a pity, to have discovered it at this late date. We could have been powerful allies.”
“Never.” Tatiana shook her head. “But we could have been family.”
“Family?” Valentina shuddered in an exaggerated manner. “Like these Effingtons? I should scarce survive the sheer boredom of it. However, husbands are an entirely different matter.” She eyed Tatiana thoughtfully. “I wonder if your Lord Matthew is as… oh, what is the word? Proficient, I think, as Phillipe was.”
“In truth, dearest Valentina, he is much, much better.” Tatiana turned on her heel and started toward the doors.
Valentina grabbed her arm and jerked her around. “I shall find the Heavens, and when I do”—her voice was low, threatening, evil—“I will return them to Avalonia and claim the crown for myself. After all, she who returns the heritage of the country will be a hero to her people and will have earned the right to rule. There is much to be said for tradition, dear cousin.” She smiled, and the starlight reflected wickedly in her eyes. “And I will not allow you or your Lord Matthew to stop me.”
“No, Cousin.” Tatiana shook off her arm. “I will not allow you to stop me.” She strode toward the doors, not bothering to look back, half expecting Valentina to call out or even shoot her. She pushed open the doors, trying to ignore the trembling of her hand and the quivering in the pit of her stomach.
She spotted Matthew almost at once and made her way through the crowd toward him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted a few odd looks, a speculative glance or two. Surely no one had heard her encounter with Valentina. If they had, someone, Matthew or possibly Beaumont, would have interceded. It was probably nothing more than an overactive imagination and some strange lingering effect of the confrontation with her cousin.
Or the realization that the stakes had just been raised to staggering proportions.
The meeting with Valentina realized her worst fears. Until now, she could fool herself into believing that her cousin’s presence in England was a coincidence. It was imperative that Tatiana find the Heavens, if they could be found at all. Valentina could well claim the throne if she recovered the jewels. Indeed, simply by making their absence public in Avalonia she could undermine the rule of Tatiana’s father and her brother’s succession to the throne.
She reached Matthew’s side and took his arm. “Matthew—”
“Tatiana.” His voice was firm. “Allow me to introduce my brother, Lord Stephen.” The man beside him stepped forward, and Tatiana tried not to gape. One would never confuse him for Matthew at this distance, but the similarity in appearance between the men was startling.
“My lady.” Lord Stephen caught her hand and raised it to his lips. “I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to meet you. My family has been consumed by curiosity over what kind of temptress had managed to snare him.” Stephen smiled Matthew’s smile. “Now I can see she is exquisite.”
“Your manner is as polished as your brother’s, my lord.” She cast him a genuine smile and reclaimed her hand. “I can see the resemblance between you is not limited to appearance.”
Stephen laughed, then sobered and glanced at his brother. “Are you… ?”
“Indeed I am.” Matthew cleared his throat in that way he had when he was reluctant to tell her something. “Her Grace would like to speak to us in the parlor. It seems we are the subject of gossip.”
“Gossip?” Tatiana held her breath. “What kind of gossip?”
Matthew’s gaze met hers, his smile wry. “Apparently there is a rumor spreading through the room that you and I are not… married.”
“That you and Matthew are simply posing as man and wife,” Stephen added.
Relief washed through her and she laughed.
Stephen’s brows pulled together. “My dear, this charge is not at all humorous.”
“Oh, I don’t know, Stephen,” Matt said mildly. “There is a certain element of ironic amusement to it.”
“I am sorry, my lord. You are right; this is nothing to laugh about.” She shook her head and tried to adopt a more serious tone. “It is simply not what I expected. Shall we go see Her Grace, then?” She smiled up at Matthew.
“Indeed we shall.” He held out his arm. She took it and he leaned close, his voice low. “You aren’t the least bit worried, are you?”
“Not about this. I have a great deal to tell you. Besides, we have already survived your balloon.” She couldn’t stifle a grin. “Scandal is the very least of my concerns.”
———
It was as close as Matt ever wanted to get to a tribunal or court of inquiry.
The dowager sat regally on a sofa, flanked by her daughter-in-law, the duchess, on one side and Lady Helmsley on the other. The duke himself leaned against the mantel with an expression of amused curiosity. His son, the Marquess of Helmsley, Thomas, stood nearby.
Matt and Tatiana stood before the ladies, Stephen a step behind in a silent, but appreciated, position of support. He braced himself for what was ahead, even as an odd sense of relief filled him that, at last, the pretense would be over.
“My dear Lady Matthew,” the duchess began. “An unpleasant rumor has come to our attention. It is being said that you and Lord Matthew are, well—”
“Now is not the time for subtleties, Katherine.” The dowager waved her silent. She pinned Tatiana with a firm gaze. “While we consider ourselves broad-minded about the relations between adults, we do not appreciate decepti
on in our own home.”
Tatiana didn’t so much as flinch. She was serene and composed and every inch a princess. Matthew marveled that no one could see it but him.
The dowager studied her for a long moment, then smiled. “You are this man’s wife, are you not?”
“Indeed I am, Your Grace.” A slight smile tilted Tatiana’s lips. Matt’s stomach clenched. She had promised to confess everything, and this was not exactly what he’d had in mind.
The dowager nodded. “I assume the facts of this marriage are not generally known, am I correct?”
“You are.” Tatiana’s tone was as composed as if she were discussing something as undisputed as the rising of the sun. “We were wed in Paris last year. I have the documents to prove it, if that is required.”
Matt stared at her in shock. “Tatiana,” he said, without thinking. “She didn’t ask if we wed but if you were my wife.”
“My hearing is excellent, my lord.” Tatiana cast him an innocent gaze.
“You swore there would be no more misstatements.” His voice rose and he forgot they were not alone. “Isn’t there something else you wish to say?”
Tatiana thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Not on this particular matter.”
He gritted his teeth and bent closer to her, aware every gaze in the room was intent upon them, but no longer caring. “What about the annulment? The dissolution of the marriage?”
She sighed. “Matthew, I told you I was your wife and would always be your wife.”
He stared at her in confusion. “What?”
The dowager cleared her throat. “And I suspect, Matthew, she has the papers to prove it.”
Tatiana cast the dowager a brilliant smile and the elderly woman grinned back.
Matt shook his head. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“Understanding will come, my boy,” Her Grace said coolly. “Now, then, there are a few other matters I should like to discuss. Ladies,” she addressed the women sitting beside her, “I shall trust you to lay this nasty rumor to rest.”
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