Anne’s eyebrows shot up and she smiled at her husband, silently sending him courage. “Frederick?” Anne reached for him instinctively.
He helped her to her feet.“Go wait with Benjamin and Sophia, my Love.Whatever it is Prince George wants, I will handle it.” Uncharacteristically, he kissed her cheek before turning to follow the court’s messenger. Frederick had no idea what to expect. Prince George had earned a reputation for his magnanimous character, as well as his frivolous one.With the turn of the earlier conversation, Frederick had no idea what to expect when he approached the table again. For all he knew, the Prince might demand the pleasure of Anne’s company in private; it was not beyond him. That will not happen. Frederick certainly would not look the other way, no matter what it cost him.
He waited with the court’s emissary for nearly ten minutes before the Prince chose to recognize his presence. “Admiral Wentworth,” Prinny called out, “you returned!” Frederick could hear the slur of his speech and knew that he dealt with a powerful man in his cups. As a ship’s captain, he had handled many an insensible man, but Prince George was his country’s future leader.
Frederick bowed low.“As you requested,Your Majesty.”
“Come closer, Wentworth.” He gestured to the same chair, which Frederick occupied earlier.
Frederick sat down and asked guardedly,“May I be of service, Your Highness?”
“Actually, Admiral, I have decided to be of service to you,” he said loudly.
“I beg your pardon,Your Majesty, but I do not understand.”
The Prince gestured to the other side of the table, and the Duke of Mayfield took over the explanation. Frederick noted how the other guests at the table all stared at him—silly, drunken smiles plastered on many of their faces, as if they all shared some delicious secret. “According to our sources—Sir William Dunlap, to be precise,” the Duke’s speech was even more slurred than the Prince’s, “your wife’s father’s family was granted its title by Charles II.”
Frederick said cautiously, “I believe Your Grace is correct in this matter.”
“Of course, I am correct,” Mayfield asserted.
“Charles,” Prince George laughed at what he would say before he said it,“was a two. Charles Two. I am a four; that makes me twice as powerful. Is that not right,Admiral?”
Frederick wanted to smile; Prince George was a lousy drunk. “Four is twice as strong as two,Your Highness,” he said, as seriously as he could.
“Charles Two gave the Elliots a baronetcy. I am a four; I will give you more.That rhymes,” he cackled, as did the rest of his table. The Prince snapped his fingers, and one of the footmen placed a folded document shield in his hand. “Admiral Wentworth, I need you to stand, but I think I will not stand. We will do this seated. Sir Walter Elliot is a nincompoop, but you are a sensible man. England needs sensible men, Wentworth. Your wife’s father is a mere baronet, but from this day forward, you and your children will have a title greater than that man’s. I give you this!” He held out the document, and Frederick tentatively took it.
Gingerly, he unfolded the paper and began to read.
“What do you think, Wentworth?” the Prince asked; he was puffed up like a bantam rooster.
“It is phenomenal, Your Majesty; I do not know what to say except to offer my devotion and my appreciation.” Frederick began to read the paper again—a royal proclamation—including the King’s seal and the Queen’s signature under that of George IV.
“My man will call on you tomorrow morning with all the details. He will tell you of the property and of your duties to the Crown. I expect that you should return to Mrs.Wentworth,Admiral. She is likely to be missing you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Frederick got to his feet and began his obligatory bow out of the group’s sight. “Your kindness will never be forgotten.” He nodded to the Duke, who seemed to have engineered the honor.
As he backed away, Frederick wondered what had just occurred. No one would believe it; he was not sure even he did, although he clutched the proof of it tightly in his hand.
When he reached Anne, she was extremely curious, but he told her nothing. “In the carriage,” was all Frederick said as he hustled her from the room; Benjamin and Sophia closely followed.
Finally settled in their coach, Anne could contain herself no longer.“Tell me!” she demanded.
“I considered it, and I may wait until tomorrow. Our Prince George may change his mind, after all.” He leaned back into the cushioned upholstery and pretended to close his eyes for sleep.
Anne noted the smile, however, and she allowed herself the liberty of reclining against his shoulder.“Then I suppose I will wait to tell you what I know.” Anne snuggled into his arm, relaxing her weight against him.
“You have no secrets from me,” Frederick mumbled, trying to sound sleepy.
Anne yawned before saying, “If you say so, my Dear.” She shut her eyes and sighed heavily.
“Will either of you tell Sophia or me?” Benjamin asked, too curious to wait.
Anne chuckled, but she did not open her eyes. “Sophia already knows my secret,” she mumbled dreamily.
Frederick sat up now, suddenly aware that Anne might not be mocking him.“What is your secret,Anne?”
“You first,” she stated firmly.
Frederick turned to his sister.“Sophia?”
“Leave me out of your domestic squabbles.” Sophia draped a leg over Benjamin’s knee. He removed her slipper and began to massage her foot.
“Anne?” Frederick’s attention reverted to his wife.
She looked away—out the coach’s window.The coach lantern illuminated her profile.“It is nothing, Frederick; I only wanted you to share what Prince George said.”
Frederick turned her chin to face him. “You are a terrible liar, Sweetling, but I will share with you my news; then you must share as well.” He took a deep breath. “Prince George or the Duke of Mayfield or someone else at that table dislikes your father intensely. The more they drank, evidently, the more they mulled over our answers to what the group had asked about our life together. In short, Prince George has bestowed a title on me, on you, and on any children.”
Silence.
Undaunted, he continued, “I am now Frederick James Wentworth, Viscount Orland of Hanson Hall in Dorset.”
Frederick waited, but still no one spoke; suspended in disbelief, they stared at him, waiting for the punch line. “Viscount?” Sophia asked. She laughed, but with a suspicious overtone. “My brother is a viscount?”
“Yes.” Frederick never took his eyes off Anne. “I am Viscount Orland. Anne is Viscountess Orland.” She still did not move, barely blinking—barely breathing. “Anne?” He patted her hand and smiled.“Say something,Anne.”
She swallowed down her incredulity; her lips moved, but no sound came out. Finally, after several failed attempts, she stammered, “Frederick, this is not amusing.”
He put one arm around her and placed the proclamation in her hands.“It is so dark in here you probably cannot read the paper you hold, but it says you are married to a viscount. Prince George’s man will call on us tomorrow with specific details.”
Benjamin began to laugh heartily, and Sophia soon joined in. Anne, understanding that Frederick spoke the truth, exploded with laughter.
Benjamin chortled, “Rear Admiral and a title before you are forty.You are one lucky salt, Frederick!”
Frederick burst into laughter and attempted to summarize his conversation with the inebriated prince. “Prince George…said he was…was a four…made him…made him stronger…stronger than Charles… Charles Two… Charles II.”The laughter came easily now to all four of them as they each succumbed to his obvious joy. “Charles gave…gave your father…a baronetcy…George gave me twice…twice a baronet…a viscount!”
Anne collapsed into his arms, howling with unladylike laughter, burying her head against his chest. “My father”—she got the words out—“My father will have to bow to you
.”
Her words brought a loud burst of laughter from Sophia, who buried her fist in her mouth to smother what now was uncontrollable happiness emanating from the coach’s passengers.“Both your sisters will have to bow to you,Anne.Will not Elizabeth love that?”
“Elizabeth!”Anne shrieked.“Poor Mary!”
“Mrs. Charles will be green with envy,Anne,” Benjamin added. “She will probably take to her bed for a month.”
Frederick became more serious. “I could give Edward a better living if he wants it—on our estate.”
“Let us wait for that,” Anne, ever the reasonable one, said. “We do not know the condition of the estate. It could be run down—near ruin.” She wiped the happy tears from her cheeks.
“Even if it is, we will make it work—you and I, Anne; it will be ours. I promised you years ago I would give you all you deserved. We will have a house in London; I will sit in Parliament; I will be the voice of those veterans coming home to England and encourage England to protect them, now that they have protected us.”
“I knew you would find an altruistic reason for our good luck. You will continue to protect your men.” Anne stroked his cheek with the back of her hand.Without thinking, she added,“Our baby will have the best of fathers.”
“Baby?” Frederick latched onto the word.
Again, everything in the carriage grew stone quiet. Sophia whimpered with expectation.
The light from the lantern suddenly seemed very strong.“Yes,” Anne managed to say. Looking into Frederick’s eyes, she repeated, “Yes. I am with child.”
“When?” he demanded.
“Late summer,” she murmured. “I felt the quickening begin earlier in the week.”
“You felt our child move?” Frederick’s large palm moved to cover her stomach.“Will you tell me when it happens next?”
“Yes.”
But he did not hear; he was taking her into her arms and embracing her.“I love you,” he murmured in her ear.“I have always loved you.”
“Forgive us,”Anne apologized to the other occupants of the carriage. “We should not share such intimate moments in front of you.”
“What is there to forgive?” Benjamin started.“You just learned the most perfect news—you are to be parents.”
“Say it again—make it so,” Frederick demanded of no one in particular.
Anne clutched at his hand.“We are to have a child, my Love.”
Sophia chided in,“A baby of your own, Frederick.“
“Maybe a son to inherit your new title,” Benjamin teased.
Anne joined in the taunt. “Or a daughter who will wrap you around her finger.”
“I do not care which,” Frederick declared.“A child! What was it you said, Benjamin? The future is a place for dreams, and those dreams lie in our children.” He turned to his wife. “Thank you, Anne. Despite what we earned from the Prince this evening, your gift is greater than any wealth or title. Even if we were in a simple cottage, I would be a rich man at this moment.” He pulled her into his embrace, holding Anne’s head to his chest where she might hear his heartbeat. He kissed the top of her head.
Sophia resisted the urge to tell Anne “I told you so.” Instead, she switched her position and swiveled into Benjamin’s arms.“We are a happy foursome tonight. The Admiral and I learned today that Mrs. Bradley has accepted our offer for the Oxfordshire property.”
Benjamin pulled her closer. “Our man of business saw the property last week and assures us that it meets all our needs. It is about half the size of Kellynch, but it will be roots for Sophie and me and for our daughter.”
“And maybe someday for your son,”Anne whispered.
Benjamin chuckled. “The Wentworths have settled down, Miss Anne, and we are reaping the benefits.”
Anne sleepily laid her head against Frederick’s shoulder. “Admiral, we married into the best.”
“We did, Miss Anne; we certainly did.”
CHAPTER 23
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear.
—Thomas Moore,“Believe Me,
If All Those Endearing Young Charms”
When the footman announced Lord Wallingford, Frederick greeted him in the rented study.The rest of the household prepared for their departure on Saturday. Benjamin and Edward supervised the packing, making sure the belongings, recently merged, were separated along property lines. Anne, Sophie, and Christine paid a final call on Bond Street, securing London’s latest fashions.
“Viscount Orland.” Wallingford bowed to Frederick upon his entrance.
Frederick laughed lightly. “You are the first to call me such, Lord Wallingford. I am afraid the name still sounds foreign to me. I am barely adjusting to my new rank—a new title may come more slowly.” Frederick led the man to matching wing chairs in front of the hearth.“May I offer you refreshments, Sir?”
Wallingford declined with thanks. Then he settled into the chair, laying his papers across his lap. Once settled comfortably, he addressed Frederick again. “As you know, I am here to discuss the property bestowed upon you by our Prince.”
“Mrs.Wentworth—the voice of reason in this household—has convinced herself and me, to a certain extent, that this gift from our Prince Regent has some sort of catch.The estate, for example, she believes to be in ruins. Will I need to spend all my prize money bringing it back to life?”
“Your wife is obviously astute, but she is mistaken about the estate. I assure you the property is in repair and productive; it will bring you a comfortable living.The house is immaculate. And the title is sound.You will be the third-highest-ranking family in the area. His Majesty would not put you in the position of having to pull rank on some of the older members of the aristocracy by placing you above them.You would never be accepted in the community in such a case.”
After years of reading between the line of military orders, Frederick recognized a stall.“And it is important to his His Majesty that I be accepted in the community?”
“Yes,Admiral, it is,”Wallingford acknowledged.
Frederick smiled slightly. “Then I was chosen for something? This is not simply a gift from my future king?”
Wallingford gave him a brief nod.“You wish me to be honest?”
“Preferably.”
Wallingford nodded and rifled through his stack of papers.“The gift of which you speak is as I described—the house, the land, and the title.And they are all yours.They will remain in your family, but for such an honor, the Crown expects reimbursement.”
Frederick’s eyebrows shot up, but he forced himself to remain calm.“Please continue.”
Wallingford cleared his throat. “You and a few select others were chosen, as you say, based on your military careers—on the report of your loyalty to England—but, more importantly, on the report of your leadership—your men’s training—the way they respect you and respond to your expertise. His Majesty was not drunk yesterday evening; that was a ruse. Many of the honorees who spoke to the Prince and his guests simply talked of their military experiences.”
“He spoke to us of my wife’s father,” Frederick mused.“In most unflattering terms, I might add.”
“Part of the ruse,”Wallingford assured him.“The Central Office for Naval Affairs has a plan, approved by the Crown Prince. During this war, a system of smugglers, as well as traitors—many of them French sympathizers—increased in numbers. Unfortunately, without a war on, the public will look the other way; the conspirators will thrive without censure.We cannot allow that to happen.That is where you and those others chosen come in. We need our own system of people in place throughout England to combat whatever is thrown at us.
“Each of those the Central Office identifies will become part of communities where we need them to be our eyes and ears. Some chosen are already established in their
home counties. Each recruit to our cause receives payment catered to his needs. One, for example, needs money to make his business solvent; another needs a brother saved from transport to Australia.We needed a point man, a person to coordinate our efforts along the Channel.What better way than to reward a war hero with a title and an estate for his wife.”
Frederick could not resist asking,“How much does the Central Office know of my personal life?”
Wallingford laughed, recognizing Frederick’s solitary temperament. “Probably more than you care for them to, Admiral. They have monitored your career since before you took command of the Laconia—probably as far back as your first meeting with Anne Elliot.”
Frederick sat forward suddenly.“I will not endanger my wife and our child—not even for a title and an estate,” he asserted vehemently.
“Then you are to be a father?”Wallingford noted.
“I am, Sir; please understand Anne is the only person—the most important person in my life.” Frederick’s voice was firm. “Loyalty to her and our child comes before even loyalty to my country.”
“We never doubted that, Lord Orland. In fact, we are banking on your desire to give Mrs.Wentworth what you openly expressed on more than one occasion—to give her what she deserved—a title and an estate.”
Frederick asked suddenly,“How does this work?”
“It is uncomplicated, Sir.You and Mrs.Wentworth take possession of Hanson Hall and make it your home.You insert yourself into the local society and become the person everyone trusts—to whom everyone talks freely.We will help you to establish connections with our trusted assistants.We chose Dorset specifically for its location—close to Cornwall and its strong smuggling business, but not Cornwall, where no one accepts strangers at face value. Lord Orland’s demise without an heir left us the perfect opening to establish a presence in the area.Your capture of the American gives the Crown a logical excuse—one that people will easily accept—to reward your efforts with a property and a title.”
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