Snowy Night With a Stranger

by Jane Feather

  Martin squeezed her side. “Her hand in marriage, sir.” He turned to her, his gaze as bright as the gold button. “I love you, Ellie, and I can’t live another day without you. I will give up my penance for you. Will you take me, dangers and all?”

  “Yes, Martin, yes,” she whispered. “I love you, too.”

  “Now see here,” Papa broke in. “You’re not the first man to be tempted by my daughter’s fortune, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “I don’t care about her fortune, sir,” Martin said evenly, turning to meet her father’s stern gaze. “Though we would prefer to have your blessing.”

  “What if my blessing comes at a stiff price?” her father asked in a hard voice. “Will you give up her fortune to have my blessing?”

  “Papa! I want to marry him, and he deserves—”

  “It’s all right, Ellie,” Martin murmured. “I told you from the beginning, I don’t need your money.”

  “He don’t, ‘tis true,” the innkeeper put in. “Everyone knows that his lordship’s estate brings in over five thousand a year. And the mine is earning more now than it ever did when his brother owned it.”

  “What?” She twisted round to look over at the servants. “But Mr. Huggett said—”

  “Forgive me, miss,” the butler replied with a blush. “You were so convinced that his lordship had fallen on hard times that it seemed rude to tell you otherwise.”

  She let out a laugh, remembering how neatly Huggett had manipulated her into decking the manor in greenery despite his master’s wishes.

  She glanced up at Martin, who was eyeing her and Huggett with a perplexed expression, and flashed him a giddy smile. “Very well, sir, I shall grant your boon—though I do have one condition of my own.”

  “Oh?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “You must promise never to get rid of Mr. Huggett.”

  Martin began to laugh, and so did she. Then the boys joined them, dancing about while her father stood there stunned and her aunt beamed.

  “Come now,” Martin cried, pulling Ellie out of the doorway. “The food is getting cold, and we have a dinner to eat.”

  As the servants hauled in the roast goose and Christmas pie and plum pudding, the boys were beside themselves with joy, exclaiming over each new treat in wonder.

  “His lordship knows how to keep Christmas well, if I do say so myself,” the innkeeper pronounced.

  Little Charlie Dickens stared round at all the feast, and in a burst of pleasure cried, “God bless us, every one!”

  And so He did.

  Author’s Note

  Yes, I took the ultimate dramatic license—I put Charles Dickens himself in my book and gave him some of his own lines from A Christmas Carol. Fortunately the timing of my book was perfect for it, occurring exactly between when his family moved to a suburb of London and his father entered debtor’s prison. How could I resist?

  I also appropriated the invention of the safety fuse for my hero. The real inventor was a man named William Bickford, who lived in a mining town and decided to do something about all the needless deaths from explosion. His invention came about when he saw a man weaving rope and had a “Eureka!” moment. His design is the same one used today for fuses for explosives.

  And yes, snapdragon was not only a real game, but it became quite popular in the Victorian era. It’s not as bad as it sounds (I experimented to be sure). The song (contained in Robert Chambers’s The Book of Days) is also real, although longer. The “lucky raisin” is a variant I was delighted to be able to use!

  Snowy Night with a Highlander

  Julia London

  Prologue

  London

  1806

  Lady Gilbert, a self-proclaimed great admirer of dogs, was compelled to bring her talented terrier to an afternoon tea party in Mayfair one cold afternoon, where she commenced to command the little dog to perform many canine feats. Up on his hind legs he went to beg eagerly for a treat, over he rolled at the lilting suggestion of his owner. And the pièce de résistance: he leapt vertically two feet into the air and latched on to a piece of leather Lady Gilbert dangled before him, then hung there, twisting and turning in his determination to have it. When Lady Gilbert at last relented, the little dog strutted proudly with the leather in his mouth, pausing only to lift his leg and mark Lady Osbourne’s hem.

  In the ensuing meée, the Earl of Lambourne’s London butler appeared in the salon and informed the tea’s hostess, the earl’s sister, Lady Fiona Haines, that two official-looking gentlemen had called and insisted on having a word.

  Fiona received them in the drawing room. She was a bit flushed, having tried to help Lady Gilbert corral the culprit, which led only to the toppling of a chair and crystal vase. She explained that her brother, the earl, was away just now, as she tucked a strand of rich brown hair behind her ear. Away indefinitely, she added.

  Forever, as far as she knew, given the scandal brewing in London.

  Fiona loved her brother, Jack, fiercely, but she was aware that he was an inveterate rake, both in their native Scotland and in London—and perhaps as far away as Ireland. She was also aware that Jack had been accused—falsely and unjustly, according to him—of having committed adultery with the Princess of Wales. The Prince of Wales intended to exploit that accusation, if he could manage it, in a very public trial of divorce. That could be devastating for Jack, for as everyone knew, adultery with any woman was morally reprehensible, but adultery with the Princess of Wales was a highly treasonable offense.

  As Jack wrote in his hastily penned letter to Fiona from Eastchurch Abbey, he’d rather be hanged than spend his life in Newgate, and that he’d be in Scotland until “this bloody bad business was done.”

  Fiona glossed over these small details when she said to the gentlemen Woodburn and Hallaby, “I canna say when he might return, but I should be delighted to give him your card the moment he does.”

  The two gentlemen, who did indeed look rather official, exchanged a look with one another. “Forgive me, madam, but Lord Lambourne is in a spot of trouble.”

  Fiona’s heart fluttered a bit. “Oh?”

  “If I may speak indelicately?” Woodburn asked.

  Fiona swallowed and nodded.

  “The Prince of Wales has been egregiously offended by the rumors that your brother, his friend, may have lain with the Princess of Wales. He is determined to bring swift justice to anyone who might have compromised the rightful succession of his daughter to the throne.”

  She must not have appeared to be suitably alarmed, because Sir Woodburn stepped forward. “It is a very serious offense, my lady. If the earl is found to be guilty, he could very well be sentenced to hang for his crime.”

  A small swell of panic filled Fiona’s breast, but she managed to remain calmly inscrutable. “That is very distressing news, sir, although I am confident my brother would be found innocent of these ridiculous accusations were it to come to that. Nevertheless, I canna imagine what you’d have me do. My innocent, virtuous brother is away presently.” She mustered what she hoped was the sincerest of smiles.

  “Perhaps there is something you might do, my lady,” Lord Hallaby interjected regally. “The king does not necessarily believe all the ugly rumors that swirl around London. In fact, he, too, considers Lambourne to be his friend and remarks with great fondness the memories he has of a royal hunt a few years ago at Balmoral.”

  “How very kind of his majesty.”

  “The king would not like to see the earl involved in what has all the markings of being a very public and ugly scandal,” Hallaby continued. “The king would like to think of his friend tucked safely away until this wretched ordeal is at an end.”

  If she understood them correctly, the prince would have Jack hauled to London and tried for adultery, while his father, the king, hoped Jack would remain tucked away to avoid it?

  “The king is hopeful,” Hallaby said very low, “that you might impress on your brother the serious nature of the offen
se of which he has been accused and suggest that perhaps he might move deeper into Scotland. You know—into the hills there.”

  “The Highlands,” Fiona said, and wished she could sit down to think a moment. How did they suppose she would warn him? “I appreciate his majesty’s concern,” she continued uncertainly, “but I canna say anything to my brother at present as he is away.”

  Woodburn looked at Hallaby, then at Fiona. “The Christmas season is almost upon us, is it not? The king hopes that when you travel to join your family, you might find your brother and bear him this message—before the prince’s men find him.”

  To Edinburgh? The wanted her to go all the way to Edinburgh?

  “I do not wish to alarm you, madam, but the prince’s men are looking for your brother as we speak,” Woodburn said softly. “It is the king’s genuine hope that you find him first and warn him properly. His highness should very much like to see this delicate investigation put to rest as quickly as possible. Perhaps you might want to depart at dawn’s first light.”

  “Dawn’s first light?” she echoed weakly, her mind reeling.

  “A traveling chaise will be made available to you and your maid.” Woodburn smiled thinly. “Good journey, Lady Fiona.” He bowed his head and turned on his heel. With a quick smile for her, Hallaby was right behind him, leaving a dazed Fiona behind them.

  Wasn’t it peculiar how one’s life could change in a mere few moments?

  Chapter One

  Edinburgh

  The Buchanans’ Edinburgh butler presented a folded letter to Duncan Buchanan on a silver tray. Duncan snatched the letter with his good hand and turned quickly—he didn’t like the way the butler looked at him, as if he were a ghastly apparition. He stalked to the end of the salon to stand before the fire.

  The letter made Duncan curious. He was rarely in Edinburgh since the accident had occurred, and even more rarely did he receive invitations or callers. He was something of a pariah to polite society.

  He studied the writing on the letter. It was from a Mr. Theodore Seaver, a name that stirred a buried memory. He tucked the letter under his useless left arm and broke the seal with his good hand, then quickly read its contents. Mr. Theodore Seaver hoped that the Laird of Blackwood—Duncan—might receive him and his late sister’s daughter, Lady Fiona Haines, at five o’clock. It was a matter of some urgency, Mr. Seaver wrote.

  Fiona Haines. Duncan remembered her—a rather plain girl, save a pair of big, catlike amber eyes. But that was all he remembered about her. However, her brother, Jack, now the Earl of Lambourne, was quite another story. Duncan remembered him very clearly: a black-haired, gray-eyed roué with a liking for redheaded women. Many years ago, before either of them were really men, Jack Haines and Duncan had vied for the same redheaded woman from Aberfeldy, and Duncan had lost to him.

  Duncan could not imagine what any of them would want with him now, but as he was a solitary man these days, his curiosity was piqued.

  He turned partially toward the butler, glancing at him from the corner of his good eye. “Send for Mr. Cameron if you would, then. We are expecting guests at five o’clock.”

  As the butler went out to fetch his secretary, Duncan turned his gaze to the fire and wondered what, after all these years, could possibly bring a Haines to his doorstep.

  -o-O-o-

  “I canna believe what I am about to do,” Fiona muttered beneath her breath as her uncle’s carriage clattered down Charlotte Street en route to the estate known simply as The Gables—or, as her uncle had called it, Buchanan Palace.

  “Eh? What’s that you said, lass?” her uncle asked, peering at her over the rims of his spectacles, which were perennially perched on the tip of his nose.

  “Naugh’ that bears repeating, Uncle,” she said, and sighed as she looked out at the gloomy façade of the buildings they were passing. It had done nothing but rain since she’d arrived in Edinburgh, coming down in hard, icy pellets. Christmas was still several days away, yet it was as if the worst of winter was setting in.

  “You must no’ fret, leannan,” her uncle said. “I shall speak for you. No need to say a thing if you’d rather no’.”

  Fiona couldn’t help but smile. Her aging Uncle Theodore and Aunt Lucy had always been very protective of her. “Thank you, Uncle,” she said. “I’ve no fear of speaking for myself, and you mustna think so. But I’ll be honest, sir—I do no’ care for Duncan Buchanan, and I never have, and the less I must say to him, the better.”

  “Eh? What’s that?” her uncle said, cupping a hand behind his ear.

  Fiona smiled and said loudly, “I said thank you!”

  He smiled, obviously pleased with his role as defender, and leaned across the carriage and patted her knee.

  It was dark by the time the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the very large and cheerless estate. Only two windows showed any light from within, and a pair of crows was battling over something near the entrance. Just looking up at the cold gray monolith made Fiona shiver; she pulled her hood up over her head.

  The Gables was just like Blackwood, the enormous Buchanan estate situated in the Highlands. Blackwood had always seemed rather oppressive to her, even when it was the site for celebrations. Her cousin had married in the chapel there when Fiona was a girl, and Fiona recalled thinking how strange it was to see all the flowers and cheerful music and smiling faces with thick stone walls and foreboding parapets in the background.

  Jack, blast him! It was just like the rapscallion to have gone there, off for a bit of sport while he waited for the scandal to die in London and for Fiona to sweep up after him! Aunt Lucy said he’d gone to see Angus Buchanan, a distant cousin of the awful laird there, but one who enjoyed duck hunting this time of year. Now she would be forced to darken the threshold of the one place in all of Scotland she swore she’d never visit again.

  The door suddenly swung open, and a swath of light spilled out onto the drive. A butler stepped out and held his lantern high. “Mr. Seaver, I presume?”

  “What’s that?” her uncle called back to him.

  “Yes sir,” Fiona said.

  “Seaver!” her uncle shouted, having ascertained the question. “Theodore Seaver at your service, sir!”

  “This way if you please,” the butler said, and stepped back, gesturing for them to enter the narrow passageway that led to the house.

  Uncle Theodore did not hear well, but he understood the gesture, and with his hand firmly cupping her elbow, he propelled Fiona forward.

  As it turned out, the house was not nearly as imposing as it looked from the outside. In the main foyer, a woolen rug warmed the stone floor, and in addition to the usual sets of armor and swords that families like the Buchanans felt obliged to display on their walls, there was a vase of fresh hothouse flowers and a portrait of a beautiful woman gracing the small hearth.

  They weren’t all ogres, then.

  “Shall I have your cloaks?” the butler asked, extending his hands.

  Uncle Theodore was quick to help Fiona out of hers, and as he methodically removed his hat and gloves, his greatcoat, his scarf, and yet a second scarf and handed then to the butler, Fiona shook out her skirts and smoothed her lap.

  She was wearing one of her best gowns—it was brocade, claret in color and intricately embroidered. It had been fashioned for her by one of the finest modistes in London, and her friend Lady Gilbert had remarked that it showed her figure to its fullest advantage. Not that Fiona cared a wit what Duncan Buchanan might think of her figure, no sir, no indeed. She had ceased to care about anything to do with that arse several years ago.

  Having divested himself of what seemed a mound of clothing, Uncle Theodore grabbed the ends of his waistcoat and gave it a good tug before looking expectantly at the butler.

  The butler handed off the mound of clothing to a waiting footman, then bowed his head. “Welcome to The Gables,” he said. “If you please.” He stepped into a dark corridor, indicating they should follow.

  Fi
ona looked at her uncle. Her uncle winked and held out his arm. Fiona sighed again, put her hand on his arm, and lifted her chin. In a matter of moments, Buchanan would discover that she was not the shy, uncertain young girl she’d been when she’d last seen him, if he remembered her at all. It had been more than a few years; she really wasn’t certain how many years it had been. She would have to give it some thought. But one thing was certain—he was undoubtedly still the most tiresomely supercilious man in all of Scotland.

  They were shown into a rather large drawing room that had been divided into two rooms by a pair of heavy drapes. A man who was most decidedly not Buchanan rose from a chair as they entered and bowed respectfully to them.

  Fiona curtsied as she quickly glanced around the room, searching for the magic door through which Buchanan would strut and pause to look at her with disdain. There was no door. There was only the gentleman—Mr. Cameron, he said his name was—who was saying something about being the laird’s secretary and how he was authorized to hear their petition.

  Petition! As if they were serfs come on a rickety cart pulled by their aged mule to ask the laird for a bit of leniency! She was hardly aware that her uncle was speaking. She was scarcely aware of anything, as it seemed that all her thoughts had been obliterated by her fury.

  -o-O-o-

  Behind the drapery, Duncan stood with one hand behind his back, the other hanging listlessly at his side, and his head down. He was not expecting the woman who swept impatiently into the room. And frankly, he was more than a bit taken aback. Had he not known it was Fiona Haines who would be calling, he would not have recognized her. Granted, he scarcely remembered her at all, but this woman was resplendent in the claret gown, and seemed much more sophisticated than the girl he remembered.

  If she had looked like this years ago, he would have remembered her…he would have bedded her.

  “Please, do sit,” Mr. Cameron said, directing them both to a settee.

  It was clear that Lady Fiona Haines did not want to sit, judging by the way she hung back, but her uncle gave her a stern look and put a hand to her back, steering her to the settee.