The Bastard's World

Chapter 1-2

“Here…be careful, now.”

“There.”

“Now you may sit, brother.”

Nicholas Rexford followed his sisters’ instructions without making the slightest effort to remove the blindfold that shielded the sitting room from his eyes. “And this is where you all run away, I suppose.”

There were giggles he recognized as coming from his two younger sisters and then the eldest announced, “Very well, Lucy, let him see.”

Nick tried to imagine what the blindfold would reveal but could hardly believe what he saw when it finally fell away. He struggled for words as overwhelming delight warred with concern and even anger.

Although he knew his sisters expected him to say something, he couldn’t find words as he stared at the cabinet he had not seen since he was a boy. A cabinet that had been designed by their talented mother in her youth and that her doting father had had made for her. Their father had sold it off to pay his “debts of honor” when Nicholas was eleven. It had held their mother’s favorite books and Nick had fond memories of her selecting one from its shelves to read to them.

They had all thought it lost forever, but here it was. How had his sisters found and procured it? And at what cost?

As if reading his mind, Charlotte spoke up quickly. “Not to worry, brother. Although no expense is too great for your birthday gift, no one was forced to make any impossible sacrifice.”

Nick relaxed somewhat. As Viscount Leighton, he was, by all rights, the head of the family, but old habits died hard and as the eldest, Charlotte’s words still held a great deal of weight.

“Shall I tell him how we found it, Charlotte?” Violet asked, but didn’t wait for a reply before continuing. “Last week, just two days after we arrived, when Lottie and I were taking our walk, it began to rain. There was an open house, so we went inside, and what do you think? There was an auction. We didn’t mean to buy anything, but then there was Mamma’s cabinet! Of course we had to bid.”

Nick knew that Violet, who was big-hearted but not practical, would naturally outbid anyone in an effort to recover their mother’s cabinet, and this worried him greatly. They could barely afford this Season in London and had to watch every penny—money spent on a birthday gift for him meant less money for necessities.

“Now stop looking like that,” Charlotte scolded. “Truly, the bidding did not go very high. If you look closely, you’ll see that Mamma’s cabinet is a little worse for wear.”

Leaning forward to scrutinize the cabinet, Nick made note of several scuffs and chips in the wood. Perhaps the bidding did not go so high after all. “So it is. Still, all that matters is that it is back with us where it belongs.”

“Exactly as I thought,” Charlotte sat back with a satisfied smile, cuddling her son on her lap.

“And this as well.” Lucy handed him a packet tied with a blue ribbon before settling herself at his feet. “Open it!”

Nick untied the ribbon and unfolded the paper and smiled when he saw the unusual fob inside. He lifted it by the embroidered ribbon and studied the quatrefoil that had a decorative “N” inside, held in place by intricate vines and leaves. It was heavier than most fobs, being made of cast iron, but was a beautiful piece of work. In some ways it was more shocking than the bookcase. Even though it wasn’t as fancy as most jewelry, there was no way his youngest sister could afford to buy such a thing. “Lucy…”

Charlotte was apparently thinking the same thing. “Lucy, where on earth did you get this?”

“It was in the bookcase. I found it caught behind one of the drawers.” Lucy shot her siblings a triumphant grin. “It’s an N! As if it was meant for Nicky to have it.” She tossed her red curls when no one spoke. “You and Vi found Mamma’s bookcase, and I wanted something from me, so I found a ribbon and embroidered it on.”

“You embroidered it?” Nick grinned down at her. “That makes it a very rare item, indeed.” Twelve-year-old Lucy hated needlework. That she made the effort for his sake was quite touching.

In reply she playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

“Lucy!” Charlotte and Violet chided in unison. They both tried constantly to—as they put it—“keep Lucy from turning into a complete hoyden” and often complained that Nick encouraged rather than curbed her.

“You couldn’t possibly wear it with an evening coat,” Charlotte said, nodding toward Lucy’s gift. “And it’s not so fancy a fob as a viscount should have, but it’s far better than none.”

“I’m not so fancy a viscount as I should be,” Nick countered, not wanting Charlotte’s words to dampen Lucy’s enthusiasm. He stood and fastened the fob to the hem of his waistcoat. “Like so? What do you think? Have I the makings of a dandy yet?”

“I should hope not!” Lucy wrinkled her nose.

“What would you know of dandies?” Violet smirked.

“As much as you!” Lucy shot back. “I’ve only seen them, just as you have. You haven’t met anyone yet and—”

“Plenty of time for us to make acquaintances here in town,” Charlotte broke in swiftly. Despite being seven years older, Violet rarely got the best of their youngest sister in an argument. “We’re hardly ready to be seen as yet, in any case. Now, shall we have the cake? It is already past time that Ceddie should be in bed.” She motioned for their butler, Saltash—known as “Salty” for as long as Nick could remember—to bring in the cake.

While his sisters discussed the Season, alternately gushing and bickering about various plans, Nick wondered—not for the first time—whether he would be able to afford everything they needed. He hadn’t wanted to come to Town at all, what with last year’s crops failing during what was now being called the “Year Without a Summer.” Nick had felt compelled to forgive all the tenants’ rents, leaving the family without the majority of its income. But Charlotte had insisted upon London, stating that at nineteen Violet had waited long enough for her first Season. Nick knew that Charlotte was counting on Violet—and Nick himself—to make a wealthy match that would take them out of the circumstances their father’s gambling had reduced the family to.

Charlotte had always been considered the beauty of the family, but Violet was exceedingly pretty as well, although shorter and more buxom. Nick was quite handsome, so his sisters told him. With the same golden blonde hair and blue eyes as both of the older girls, he’d never had need of crimping irons for his hair or padding for his shoulders as so many fashionable young men did.

The idea of marriage—especially for the sake of money, such as his parents had—was abhorrent to him, no matter how much Charlotte said it was necessary. Nick supposed that she knew what she was talking of, since she had married for love, only to have her gallant soldier husband die at Waterloo, leaving her with a son and barely one hundred pounds a year.

Once their debts had finally been paid off, Nick had managed to set aside a sum of money that he’d been meaning to invest, except that he had no idea what would bring in the best return for his money. He hoped that in London he would be able to learn about the safest ventures, providing he didn’t have to use the money to pay for their stay in Town. Investment was a topic he had no true interest in, and one he was afraid he had no talent for, but it was necessary if he was going to support his sisters.

Charlotte was telling Violet about some acquaintances that were sure to call soon, and so Nick made the appropriate noises while studying their mother’s—his—cabinet. It would go in his bedchamber, and Nick already knew he would use it to keep his favorite books in. The horrid novels that had no reason to be in the library—Charlotte thought them vulgar, Violet had no interest in reading, and Lucy was too young to read them—had been his favorites ever since he’d read The Romance of the Forest by Mrs. Radcliffe when he was fourteen.

His sisters all knew he was fond of reading novels, but not that his favorites were horrid novels. They certainly had no idea that he nearly always imagined himself being carried off by the mysterious villain.