Chapter 13

Thirteen

" T he heir to the dukedom took to his liking an innocent woman, on the very day of her debut. She was easily led astray, caught up in his charms, and seduced by his promises. But this was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the kiss he gave her was the stealing of her innocence for his own carnality. His behavior was shocking, and he showed little regard as he cast off the poor creature, having satiated his lust… Oh, really, have you seen this, Lily? Who writes these kinds of things? It's extraordinary," Alicia exclaimed, as the two of them sat at luncheon the day after the ball at the assembly rooms.

Lily smiled, looking across the table with an innocent expression on her face.

"Oh…what is it?" she asked, as Alicia handed over the offending article, tutting and shaking her head.

"It's one of those scandal sheets – you see them in London, but I didn't think I'd ever see one here in Lancaster. It's just terrible. I don't know why mother takes such things – she's always reading these odd tracts and pamphlets. The Broker Press, I think it's called – last week some odd description of the stars aligning as a sign of impending doom, then wild claims about the Regent being a French spy, and now it seems they've turned their attention to scandal mongering. It's so distasteful," she said, even as Lily smiled to think her friend had read the whole thing – whether finding it distasteful or not.

Lily, of course, knew all the details. She had risen early, finished her piece about the ball – and her description of Maximilian's rakish behavior, before slipping out and making her way to The Broker Press. Mr. Broker had been only too glad to see her, and he had been impressed by what she had written, setting it to print at once. Even now, copies were being distributed across Lancaster and further afield, so that there would soon not be a drawing room or salon without an account of the happening at last night's ball.

"It's quite extraordinary, isn't it?" Lily said, reading over her own words, as Alicia tutted.

"Oh, but it can't be true. They'll print anything, won't they? It titillates, of course. But for the subject…well, he's the heir to dukedom. I've heard rumors about him, of course, but…well…it can't be true, can it?" Alicia said, shaking her head.

Lily raised her eyebrows. She had never thought of Alicia as being in any sense na?ve, but there was a propensity amongst the merchant classes to believe the aristocracy to be beyond reproach. Title and privilege was something to aspire to, and to discover the human frailties of such people was to discover an unpalatable truth.

"Why not? Didn't you see the way he behaved when he arrived? He was already drunk and making a scene. Why not another? And why not with another?" Lily replied.

Alicia furrowed her brow.

"Well…it just seems very far-fetched. And where's the right to reply? Doesn't Maximilian have the right to defend himself?" she asked.

Lily did not think so. She had simply laid down the facts as she had observed them. If Lily had learned anything from her years of writing such scandal sheets, it was that reporting the facts was a certain way of ensuring there could be no defense. What Maximilian had done was wrong, and it was Amelia Fox who had borne the brunt of it.

"And if it's true? If he's done these things, what do you think of him then?" Lily asked, fixing Alicia with a pointed expression.

Her friend looked at her in confusion.

"I don't understand why you're defending it so – I was merely passing a comment. I just think…well, it seems terribly unfair on the duke's heir. Anyone could write anything about him. Still, if he's guilty of it… I suppose it's justified," she said, and Lily nodded.

In her mind, it was entirely justified, and she felt glad to have set about the work her father had entrusted her with. He would surely be pleased to learn of the scandal engulfing the duke's son, and she wondered what the duke himself would have to say when he read of Maximilian's exploits.

"I think it is, yes. If a man – or a woman – behaves like that, they deserve everything that comes of it," Lily replied.

"But you don't think the woman here is to blame? Perhaps she seduced him? Or perhaps she was out to entrap him. You hear of such things – the seductress. Women aren't always wholly innocent, are they?" Alicia said.

Lily's instinct was to defend Amelia. She was the innocent party, and to have any suggestion as to the contrary was wrong. But Lily could not do so without revealing herself as the author of the scandal sheet, and given Alicia's reaction to it, she feared her friend would not understand anything of her motives.

"Women are capable of causing scandal, just as men are," Lily replied.

"But not in this case? Did you see anything? I was dancing with Michael Tanner the whole evening. Oh…I hope he calls on me. Do you think he will?" Alicia asked.

Lily was glad of the change in conversation, and it was not difficult to now steer Alicia away from the subject of the scandal sheets and onto thoughts of a more romantic nature.

"Do you think he's the one for you?" Lily asked, after Alicia had swooned over Michael's attentions to her at the ball.

They had left the dining room and were sitting out in the garden. Alicia's parents' house – let for the season – was a handsome dwelling, set on the road leading to the Burnley Abbey estate. It had a walled garden, where an ancient orchard grew, the fruit trees now in blossom, and with views across the countryside to the grand edifice of the abbey beyond. Lily's parents had gone out for the day, and it was pleasant to sit together in the garden, talking as young women do.

"Well… I hope so, but…I don't know. He's charming, and I want him to call on me, but…do you think I'm rather caught up in the romance of it all?" Alicia asked.

Lily smiled. She knew little of romance – at least in her own experience. But she had observed a great deal of what others called romance, but what often descended merely into scandal.

"There's nothing wrong with falling in love," she said, and Alicia smiled.

"No, you're right. There's nothing wrong with it at all. It's entirely natural. But I'm not sure if my parents approve or not. They've got aspirations, you see. Michael's a man of business, but he's hardly at the upper end of society," Alicia said.

Lily smiled.

"But would they really want you to marry a man who is? You read that scandal sheet. Isn't Maximilian Oakley at the very heights of societal expectation? Any mother would be delighted to think of her daughter marrying the heir to one of the noblest and wealthiest dukedoms in the country – until she read the scandal papers, of course. All that glitters isn't gold…" Lily said, raising her eyebrows.

She had a healthy distrust of the aristocracy, born of her experiences with the scandal papers. Lily knew too much about such people to accept them as they presented themselves. Behind the masquerades, scandal lurked, and it was only a matter of teasing it out. Alicia nodded.

"Yes…there's that, I suppose. Michael seems a perfectly respectable choice. He's got good prospects, and I wonder sometimes…well, I think my father thinks more of us than others do. He's a merchant – albeit a successful one – but we don't have true wealth or title," she said.

"Then you've answered your own question. If you're in love with Michael Tanner, so be it," Lily replied.

"But that's just the point. I don't know if I am. It's all so confusing. Anyway, it doesn't matter, does it? If it's meant to be, it'll be. You were dancing with a rather nice gentleman. Benjamin, wasn't it?" Alicia asked.

In her hurry to write the scandal paper, and after all she had observed at the ball, Lily had forgotten her brief dance with the gentleman named Benjamin Atlee.

"Oh…him? Yes…he was…charming," Lily said, and Alicia raised her eyebrows.

"You never give much away, Lily. I never really know what you're thinking. Do you like him? Do you hope he'll call? My parents wouldn't mind if he did," she said, but Lily shook her head.

She had no intention of receiving any gentleman callers during her time in Lancaster. She had come to the north with the sole intention of discovering the scandal now unfolding before her eyes. If anything, it had been far too easy. Maximilian had presented himself to her on her arrival, and since that moment, he had done nothing but provide precisely the sort of scandal she desired to write about. But as for what came next, Lily was uncertain. When a scandal sheet was written, it was launched into calm seas with the hope of creating a storm. Even now, the fashionable members of Lancastrian society would be picking over the details, scandalized, and yet continuing to read, and casting furtive glances at one another lest they be next. But perhaps some would even agree with the sentiments expressed, and the floodgates would be open for further accusations to emerge.

"I don't mind. I don't particularly court the attentions of men. I'm not interested in such things," Lily said.

Alicia looked at her curiously.

"But don't you want to get married? I'm sure your mother wants you to," she said, and Lily laughed.

Her mother did want to see her married, but she also wanted to see her stop writing scandal sheets and distance herself from her father. Mothers did not always get what they wanted for their daughters, and Lily knew her father would never force her to marry any man.

"Men aren't to be trusted – neither are most women," he had once told her, and Lily had taken those words to heart.

"I'm sure she does. But I don't. If I meet a man…I suppose it's a possibility. But I'm not looking, and I'm not anxious to find one here," Lily replied.

Her purpose was clear – to write the scandal sheets and see her father vindicated. But in truth, Lily did not know what her publication would bring about. It was clear Maximilian had a reputation, and what was written about him would surely come as no surprise to many members of the ton. But would it encourage further revelations? Or would it simply be forgotten? Another piece of scandal, lost in a sea of affairs, liaisons, and elicit behavior.

"I need something more. Something to continue the momentum," Lily told herself, for a scandal was only as titillating as its next installment.

A person could be utterly despised one moment and vindicated the next. A scandal could emerge on a Monday and be forgotten by Friday – such was the fickle nature of society.

"There's a letter for you, miss," the maid said, appearing in the garden, and bringing with her a tray of tea accessories.

Lily was surprised. She was not expecting a letter, but it turned out to be from her mother, and when Alicia had poured the tea – its fragrant aroma filling the air – Lily read it out loud.

"My dear Lily, the house feels empty without you, and I find myself at a loss without your company – a strange thing, considering how often we disagree. But I write this brief letter to offer you my blessing in your sojourn to the north. I have written to Alicia's parents, too, thanking them for their kindness to you. I was ever so worried when you upped and left without an escort or a chaperone, but I have every confidence you will be well taken care of. Alicia is such a sensible young lady, and I hope you will find in her the example of one who is settling down. Despite missing you dreadfully, I can only be pleased to think of you away from London and…" Lily read, pausing here, for the next part of the letter made reference to the writing of the scandal sheets.

Alicia looked up.

"Why is she pleased you're away from London? I think we're going to be terribly bored by the end of the season," Alicia said.

"Oh…only because she thinks my father's a bad influence on me. That's all," Lily replied, folding the letter and placing it in her pocket.

"Your poor father – the things you told me about him. It's such an injustice," Alicia said, for she had been lodging with Alicia and her mother during Lily's father's trial, and Lily had told her many of the details as to why her father's imprisonment was unjust.

Lily nodded. Her father was the reason why she was doing as she was doing. He was innocent. But whilst the Duke of Lancaster resided in his handsome dwelling, surrounded by servants, and with all the trappings of wealth and privilege, her own father languished at the pleasure of the Regent, in a grim penitentiary. There was no justice in that, and the thought of it alone was enough to spurn Lily on in her resolve to see Maximilian brought to ruin.

"You're right, and I feel guilty for enjoying myself here, when he finds himself under such reduced circumstances. Still, I know he'd want me to be happy," Lily said, and Alicia nodded.

"He would, and I hope you are. We've got the ball at the omen of the Count and Countess of Morecambe to look forward to. They say it's a more intimate affair than that at the assembly rooms – the invitations are more exclusive. The Countess is something of a snob – if an income falls below ten thousand a year, she doesn't issue a return invitation. But fortunately for us, Father's income is far above that. Will you wear that pretty pink dress again?" Alicia asked, and Lily nodded.

"I will do, yes," she said, hoping the ball would be another opportunity to observe Maximilian, and see his downfall continue…