Chapter 19

Nineteen

M aximilian left the home of the Saunders in good spirits. He had not been surprised at Alicia's reaction to him, and he still suspected her of being the writer behind the scandal sheets. But Maximilian felt pleased with himself. He had done that which no one had believed he could – he had established a courtship with a respectable young woman, albeit entirely in jest. There was no courtship, but to all appearances, there was, and it would buy him valuable time to mend his broken reputation.

"And she's charming enough," he said to himself, as he walked across the parkland in the direction of Burnley Abbey.

Maximilian had been surprised as to how easy Lily had been to talk to at the Miller Howe ball. He had found her company entirely conducive, and again, that morning. It had been a long time since he had talked to any woman with anything but an ulterior motive, even as he felt surprised at how much he had enjoyed their conversation. Lily was a woman who could hold her own, and it was clear she was not intimidated by the opposite sex.

A formidable woman, it seems, he thought to himself, as he came to the steps of the house, intending to now inform his parents of this unexpected arrangement.

They would be surprised to learn he was courting, and would no doubt accuse him of a flight of fancy. His father would not believe his sincerity, even as Maximilian had every intention of persuading his parents he was sincere in his undertaking.

"And the rest, too," he said to himself, imagining what William and Anne would say when they discovered he was courting.

The whole district would be surprised, and perhaps the matter would see an end to speculation and rumor. A courting heir was a respectable man, not the subject of a scandal sheet. That was Maximilian's goal – to step back from society and its vicious rumors. He would no longer be the subject of other people's whisperings, and he felt grateful to Lily for helping him repair his reputation.

They'll all say I've changed, won't they? he thought to himself, letting himself into the house and making his way to the morning room, where he hoped to find his parents taking coffee and refreshments.

His mother was playing the pianoforte, the sound of which was drifting pleasantly along the corridor, and Maximilian took a deep breath, knocking at the door, and opening it before an invitation was issued. The duke was standing behind the duchess, smiling as she played, but the two of them now looked up in surprise as Maximilian entered the room.

"We missed you at breakfast, Maximilian. Where did you go? Or have you only just got up?" his father asked, with the slightest hint of a sneer in his voice.

Maximilian held his gaze and smiled.

"No, Father. I've been out to see a woman," he replied.

His parents exchanged nervous glances. Fearing, it seemed, some fresh scandal, and the possibility of its exposure by The Broker Press.

"A woman?" his mother asked, replacing the lid of the pianoforte and looking concernedly at Maximilian, who nodded.

"Yes, the woman I'm courting, Mother. I told you I danced with a woman last night – the woman I met in the market, Miss Lily Porter. Well, I'm pleased to say we've agreed to a more formal arrangement. She's a delight, and I'm sure you'll agree when you meet her," he said.

Maximilian was curious as to his parents' reaction. Would they be curious? Angry? Indifferent? The duke and duchess looked at one another, evidently taken by surprise at this unexpected revelation.

"A woman? You're courting a woman? What's she like? Is she…" Maximilian's father began, but Maximilian interrupted him.

"She's entirely respectable, yes, and don't for a minute think you can look down on her for not having a title, given you made a pauper and the son of a servant your Godson and Baron of Mowbray," Maximilian replied.

He already knew he could make adequate reply to any sense of snobbery on his father's part. His parents could not very well deny him a courtship with a commoner when his own cousin was of far lower stock, and the result of a scandalous liaison. The duke nodded.

"Yes, Maximilian, I understand. But…well, it's just…unexpected, that's all. Usually you bring home a scandal," he said, but Maximilian's mother came to his rescue, just as Maximilian had hoped she would.

"But he's done just the right thing, Ralph. He's proved us wrong, and we should be glad of that," she said, and Maximilian smiled.

He knew it was a deception, but it was one he could live with if it was able to restore his damaged reputation. Maximilian no longer wished to be known as a rake, though he had found it difficult to see how his reputation could be restored. His encounter with Lily had offered a solution, and by the time it came for the break to occur, Maximilian's rakish ways would be forgotten, replaced by whatever fresh scandal was titillating the ton.

"She's a charming woman, Mother. You should meet her," Maximilian said, and his mother smiled.

"I'd be delighted to meet her, Maximilian. Why don't you invite Miss Porter to dinner. She's with the Saunders, isn't she? We could invite them all," she said, but Maximilian shook his head.

He did not trust Alicia, and he had no intention of giving rise to the possibility of her garnering fresh information for her scandal papers – for Maximilian suspected her to be the author, even as he did not know why she should be so intent on revenge against him.

"No, just Lily. I'm serious about her, Mother. She's not just an idle fancy, I assure you," he said, and his mother nodded.

"Very well, I'll issue the invitation for tomorrow evening," she said.

"And what of her family? What of her father and mother? She does come from some respectability, I hope. If not, title," the duke said.

"Her father was a land agent. She came north from London for the season. As for the rest, I know little, but I hope to find out," Maximilian replied, realizing he really knew very little about Lily or her circumstances.

The duke looked surprised.

"A land agent? Well, we've had our fair dealings with them. Very well, we'll look forward to meeting Miss Porter tomorrow. I must say, Maximilian, I'm pleasantly surprised at you," he said, and Maximilian felt oddly pleased at receiving his father's praise, even as it was based on entirely false premises…

"I don't think you realize what you're doing, Lily. What about all those other poor women? What will they say when they discover one of their own is courting the devil himself?" Alicia said, and Lily sighed.

It had been several hours since Maximilian had left, and the two of them had not stopped arguing about Lily's apparent choice of suitor. She was determined not to tell Alicia the truth, knowing her friend would not be able to keep the secret of her being the author of the scandal sheets. In matters of this sort, it was imperative to remain covert, and Lily was not about to reveal herself unnecessarily. For this, she would pay the price of Alicia's approval, and that of her parents, too – when they found out. They were sitting in the drawing room, arguing over tea and cake.

"Oh, but he's hardly that, is he? I know what you're thinking, Alicia – you've made it very clear. But I've made my choice, and I'm glad in it. Besides, he hasn't behaved like that towards me, has he?" she asked.

In this, Lily was speaking the truth, though the memory of her first encounter with Maximilian still lingered. He could so easily have made her another of his conquests at the Miller Howe ball, but something had held him back, and Lily was curious as to this apparent change of heart. It disappointed her, too, for if Maximilian was to mend his ways, there would be nothing of any substance for her to write.

"You wait. He will do, I'm certain of it. He's a dangerous man, Lily. Think about your reputation," Alicia implored her, but Lily did not think her reputation would suffer much from being associated with the heir to the dukedom of Lancaster.

Maximilian was rich, and on his inheritance, he would become one of the most powerful men in the country. That was not something to sneer at, and many women would give their right leg – and false teeth – to enjoy the prospect of the title of Duchess of Lancaster.

"I don't have a reputation to think about. No one knows me here. I'm not anyone," she said, and Alicia sighed.

"Oh, but Lily, I'm worried about you. And what if the writer of the scandal papers gets wind of it? You'll be included, too. They won't hold back. You'll be held up as a pariah against womankind. You'll be treated as badly as him," Alicia replied, but Lily shook her head.

"I'm sure it won't come to that," she said – knowing it would not come to that.

But as for how to proceed with the scandal sheets, Lily knew she would have to tread carefully. She could not afford for her own identity to be revealed, and she could not write those things only a person close to Maximilian would know. Her observations would have to come from afar, and she would need to bide her time, lest Maximilian or his parents guess her to be the source of such information.

"Oh, but it will. You'll be the talk of every drawing room between here and Cleethorpes," Alicia exclaimed.

Lily smiled – it was hardly a devastation – and whilst she had every intention of writing a little about herself, she knew her secret was safe. After all, it was she who decided what the drawing rooms would know.

"And I'm sure I can weather the storm, Alicia," Lily replied, unperturbed by her friend's fears.

Mr. and Mrs. Saunders had gone out for the day to visit some friends in the town, but the moment they entered the drawing room, Alicia wasted no time in announcing shrilly what she had discovered.

"She's courting him, Mother. Can you believe it? That man, the heir, the rake, the devil," she exclaimed, explaining the full story before Lily had a chance to defend herself.

Mrs. Saunders looked at Lily, aghast.

"Lily…is this true? We've taken responsibility for you in Lancashire. In Loco Parentis – I believe that's the term. Don't you see what this means? It's terribly dangerous to be flirting a courtship with such a man. Think of your reputation," Mrs. Saunders exclaimed.

"That's just what I said, too, Mother," Alicia replied, folding her arms, and looking judgementally at Lily, who sighed.

If she was not willing to tell Alicia the truth, she was certainly not willing to tell Mrs. Saunders the truth, either, and she brushed off her guardian's fears with the same reasoned account she had given Alicia. Maximilian was a perfectly charming man – to her, at least. He had done nothing to cause scandal as far as Lily was concerned, and she was willing to give him a chance, even as no one else seemed to be. Mrs. Saunders sighed, and her husband – who had thus far kept silence – passed a gloomy judgment.

"He'll hurt you, Lily. I can't see any good come out of it. None at all," he said, and it seemed that was his last word on the matter.

When Alicia's parents had stepped out into the garden to take tea, Alicia looked pointedly at Lily with an expression of "I told you so," on her face.

"I don't care what you all say. I like him, and that's that," Lily replied, folding her arms.

She could be stubborn – both in a lie and in getting what she wanted. But the more she thought about Maximilian, the more she found herself actually defending him. He had done nothing to incite scandal at the Miller Howe ball. Indeed, he had behaved as a perfect gentleman both then, and in the garden this morning. He had not been drunk, nor had he spoken lewdly or inappropriately. In this, at least, Lily knew the truth, even as Maximilian's past told a different story.

"Well…what are you going to do next? Do you plan on marrying him?" Alicia asked.

Lily noted a touch of awe in her friend's voice, as though she, too, might be amongst those who saw the title of Duchess of Lancaster as an attraction.

"I don't know. It's all very early, isn't it? One can't know for sure," Lily said, not wanting to give anything but a vague impression of her connections to Maximilian.

Alicia sighed and shook her head.

"I just don't understand you, Lily. It's all very…odd," she said, just as a knock came at the drawing room door.

It was the butler, and he brought with him an envelope on a silver tray, embossed with the same coat of arms Lily had seen on the carriage of the Duke of Lancaster. Alicia looked at it in surprise, and Lily took it, using a letter knife to break the seal.

"It's from the duchess. I'm invited to dine at Burnley Abbey tomorrow evening," Lily said, her heart skipping a beat as she realized the possibilities entailed.

Alicia reached over and snatched the invitation from Lily's hands, staring at it in astonishment.

"Goodness me, so you are. But no invitation for us," she said, with an indignant tone.

"Well, you did spend the whole evening doing nothing but casting daggers at Maximilian. Perhaps that's why," Lily said, and Alicia blushed.

"Well…perhaps, but I'd have thought…oh, but will you go?" she asked, and Lily groaned.

"Why wouldn't I go? We're courting, aren't we? He's invited me. I'm to meet the duke and duchess. Why would I refuse?" she asked, feeling exasperated at Alicia's persistence in not believing the sincerity of the match.

Alicia looked at her with a worried expression.

"I just… I hope you know what you're doing, Lily. It's such a big thing, isn't it? You can't possibly…well, you're putting your reputation on the line," she said, but Lily was well aware of what she was doing.

She was the only one who knew the truth – not Maximilian, not Alicia, not anyone, even her father, still languishing in a prison cell. But if Lily could discover something more about Maximilian, or about the family's past, she would have her revenge on them all. She was the cuckoo in the nest, biding her time before spreading her wings, and the invitation to dinner was just what she needed to further her plans and bring down the dukedom once and for all.