Natalya (56 page)

"Right to the point, as always, eh? Well, I've been better. My body may be withering away, but I find that the energy in my mind remains undiminished. The conflict which ensues between my mental and physical abilities is mighty frustrating!" He paused as though to rest. "I can see how
you
are! You're looking splendid; the sea air must agree with you."

They conversed at length about Lion's experiences
in China
and the latest developments in America until Sally Bache returned with Lion's brandy. Apparently, there was some crisis involving Franklin's grandson Benny that she wished to discuss with her father, so Lion leaned back in his chair and let his thoughts wander.

Sipping the brandy reminded him of the enormous amount of the stuff he had bitterly consumed since his return to Philadelphia three days ago. How was he to tell Dr. Franklin what was
really
on his mind? It was the old man's fault, after all! Persuading him to attend the Constitutional Convention on a permanent basis... including him in the elite group that met almost nightly in the dining room at Franklin Court. Washington, Madison, Robert Morris, not to mention Franklin himself. It had turned out to be the sort of experience that left Lion with a craving for more, a burning desire to be one of these men whose brilliant minds and courage were shaping the new, idealistic nation of America. Day after day in the stiflingly hot East Room of the State House, Lion had been unaware of the changes taking place inside himself; he only knew that he loved every moment of debate, even the longest, most pompous speeches.

Yet, there had been no choice in his mind when the time came that autumn to return to the Orient. It never occurred to him that his experience that summer would have any permanent effect. He had always loved the sea. After fighting in the Revolutionary War and receiving a degree at Harvard, he had chosen the new China trade as a means to amass a fortune and lead an adventurous life at the same time. Where other ships seemed continually plagued by hostile men-of-war and destructive storms, he had found that as a captain he led a charmed life. Now, at thirty-two years of age, he was both wealthy and successful.

And satisfied... until this last voyage.

Setting down his glass, Lion looked up to find that Mrs. Bache had gone, and Dr. Franklin was watching him with a penetrating gaze.

"You seem pensive," the old statesman commented. "Is something bothering you? A woman?"

"God, no!" Lion replied vehemently. "Would that it were so simple! Do you really want to know? Are you certain?"

Franklin was taken aback by this outburst from a man who was usually so cool and cynical.

"Why, of course, if—"

"Then I'll tell you, and you can have a good laugh! I ran into a storm off Macao on my way home that delayed me so much that I missed the elections for the First Congress!"

Completely bewildered by now, Franklin inquired, "Should I understand what that means?"

"It means that I intended to return in time because I hoped for a seat in the Congress!"

"Am I hearing correctly? I could have sworn that you said—"

"Yes! It's all your fault, you know. I became addicted during the Convention! After a few months at sea, I was a man obsessed. Lord, how I longed to be back at the State House, listening to Madison discuss the Virginia Plan. I tell you, it's in my blood and now I've missed my chance! What are you going to do about it?" Lion was leaning forward, his shoulder muscles outlined against his tailored coat, eyes blazing.

"I?" Franklin echoed. "My dear boy, I do hope you have not directed, all your ferocious rage in
my
direction! I am an old man and very weak..." His eyes were twinkling, and Lion relaxed in spite of himself.

"Devil take it, I've got to blame someone."

"That's better. You know, this is quite a shock, though I must admit I suspected your interest even then. I did not, however, dream that it would reach such proportions!"

"Neither did I," Lion growled.

"At any rate, your frustration is not necessary. You would never have been elected anyway. That is not to say that the men who will make up the Congress are any better than you, for they are generally a sorry lot. I am simply afraid that you have too many strikes against you at this point in your life."

Lion's amazing blue eyes flashed. "Such as?"

"A well-known temper," he returned with bland amusement, lifting his eyebrows for emphasis. "Your age, your background, your marital status, your reputation as a womanizer and an adventurer—even your looks."

Lion raised a hand to his jaw. "My looks? What the hell is wrong with my looks?"

"Absolutely nothing, and that is the problem. You look too spectacular to have any serious intelligence."

"That's absurd!" he exploded, coming halfway out of his chair.

Franklin held up a veined hand, smiling. "I never said that I subscribe to the theory, my boy. Yet I fear that it is quite widely held. In your case, however, I would say that the other points I mentioned are more important. If you are serious about being a member of Congress, Lion, you will have to put in some time and build a name for yourself. Not that you don't have a name of sorts now, but..." He smiled at him, eyes dancing behind the gold-rimmed spectacles.

Lion sat back, raking a hand through his hair. "I'm not used to playing waiting games."

"It is not a simple thing to turn one's whole life around overnight. I realize that you are used to getting what you want, but my advice to you is to cultivate some patience and lay your plans carefully. However... there is one thing you might do to speed up the process of achieving respectability."

"What's that?"

"Take a wife."

Lion looked as if he'd been struck. For a moment, speech failed him, but finally he managed to choke, "What? You say that as if it is in the same category as ordering a new coat from the tailor!"

"It can be."

"Are you mad? A wife?
Me?"

Franklin merely reached for his teacup, arching a faded eyebrow in a way that told Lion he had never been more lucid.

Chapter 3

Morning sunshine streamed into the dining room where Lion was sharing a late, leisurely breakfast with his host, Dr. Elisha Dick. The two men had not seen each other for thirteen years, since their days together at the Academy of Philadelphia, and were pleased to find their friendship intact. Dr. Dick had chosen the quieter life of a dedicated physician and family man, but was not surprised to hear that, for his devil-may-care friend, the intervening years had been crammed with adventure.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you searched me out last night!" he repeated. "It's amazing that you remembered I was here in Alexandria! I am especially pleased since I am sure James Wade must have been most anxious to have you stay at West Hills."

Lion sampled the fresh coffee. "That is putting it mildly! It was all I could do to persuade him to travel on to Virginia ahead of me. He wanted to wait and show me the way. I was afraid that if I stayed at his plantation he might chain me to his sister! Besides, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to look you up. I had a feeling you would not have strayed far from your family homestead."

"Lion... I know that you have plans to ride out to West Hills this morning, and I don't want to make you late, but—" The doctor's sensitive face reflected his search for the right words. "I don't mean to pry, but I know the Wades quite well, and this news concerning you and Priscilla comes as quite a shock!"

Lion's smile was wry. "Because I've never met the girl?"

"Well, of course... and then there is the matter of Priscilla herself!"

"Don't tell me she's homely! Her brother described her beauty to me until, to my great relief, the port he was swilling did him in for the evening."

"No, no, she's a lovely creature—well-bred and all—but supremely shallow and narcissistic. I am simply at a loss to understand how all this came about! For God's sake, Lion, I expected you to marry the most charming, delightful female on earth..."

"Shallow, you say? Splendid. Perfect." Lion grinned enigmatically before taking pity on the curious Dr. Dick. "Don't worry so; this entire affair is my idea. James Wade just happened to arrive in Philadelphia at the moment when I needed him most. We met at the Indian Head Tavern; he learned that I was, ah—eligible, and proceeded to make me an offer that was tailor made to my current need."

"Which is?" Elisha prompted, his courage mounting.

"An ornamental wife. You needn't look so baffled! My motive is quite simple—and timeless. Ambition. I intend to become a congressman, or even a senator, within the next few years, and in my case a wife seems to be one of the prime prerequisites. You see, it
suits
me that the arrangement not be complicated by the question of love. Meeting James Wade was a stroke of luck, for it seems that Priscilla would use me as impersonally as I am using her. She will gain wealth and position in Philadelphia; I will gain the well-bred, beautiful wife that I need."

Hannah Dick appeared at that moment to ask if the men needed more coffee.

"No, thank you," Lion replie as he stood up. "The breakfast was delicious, but I must be away. I wouldn't want to keep my bride-to-be waiting!"

Hannah beamed at his words, but Elisha was all too aware of the mocking glint in Lion's blue eyes. He felt stirrings of the old worry he'd had for Lion when they were young, but he forced himself to stifle them. After all, for all his recklessness, had never met with anything but success. Right now, illuminated by a soft, yellow beam of sunlight, he seemed larger than life and quite invincible.

* * *

"I cannot believe your capacity for immobility!" Meagan exclaimed as she pulled aside the wine and rose brocade bed-hangings. Priscilla opened one eye to the flood of sunlight and moaned convincingly.

Meagan frowned. "It is past ten o'clock, you dolt, and your fiancé arrives today!"

"Well, I want to look my best, don't I? Sleep is a very important part of beauty."

"If that is the case, then you must be the most exquisite woman alive!"

Priscilla, failing to hear the sarcasm in her voice, smiled. "Why, thank you. You know, you could stand some beauty sleep yourself, if you don't mind my saying so. You look altogether wild!"

She threw herself down on the window seat. "My looks are of no importance to me whatever, Priscilla. Some of us have more pressing worries than the color in our cheeks."

"How tedious," the other girl yawned, critically taking in Meagan's tangled curls and mud-spattered breeches and coat. "I can't imagine why you persist in wearing those horrid boy's clothes. It's not as if you didn't have any gowns."

She dismissed her words with a wave of her tiny hand, which she then thrust down the front of her waistcoat, withdrawing a crumpled sheet of parchment. "I received this letter yesterday from Mr. Bumpstock."

"Who?"

"Father's solicitor!" Her voice took on a desperate note. "It's all been settled. The plantation and all the slaves, furniture, everything, will be sold to pay the debts and I'm to be packed off to Boston."

"Boston? Whatever for?"

"Mother's maiden aunt Agatha is there and she is my only living relative. Mr. Bumpstock informs me I have no choice; I shall have to go and live with her!" Meagan shuddered and scrambled to her feet, pacing across the carpet. "I only met her once; she was shriveled and deaf and smelled of musty air. I shall go out of my mind!"

She was realizing today just how unprepared she had been for the reality of her father's financial position, even after the trail of hints dropped by Mr. Bumpstock since the shipwreck. Growing up at Pecan Grove, in a lavishly furnished mansion, Meagan had never questioned her family's wealth. However, the solicitor's letter had shown her the truth in transcripts from those frustrating ledgers; Sayers had overextended himself repeatedly. Although the profits from the plantation had been sizable, they were far exceeded by the cost of her parents' extravagant lifestyle. Meagan thought back with bewildered horror to the sumptuous dinners and balls, her mother's silk and satin gowns, the expensive furniture, and the custom-made wigs. Her bitterness left little room for forgiveness, especially when it became clear that everything would have to be sold to meet the debts, leaving her homeless.

The crowning blow was the news that she would be moving to Boston and Aunt Agatha; Meagan's mind rebelled at the injustice of her fate. Her violet eyes smoldering with defiant resentment, she paced at the foot of the four-poster bed.

"I don't know..." Priscilla remarked as she accepted a cup of chocolate from her maid Lily, "Boston might be just the thing. If your aunt is rich, you will doubtless be exposed to some
very
prominent men. Actually, your opportunities would probably be better there than here in Virginia where all the boys know you are—that is—"

"Oh, do be quiet, Priscilla. I've got to think of some way out of this horrid coil."

The spindly maid was scurrying around the bedchamber, pouring water and laying out clothes, so Meagan retreated to the window seat. She casually pulled her knees up to her chest, ignoring the dust her shoes left on the cushions, and gazed outside.