CHAPTER NINETEEN
Matthew Montford, Viscount Longford, only son and heir of the Earl of Preston, was sitting in the drawing room of his sister, Louisa, Countess of Westport, having tea.
“What did Papa do when he heard your name was going to be on the map as well as Smith’s?” the Countess asked.
Matthew raised one black eyebrow. “What do you think he did?”
“Exploded?”
“You have it in a nutshell. He was so angry I thought he might have a seizure.”
“We’re not that lucky,” Louisa said.
Matthew exhaled, but didn’t contradict her. He took a pastry from the tray on the table in front of him and bit into it. “I’m starving,” he said.
“I can send for something more sustaining than cream cakes if you like,” his sister said.
“I can wait until dinner.”
Matthew always stayed with his sister when he came to London. One never knew when his father might descend on the family townhouse, and Matthew and Louisa avoided their father like the plague. Their other two sisters, Joanna and Margaret, did not keep London townhouses, but spent most of their time at their husbands’ homes in the country. Matthew was the third child of the Earl of Preston and Louisa the fourth. They were a year apart and had always been close.
“I thought he might become less tyrannical now that you have produced a son.”
“Well, he hasn’t. I have done my duty, Louisa. I married a girl Papa approved of, and together we have produced a son. It’s time that I pleased myself, and this project of Smiths is what I want to work on.
“You and your rocks,” his sister said affectionately. Matthew had been studying geology ever since Oxford and she knew how passionately he loved being out in the field.
He grinned. “I know.”
Matthew was a nice-looking man of twenty-four. He had the blue eyes and black hair of his family, but his features were less harsh than his father’s. Lord Preston thought his son was effete because he wasn’t a bruising rider to hounds and a member of the Four-In-Hand Club. The Earl could not forgive his only son for preferring rocks to horses. When Matthew was young his father’s contempt had been painful. As an adult, he had learned to ignore it.
He took a sip of his tea and looked around the drawing room. “Have you been decorating again, Louisa?”
She smiled. Louisa was an attractive woman, also with black hair and blue eyes. She had made a good marriage and produced a son and daughter for her older husband, who adored her. “I just had the walls repainted and new draperies made. The room was too dark; I never liked it.”
“Well, it looks very pretty now.”
Louisa looked pleased. “Thank you, Matthew. Robert likes it too.”
Matthew grinned. “Robert would like it if you painted it black.”
She smiled again.
“On another subject,” Matthew said, “have you ever seen this mysterious half-brother of ours whose very existence is driving our father mad?”
Louisa sipped her tea, then answered, “I saw him at a few balls last season, before he married the Grex girl.”
“Ah yes. The Grex girl. That is another thing that is driving our dear Papa insane. He deepened his voice and made it more staccato as he imitated his father. “It sickens me to think a bastard factory owner has made himself Master of Grex. Grex - one of the most ancient families in England! It even goes back further than we do. And now the son of a housemaid is master there? It’s a disgrace, I say. Grex has a lot to answer for, selling his birthright like that. Shame on him, I say. Shame on him!”
Louisa had begun to giggle after her brother’s first sentence. “You do him very well, Matthew. It never seems to occur to Papa that he created this monster he hates so much. After all, it was he who impregnated a housemaid and made her a mother.”
“Dereham wouldn’t concern him if he hadn’t turned himself into such an important man. If he had stayed with his mother the maid, and stayed out of sight, the thought of his existence wouldn’t bother Papa at all. But the man has made himself famous; first by acquiring a huge fortune, something that is always of interest to the ton, and second by building an extraordinary sort of cotton mill.”
“Extraordinary?” his sister said. “What’s extraordinary about a cotton mill – except for the fact that it’s trade?”
“Moresack was telling me just yesterday that Dereham is some kind of philanthropist. He’s built cottages for all his workers and – most amazing of all – they only work eight hours a day.”
Louisa’s blue eyes stretched wide. “That is amazing. How can he make a profit if his people only work part time?”
“That is what everyone is waiting to see.”
Louisa changed tack. “He’s stunningly good looking.”
“Is he?” Matthew grinned. “Does he look like me?”
“He has black hair like you, and the same eyes, but he has the face of an angel. Not like you.”
Matthew managed to look insulted. “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” his sister replied pleasantly.
Matthew continued with his inquisition. “You never spoke to him?”
“No.”
“I heard that he’s in town right now. I think I might call on him.”
“Matthew. If Papa finds out you’ve called on Daniel Dereham he won’t just explode, he’ll …erupt. Like a volcano.”
“I’ll keep it quiet Louisa. But I can’t help but think that this man is my brother. I’ve never had a brother, only sisters. I’d like to meet him.”
Louisa looked around her drawing room, as if she suspected someone might be eavesdropping. She lowered her voice. “If you do, you must tell me all about it.”
“I will,” he said.
# # #
Daniel had been making the rounds of employment agencies looking for someone to take charge of creating a school for him. He had interviewed a number of women, but none of them impressed him. Were all schoolteachers so short of sparkle and ideas?
He had just about decided to see if he would have better luck in Manchester than in London, when one of the hotel’s immaculately dressed staff knocked on his door and presented him with a card. Daniel looked at the name – Matthew Montfort, Viscount Longford. A note was scribbled on the back, “May I come up?”
Daniel was not familiar with the name, but he wasn’t averse to seeing what the man wanted. “Bring him up, please, he said to the hotel footman.
Daniel was clearing some papers off the tea table of his sitting room when there was a light knock. “Come in,” Daniel called. The door opened and a young man appeared. “Lord Longford,” Daniel said amiably, as he went toward the door, “what can I do for you?”
He held out his hand, looking politely into the other man’s face. Their eyes met and Daniel froze. His hand was taken into a firm, warm grip, and Lord Longford said, “I decided it was time that I met my brother.”
Daniel was ashen and only just managed to say, “Sit down, please. May I offer you something to drink?”
“Don’t bother.” Matthew made his way to the sofa and sat behind the paper-strewn tea table.
Daniel slowly followed him and sat in a wing chair placed at right angles to the sofa. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he asked, his voice carefully neutral.
“As I said, I wanted to meet you.” Matthew regarded his half-brother with interest. “I can see what Louisa meant when she said you were ‘stunningly good looking.’ You got your coloring from our side of the family, but your mother must have been a beauty.”
Daniel said, “Let’s leave my mother out of this conversation.”
“All right,” Matthew said pleasantly. “Our connection is through my father, after all.”
“I want nothing to do with your father,” Daniel said. There was a white line around his mouth.
“Frankly, neither do I,” Matthew replied. “He’s always been a tyrant, and it’s got worse as he’s got older. I’m only up in town to escape his company down at Preston.”
When Matthew had finished, Daniel asked cautiously, “Why have you come to see me?”
“I was curious,” Matthew answered frankly. “I wanted to see the man who had thrown my father into such paroxysms of hatred. He really is irrationally furious about your existence, you know. Hard to figure out why, when, as my sister pointed out a few hours ago, he was the one responsible for your existence. Have you ever met him?”
To his own surprise, Daniel found himself telling Matthew the story of his encounter with Lord Preston at the racetrack when he was sixteen.
“I see he was his usual charming self,” Matthew declared. “You were fortunate you didn’t grow up with him. He treated his dogs better than he did my sisters and me. To be frank, we all hated him. My two older sisters married the first year they were out in society, and my younger sister, Louisa did the same. I at least got away when I was at school, and then at Oxford. Unfortunately, since I’m his heir, I have to see more of him than they do.”
Daniel was starting to feel curious. “What about your mother?”
“She was petrified of him, poor thing. She died having Louisa and I think it was a merciful release.” He smiled at Daniel. “You had the best luck of all, old chap. You got to go out to India, which I would love to see, and I hear you came back with a fortune in jewels.”
“The maharajah was very generous,” Daniel said stiffly.
“I’ve been hearing you have very advanced ideas about working people,” Matthew said. “The eight-hour day and all. Do you actually employ your men for only eight hours a day? How can you make money that way?”
Crystal blue eyes looked into crystal blue eyes. “If you’re just being polite, I would rather you left,” Daniel said.
Matthew sat up. “I hope I am always polite, but I am not here simply to take up your time. I’m interested in your ideas and would like to hear them from your own lips.”
There was a silence as the two men studied each other. Then Daniel’s face relaxed. “Very well.” He leaned back in his chair and began to explain. At the end of an hour’s worth of question and answer, the two men were much in charity with each other.
“If you’re ever looking for a partner, please call on me,” Matthew said. “My mother left me pretty warm in the pocket and I would very much like to invest in your factory project.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Daniel said.
“Please, call me Matthew. We are brothers after all.”
Daniel looked a little alarmed. “Do you plan to acknowledge me as such?”
“Would you like that?”
“No!”
Matthew looked hurt, and Daniel hurriedly added, “It’s not that I don’t like you, Matthew. I do. But I am not interested in being a member of a society I heartily dislike. When I was a child my mother used to read me the tales of Robin Hood. He became my hero. Well, the people in society seem to me the opposite of Robin Hood. They don’t take from the rich and give to the poor; they take from the poor and give to themselves.”
Matthew got to his feet. “You’re a good man, Daniel Dereham, and I’m proud to have you for a brother. You just carry on with what you’re doing and the world will be a better place.”
Daniel smiled. Matthew looked at him and said soberly, “Don’t ignore my father’s hatred, Daniel. He just may do something drastic to remove you permanently from the scene. I say this in all seriousness. Watch your back.”
“I always watch my back,” Daniel returned calmly. “I learned that in India.”
Matthew held out his hand. “I’m delighted to have found you, Brother.”
“Thank you,” Daniel returned formally.
The two men held their handshake for a few more beats than necessary, then their hands fell apart and Matthew took his leave.”
Daniel stood for a while, staring at the closed door, then slowly turned back to the papers on his tea table.