Marietta exchanged a glance with Vivianna. They both knew that Toby was useless and that Helen did rely on William. In his way, he had watched over Helen. He had even paid some of his sister’s outstanding debts when Helen could not do so, and Toby would not do so.
“We don’t expect you to do anything that will make Uncle William angry with you,” Vivianna assured her. “Truly, Aunt Helen, you must not do that. But do you know, it might be a good thing for you, and good for Uncle William, too, if you s
tand up for yourself occasionally. If you were to say what you really think and feel, rather than saying what you believe will please him most.”
“Well, as for that…You can ask William yourself, Helen,” Toby called out, as he turned from his position by the window with an insufferably smug smile. “He’s just arrived.”
Helen took a deep shuddering breath. Vivianna and Marietta exchanged looks, before Vivianna went out into the hall to welcome her Uncle William, and Marietta clasped her aunt’s hand and squeezed it, at the same time shooting Toby a speaking glance. He responded with a mocking grin.
William’s voice boomed in the hall, and then he was following Vivianna into the room. He took Helen’s outstretched hand with a brusque, “Sister,” and greeted Marietta as if he would rather she wasn’t there. Dutifully the nurse presented Vivianna’s son to be admired—William peered at him suspiciously and grunted—and then he sat down in the most comfortable chair in the room.
“I’ll have a little milk in my tea, Marietta. And two of those tea cakes,” he said, watching critically as Marietta fetched them for him. “It really is too bad,” he grumbled. “Despite the fact that Her Majesty the Queen graciously acknowledged Amy’s girls three years ago, I still cannot go anywhere without mention being made of the scandal of their birth. I wish it had never come to light. I don’t know what any of you were thinking to allow the truth to leak out.”
“No one mentions it to me,” Vivianna said with only a slight edge to her voice. “And Her Majesty is perfectly comfortable in the company of Oliver and myself. I think you should tell these gossips, whoever they are, to mind their own business, Uncle.”
Helen drew in a little gasp of air, clearly far more upset by the exchange than any of the participants. William glared at his eldest niece and informed her in his most pompous voice, “Until you came along there was nothing remotely scandalous about the Tremaine family.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Toby spoke up.
“Apart from my poor sister’s union to yourself, of course,” William cut him down.
“More tea cakes, Uncle?” Marietta asked a little desperately, holding out the plate.
He gave her a look, as if he was about to start a category of her own misdeeds, but then his eyes swept greedily over the tea cakes and he changed his mind. “Thank you, Marietta, I will take another one. How is Amy’s ankle, by the way? Healing?”
“She hopes to be able to travel south very soon,” Marietta replied sweetly. “She asked after you, too, Uncle, in her last letter.”
“Did she?” He appeared somewhat mollified. “Well, I am remarkably hale, even though family business runs me ragged.”
Marietta, who could just picture her uncle running from townhouse to townhouse, putting out the fires of scandal, tried not to laugh. A glance at Vivianna showed that she too was having difficulty. They were still smiling when a servant opened the door and announced, “Madame Aphrodite, my lady!”
And Aphrodite, as usual dressed all in black apart from her glittering jewelry, entered the drawing room.
The teacup and saucer rattled in William’s hand; tea cake crumbs cascaded over his waistcoat. Toby grinned in sheer perverse delight, while Helen moaned in horror. Marietta moved towards the door, determined to protect her mother at all costs, while Vivianna positioned herself before Uncle William.
As for Aphrodite herself, she had stopped dead in the doorway, and her face turned as white as chalk. “Mon dieu,” she breathed, and it was a prayer.
William finally set his shaking cup down with a clatter, and stood up. “I’m afraid I cannot possibly stay here with this woman,” he said, in a voice vibrating with fury and disapproval. “I will call again another time, Vivianna. When you are alone.”
“Uncle, please, there is no need—” Marietta dove in on her sister’s behalf, but no one was listening.
“As for you,” he said, and suddenly he was looming over Aphrodite, his face mere inches from her own. To her credit Aphrodite did not cringe but stood rigidly still, looking up into his eyes, but Marietta thought she had never seen the courtesan so afraid. William lifted his voice, “I don’t want to see you or hear that you’ve been spreading any more stories about my nieces. I will not have any more scandal. Do you understand me?”
Aphrodite said nothing, her eyes fixed on his.
“I am perfectly aware of all your actions,” and his tone was softer still. “I have friends who keep me informed.”
Still Aphrodite said nothing.
After a moment William made an explosive sound and marched past her, and out of the room. Soon afterwards they heard the outer door close and his vehicle moving away.
Aphrodite took a shaken breath. Vivianna had hurried to her side to hold her hand, and Marietta took the other one. “Come and sit down,” she said gently, easing her mother towards the sofa where Helen still sat, apparently frozen.
Vivianna, easily moved to tears since the birth of her son, drew out a lacey handkerchief and mopped at her eyes. “I’m so s-s-sorry, Mama! He was appalling! I have never seen him so horrid.”
“I had forgotten…but yes, my brother can be very formidable.” Aunt Helen had pressed a hand to her breast, presumably to ease her heart palpitations.
Only Toby appeared to be unmoved by the scene. “Your brother certainly has a temper,” he said levelly. “I thought I was the only one who had felt the lash of it, but I see now that I have a rival for the title of Most Likely to Tarnish the Tremaine Family Name.”