Northern Exposure - 74. Chapter 74

June 26, 1801

London, UK

Granger sat back in his carriage as it spirited him towards his home. He had studied the financial records Caroline had left for him and had learned that his liquid money was in Coutts bank and the Bank of England, while he also had a considerable amount in consols. He’d gone into the City this morning to meet with bankers and brokers to ensure they understood that Caroline was no longer allowed to access his accounts and had signed letters to that effect. He’d set up three new accounts: one for Broadhead, one for Cavendish, and one for Andrews. Andrews would oversee all the accounts, while his specific account was designated to fund the operation of Granger’s houses and staff. The account for Broadhead was to service the estate, while Cavendish’s was more of a slush fund to influence politicians as needed. He’d transferred adequate funds into those accounts to ensure those men had at least one year’s worth of expenses as a cushion. For the master account that could be used to funnel money into those subaccounts, he’d set Daventry up as the only one who could authorize funds besides himself. If neither Granger or Daventry was in the country or both were ill or incapacitated, Cavendish could access the master account if his request was co-signed by Andrews. He glanced next to him where Andrews sat, looking like his usual taciturn self. “I think that all worked out well,” Granger said.

“Indeed, my lord,” Andrews said. “I must say I was a bit nervous taking over your affairs, but having met with those money men I feel much more confident.”

“Not unlike your first foray into a foreign port,” Granger said, remembering back to the days when Andrews was his purser aboard Intrepid.

“Aye, my lord,” he said, and smiled, something that was not all that common.

“The financiers we met with did not impress you?” Granger asked.

“I did not observe any skills or sophistication that would make me concerned about conducting affairs with them, my lord,” Andrews replied, making Granger laugh.

“I think that you are more than equal to the task,” Granger assured him.

“My lord, have you heard from Dr. Jackson about your Norseman?”

“He is kind enough to send me daily messages,” Granger said. “It was not looking good, but the message I received yesterday indicated that there was some improvement.”

“That is good news, my lord,” Andrews said. The carriage pulled up to Granger’s house in Portland Place, where he was welcomed by Cheevers and Winkler.

“My lord, there is another letter from Her Ladyship,” Cheevers said. “I took the liberty of placing it on your desk.”

“Thank you, Cheevers,” Granger said pleasantly. He walked into his study and opened Caroline’s letter.

George,

I just received word that you single-handedly interfered with the passage of the bill to change Alexander’s name. Based on the speed of messengers, I can only conclude that you did so despite my letter directing you not to. I have labored mightily to make sure Alexander inherits all of Heathford: not just the lands, but the title as well. Yet despite my efforts, you have returned from abroad and all but destroyed Alexander’s chances of becoming Lord Heathford.

I find this particularly vexing since we had agreed that when you returned home from a voyage, you would not jump in and take over our affairs and thus upset our extensive political network, yet you have broken your vow and done just that.

Since you have sabotaged, knowingly or unknowingly, my plans to elevate our younger son, I find that I have no reason to rush back to London merely to see Parliament adjourned. I have decided instead to remain at Heathford for the foreseeable future. You are welcome to visit me here.

Caroline

Granger stared at the letter in disbelief, stunned at how badly Caroline was treating him, and how she seemed to think he was but one of her pawns. She had the temerity to chide him for not following her directives and she had accused him of breaking his word. That should have enraged Granger, but instead he chuckled at her idiocy. She was so clueless regarding this situation it was comical. It was also a good omen that she was still in the dark about how he planned to extricate himself from her. When she received the letter he’d dispatched to her on Sunday, she would perhaps get clarity. He opted to pull out a copy and re-read it.

Caroline,

I received your request to support Alexander’s change of name, something that you had told me you would not do. I worked to quash the bill in the Lords before I received your letter, but your communiqué would have made no difference. I still would have opposed the measure. It was wrong of your father to attempt to bypass Lord Crawden’s right to the viscountcy, and it was wrong of you to try and bargain with Parliament to circumvent the rules and customs regarding the inheritance of titles. Your actions, and those of your father, reflect a disdain for the rules under which society operates. I have no use for rebels in my family. His Majesty was quite upset by your schemes and approached me looking for a solution. I gladly solved the problem by formally renouncing Alexander’s claims to be Viscount of Heathford, so there is an end to it.

Your last letter told me that you are at Heathford with your mother in your continuing efforts to put that estate in order. You neglected to mention that Colonel Stewart went with you, and you further failed to note that you have been conducting a very obvious affair with him. Your actions have so tarnished your reputation that it is the talk of the ton, and I am left wondering if you are oblivious to the damage you have wrought, or if you simply don’t care. You almost caused a mass resignation of our staff, with even Cheevers ready to resign. As if that were not enough, your new friendship with HRH the Princess of Wales came close to severely damaging my relationship with HRH the Prince of Wales. He gave me an incredibly unpleasant reception when I first called on him.

I have warned you that while I have forgiven such behavior in the past, I would not do so if you brought scandal to our house again. Yet despite your vows, you have indeed done it again, only this time you have pushed me to the point where I am unwilling to work for your rehabilitation. I am done with you. My lawyers have recommended that, at this point, I should not file for divorce but should instead separate myself from you. That means that I must ensure you do not have access to my assets or income, and it also means I must publicly denounce you as my wife. I have taken steps to achieve those goals.

Specifically, you will find that you no longer have access to any funds other than those you can derive from Heathford. I have had the staff gather up your things and have sent them over to Heathford House, and you will probably be pleased to find the possessions you had at Brentwood are shortly to arrive at Heathford. I opted to keep the jewelry I had bought for you so I can ultimately give those items to Charlotte and Elizabeth. Perhaps Colonel Stewart will feel obliged to buy you something to replace them. I also publicly announced our separation by informing His Majesty, and by subsequently proclaiming it to the Prince of Wales as he was finishing his toilet. There was a large enough crowd there that it has undoubtedly been fully digested by society, but just in case there were those who were not aware of the change of our status, I posted announcements in the Times and a few other select newspapers declaring that I would no longer be responsible for any debts you have incurred or will incur in the future.

You are welcome to see the children provided I have authorized such visits, and I will decide how closely such meetings will be supervised. I would recommend that you avoid returning to any of my homes, as the staff have orders to deny you entrance, and I have made clear to the footmen that any attempt to override my orders should be met with violence.

I wish you well in your life, and hope that we can be civil should we meet in public. That is truly all that I am willing to promise.

George.

When he’d written that letter, he’d thought it was too harsh, and had almost destroyed it, but Daventry and Cavendish had thought it was very good and had insisted that he send it. It had bothered him, nonetheless, but having read the letter Caroline had just sent him, any guilt he had had was assuaged.

A scratch at his door induced him to say “enter,” which was followed by the entry of Scruggs into his library. His presence did much to restore Granger’s mood. Scruggs had been a very enjoyable companion. Granger had taken him to the opera and introduced him to the King. His Majesty was gracious enough to overlook Scruggs’s lack of polish. He’d subsequently taken him to services at St. Paul’s yesterday, and had then they had spent much of the day getting to know each other better. Granger had not yet been able to lure Scruggs into his bed, but he sensed such a thing was possible. Granger smiled to himself, thinking that he was like a hunter patiently luring Scruggs into his traps. “I hope I am not disturbing you, my lord,” Scruggs said.

“Not at all,” Granger said, as he stood to greet the hulking male specimen that was Scruggs. “I have just finished reviewing some correspondence and have plans to meet with Lord Castlereagh.”

“If it meets with Your Lordship’s pleasure, I have arranged to assemble Lady Kendal’s heirs, which would include you, your father, and your brother Frederick,” Scruggs said formally, even though they had worked this plan out already. “As you suggested, I have set it up to take place directly after dinner, which Your Lordship graciously agreed to host.”

“That is excellent,” Granger said, then looked at his watch. “I will probably not see you before dinner, but perhaps we will be able to talk more after our meeting.”

“It would be my pleasure, my lord,” Scruggs said, then left Granger alone again.

Granger’s peace was interrupted almost immediately by Cheevers. “My lord, Lord Castlereagh is arriving.”

“Excellent,” Granger said as he strode out to the foyer. “Would you be so kind as to have them ready the baths?”

“Of course, my lord,” he said. Granger didn’t even hear his response, so anxious was he to see this Irish peer who had so captivated him. He received Castlereagh politely, led him down to the baths and stationed a footman outside to make sure no one, especially Daventry or Cavendish, could enter. They all but ripped off their clothes and jumped into the cleansing tub, where with little foreplay Castlereagh entered Granger. While the start had been fumbled, the rest of their coupling was truly euphoric. They adjourned to the soaking tub, spent a long time talking about Granger’s trip to the Baltic, then Granger used the seed still inside him as lubricant to allow Castlereagh to fuck him again. They floated, enjoying the afterglow, until they both became more task-oriented. They got out of the baths, dried off and got dressed.

Just as they were about to leave the bathing room, Granger stopped Castlereagh and took his hands. “That was a wonderful interlude. I would like it if we could do that again.”

“So would I,” Castlereagh said shyly. “There would seem to be nothing to compare to the sex we just had, but I found our conversation to be just as stimulating.”

Granger grinned broadly at that. “I could not agree more. I claimed I seduced you as a retaliation for what your brother did to my wife, but that was just a pretext.”

“I knew that,” he said, smiling in a flirtatious way. “It is dangerous in London to have confidence in anyone, but my instincts tell me you are a friend I can trust.”

“My instincts are telling me the same thing, and I am happy we are just that,” Granger said. They sealed their bond of friendship with a kiss.

“I have a letter for you,” Castlereagh said, reaching into his breast pocket to pull out the document. “It is from my brother.” Castlereagh seemed to want him to read it on the spot, so he did.

My lord,

I am writing this letter to apologize most profusely if I have hurt you or been the cause of any pain or unpleasantness. It has been pointed out to me that to engage in relations with another officer’s wife, especially when that officer is serving His Majesty abroad, is a blackguard thing to do.

I encountered Lady Granger at a function and there was some evidence of an attraction between us. As things progressed, I objected to Her Ladyship that it was inappropriate for us to move things forward. Her Ladyship noted that my reputation as a rake was sufficient cause to dispute the sincerity of my objections, but I have always admired Your Lordship’s exploits and this time I truly was sincere. Her Ladyship then assured me that Your Lordship would not object, and I felt myself being propelled forward by my carnal drives combined with the desire not to challenge Her Ladyship’s pledge of your indifference to such a liaison.

Your return to England has made me question that decision and reflect on how stupid it really was. It would not be unreasonable for Your Lordship to seek redress through the courts, or to view this as an affair of honor, but I am hoping that you will read this letter, hear my apology, and be able to put this entire affair to rest.

Sincerely,

Charles Stewart

Granger all but rolled his eyes at the fact that Stewart must have received the news of what had been happening here in London and had communicated with him with much greater speed than Caroline had. He attributed that to Castlereagh and his father, the Marquess of Londonderry, who would both be sensitive to the delicacy of maintaining good relations with him despite Stewart’s overactive libido. He realized that his friend was staring at him, so he stopped his internal musing. “That was a most satisfactory apology,” Granger pronounced, although in truth he cared little about what Colonel Stewart said. It was Granger’s relationship with Castlereagh that ensured Granger would forgive him. “Will you be sending a communiqué to him in the near future?”

“I had planned to dispatch a messenger tomorrow morning,” Castlereagh said. Granger led the Irish peer up to his library, dashed off a cordial letter to Colonel Stewart, then entrusted it to Castlereagh to deliver. He saw his friend out, then went upstairs so Winkler could help him prepare to host dinner.

Granger had finished getting ready for dinner a full hour before the appointed time. He strolled downstairs to inspect the public rooms of his home, making sure they were perfect. In reality, that was a waste of time, since Cheevers ran a very efficient household, and it would have been unthinkable for anything to be out of place. He pondered that when he normally met his family, he did so at Bridgemont House in Grosvenor Square. In this situation, where he was more likely to consider his family as vipers and not supporters, it was good to be on his own turf, so to speak. He strolled through each of the rooms, but whereas before he had found them to be quite stylish, now he started to notice Caroline’s influence, and they were less appealing to him. He would have to do some redecorating.

His stroll through his home was interrupted by a considerable ruckus, the cause of which was soon apparent. “Father!” William exclaimed, and rushed to greet him. He was followed closely by Charlotte, Alexander, and Elizabeth, while trailing after them was Matheus.

“It is good to see all of you,” Granger said, hugging them warmly. “I have to be in London for longer than I had planned, so I opted to bring you all back here.”

“I am glad that you did,” Charlotte said formally. He smiled at her and tilted his head, and that made her blush and Granger laugh. He opted to focus instead on Mr. Spence as well as their various nannies.

“I hope I did not inconvenience you, Mr. Spence,” Granger said affably.

“Not at all, my lord,” he said politely. Granger mentally noted again how handsome he was. He pondered that he would have to reset the trap he’d laid for Scruggs and see if it worked on Pence.

“I am hosting a rather important dinner this evening, and am having a meeting after that,” Granger told him. “It would please me if you would bring the children down to the dining room in two hours.”

“Of course, my lord,” he agreed. Granger pulled him aside, while the nannies ushered the children up to their quarters.

“I have formally separated from Lady Granger,” he told Spence. “I have informed her that she may only see the children when I have authorized it.”

“I am sorry, my lord, but I will follow your directive explicitly,” Spence said. Caroline had hired this man, and Granger was worried that his loyalties were to her and not him. He was trying to think of a delicate way to frame that question when Spence must have sensed his discomfort and answered it without a prompt from Granger. “I do not know if Your Lordship is aware of how I came to be in your service?”

“I do not, but pray enlighten me,” Granger said with a smile.

“I was enjoying my time at Cambridge, but needed to augment my income, my lord,” he said. “Earl Spencer advised me to approach your wife about a position.”

“His Lordship has been a mentor and an advocate for me since I was promoted to commander,” Granger said with a smile. “His recommendation alone would have been a sufficient reason to engage you.”

“Thank you, my lord,” Spence said, grinning shyly. “I just wanted you to know that I accepted that position because of you and your reputation, and that I will have no issue with divided loyalties.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Granger said. “Perhaps tomorrow we can talk about the educational program you have planned for my children.”

“I have only set one up for Lord Ryde, my lord,” he said nervously.

“Then we will have much to discuss,” Granger said.

“My lord,” Cheevers said, interrupting him. Granger pulled himself out of his conversation with Spence and blinked at the man. “Lord Rosslyn has arrived.”

“Thank you, Cheevers,” Granger said. He nodded at Spence, pasted on a smile, then hurried to the entry to welcome this man to his home. “Welcome,” Granger said to Rosslyn, and clasped his hand warmly.

“It is good to see you, Granger,” Rosslyn said. Rosslyn had been Lord Chancellor no less than six months ago, but had opted not to join Addington’s administration and had retired. He’d been the Lord Chancellor when Granger had gotten his peerage and been introduced into the House of Lords, and he was known to be quite close to the King. “I appreciate your honoring my request to be here for the reading of Lady Kendal’s will.”

“I think it will be interesting, and I suspect you will find it to be so as well,” Granger said a bit playfully, then led Rosslyn into his library, poured them both a drink, and gestured him to a chair that was perpendicular to his own.

“I am here for just that reason, along with turning it into an excellent opportunity to sample the fare your chef puts together,” he said. “His reputation is quite good.”

“I am confident that you will agree that his reputation is well deserved after dinner,” Granger said. “I must say, though, that I am a bit surprised that such a renowned man of the law as yourself would deign to get involved in this matter.”

Rosslyn smiled in the way that lawyers did, the way that could make one’s skin crawl. “His Majesty asked me to do it.”

“The King asked you to be present at the reading of the will?” Granger asked incredulously.

“He did,” Rosslyn said. He smiled again, only this one was more gentle and sincere. “He is interested to hear how Lady Kendal structured things, and even more importantly he is interested in how your father and brother react to her will.”

“Is the King aware of the contents of her will?” Granger asked.

“He is not, but he has his suspicions,” Rosslyn said. He realized that Granger wasn’t following his point in this conversation and attributed that to the fact that the young peer had only recently returned to England. “His Majesty is annoyed by your brother and vexed with your father. My being here is a strong message to them that he supports you.”

Granger blinked in surprise at that. “I am most grateful for His Majesty’s support. He has been most gracious to me since my return.”

Rosslyn rolled his eyes. “Granger, the King is quite fond of you. You are handsome and charming, your protocol and manners are always correct, and you have supported him, some might observe when he needed it the most.”

“If you will pardon my impertinence, I have always viewed His Majesty as an additional father,” Granger said.

“I think he would appreciate that, as he views his role as being a father to his people,” Rosslyn said.

“Why is the King vexed with my father and annoyed by my brother?” Granger asked.

“I think it would be difficult to find someone who wasn’t annoyed by your brother,” Rosslyn said, making both of them laugh.

“He can be a bit stodgy at times,” Granger allowed.

“That is an understatement,” Rosslyn said. “The issue over the Viscounty of Heathford and how that was to be handled has bothered His Majesty. On the one hand, he was loath to overrule a decision by Parliament awarding that title to your son, while on the other he was equally disturbed that such a thing could happen in defiance of established custom. Your father strongly supported your wife, and that did nothing but put more pressure on the King.”

“I am sorry that caused His Majesty so much anguish,” Granger said sincerely.

“Indeed,” Rosslyn said. “Then you came home, and with the slightest of nudges agreed to renounce your son’s claim to the title and remove that as an issue. It is rare that something like that happens, where something that is bothering His Majesty is resolved so easily; these things usually drag on causing everyone endless agony.”

“I am glad that I was able to help His Majesty, but it was the right thing to do, and that is why I did it,” Granger said. “I am unclear as to why my father did not see that.”

“I think your father was fighting for your son and for your wife,” Rosslyn said.

“I have a difficult time believing his motives were that noble,” Granger groused.

“There are rumors there is another deal in the background,” Rosslyn said. “Your father wanted the support of your wife, and this was the price for that support.”

“What did he ask her to help him with?” Granger asked.

“He wants to have your brother appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire,” Rosslyn said. “I think he is concerned about finding something to enhance your brother’s stature.”

“So in his mind, he could advance my brother and defend my son’s interests,” Granger concluded. “Since I have returned, he has clearly aligned himself with my brother, and they offered me a deal regarding Lady Kendal’s estate.”

“Indeed?” Rosslyn asked.

“Her will was to be ignored and her estate was to be divided up into thirds: one for me, one for my brother, and one for my father,” Granger explained. “There was no provision for my middle brother.”

“Ah yes, Lord Blakeney,” Rosslyn said with a slight chuckle as he thought of Bertie, then his expression changed to one that was entirely humorless. “You didn’t agree to that, did you?” he asked in alarm.

“I did not,” Granger said. “I told them that it was not our decision as to how she handled her estate, and I would have no part in re-writing her will.” Rosslyn looked at Granger with a bit of admiration, which correspondingly made Granger uncomfortable.

“That was the honorable thing to do,” Rosslyn pronounced. “My presence here is to remind everyone that the King is watching how this plays out, and it would go badly for anyone who tried to do just what your father and brother were proposing.”

“Then in addition to your wonderful company, I am grateful for that as well,” Granger said with a smile and activating his charm.

“I heard about your separation from your wife,” Rosslyn said sympathetically. Granger could have been annoyed with him for raising that topic, but opted instead to hear him out, since he was a relatively neutral member of society.

“It was not what I wanted to happen, but I felt it was necessary. This is not the first time there have been issues like this,” Granger said. “In this case, her sins were too egregious to ignore.”

“You are referring to Colonel Stewart?” Rosslyn asked. Granger nodded. “I want you to be aware that if you make this an affair of honor with Stewart, it will negatively affect His Majesty’s view of you.”

Granger nodded, because he knew that the King hated dueling. “I do not plan to seek satisfaction from Colonel Stewart.”

“That is a wise move, begging your pardon,” Rosslyn said.

“Colonel Stewart has already sent me a letter of apology, and I have just this day dispatched a message to him putting this affair to rest,” Granger said.

“That is excellent,” Rosslyn said, and was both happy and relieved. It dawned on Granger that this was also probably bothering His Majesty: the thought that Granger and Stewart would end up fighting a duel. Rosslyn opted to redirect the conversation. “Your wife had already destroyed her reputation, so it was no great surprise that you disassociated yourself from her. Your decision not to divorce her was appreciated by His Majesty, who abhors divorce.”

“I really felt that I had no choice, that I had to take the steps to legally remove her from my life as much as I could short of divorce,” Granger said. It came out almost as a stream of thought.

“I have been fighting in the lion’s den that is this Court for many years, Granger,” Rosslyn said seriously. “You had no other option. If you had not done this, you would have damaged yourself, and worse, you would have damaged your children. Your good reputation will probably be sufficient to gloss over your wife’s indiscretions when it comes time for your offspring to marry, but if you had not taken those steps, you would have been hard pressed to marry them off well.”

“My children are still so young that marriage does not seem like an event to even think about, so I appreciate your focus on the future,” Granger said. “I appreciate it even more so because you are right.”