JAMES WATCHED FROM the corner of his eyes as Vivienne took a sip of tea. It was the first time she ventured downstairs to join him for a meal since the Noir incident. It was quite peculiar having another person join the table after it being empty for so long. Thankfully, she didn't say much and continued eating her breakfast.

Placing the newspaper on the right side of his hand, he looked up at Vivienne who was still completely oblivious.

"I visited a few of my fields the last couple of days."

Vivienne set down her cup and raised and eyebrow, keeping her mouth silent but he saw the eagerness in her eyes.

James sighed, he was going to have to be honest with her. "You were right. I asked a few lords how much their lands yielded, and mine was very small in comparison."

Her green eyes turned to him, "and the farmers? What did you say when you asked them?"

"They cited numerous reasons but the greatest one being the soil is no longer fertile."

A smile came upon Vivienne's face, "Well, that can be fixed easily enough."

Before she could say anything else, there was quite a commotion at the door catching his attention.

He immediately stood up and walked to the entry way, "What is with all the ruckus, Martin?"

His butler gave him a grim smile, "It seems we have a visitor."

The door swung open, nearly hitting both Martin and James in the face.

"James," his great-aunt greeted him, extending her gloved hand to him. James kissed it dutifully. "Do be a dear and get your footmen to bring my trunks to my room."

"And exactly how many trunks did you bring with you this time?"

His great-aunt took off her bonnet, "Oh, I didn't bother counting that nonsense. There could be plenty of soirees and I simply didn't want to arrive unprepared."

James sighed, already regretting the decision of inviting his aunt. "Aunt Esme, as much it pains me to remind you, we are in the country with our closest neighbours being the Albermay's."

"Well then, that simply won't do. You'll host something here to keep me entertained, won't you?"

James would rather shoot himself in the foot, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he gestured to a couple of footmen to retrieve what he was sure would be a plethora of trunks. He turned around to see Vivienne standing in the corner. She must have heard all the noise and came to investigate herself. But before he could say anything, his aunt, as shrewd as ever, cut in.

"You must be the lady who is looking for a husband in the marriage mart."

He winced as Vivienne's face paled, and confusion lit her eyes. Anticipating her reaction, James had withheld the information that he set aside a dowry for her. The girl was so shy and skittish, she would have fainted upon hearing the news.

After much planning, he thought it was the perfect plan. Let his aunt transform the wallflower and get her married to someone who would take care of her. Meanwhile, James and the Bow Street Runner he hired would be on the lookout for Lady Selina to see if she would make an appearance during the season.

It was perfect, but like lambs, people didn't need to be notified of what awaited them until they were slaughtered for the greater good—lest they run away.

"I don't believe the two of you have met," James tried cutting the tension that had suddenly enveloped the room, "this is my aunt, the dowager countess Torrington."

James watched with some satisfaction as Vivienne curtsied, and his aunt's mouth rose slightly in approval, "My lady."

James point his arm towards Vivienne, "Aunt Esme, this is who I wrote to you about, Lady Vivienne."

His aunt continued her appraisal of Vivienne. "Your posture is fine, but you'll need new gowns. And what is with that god-awful hairstyle?"

Vivienne stayed rooted in her spot, reminding James of the deer he sometimes hunted on his grounds.

"We were just finishing up breakfast," James said, as he led his aunt to the table and gestured to the footman to set up another plate. "Please join us."

His aunt sat down momentarily distracted from scrutinizing Vivienne, "Well, I must say, I am rather hungry from my journey."

"And where did you journey from Lady Torrington?"

"London dear. Might I say, the country air has placed me in a better mood already. James, I must thank you for your invitation, I didn't believe it would arrive before the season began."

James ignored the rib and took a seat once more. He knew his aunt would not let him leave until she finished her meal.

"Now dear, you must be grateful for my intervention. Being alone in a house without a chaperone can prove to be quite troublesome to a lady's reputation. Fortunately, you have been in the country, had this been London, there would be quite the scandal about now"

"Which is why I invited you to join us," James replied placing two fingers on his temple. A headache was already forming, his aunt was best in small doses.

"The duke has been the perfect gentleman and very accommodating," Vivienne explain, her voice so soft that in order to hear her clearly, James needed to lean to his left.

Aunt Esme placed down the pastry she'd been eating, and her gaze bore into James' accusingly, "Well yes, I'm sure my great-nephew has been hospitable to a certain degree, some may say that he even has a reputation of being quite the charmer."

James knew exactly what his great-aunt was hinting at. Having a certain amount of charm never did anyone wrong. In fact, it often helped him receive exactly what he wanted. "I save my charms for the ladies that want the attention."

"Certainly," his aunt responded sweetly. Then she switched the attention solely on Vivienne, "What are you looking for in a husband?"

If James had been drinking something about now, he was sure that it would be all over the pristine oak table.

Vivienne paled and lowered her gaze, "I'm not exactly looking for a husband, Lady Torrington."

"With a few lessons, you will not need to look, they'll come flocking to you, especially with the size of your dowry. Then you can weed out the imperfect ones and toss them to the side."

James needed a drink right about now. It seemed like his aunt was ready to spill everything he had told her. In her defense, he had not mentioned that what he was sharing with her was private, but he should have known the astute old women spoke when and however she liked.

"I do believe you're mistaken; I don't have a dowry." Vivienne corrected her with utter politeness.

His aunt waved her hand, "You don't need to worry about that, James took care of it."

Vivienne's eyes widened, "And who exactly is James?"

James smiled at her question and cleared his throat, "that would be me." He wasn't surprised she didn't know his Christian name since nobody in the household used it. Vivienne's green eyes met his and he could read the question within them, why had he not told her about the dowry?

James shrugged, indifferent. "It is a measly sum to me."

His aunt snorted. "You wouldn't be uttering those words if I hadn't taken control of the estates following your father's death."

James' heart stopped for a second. How could he have forgotten that he could ask his aunt about the incidents after his father's demise. She probably had more information about the events taking place afterwards. However, before he could voice his opinion, his great-aunt continued to speak as if he were irrelevant.

"We shall need to create a story of your origin my dear. It won't bode well to say that you simply showed up at the Duke of Lennox's manor, now would it?"

"No, my lady."

"We could always say that she is a distant relative of yours who was in America for a couple of years," James suggested.

His aunt gave him a regal nod, "It's good to see that your brain isn't as empty as I feared it was. It should work well enough. There must be books on America in the massive library of yours. Give them to Lady Vivienne so she can speak on the topic if someone questions her."

James didn't know the titles of half of the books in his library. He had inherited most of them from his father, who had inherited them from his grandfather. James made a note to order one of his servants to look through his collection after breakfast.

Aunt Esme stood up as did James. "Now then, if my room is prepared, I think I'll lie down for a bit," she rubbed her back absentmindedly, "the journey was quite tiring and my limbs aren't as strong as they used to be."

Indeed, they weren't. As James took a closer look at her, he could see signs of her age. Her cheeks seemed to be skunked in, and there was a weariness to her that he hadn't seen before. He knew she wouldn't accept help from the others, so he took her arm before placing it on the crook of his elbow. His great-aunt didn't say much, but she squeezed his right arm indicating her thanks for the support.

"Mrs. Shrine prepared the room you usually stay in. I can escort you there now."

"Very well boy, lead the way," she said in her usual gruff tone.

She began walking with his support but turned around in the last minute and gave a rare smile to Vivienne. "It was a pleasure meeting you my dear. I'm sure we will get a chance to become better acquainted in the next few weeks."

"It will be my pleasure," Vivienne replied.

"I'll be back after helping Aunt Esme settle in. Perhaps we can talk about what we were discussing prior?" James suggested, he still needed to speak to her about the field and he was sure she had a dozen questions for him.

When she nodded, he was relieved. It was better to let him explain then his aunt.

***

Vivienne was still seated at the table as she watched the footmen clear the various plates littering the surface. There was a lot for her to comprehend and varying degrees of surprises. She had learned the duke's Christian name. James.

The syllables ran off of her tongue as she whispered the name. Feeling a bit silly, she made sure that nobody else had heard her. What was more shocking was the fact that James had set up a dowry for her. After her father's disappearance, she had forgotten about her aristocratic life fearing that her and Agatha would remain in Flaxpool for eternity. But to be thrusted back into society and get the opportunity to do the things she'd thought were taken away from her forever was comforting.

The duke truly was intelligent. As if knowing her fear of going to London, he'd invited his aunt who had been in society for a long time. Vivienne was sure that she would be able to guide her into the midst of London's ballrooms. Suddenly, the images were much clear. She would be dancing in the middle of a floor, with everyone's eyes on her. Her partner would make her laugh, before they would take a break to drink something sweet to quench their thirst.

She was rudely awoken from her daydreams with the duke's voice reaching her, "Lady Vivienne?"

She stood up so fast, nearly bumping her knee into the table. James looked unconcerned with her actions, "Shall we head to my study now?"

Vivienne nodded and followed the duke to his study. He held the door open for her and she took a seat on the chair. The duke sat on the opposite side—occupying the chair she had, last time they had been in the study together.

"I'm sure you have many questions," he began.

"Yes, I know you said it's a measly sum, but you don't need to have a dowry set up for me."

"Lady Vivienne, it was of no trouble to me. I don't have any family besides my great-aunt and there is only so much I can do with my wealth. If I'm able to assist you in securing a safe future for yourself, I don't regret it at all."

Vivienne swallowed. She felt emotional. She hadn't had anyone supporting her like the duke did. The last person who made her feel safe had been her father, and she had a vague memory of him at best. "I'm eternally grateful. Anything you need, I'll do my best to help with."

The duke gave her a solemn nod. "Well, the wonderful news is that you can help me. You were about to speak on how to revitalize the soil in order to increase crop yield earlier?"

Vivienne felt a sense of warmness fill her. The duke was asking for her opinion. This was a man who had so much wealth he could pay for her dowry and tell her to sod off. Yet, he valued her opinion and turned to her when he realized she had more knowledge on something that could benefit him. That, she realized was a sign of a true intelligence and kindness. Opening her mouth, Vivienne began pouring all the knowledge she knew about soil and its fertilization. 

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Hmm, maybe James is not pure hearted as we first thought. We welcome one of my new favourite characters, Aunt Esme! On another note, thank you so much for the 500 reads on this story. We also ranked #74 in historical fiction!