Lord Haversham Takes Command Read Online Free PDF Page A

would be hard pressed to find anyone who understood her, let alone believe her. “Not ‘
mon
ark.’ ‘Monarch’, as in, the ruler on the throne.”
    “Oh! Well then, we are back to that German woman.”
    Harry let loose his first laugh of pleasure in what seemed like years. “Mother, you are a true original. I think perhaps that is enough for tonight, but if further letters arrive for me, special delivery or no, I shall need to see them immediately and without Father learning about them. Can you do that?”
    “
Mais, oui
!” Lady Avery said with a Gallic shrug of her shoulders. “Anything to get a proper French woman on the throne of England!”
    With a wince, Harry scratched his head and thought carefully before he spoke. “I am persuaded you would prefer it if Queen Victoria were not foully murdered. Should I not answer the call to be in her service to protect her?”
    “Of course!” Lady Avery exclaimed, rising from her seat. “If this is what makes you happy,
mon coeur
,” she added and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Now I am off to
mon chamber
to await your
papa
,” she announced, which prompted another wince from her son who remained, staring into the fire.
    It was true that the information he was entrusted to obtain made him responsible for the Queen’s health and happiness. Yet, he was responsible for his own as well. And what of Mira’s? She could never be happy married to the Duke. Not that Mira wouldn’t make a fine duchess; she possessed beauty, intelligence, charm and strength of character, all virtues that would serve her well as George’s wife. They would also serve Harry well as his viscountess, and what’s more, she loved him. At least he believed she had, once upon a time.
    How to woo his maiden fair without exposing his secret? On the one hand, his ‘Bertie’ act would immediately discount him as the person the Queen’s enemies even now hunted. On the other hand, he could hardly win Mira’s love as the flibbertigibbet Bertie. He sighed again and raked his fingers through his golden hair. Being an adult was deuced difficult in spite of the fact he had never had the luxury of being otherwise, not in the home of the childlike Lady Avery and her childish lord.
    What he would have given for just one barefooted run through the lake at the bottom of the Abbey garden; or a climb up a tree without his mother chiding him for shredding his satin breeches; or a crack at holding the reins of his own pony and trap, a gift from his mother who thought he would look
tres adorable
seated in it but was never allowed to actually drive.
    If it hadn’t been for his romps through the parks and gardens at Prospero Park with Mira and her brothers, he would have grown up a very odd man indeed. It was Sir Anthony who taught him how to ride, how to shoot and hunt, how to skin a rabbit and fish with a pole. The day eventually arrived when Harry’s father felt him old enough to mount a horse and was surprised to find his son already an enviable horseman. Lord Avery was so pleased with his son’s prowess, he persuaded Lady Avery to allow it. Once the first hurdle was crossed, his parents delighted in his accomplishments as if it were they themselves who had taught him all.
    His years abroad had deepened his skills and added new ones, such as archery, fencing, and even a smattering of sailing. Latin and French, as well as the many ways and means one arrived at one’s destination undetected, were subjects of which he was already master. Italian, Greek, and German soon followed. The combination of his physical, intellectual, and survival skills, along with his natural allegiance to the country of his birth, made him the perfect choice for a secret serviceman for the young Queen of England.
    Herbert, Viscount Haversham, was an adult — one with responsibilities, commitments, and a job to do, one who had left the letter from Lord Melbourne’s secretary waiting too long. With the last indulgent sigh Harry would