Chapter One

London

June, 1835

James Alcott rolled over in his bed and stretched his taut muscles. His eyes immediately opened when he came into contact with warm, soft skin. That was when he realised that he wasn't in his bedchamber. He was in the bedchamber of Miss Veronica Harper ... a lady notorious amongst the men of the ton for giving me exactly what they wanted. She was an American, and was wealthy in her own right so she didn't care for keeping a flawless reputation.

Veronica's flaming red hair was strewn across her bare back as she slept soundlessly. She was truly very pretty, and very skilled in the art of seduction.

James climbed out of the bed as quietly as he could and fetched his clothes that were carelessly scattered across her floor. He found his pocket watch inside his waist jacket and nearly swore when he saw the time. It was nearly half past eight on a Sunday - he had but thirty minutes to dress and get home before his family left for church. His mother would not be impressed with him. She wasn't usually impressed with him but he'd built up a rapport with her after everything he'd done to give his younger sister, Little J, an education.

What his mother neglected to understand was that he liked women. He liked their company in public and in private. He just didn't like their ulterior motives. His mother, Emilia, was desperate for him to quit his rakish ways and settle down with a woman, but he couldn't. He couldn't just propose marriage to someone when he knew they would be saying 'yes' to his title and not to him. He was to be the Earl of Ethridge one day, and whomever he married would become the Countess. That would entice a woman more than just marrying him. He'd been courting Sarah Smith for going on a couple of years and he knew she was getting antsy for an engagement. He was tempted to just give it all up. Marry her and carry on with his activities outside the marital bed. He knew Sarah would not care so long as she got a position - but what kind of life was that? James wanted what his parents had. He wanted what his sisters and his aunt and his cousin, and even what his grandmother had once had. He wanted the real thing ... but how could he be sure it was real?

Perhaps there wasn't anyone for him. Maybe he would grow to love Sarah. Hanging his head, he quickly dressed and combed his unkempt, brown hair with his fingers before Veronica's gilded mirror. He was a handsome man, which was what made it so easy to attract woman. He'd always been very tall, just like his father, and he was careful never to indulge on heavy foods so that he could keep a muscular physique. His eyes were dark blue, just like his father's but he had his mother's smile, the smile that gave him slight dimples in his cheeks.

Fixing the final button on his coat closed, he sighed and took his leave from Veronica's grand townhouse.

He knew he wouldn't make it back to Ethridge in time to catch his family so he decided to hire a carriage to take him directly to the church.

His parents could no longer punish him. He was five and twenty, more than an adult, but it didn't stop them lecturing him on all things moral.

He paid the driver when the carriage finally stopped and immediately spied his family standing with his brother - in - law, and they beloved clergyman, Joseph.

One thing that he was happy about not seeing was Sarah. He hoped that she wasn't there. That would mean he'd be roped into spending the day with her. He stopped himself mid thought. Would he ever grow to love her if he didn't really like her? He wasn't sure.

Of one thing he was absolutely positive - nothing was as sure as family.

A smile spread across his face when he caught a family look that his parents exchanged. His parents had been married for a quarter of a century and yet they still looked at each other as if they were newlyweds.

His twin sister, Kitty, stood beside her husband, William, who was a highly decorated officer in the navy. Together they held their two children Will and Millie. Kitty's stomach was slightly showing the next child that they were expecting.

Little J and her husband Harrison were expecting too. She was only a few months along but she was thrilled. She'd already decided that she wouldn't stop being a doctor though. James had a feeling that their child would grow up to be a doctor, just like his or her parents.

Annie and Joseph still had their one little girl, Amy, and she was every bit as pretty as her mother. They both wanted Amy to have a little brother or sister, but conceiving was hard for them. That was the only part of the conversation James had allowed himself to hear as the thought of his youngest sister 'conceiving' made him want to empty his stomach out onto the floor.

And then there was the youngest of the Alcott siblings, and the only one besides him that still lived in the family manor. Henry. He was still studying at Cambridge but he was very shy when it came to women. He put all of his energy into his studies. When James was honest with himself, he knew Henry was a better man than he was. But, then again, Henry wasn't burdened with the future that James was. When Henry chose a wife, he would know she was accepting him.

"Hello, everyone," James said cheerily as he joined his family outside the church. He had mere minutes before Joseph gathered his congregation inside to begin the dreary sermon. Outside the pews, Joseph was a wonderful man, entertaining even ... it was a shame that didn't follow him to his sermon notes.

Emilia arched an eyebrow at her eldest son as she looked him up and down. "Your waist jacket is inside out, James. Did you dress in a hurry?"

James scoffed comically and nodded. He quickly unbuttoned his jacket and Emilia held her arm out for it as she rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, James," she sighed. "Will I have a poor woman on my doorstep one day handing over a child that belongs to you?"

James knew that would never happen, he was always very careful. "No, mama, rest easy," he promised as he quickly turned his waist jacket around the right way. He received several odd looks from people who were beginning to file into the church but he didn't care.

"Joseph," Sebastian said, catching him as he was about to enter the church. "Do you have anything honest for my son to do for you after the service?"

James paused and threw his father an exasperated look. His sisters giggled as they made their way into the church and Henry offered him a supportive look. 'Excellent,' he thought. He would be spending the rest of his day dusting bibles.

"I was planning on spending the rest of the day at the orphanage," Joseph replied. "There are always things that need to be done around there. Are you skilled in carpentry?"

He absolutely was not.

"Very skilled," his mother answered for him. "He'll be happy to fix anything at all, won't you, James?" She was looking at him as if to say 'Reply "yes" or you will be sleeping outside'.

"Of course," James said less than enthusiastically.

"Excellent," Joseph said happily as he beckoned them inside the old church.

Two hours later the sermon was over and it was time for the patrons to return to their respective homes. Sunday lunch was a fine affair in the Alcott. It was a time for the large family to come together once again and indulge on fine food and enchanting conversation.

But not today. Today he was repairing things - he'd never even held a hammer in his life

"It's nothing too difficult," Joseph promised him. "One of the bench seats in the dining room collapsed a few days ago and I've not had time to repair it. Jacqueline told me that she could fix it but I didn't want her to use tools when I was not there to supervise - the last thing we want is for the matron to injure herself."

The orphanage backed onto the church and Joseph funded it through donations that he received. The Alcott's had always been very generous when it came to charity, and the orphanage was one of his mother's favourite expenditures.

The old building was made of dark stone and each window was open with clothes hanging out of them drying.

It then struck him that Joseph had mentioned a matron. He didn't know that there was someone running the orphanage other than him. "Who is Jacqueline?" James asked.

"Jacqueline," Joseph corrected, putting a French accent on the name. "She's French," he explained.

"French?" James said, intrigued. He'd never met a French girl before. "How come I've never seen her in church?"

Joseph pursed his lips awkwardly. "James, we belong to the Church of England, she's a Catholic. She prays by herself."

"Catholic?" James raised his eyebrows. He hadn't met a Catholic either. "Tell me, how did you come across a Catholic French girl who just happened to be looking for a job?"

"Girl? How do you know she's a girl, she could be fifty years old," Joseph chuckled.

That hadn't occurred to James. "How old is she?" he asked quickly.

"Eighteen," Joseph replied. "Don't even think about it, that girl has been through an awful lot."

It was as if the good Reverend was reading James' mind.

"She came to the door of the church three years ago begging me for food. She didn't speak a word of English but my grandmother was French so I've always been able to speak the language. So I taught her English ... reasonably well ... and now she's the matron at the orphanage. She's not a big talker though. She doesn't talk much about her past but I figure that's her business. So long as I could help."

Joseph really was a great humanitarian. He always had room in his heart for one more no matter what.

The two men entered the orphanage which was filled with the sounds of laughing children. Two little boys ran past him rather roughly, slight knocking him.

"Boys!" Joseph said in a scolding voice.

"Garçons!" shouted a sweet female voice.

She appeared from around the corner wearing a plain, black cotton dress and a dirty apron. Her hair was a gorgeous dark brown and hung in ringlets down to her waist. But what struck him most was her eyes, which was strange for him. He ordinarily noticed a woman's figure but not with her. Her eyes were a sky blue colour, the kind that could not hide anything. Those gorgeous eyes were framed with thick, dark eyelashes that matched the colour of her hair.

In that moment, he knew his life had changed forever.

"Jacqueline, this is James Alcott, he will be repairing the bench in the dining room today," Joseph introduced them, not noticing how bewitched James had become. "He is my wife's elder brother."

How had Annie ever allowed Joseph to hire such a beauty? She must have been very trusting.

Jacqueline smiled slightly at James as she curtseyed. He was wrong about her eyes. They hid everything. She had secrets. She was a tiny woman, smaller than all three of his sister. Her waist was very narrow and she didn't have a very generous bust, but that didn't seem to faze him.

"Bonjour, monsieur," she said quietly. "The bench needs to be fixed before the enfants have their lunch." She spoke with an accent, though her English was very good.

"Good afternoon, Miss ..." he said, leaving room for her to interject with her surname.

"Jacqueline is fine," she replied stiffly. "The bench?" she prompted.

"Right," he nodded. "Lead the way, Jacqueline."

Jacqueline gathered up her skirts and turned back into the room that she had come out from.

"Again, don't even think about it," Joseph said under his breath.

James couldn't help it. He was thinking about it.

----

French translations:

Garçons: Boys

Enfants: Children

I think you all should know what 'bonjour' and 'monsieur' means lol.

If any of you are French speakers and I get any of the French wrong in this story please correct me - my French is conversational and I'm much better at German than I am at French. I'm going on Google translate :P

Anyways, hope you liked it!

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