Chapter Forty-Four

Samantha opened her door to Aunt Min for her to enter. “Time for us to leave, dear.”

“I want to take one last look at this chamber. It’s etched in my mind.”

“Indeed, it should. Raven created the refurbishment for you.”

Samantha blinked her eyes shut.

“Don’t cry. If something unfortunate happened, you will tell me, and we will make it right, rest assured. Nothing can be so terrible that we cannot make amends.”

“I can’t talk about it in the carriage, Aunt Min, but Raven did ask for marriage.”

“Then why are you so upset? You don’t want to marry this man you’ve mooned over?” She reached to touch Samantha’s hand with a quizzical expression.

“He didn’t ask me, Aunt Min. He asked Liana. At least that is what he called me. Don’t you see, all he wants to do is recreate the safe world he experienced with her? His life and his routine were all in a box with constraints. But I am alive. I couldn’t bear for him to touch me or want me and all the time I’d wonder if it was me he loved or her.”

Lady Minerva sat her down on the settee. She hugged Samantha. “We will talk when we arrive home, but you knew what you faced. You have to decide how much you want him. He will grow to love you even more and forget he ever knew her. She will become a treasured memory. You expect perfection of him when he is a mere man. Men have flaws. Trust me, my dear.”

“I am tired of those trust words.” She moaned a soft sob, and a tear escaped.

“Samantha, I suggest you take a look in the drawing room. That portrait you hate so much is gone. He has given you a strong message with its removal.” She left the room with Samantha in tow. “Let us pay our final respects to the duke and the dowager and be gone. It is time to go to our home.”

When Samantha entered the drawing room with her aunt, Raven was engaged in conversation with the Prince. He halted his conversation, raised his head, and his eyes peered at the outline of the former painting visible against the more faded walls. Certainly she’d notice he had the portrait removed.

The Prince strolled over to the two ladies and kissed both their outstretched hands as they curtsied. “I am devastated that I will not see you for a time. Although, I do have business in London soon, and hope I may have the privilege to call upon you.”

“That would be nice, your Highness, We would be delighted to receive you,” Samantha said with a warm, deliberate smile. “We shall miss your remarkable presence.”

Raven debated that her remark was the most complimentary she’d been to the Prince since he arrived, all designed to make him jealous. However, it wouldn’t work as she intended.

“Lady Minerva, if you would indulge me, I would be curious to see that pistol you refer to, the one you say you carry all the time. Would you show it to me?”

“But of course, Highness.” She opened her reticule and withdrew a small pistol, a marvelous sight to behold, with Mother of Pearl handles encrusted with jewels of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

The Prince took it in his hands and was in apparent awe. He read the name etched into the barrel. “It is the Minerva. I never thought the story was authentic.”

“And what is that story?” asked Raven, now just as inquisitive as the Prince.

“Raven, forgive me. I’m pleasantly shocked. It is a story my forebears have spoken about for decades.” He fondled the pistol, looked down the barrel to the gun sight. He hefted the weight in his hand and gave it to Raven who did the same. “There was one such gun hand molded ever, then the drawings and specifications were destroyed. Because it is so small, designed to fit the palm, adjustments to the handle were made to the diameter of the barrel and it will shoot certain bullets. The story is it was made for a special woman and gifted to her by a Prince of the Russian court, my uncle. She was someone he met in India on tour. Minerva was her name.”

Raven handed the small revolver to Nicholas. “The workmanship is superior.”

The Prince gazed at Lady Minerva in wonderment and great astonishment. “Are you that lady?”

“But of course, Highness. I will ignore your apparent surprise. I was quite a beauty then. As I remember, your uncle was a handsome, debonair man. Lady Margaret will tell you that I had a proclivity for Russian princes. I was, of course, married and lived in India, and those days could be fearful at the unrest. The Prince commissioned the gunsmith to produce a pistol that would fit my small palm and yet be lethal enough to stop a man.”

“What did your husband say to this gift, my lady?” was the next question asked by Raven.

“He thought it was a capital idea. Of course, the Prince asked my husband’s permission ahead of time to give it as a gift. Before any of you arch your eyebrows, know that we enjoyed a wonderful marriage, one that did not include infidelities. He did allow me great leeway, however, and I was always most appreciative of that.”

“A long leash,” said Raven.

“Why, yes, Your Grace. The longer he made that leash, the more it became stronger and unnecessary, but I digress. He was always near and protective of me. A casual flirtation was never offensive to him. He knew I loved him, and would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship.”

Raven commiserated again about the casual flirtation the lady referred to.

The Prince became excited as he spoke, “Raven, Do you know what this means? We could mass-produce the pistol, and all the gentlemen in London could start a craze. Rather than carry heavy ones, this little gem can be slipped into a pocket or boot with ease, and used as necessary. Of course, we would have to take it and have our gunsmiths study to replicate it.”

The Prince turned to Lady Minerva. “Would you consider lending me the gun for a short time?”

“No, I would not, Highness. I don’t feel safe without it. My Russian Prince’s Gunnery Captain of his regiment instructed me in its proper care, as did my husband. I may one day have to use it. With the dangers to us all that the duke speaks of, I would be uncomfortable with it taken from me.” She paused and tilted her head toward the men. “However, I do have the specifications for the weapon in my bank vault.” She pulled on her white linen gloves.

“But I heard you say the blueprints and specifications had been destroyed,” Raven said.

“You are correct, Your Grace, that is what everyone was told. I’m a cautious woman, and because of that, I convinced my husband to commission duplicates. They now reside in my vault in London.” An air of superiority brightened her smile when her eyebrows arched and she brightened with a smile.

“You are also correct, Prince Nicholas, that the bullet propels through a descending chamber that has been calculated to eject it at a high velocity. Although I do not understand much more than that.”

Raven was impressed and noted the stunned faces of all in the well-appointed room. “Is it possible to procure the specifications?” the duke asked as he fingered the pistol. Light and small, men all over the world would want it. He frowned for a moment and thought about a lot of women who might want it, too. It could create a fashion fad. God help them. That could lead to females in pistol fights and duels. These Winston women were indeed unique.

“What would you want for the plans?” asked Raven.

“I am well endowed with financial resources, Your Grace. But perhaps a person who brought this type of ammunition to the table could be entitled to join the cartel?”

“That is a high cost, my lady,” said Raven in a tone born of years of discipline that disguised well his shock.

“Then all we have to do is disregard our conversation on the matter, Your Grace.” Lady Minerva stretched her hand forward. “May I have my gun back now?”

The Prince hesitated a moment. “My lady, grant me a boon and allow me to shoot it just once? I want to feel the balance and assess the accuracy. Caveat emptor,” he said. Buyer beware.

She agreed. Lady Minerva smiled and acknowledged his request and withdrew her hand, “But of course, Highness.”

They went outside, and targets were set up. Raven shot first and the others followed. He was duly impressed.

Raven traded glances with the Prince. “Between us, we might convince the others,” Raven said with a controlled response.

“The myth becomes a reality. My pride in my heritage is further redeemed. I long to own such a pistol,” said the Prince.

All the while Raven thought, Bravo for the ladies. He smiled with a broad grin and knew they were in the clutches of a capable woman who played her hand for all it was worth.

“Of course, I could be persuaded to allow you to have the plans as payment for our share, Samantha’s and mine, into your cartel,” Lady Minerva announced.

Silence thickened once again. God help him. Two women in the cartel? That would take arm wrestling with the others, but the idea now appealed to Raven.

“Your Grace, now we must be off, but you may pursue it further if you so wish.” Lady Minerva sighted the Dowager Lady Margaret, she rushed toward her, clasped her hand and thanked her for her hospitality. “We shall meet again.”

Raven reloaded the pistol and then handed it to Lady Minerva who placed it in her reticule. Raven went with the Winstons to see them depart and stood with his hands clasped behind his back as the carriage rolled off. He turned and returned to his study.

The visit at Ravensmere completed, Samantha asked her aunt many questions about the pistol on the carriage ride home, which helped the time pass. Lady Minerva spoke at length, but did not impart too much information.

“Aunt, I think you shocked all of them with that tale,” Samantha said.

“It was not a tale, but a restatement of fact.” Her reticence was obvious. “However, there were some omissions, which are mine and mine alone to know.”

“But how could my uncle allow such a gift to his wife? Would not that have been inappropriate?” asked Samantha.

“Your uncle was a man who trusted his wife without reservation. He also enjoyed men, rich men, who fawned over me. He knew they could flirt and attempt to compromise. He enjoyed their admiration for me, and he accepted it as a compliment to his impeccable taste. You could say, I was his possession, but I possessed him with my fidelity.”

Lady Minerva laughed. “That was great amusement. The demonstration of the gun went off well. I now hold the winning hand. Let us see if it gets us into the cartel, Samantha. The look on their faces was priceless.”

“Aunt, you continue to amaze me. What have you not done in this world? I am so inexperienced compared to you,” she said.

“Samantha, as with most issues, time and patience will often get you what you desire most. Your patience ebbs and flows,” she chided in a familial tone. “I have seen much and enjoyed my life, and I loved my husband with a passion. When he died, I grieved for a long time, but the pain did ease and my fond memories have been a comfort to me.”

Lady Minerva said, “Now, my dears, I wish to close my eyes and rest. It brought back such pleasant memories, and I would like to savor them. Wake me up when we arrive.”

The rhythm of the horses lulled Minerva to sleep.

“Sweet dreams,” Samantha whispered. “I so envy you your wisdom and strength.”