Chapter Thirty-Six
Two days later, Freddie stood inside the foyer of Strathmore House nervously fiddling with his hat.He hadn’t expected Will to take his story about the Bachelor Board with more than a grain of salt.How many other young men had offered up tall stories to explain their way out of poor behavior?Yet here he was, summoned to the home of the Duke of Strathmore, one of the most powerful men in the country.
He gritted his teeth.The duke was Will and Eve’s uncle, and no doubt had heard enough of what Viscount Rosemount’s second son had done to his niece to have formed a poor opinion of Freddie.Freddie was not looking forward to this particular meeting.
The footman took his hat.Freddie was adjusting his jacket for the third time when the Strathmore House butler opened the front door and Charles Saunders stepped across the threshold.Freddie’s breath caught in his throat.
“Rosemount,” said Charles.
Freddie bowed.
“Have you seen Will?”
“I have just arrived myself.I haven’t seen anyone as yet,” replied Freddie.
A nearby door opened and out stepped a well-dressed young man with fair hair.Freddie immediately recognized him as the Marquis of Brooke.He crossed the floor to Charles and held out his hand.
“Uncle Charles, good to see you.I hope you and Aunt Adelaide are well.”He then turned to Freddie.“And you must be Freddie Rosemount.Alex Radley.Good to finally meet you, though I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances.You were a year or so ahead of me at Eton, as I recall.I never made it to university,” he said.
Freddie shook Alex’s hand.“Yes, I was.I remember you and your older brother David very well.”
What he really meant was the Marquis of Brooke and his illegitimate older brother were legendary for their exploits at the school.The Radley brothers had their places firmly cemented in the history of Eton.
With the brief greetings over, they were ushered into a nearby room.As soon as Freddie stepped inside his heart began to race.
Seated at the head of an elegant mahogany table on one side of the room was Ewan Radley, the Duke of Strathmore.Also present was Will Saunders.It was the third man who had Freddie’s pulse racing.
Hugh Radley, the Bishop of London.
While all the men present held various levels of power and influence, it was the Bishop of London who had the Prince Regent’s ear.If anyone could strike a blow against Osmont Firebrace and the Bachelor Board, it was Hugh Radley.
To Freddie’s surprise he was warmly greeted by all those at the table and offered a chair beside Will.The bishop sat directly across from him.
As a footman poured them each a glass of wine, a slow trickle of sweat worked its way down Freddie’s back.Exams at Oxford had been nerve-wracking enough, but they paled into insignificance against this moment.
“Now I know most of you have a good idea about what has happened to young Frederick here, but I think it is time you all understood how serious the situation is with regard to these chaps,” announced the duke.He looked in the direction of his brother and the bishop cleared his throat.
“The goings on of the Bachelor Boardare not a secret among the men of theton.At some point or another in our lives, most of us have had a friend suddenly elevated into a position of power and the Bachelor Board has been behind it.As with Freddie here, the younger sons of families have been the prime target for membership for a number of years.Once a chap joins them, it becomes his duty to ensure he does everything to assist other members, and so on,” explained the bishop.
There was a collective nodding of heads from the others seated at the table.
“What you do not know, and what has been kept from all but a few, is the members of this secret society are behind some of the recent social upheavals we have experienced in England.They are actually one of the main reasons why the rule of habeas corpus has been suspended since February of this year.There is a growing body of evidence they are plotting to overthrow the crown.”
Freddie’s blood turned to ice.In his small world, it had all been about righting wrongs.He had hoped to have Osmont Firebrace relieved from his role at the House of Commons—that was the size of the victory he had in mind.Never once had he thought the Bachelor Board was more than a group of self-serving libertines.That they could actually attempt to seize power was an immense shock.
Will placed a reassuring hand on Freddie’s shoulder.“We know you had no idea of the depth of their treachery.We have been secretly investigating them and their dubious business affairs for some time.It is one of the reasons why I came back to England.They don’t know me well enough to see me as a potential threat.”
The bishop nodded.“Yes, the evidence Will and other government agents have been collecting all year is now enough for laying charges under the Treason Act.There is going to be a number of arrests over the next few weeks.Several members of the Bachelor Board were arrested last week as they attempted to flee England.They are currently being held in prison without trial, though of course everyone thinks they are travelling abroad.This country is going to be rocked to its very foundations when the names of those being brought before the courts are made public.”
He turned to Freddie, who was feeling nauseous at this point.He was just starting out in life.If he was swept up in the trials of those charged with treason he was finished in England.
The bishop leant over the table and met his gaze.“Fear not, young Rosemount.Since your role in this has only been as a minor player, you will not be asked to give evidence in court.I have spoken with his Royal Highness, Prince George, and he has agreed you have done enough to help bring these men down.Several names you gave Will have been added to the list of people to be questioned and likely charged.Your name will have to appear in the court transcripts, so you may wish to speak to your father once the arrests begin.”
Freddie sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.Tears threatened.He had brought shame upon his family already.He had no idea how he would face his father once the Bachelor Boardand all its depravity became public.The fact he would play a hand in bringing down Osmont Firebrace was only a minor comfort at this moment.
He chanced a look at Charles Saunders, who was seated with his arms crossed at the end of the table.
“If you have any problems with your father, I am willing to speak to him.As a Frenchman I have an understanding of the havoc that secret societies of powerful men can inflict on a country,” said Charles.
“Thank you, sir,” replied Freddie.The lump in his throat made his words barely decipherable.
He left a short time later and stepped out into the mid-morning sunshine.He looked up at the pale grey clouds sitting above London.In the distance, a darker rain band threatened.
The day matched his life.Eve was the glimpse of sunshine which occasionally managed to poke through the grey.Yet even as he savored the warmth, he knew a tempest was brewing.
Will came and stood next to him at the top of the steps.“My father and uncles have asked I give you reassurance you will be protected.The Prince Regent himself will be at great pains to ensure only the guilty have their names tarnished by this scandal.He cannot afford to have young men like yourself destroyed.You represent the future of this country.A country he will be king of within a few years.”
Freddie mustered an encouraging smile for Will’s benefit.He would be spared from much of the fall of the Bachelor Board,and he had to be grateful for such mercy in his life.But once the arrests and subsequent trials began, he doubted Eve and her family would stand by him.
Only a fool could think that the innocent would be spared when England began to clean its house of traitors.Freddie Rosemount would pay in one way or another for having tried to be someone he was not.
