twenty-four
Eight years later
Travelling first class was the best way of travelling.
On his way to London from Canada, Samuel had bought a first-class train ticket to New York City, and then booked a luxurious cabin on an ocean liner, then another first-class train ticket from Southampton to London. And finally, he’d booked the best, most expensive suite at Brown’s Hotel in the heart of Mayfair. A suite with three bedrooms, a sitting room, a study, and even a piano room with one of the most beautiful views London had to offer.
He could afford it.
And more.
If he wanted, he could buy the whole damned hotel.
After sailing to New York City years ago, he’d made his way even farther, to the Klondike region in the Yukon, where he bought a piece of frozen land for a handful of dollars, and by sheer, dumb luck become the owner of the biggest vein of gold found there in a decade.
With his new name of Samuel Lyon, he’d founded Lyon Gold Corporation, a name associated with wealth, prestige, and power.
The boy, who didn’t have enough coins to buy himself a glass of lemonade, now could buy a thousand acres of lemon trees. He had returned to London as a free, rich man, there to see Vivienne again.
Captain Jackson walked into the bedroom, wearing an expensive, tailored dark suit that accentuated his glossy black hair. Only a few grey strands coloured his temples, giving him a sophisticated air.
“How do I look?” The captain straightened and adjusted his bow tie.
“Elegant.”
Years of being sober and working hard had changed the captain deeply, both physically and mentally. A trimmed beard covered his face, and his skin had lost that pale, doughy quality from when he’d drunk heavily. He’d grown muscles, and even his posture was straighter.
“What about me? How do I look?” Samuel opened his dark grey jacket, showing a matching silk waistcoat.
“Like a filthy rich gentleman. When is your filthy rich house ready to live in?”
“We should leave the hotel in a day or two.” And he wouldn’t need to pack a single bag. He paid a small army of people for that.
“Are you ready to meet Lord and Lady Huntington?” the captain asked.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. I’m ready.”
He hadn’t exchanged many letters with Vivienne. He’d moved through North America constantly before settling in the Yukon, so he hadn’t had the chance to follow her progress as he’d wanted.
But something must have happened to her recently. In her last letters, she’d sounded dispirited, and her writing looked thin and frail.
The double pneumonia had healed but not completely, and her lungs didn’t work as well as they should. He worried she hadn’t told him the whole truth about the severity of her health.
“I’ll come with you in the carriage,” the captain said, “but after the coachman leaves you at Lord Huntington’s, I’ll head to Oxford Street. It’s better if the earl and the countess don’t see me.”
In the carriage, as they drove towards Huntington Hall, they remained silent. Lyon Gold Corporation had made investment deals with Lord Huntington—Samuel had made sure of that—and when he’d mentioned his intention of going to London to manage his English office there, Lord Huntington had been enthusiastic about meeting him. Exactly what Samuel had wanted.
Vivienne knew about the whole affair thanks to his letters, but he didn’t know if they would have the opportunity to be alone. He was about to find that out.
“I miss the…” Captain Jackson made a wide gesture with his arm. “Endless spaces America has. Here everything is narrow and constricted. I had never noticed that before.”
“New York City is as constricting as London.”
“Its architecture, yes, but what New York City lacks in space, it makes up for with freedom.”
He tilted his head, acknowledging the captain’s point. Had he stayed in London, he doubted he would have built the empire he controlled today.
At first, the money had made him dizzy and drunk with opportunities. Now it was only something giving him safety from men like Murdock.
