The O'Roarke Affair, page 1
THE O’ROARKE AFFAIR
TRACY GRANT
This book is licensed to you for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be sold, shared, or given away.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The O’Roarke Affair
Copyright © 2024 by Tracy Grant
Ebook ISBN: 9781641972840
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No part of this work may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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…Keep thy friend
Under thy own life's key
—Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act I, scene i
CONTENTS
Dramatis Personae
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Historical Notes
A READING GROUP GUIDE
Acknowledgments
Also by Tracy Grant
About the Author
For Jean Kellogg. You are a wonderful friend and an amazing inspiration.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
*Indicates Real Historical Figures
The Rannoch Family & Household
Malcolm Rannoch, MP and former British intelligence agent
Mélanie Suzanne Rannoch, his wife, playwright and former French intelligence agent
Colin Rannoch, their son
Jessica Rannoch, their daughter
Berowne, their cat
Laura O'Roarke, Colin and Jessica's former governess
Raoul O'Roarke, her husband, Mélanie's former spymaster, and Malcolm's father
Lady Emily Fitzwalter, Laura's daughter from her first marriage
Clara O'Roarke, Laura and Raoul's daughter
Lady Arabella Rannoch, Malcolm's mother
Alistair Rannoch, her husband, Malcolm's putative father
Miles Addison, agent, Malcolm's valet
Blanca Mendoza Addison, agent, his wife, Mélanie's companion
Pedro Addison, their son
Valentin, footman
Alexander (Sandy) Trenor, Malcolm's secretary
Elizabeth (Bet) Simcox Trenor, his wife
Helen, Lady Marchmain, Sandy's mother
Lord Marchmain, her husband, Sandy's father
The Mallinson Family
Julien (Arthur) Mallinson, Earl Carfax, former agent for hire
Katelina (Kitty) Velasquez Mallinson, Countess Carfax, his wife, former British and Spanish intelligence agent
Leo Ashford, her son
Timothy Ashford, her son
Guenevere (Genny) Ashford, Kitty and Julien's daughter
Ralph Allam, claimant to the Warkworth title, their friend
Amanda (Mandy) Allam, his wife
Hubert Mallinson, spymaster, Julien's uncle
Amelia Mallinson, his wife
David Mallinson, MP, their son
Simon Tanner, playwright, his lover (see also At the Tavistock)
The Davenport Family & Household
Lady Cordelia Davenport, classicist
Colonel Harry Davenport, her husband, classicist, and former British intelligence agent
Livia Davenport, their daughter
Drusilla Davenport, their daughter
Archibald (Archie) Davenport, Harry's uncle, MP, and former French intelligence agent
Lady Frances Davenport, his wife, Malcolm's aunt
Chloe Dacre-Hammond, Frances's daughter from her first marriage
Francesca Davenport, Frances and Archie's daughter
Philip Davenport, Frances and Archie's son
Judith Roth, Frances's daughter from her first marriage
Jeremy Roth, Bow Street runner, her husband
Serena Derwent, Judith's daughter from her first marriage
Samuel Roth, Jeremy's son from his first marriage
Dorian Roth, Jeremy's son from his first marriage
Harriet Roth, Jeremy's sister
Cressida Caldwell Beardsley, Jeremy's first wife's sister
William Beardsley, MP, Cressida's husband
Vincent Caldwell, Cressida's son
Aline (Allie) Blackwell, Frances's daughter from her first marriage
Geoffrey (Geoff) Blackwell, doctor, Aline's husband
The Bamford Family
Anthony (Tony) Southcott, Duke of Bamford
Henrietta (Hetty) Southcott, Duchess of Bamford, his wife
Viscount St. Ives, their son
Sylvie, Viscountess St. Ives, his wife
Lady Frederica Rawdon, the Bamfords' eldest daughter
Percy Rawdon, her husband
Helena, the Bamfords' second daughter
Rosalind, Condessa Azevado, the Bamfords' youngest daughter
Gaspar, Conde Azevado, Portuguese diplomat, her husband
Filbert, the Duke of Bamford's valet
The Beverston Family
Humphrey Smythe, Viscount Beverston
Benedict (Ben) Smythe, his son
Nerezza Smythe, Ben's wife
At the Tavistock
Simon Tanner, playwright and part owner of the theatre (see also Mallinson Family)
Manon Caret Harleton, actress
Jennifer Mansfield Smytheton, actress
Sir Horance Smytheton, her husband
At the King's Theatre, Haymarket
Tristram, Lord Gresham, composer and agent
Danielle Darnault, opera singer and agent
Pierre Ducroix, journalist, her husband
Ilia, their daughter
Prebble & Company
Hugo Prebble, manager and part owner
Hypatia, Viscountess Rothermere, his cousin and co-owner
Viscount Rothermere, her husband
Ronald Camden, Rothermere's friend
The Bonaparte Family
*Napoleon Bonaparte, first consul and later emperor of France
*Josephine Bonaparte, his wife
*Hortense de Beauharnais, Josephine's daughter from her first marriage
*Caroline Murat, Napoleon's sister
*Colonel Rapp, aide-de-camp
In the French Government
*Prince Talleyrand, foreign minister
*Dorothée de Talleyrand-Périgord, his nephew's wife
*Count Karl Clam-Martinitz, her lover
*Wilhelmine of Sagan, Dorothée's sister
*Joseph Fouché, minister of police
Georges Curier, his agent
Reynald St. Pierre, official in the ministry of police
Diplomats
*Lord Castlereagh, British foreign secretary
*Lord Stewart, his half-brother, ambassador to Vienna
*Sir Charles Stuart, British minister plenipotentiary in Portugal
Billy Fitzsimmons, British diplomat
Lord Thirleton, British diplomat
Lionel Buckfield, Thirleton's brother-in-law
*Prince Metternich, Austrian foreign minister
Prince Franz Stroheim, Austrian diplomat
Gaultier Barton, French soldier, married to Stroheim's cousin
Régine Barton, Gaultier's second wife
Roland Barton, Gaultier's son from his first marriage,
Mylène Barton, Gaultier and Régine's daughter
*Dorothea, Countess Lieven, wife of Russian ambassador to Britain, Metternich's mistress
The Varon Family
Henriette Varon, former seamstress to Josephine Bonaparte
Lisette Varon, agent, her elder daughter
Minette Varon, her younger daughter
The Mon
Christopher (Kit) Montagu
Sofia Vincenzo Montagu, his wife
Enrico Vincenzo, her brother
Violetta Barese, their friend
The Laclos/Caruthers Family
Bertrand Laclos
Rupert, Viscount Caruthers, his lover
Gabrielle, Viscountess Caruthers, Rupert's wife
Stephen, Rupert and Gabrielle's son
Others
Désirée Clarineau, French agent
Antonio Diaz, Spanish agent
Charlotte Leblanc, former French agent
Louis St. Georges, French soldier
*Lord Sidmouth, home secretary
*Sir Nathaniel Conant, chief magistrate of Bow Street
Sophie
PROLOGUE
February 1799
Harrow, England
Malcolm Rannoch eased the book from the shelf. He could go to the counter and buy it immediately. One thing he didn't lack for was pocket money. But instead he opened the heavy cover and flipped through the pages, taking in the feel of the paper and the smell of the leather binding, running his finger over lines of text. Some of his schoolfellows liked to get lost in the forest. He liked to get lost in books. Abernathy's Shop in Harrow village was even more of a refuge than the library at Harrow. No one was likely to interrupt him here.
"I've always found Ludlow's response to the Restoration fascinating," a voice said from the end of the aisle. "But then perhaps that's because I've been through the collapse of a cause myself. More than once."
Shock held Malcolm immobile for a moment. He would know that voice anywhere. It was one of the last voices he'd expected to hear just now. But then Raoul O'Roarke had a way of turning up at unexpected moments.
Malcolm turned and saw Raoul leaning against the bookshelf down the aisle. His face was in shadow, as it often was, but the way he stood, shoulder dug into the shelf, one hand braced casually yet at an angle where he could push away at a moment's notice, was unmistakable.
"I wasn't expecting you." Malcolm bounded to Raoul's side, the book held carefully in both arms. "Mama said you'd had to go away."
"Yes. I'm sorry I missed Speech Day."
"It's all right." He couldn't say anything else. Though he'd been surprised how much he'd noticed Raoul's absence. "Mama came this year." Arabella Rannoch was an erratic presence at school events. And Alistair Rannoch almost never put in an appearance. Raoul was the one Malcolm had learnt to count on. "It was Ireland, wasn't it?"
"What do you know about Ireland?"
"I read the papers. And I listen." When he'd been home from Harrow, he'd seen his mother's white face as she scanned the papers in the days after the United Irish Uprising. And he'd heard the servants' whispers. Lady Arabella's friend was on the run. Sometimes they used a different word from "friend."
Malcolm took another step forwards. The dusty light slanting between the books shifted, and he saw a scar he didn't remember next to Raoul's left eye. Raoul had always been lean, but he looked thinner than Malcolm remembered. His cheeks were hollow and there were shadows round his gray eyes. "Were you hurt?"
Raoul shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I wasn't well for a bit. I'm all right now, that's what matters."
That was one of those things grown-ups said that sounded sensible but left all sorts of questions unanswered. Raoul said those things less than most grown-ups. But even he wasn't immune. "Is it safe for you to be here?"
"It's a bit of a risk for me to be anywhere these days. But it's worth it."
"Did you come to see Mama?"
"I came to see you." Raoul stretched out a hand and touched Malcolm's shoulder. "I think we could risk a visit to the Ink & Quill."
It was a pub not far from Abernathy's. Too shabby to be frequented by most parents visiting and taking their children out, and not dashing enough for the older boys who went out to get a drink. Malcolm and Raoul would sit there for hours, Malcolm with a lemonade, Raoul with a pint of stout.
Despite all the questions that lingered in the air, Malcolm grinned. They made their way to the front of the shop. Malcolm paid for his book and got a smile from Mr. Abernathy, who knew him well. He also knew Raoul and he nodded at him without surprise.
Clouds had thickened in the sky while Malcolm was in the shop, and the wind had come up. He felt a raindrop hit the back of his neck. He tucked his book inside his jacket. Raoul threw a fold of his greatcoat over Malcolm's shoulders as they hurried down the street and rounded the corner towards the Ink & Quill. Harrow was a sleepy village and in the late afternoon the streets were quiet. Malcolm could see the glow of the lamps through the thick glass of the windows in the Ink & Quill.
They passed an alley, closing the distance to the pub. Suddenly, Raoul jerked away. Malcolm spun round. A man in a bottle-green coat had Raoul pinned against the wall of a building in the alley. Raoul slid down and kicked, sending the man thudding over backwards in the mud. Raoul pushed himself to his feet. The man caught his ankle. A knife flashed. Raoul lunged for the man's arm as the man tried to bring the knife down.
Malcolm hurled his book. The man with the knife staggered back as it hit his arm. Raoul dealt him a blow to the jaw, grabbed the knife and the book, and seized Malcolm's arm.
They ran over rain-spattered paving and didn't speak until they were seated in the Ink & Quill, a glass of lemonade and pint of stout before them.
"I'm sorry," Raoul said. "But that was quick thinking. Thank you."
Malcolm reached for his glass but didn't quite trust himself to pick it up. His fingers were shaking. "I wasn't sure what else to do."
"Use the weapon nearest to hand. I always told you words had power. Though this wasn't quite what I was thinking of."
Malcolm took a drink of lemonade, holding tight to the glass. "Will they come after you again?"
"Not in the pub. That man wasn't an expert. I've faced far worse."
Malcolm nodded. The lemonade glass was cold in his hands, but that wasn't why he felt chilled. And it wasn't even because of the danger, though he'd never been in the midst of a fight.
