A Family Affair (34 page)

Bear chuckled. “It is said you have buried her somewhere at the grounds of Pendragon, and now her poor relatives are searching desperately for her body.”

“Oh, my God,” Devlin repeated outraged.

“I wouldn’t get too upset if I were you, as it is only a rumor. Furthermore, there are few who believe in that specific rumor.”

“There are more rumors?”

“There is the one that says Fanny eloped from you and now hides somewhere whilst her family, again, are searching desperately for her.”

“Why on earth would Fanny elope from me?”

“Yes indeed, why would a spouse run away from her, or his, loved one?”

Devlin ignored Bear’s stab. “And how many believe in this one?”

“This rumor has more believers, although only men. It seems no woman believes Fanny willingly would leave you.”

Devlin couldn’t stop a smug smile. “Good news, indeed.”

Bear frowned at him again but didn’t remark upon the smugness as he continued, “The rumor with the most believers is the one about how you have come to London out of boredom, while your wife has gone to her family to try to mend her broken, abandoned heart.”

“So no one guessed the truth?”

“As no one would do anything so stupid as to leave his spouse because he is too happy, they don’t even consider this a possibility.”

“I didn’t leave her because we were too happy.”

Bear snorted. “Yes, you did.”

Devlin shook his head. He knew there was no point trying to change Bear’s opinion; his friend happened to be even more stubborn than he was.

But at least he was speaking to him again.

“What is your plan now?”

“Survive, I guess.”

Bear snorted. “And here I thought you were out there hunting for a mistress, since you have been flirting wildly with every last woman you meet.”

“I have to move on, Bear. I can’t continue to live in this puddle of misery I have hurled myself into. Meeting someone else will make the days pass by faster and easier. I’m not looking for love. I just want someone I can feel a little close to for a couple of hours.”

“So who is your choice?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”

“How hard can it be?” Bear grinned. “It’s not like you are out of options. To me, it seems every available woman has made it known she is yours if you want her.”

Devlin closed his eyes in frustration.

Why had he been relieved that Bear finally talked to him? Now he would have preferred his friend and valet to be quiet and leave him sitting in his own misery. But Bear obviously disagreed with him about this, too, as he continued the conversation without acknowledging Devlin’s frustration.

“Do you want me to write you a list? I could narrow it down to the most attractive ones, and it might be easier for you to make your choice.”

Devlin shook his head. He knew there were dozens of women in London who would give anything to be his mistress. All he had to do was to choose one of them.

But no matter how beautiful, witty, or interesting they were, he still found too many faults with each one. Maria was too blonde, Sarah too skinny, Emmeline too busty…

He knew he was acting stupidly. He’d never before had any problem with wandering from one woman to another. However, since meeting Fanny, something in him said, “Stop, don’t go any further.”

Staying celibate forever wasn’t his plan, but maybe it was too early to bed another lady, with Fanny so vibrantly clear in his mind. So instead he flirted with every available woman and made sure he had a chance once he was ready to move on.

“Have you heard anything about her?”

Bear understood it was Fanny whom Devlin meant, and he shook his head. “No, I haven’t. I tried to get some of the Darling servants to tell me what they knew, but unfortunately they are quite angry with you, and it affects me. That butler of theirs even shut the door in my face. Nasty man.”

Devlin sighed, defeated.

How hard was it to get information about his wife’s whereabouts? He had thought someone of her family, probably Rake, would come after him to demand an answer, but no one did. He couldn’t find any of them in London at all, not even Lord Saxton.

He had written a letter to his supervisor at Pendragon, hoping the man would give him some answers without Devlin having to ask, but the man didn’t catch on; he was all business in his reply.

When two weeks had passed by without any news of Fanny, Devlin sent a footman to Pendragon with the mission to find out what his wife was doing.

Or rather
how
she was doing.

However, upon his return, the footman could only inform him that Her Grace had left the same day Devlin had. She had gone with her family without saying where she was going or when she would return.

He guessed she had gone back to Chester Park to lick her wounds, his intention from the beginning.

So why was it bothering him?

He should be relieved.

She was where he had wanted her, in the loving arms of her family. But instead he felt alone and, strangely enough, rejected.

“I need to know that she is all right. I need to know how she is holding up. As long as I don’t know anything about her, I can’t go on with my life. If I know she has a good life without me, I can let her go.”

In the chair across from Devlin, Bear stretched his long muscular legs. “You want me to break into Berkeley House? I could snoop around and see if I could find some information for you. Hell, I can even hide in Lady Francesca’s bedroom, if she’s in town.”

Devlin sat straight up. “No, you won’t. For goodness’ sake, Bear, we have to tread carefully with this. I don’t want it to be commonly known why I left her, and you being thrown out or collected by an officer from Berkeley House would fire those wagging tongues even more.”

Bear made a disappointed face. “All right. I won’t break into Berkeley House, even though I still think it is the best idea we have so far.”

“I could go back to White’s,” Devlin said thoughtfully. “I could wait around for one of the Darlings to go there. If we meet in public, they would have to greet me.”

“Maybe,” Bear agreed. “But lurking in White’s sounds most boring.”

Devlin grinned. Bear had a deep aversion to anything having to do with the
ton
. He was probably the only gentleman, although currently a pretend-valet, who would rather go out for a ride than gossip with his peers.

“You have a point there. And besides the boring part, sitting at White’s would only make me available for my friends to ask questions I’m not ready to answer yet.”

Devlin felt Bear’s probing eyes upon him, and he wished he knew what to say to ease his friend’s angst. But as he didn’t even know how to soothe his own feelings, how could he soothe Bear’s?

Maybe he was doing it the wrong way.

Devlin frowned. He would continue with his life, even though he wasn’t over Fanny yet. The distraction of another woman could be just the little thing that would make him feel better.

Without a word to Bear, he walked straight to his office, where he scribbled down a short letter he gave to a footman to deliver.

It was time he went on with his plan.

He had to leave Fanny behind him, and the one thing to really send him over the edge of that cliff should be bedding another woman.

He
had
to get a mistress.

The footman delivered the letter to Lady Maria Ashton, who squealed with joy and sent back a note replying she would love to join him this evening. Meanwhile, Devlin took a long bath, preparing for the night to come.

And the new bed he would spend it in.

He dressed all in black, making sure he looked as dark as he felt, although he only succeeded in looking more magnificent than ever.

Without meeting Bear’s disapproving gaze, he took the steps downstairs three at a time. As he sat in the carriage, headed for the Ashton townhouse, he felt like a large stone had fallen off his shoulders.

He was finally going to get rid of Fanny.

****

The whispers about the arrival together of Hereford and Lady Ashton at Vauxhall Gardens immediately traveled from ear to ear. When the whispers reached Rake, who stood listening to the orchestra playing softly, he cursed silently. How could Devlin do such a stupid thing as walking into the midst of society with another woman at his arm?

He looked down at Fanny, beside him. The dreamy look in her face told him she was far away in her mind, and he wished he could get out of being the one giving her the bad news.

What should he do?

The best idea was probably to whisk Fanny out of there, so she wouldn’t have to face her husband and the utter humiliation she would feel as she met his new mistress.

Maria Ashton was a lady who knew what she wanted, and as a wife to a high officer who spent most of his time abroad, she had the full opportunity to get it. She was an intelligent woman with too much wit and too sharp a tongue, one that could easily slash Fanny’s poor suffering heart into shreds if given the chance.

Nevertheless, maybe a meeting was what needed to happen. Fanny wanted her husband back and had spent three weeks preparing for this, but was she really ready? He didn’t know, and for a short second he thought about taking Fanny and leaving the gardens, thus making sure she would get more time to harden her stance before putting it to the test.

But before he had a chance to make up his mind, Sin joined them and made the decision for him. “He’s here,” Sin told his sister, with a grave voice.

Rake felt a tremor pass through Fanny’s body, but she didn’t show a thing outwardly, and an overwhelming wave of pride in his stoic niece washed over him. She was there to get her husband back, and she seemed ready for the fight.

“Where is he?” Rake asked, and Sin nodded toward the entrance, where a large crowd had gathered. They could see the glances people were already sending their way, and they knew they couldn’t escape facing Devlin even if they tried. The crowd loved a good showdown; they wouldn’t let them sneak out.

“Can you do this?” Sin asked his sister, distressed, and she nodded.

“I need to do this,” she answered harshly, and only Rake knew how this pained her, as her fingers were digging into his arm. “I must meet him. It’s all I have wished for since the day we left Pendragon. I need to see him, to know he is what I want, and to be sure he is worthy of all our plans. And besides my needs, he needs to know I’m in town.”

“He’s not alone,” Rake said quietly, and by the stricken look in her face, he knew she got the message.

She took a deep shaky breath and closed her eyes for a short second before she nodded and let her uncle lead her onto the dance floor to join the other dancers.

Another man soon cut in, and Rake left Fanny in her admirer’s arms and walked back to Sin’s side to watch the drama unfold.

Chapter 30

She wasn’t supposed to be dancing.

Devlin had walked into Vauxhall Gardens, the lovely Lady Maria Ashton on his arm, feeling better by the moment, thanks to the stir they created. He knew it was silly, but he desperately needed something other than Fanny to focus on, and the vultures’ happiness over seeing him with someone else, and so openly, made him laugh and flirt with Maria and the other ladies they met.

It wasn’t until they came to the dance floor that he understood why everyone he’d met seemed almost giddy, as he spotted his wife in another man’s arms.

Jealousy hit him full force and nearly sent him flying through the dancing couples to tear his smiling wife away from the bastard, but only almost. What made him stop was something he never had thought to see again.

His wife was smiling.

Something cold took hold of his heart. How could his wife be smiling? She had just been left by her husband, and she was supposed to be in love with him. Therefore, she should be at home crying her eyes out, mourning as her heart broke into just as many pieces as his heart had.

But not Fanny. She was dancing.

And not just dancing, she was waltzing, for goodness’ sake. He started to walk toward the dance floor, dragging Maria Ashton behind him.

When she too saw the reason why they so suddenly joined the dancers, she tried to move the other way, but it was too late. All she could do was try to hang on to Devlin as he twirled her around with almost hysterical frenzy, until they crashed into his prey and her beau.

“Excuse me,” Devlin drawled when Fanny looked at their attacker, and he felt ridiculously happy to see a blush discolor her face when she recognized him.

“Well, hello, what a surprise to meet you here,” he continued, behaving like the scoundrel and libertine he tried to be as he looked into Fanny’s gray eyes.

He loathed himself for such behavior, but at the same time he couldn’t help rejoicing that she was no longer smiling.

“Hereford,” her partner greeted, but Devlin only nodded without letting his eyes leave hers. She looked good, as alluring as ever, and it took all his willpower to keep from bending down and tasting those lush lips that shivered before him.

“If you don’t mind,” he told Fanny’s beau, and before anyone had a chance to react, he had thrown Maria into the other man’s arms and grabbed his wife.

Without another word, he started to dance to the gentle music the orchestra played. Fanny was stiff as a board, and the mere thought of her reacting to him in a bad manner made him feel strangely good.

He had behaved so badly toward her, even though it was for her own best, that he needed her to feel as bad as he did. And smiling to another man wasn’t a part of feeling bad.

“Fancy meeting you here in London,” he drawled, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

She snorted in a very Fanny-like way, and he almost smiled at the familiarity of it. Lord, how he had missed her.

“And here I thought you would be at Chester Park. I never imagined you would be in London, enjoying yourself in another man’s arms.”