Her Devilish Marquess (4 page)

Derek couldn’t believe Christopher admitted
it so quickly. Ethan’s jaw dropped, proving Derek wasn’t the only
one who was surprised.

Turning his attention to the
missive, Derek opened it up, fully expecting a formal apology along
the lines of,
I regret to inform you there
is no lady suited for a gentleman of your social standing with the
Ton.
He expected it so much, in fact, that
he read the thing three times before he realized it wasn’t an
apology after all. It was a notice that the duchess and her two
friends had found him someone.

“
Well?” Ethan asked, finally
breaking the silence. “Are you doomed to be a bachelor forever, or
will you get to pass on a title to your son?”

“
I have a match,” Derek
said, still in shock.

“
You do?” Christopher jumped
up from his chair and came around so he could read the missive.
After a moment, he turned his gaze to Ethan. “Do you know who Miss
Danette Everson is?”

“
Miss Danette Everson?”
Ethan repeated, as if testing the name on his tongue. He shook his
head. “I can’t say I do. Is this her first Season?”

“
The missive doesn’t say
anything about her age,” Christopher answered for Derek. “It just
says she’s been notified he’s her match and they’re both encouraged
to meet before the wedding.”

“
Does that mean you have to
marry her?” Ethan asked Derek.

“
No,” Derek replied. “I
don’t have to marry her, nor does she have to marry me. I could
request to be paired up with another lady if I wish.” Not that he’d
opt for that. It was astonishing enough the duchess had even found
one lady in all of London brave enough to marry him. “I will meet
her, though.”

“
That’s a good idea,”
Christopher agreed as he sat back down. “You don’t want to go to
the wedding and walk up to the wrong lady.”

Ethan snickered. “It was funny when Lord
Haynes did that.”

Christopher chuckled. “I
heard his face was as red as a tomato from embarrassment.” He
glanced at Derek. “Definitely meet Miss Everson. You don’t want to
end up with your name in the
Tittletattle
. You have enough of a
reputation to contend with.”

“
He was probably nervous,”
Derek said.

“
It would have been all well
and good,” Christopher began, “but he went on and on about how
beautiful the wrong lady was. I don’t think the actual bride was
all that happy with him after that.”

“
I should say not,” Derek
replied. “That’s what I mean by making your wife happy. Have the
sense to compliment her instead of someone else. Fortunately, I
won’t make the same error Lord Haynes did. I’m going to meet this
courageous Miss Everson and assure her I’ll do my best not to make
her sorry she married me.”

“
As long as she’s not crying
on her wedding day, you’re off to a good start,” Ethan
quipped.

Derek folded the missive. “It’s not the
wedding day I’m worried about. It’s what happens after the
wedding.” A lifetime with him, after all, was a long sentence to
endure.

Chapter Three

D
anette traced the edge of the missive in her hand. The
Marquess of Dodsworth was to be her husband. Well, he would be if
he made it to the altar and said yes when the vicar performed the
ceremony. It was hard to tell what he’d do when the time came. She
tried to recall what she’d heard about the Marquess of Dodsworth,
but her mind drew a blank.

Honestly, she didn’t know if that was a good
thing or not. For one, it could mean he had a good reputation. But
then, it could mean he was so horrible no one dared speak his name
in public. She shook her head. No, that was silly. The Ton would
definitely be vocal about a scoundrel. The gossip would be too hard
to resist.

Danette glanced up from the missive to her
mother, who came into the small drawing room. “Mother,” she began,
standing up from the settee, “do you know of a gentleman whose
title is the Marquess of Dodsworth?”

Her mother gasped. “The duchess matched you
with a titled gentleman?”

“
I’ve been engaged to titled
gentlemen in the past, and none of those did any good.”

Her mother’s enthusiasm dimmed. “That’s
true. I’d forgotten.”

“
How could you forget I was
rejected twice after securing proposals?”

“
Oh, I didn’t forget that
part. I just forgot they had titles. I don’t even remember who they
were.”

“
I do. Lord Garrett and Lord
Simpleton.”

“
That’s right.” Her mother
chuckled and then shrugged. “I suppose they weren’t all that
memorable if I forgot their titles. All I remember is one had a
large nose. Every time I saw him, I couldn’t stop staring at it. In
some ways, it was hypnotizing. When he laughed, I swear those nose
hairs swayed.”

Out of respect to Lord Garrett, Danette
forced back the urge to laugh. He was a titled gentleman with a
good reputation after all.

“
Did you just get the
missive from the duchess?” her mother asked once she stopped
laughing.

“
Yes. It came while you were
resting. I was reading.” Though it wasn’t necessary, Danette
motioned to the settee where a copy of the biography of the Roman
Caesars was resting.

“
It’ll be good for you to
marry so you can do more than read.”

“
I don’t read all the time.
I go to balls.” Not that she ever danced. After being jilted the
second time, she didn’t see the point. Dancing wasn’t all that fun
when the gentlemen had no romantic interest in her. “I also visit
with Regan, and you know she’s anything but boring.”

“
Yes, I know. She’s a sly
one, always trying to create mischief.” Her mother’s eyes twinkled.
“She brought you out of your shell. When you were a child, you
didn’t dare speak to anyone until she came along.”

Danette smiled. “Well, she likes to involve
me in her schemes. You know it’s because of her I even went to see
the duchess about getting a husband.”

“
And I applaud her for
that,” her mother said. “It’s about time you gave love another
chance.”

“
This isn’t a love match,
Mother. None of them were going to be love matches.”

“
I knew you were settling
for Lord Garrett and Lord Simpleton. Maybe they knew it and decided
not to marry you because of it.”

Danette hadn’t considered that before, but
then, did it really matter when titled gentlemen were far more
concerned with getting an heir than a wife who’d love them? “At
least with the Marquess of Dodsworth, it’s understood the marriage
is one of convenience.”

“
Is it?”

“
Why else would a gentleman
go to the duchess?”

Her mother shrugged. “I suppose it makes
sense. The quickest and easiest way to secure a marriage is to have
one arranged for you. It could very well be he doesn’t want to deal
with the hassle the Season brings. But I rather fancy the idea he’s
looking for a love match. The duchess would best know the lady
who’d lead him down that path, what with her pairing up couples
based on mutual interests and all. I think when a gentleman and
lady share a lot of things in common, they can’t help but fall in
love.”

“
I didn’t realize you were
such a romantic.”

“
I can’t help it,” her
mother replied and sat on the settee. She picked up the book and
thumbed through it. “I loved your father. He was a good gentleman.
Because of him, I have you, and every time I look at you, I think
of the love we shared because it was that love that created
you.”

Danette grimaced. She would
rather not think of her parents together in
that
way. It seemed sacrilegious
somehow.

“
I want you to have what
your father and I had,” her mother said. “There’s no sense in
settling for second best when you can have the best. I think this
has promise. The duchess selected this gentleman for you. It’s
fate.”

“
If it is, you can thank
Regan for it.”

“
I will. Perhaps you should
name your child Regan if you have a girl as a way to thank
her.”

Danette sighed. Her mother was ever the
optimist, believing this engagement would be different from the
others. “Let’s wait and see how things go before we start naming
children that might be born.”

“
I wish you wouldn’t be so
glum. You were always a sad child.”

“
I wasn’t sad.”

“
You’d look at the bad in
everything. It could be a nice sunny day, and you’d worry your hat
would blow off your head and the sun would make you burn. If it was
cloudy, you worried it would rain. For once, I’d like you to see
the good in things.”

“
That’s not fair. I do see
the good in things. It’s just that I can see the bad, too. There’s
nothing in this world that is all good or all bad.”

“
Maybe I should clarify.”
Her mother took a moment to think over her words before saying,
“For once, I’d like you to anticipate the best. Pretend things will
actually work out.”

“
And be disappointed when
they don’t?”

The words flew out of Danette’s mouth before
she had time to think, and by the exasperated expression on her
mother’s face, she could tell it wasn’t what her mother wanted to
hear. But what else was she supposed to say? Did her mother really
want her to lie?

Her mother finally shot her a pleading look.
“At least give the marquess a chance. That’s not too much to ask,
is it?”

“
I don’t willingly push any
of the gentlemen away.” Danette wasn’t sure what she did—or didn’t
do—to make them end engagements with her, but there had to be
something wrong with her. She’d be surprised if the marquess would
actually marry her. But, to set her mother’s mind at ease because
she could tell her mother worried she might do something to
intentionally push him away, she said, “I’ll be nice when it comes
time to meet him. I promise. I won’t say a single negative
thing.”

“
Good.” Her mother patted
her hand. “We should get you a new dress. Something pretty. Maybe a
nice pink color to bring out the color in your cheeks.”

Well, Danette did love getting new dresses.
Browsing through the designs at the seamstress’ shop was one of her
favorite pastimes. It was so enjoyable, in fact, she had a
difficult time seeing anything that could possibly go wrong. No, it
wouldn’t be until she met the marquess that she might spill
something on the new dress or rip it. How could she be a
marchioness if she was clumsy enough to ruin a beautiful dress?

As if her mother could read her thoughts,
she frowned at Danette.

Face growing warm, Danette hurried to tuck
the duchess’ missive into the writing desk. “I’d love to get a new
dress. Can we go now?”

“
Yes, but I want you to
remind yourself this dress will not get ruined when you meet your
intended. It will remain as beautiful as the moment you first put
it on.”

“
It’s absolutely frightening
you know me so well, Mother. One would swear you can read my
mind.”

“
You can’t hide things from
a mother. A mother knows her children better than she knows anyone
else. Now, come along. We’ll have a good day, and this will be only
one of many good days you’ll have in the future.”

“
Yes, Mother.” And Danette
promised herself she would try to believe this. Really, she would.
Or, at the very least, she’d do her best.

***

A panicked Danette found herself knocking on
Regan’s townhouse door two days later. Usually, Danette didn’t come
uninvited to anyone’s home, even that of her dearest friend’s. But
the missive she’d just received led her to it. She clasped the
reticule in her hands and prayed Regan was there. At this time of
day, her friend should be, but who knew if she’d be out with her
husband on a nice day like this? Sometimes she hated sunny days.
All they did was make people want to spend the day outside.

The footman opened the door, and before she
could speak, he smiled and said, “Lady Cantrell will be glad to see
you. Please, follow me.”

Relieved, Danette went with him to the
drawing room.

“
It seems you two have a
special connection,” he told her. “She’s upstairs getting ready to
visit you.”