Regency 03 - Deception (19 page)

Why this should bother him was a mystery. Other
people’s relationships and problems had never occupied the duke’s
thoughts before. He always tried to stay out of the personal lives
of his friends in the hope that they would do the same. The last
thing he needed was someone discovering what he was up to and
effectively putting a stop to it or bungling it in the attempt to
help. He had gotten very good at keeping everyone at arm’s length
and he couldn’t take a chance in ruining it all now.

Derringer’s glass met the desktop with a loud snap.
He growled, “I don’t know, nor do I particularly care. Solve your
own damn problems!” And the duke got up and walked out of his own
study.

Levi stared at the door for a long moment, his
expression vaguely thoughtful, before he, too, rose and walked
out.

~~~~~~

When getting married within a week of the betrothal,
wedding preparations tend to block out all else.

That was why Aurora was shocked nearly to tears when
Desmond Forester showed up in Hyde Park as she was out with Miss
Ellison and Rhiannon. She’d forgotten about him and his threats. In
her excitement over her wedding, she’d managed to forget all but
the most important of facts: In a matter of days, she’d marry the
man she loved.

She’d actually managed to forget the reason for her
insistence that the earl wed her that very week. Now that reason
was staring her in the face.

“
Mr. Forester, how lovely to see
you,” lied Aurora sweetly. She reached up to the pendant at her
throat, a small daisy made of pearls and turquoise, Levi’s gift to
her. A small measure of comfort coalesced in her mind but it wasn’t
enough to dispel the panic that threatened.

Miss Ellison tossed a confused look her way and
Aurora tried to smile more convincingly for the benefit of her
friend.

“
Miss Ellison, allow me to
introduce Mr. Forester. He is a…friend from home.” If anyone
noticed her hesitation before calling him a friend, no indication
was given. “This is Miss Ellison, my friend and
companion.”

Forester bowed and uttered some pleasantry to the
older lady, and then he turned to Aurora. “May I have a private
word with you, Miss Glendenning?” There was a warning glint in his
eye that told her he was willing to go to extreme lengths to get
his way.

“
Ellie, please take Rhiannon down
to the water,” Aurora commanded softly. Where was Lord Greville? He
had taken to meeting them in the park every morning. This was not a
good morning for his habits to change.

Forester offered his arm and Aurora hesitated before
gingerly placing her hand upon it. She tried to calm the racing of
her heart. She didn’t know what this man wanted and she wasn’t sure
she wanted to find out, either.

“
Rumor says you’re betrothed,” he
began, his innocuous tone grating on her nerves.

“
Yes, to Lord Greville, as I’m
sure you are very well aware.”

She had taken Miss Ellison with her to visit her
trustees who, while having many qualms on the matter, were made to
see the sense of allowing her marriage to the Earl of Greville. It
had helped immensely that Lord Connor Northwicke had volunteered to
accompany them, providing his personal approbation of the
match.

“
Was I not good enough for you?
But no, why would you settle for a mere mister when you could have
an earl?”

“
I could have a duke if I wanted,”
she told him honestly. “With my lineage, fortune, and appearance I
could have had my choice of husbands.”

“
Oh, yes. Why do I hear that you
are poor, Rory? Have you been lying again?”

She gave him an annoyed look. “I wanted love, Mr.
Forester. Men don’t tend to fall in love when there is money
clouding their vision.”

“
So true. But why would a man want
to fall in love with a woman when there is all that lovely money?
Especially when the woman behind the fortune is no better than she
should be?”

Aurora dropped his arm and rounded on him, bringing
them both to a stop. “I am not one of those women, Desmond
Forester, and well you know it. One mistake with you does not make
me a fallen woman.”

“
I seem to recall you begging me,
Rory. And what a lovely time we had. Would you not rather have a
lifetime of such bliss with me as my wife than with an uncouth earl
of uncertain lineage and no fortune?” He reached out to stroke her
cheek. She backed away.

“
Uncertain lineage? Levi Greville
can trace his lineage back as far as I can. I would not exactly
call that uncertain. And I would much rather be Levi’s whore than
your wife,” she spat.

Forester wrapped his fingers around her upper arm,
tightening them to the point of pain. Aurora sucked in a breath,
determined not to flinch. “You will not make it to the altar,
Aurora. And even if you do, I am sure there are a few things your
new husband would like to know about his bride.”

The sound of horses’ hooves could be heard somewhere
in the distance and Forester dropped her arm before he shot into
the trees like a fox before the hounds.

Only Derringer and Levi could make Forester
flee.

~~~~~~

“
If you have no interest in
helping me with my, uh, Rory troubles, then why do you still ride
with me in the park when you know she will be here?” Levi asked the
duke as they galloped through Hyde Park.

The great black beast that carried Derringer
protested when he was slowed to a trot. Derringer muttered
something to the animal and Satan calmed instantly. The earl’s
brows lifted slightly at this remarkable feat but he said
nothing.

“
I find it amusing to see what
further contretemps Miss Rory can manage to involve herself in.
Amusement is so very precious these days, you know,” drawled
Derringer.

“
My bride is not on this earth for
your amusement, Hart,” the earl told his friend sharply. Then he
grinned. “But I know what you mean.”

The earl’s smile disappeared. “Did you know my
mother left Town in a huff?”

“
I did notice a definite
lightening in the fog,” remarked Derringer dryly. Giving his
companion a sympathetic glance, he asked, “How did you convince her
to leave?”

That made Levi smile, but a trifle sadly. “I
promised to reinstate her allowance when I married. I don’t know
how I am ever going to be able to afford that woman.”

“
I daresay things will come
about,” responded the duke with marked sarcasm. “And far better
than you would ever imagine.”

The earl was about to ask his friend what he meant
by such a mysterious remark when they saw a young woman with a
gentleman. Levi inhaled sharply as he recognized Aurora and her
escort.

“
That bounder!” he exclaimed.
“I’ll flail him alive.”

“
Can I watch?”

“
No!” the earl called as he kicked
Hades’ Pride into a canter.

Derringer followed suit, or, rather, Satan’s Son
did.

By the time they reached Levi’s betrothed, Desmond
Forester was gone. Aurora stood looking up at the mounted gentlemen
with an expression of annoyance on her lovely face.

“
How are you, Miss Aurora
Glendenning of the Staffordshire Glendennings?” the duke asked with
a mocking little bow in her direction.

Aurora curtsied to the duke with an equally mocking
air. “I am annoyed, your grace.”

“
Indeed?’ he drawled in reply to
her candor. “I would ask why but I find that I really don’t
care.”

Aurora’s narrow-eyed glare threatened to skewer the
duke. She held her tongue, however, and turned instead to her
fiancé. “Where have you been?” she demanded.

“
And the shrewish temper comes out
before the vows are even said,” murmured Derringer, wide-eyed, to
Levi in a stage whisper. He fired his next comment at Aurora. “Be
careful how you treat him before you get him to the altar, my dear.
He may have the wisdom to bolt before the ring is safely on your
finger.”

“
Go to the devil, Hart,” Levi
inserted before Aurora could say something she’d regret.

The duke bowed with an infuriating grin on his face
and turned Satan’s head toward the park gates. He was off in a
flash.

“
How can you tolerate that man?”
Aurora asked with an angry sound that came from somewhere deep in
her throat.

Levi shrugged. “He is the devil of a friend, Rory.
And he likes you.”

Aurora regarded her beloved as if he were an escaped
Bedlamite. “The Duke of Derringer may be your friend, Levi
Greville, and he may even like you. But he does
not
like me.
Every time the man sees me he has some snide remark or disparaging
observation about me. What makes you think he likes me?”

The earl shrugged. “He told me so.”

~~~~~~

The morning dawned bright and clear. The sun
threaded through the slightly parted curtains and onto Aurora’s
face. She pressed her eyelids tighter and refused to wake. Why had
someone left the drapes open enough to disturb her sleep?

She sat straight up in bed. This was her wedding
day. That very morning she would marry Levi Greville and live
happily ever after.

Well, not happily ever after, perhaps, but
interestingly ever after, surely. Aurora knew that she for one
would never be happy as long as so many lies stood between them.
She vowed to tell him before the ceremony and then let him decide
if he still wanted to go through with it.

Her decision made, Aurora rose from her bed and
dressed. Her final fitting for her gown had been accomplished the
previous day and she entered her dressing room to gaze at it
longingly. She prayed Levi would still marry her even after her
confession. It would be so sad to see such a beautiful dress go to
waste.

The white muslin dress was trimmed with turquoise
silk the very color of her eyes. The bodice, sleeves, and hem were
embroidered with lovely curls and twists in the same shade of
turquoise silk and silver thread. The bodice was low enough to be
fashionable but not low enough to cause raised eyebrows. She had a
headpiece of silver and turquoise thread entwined with white silk
roses to form a crown of sorts. It would set upon her golden curls,
which would be drawn up away from her face and slender neck.

Her only ornament was the pearl daisy pendant from
her betrothed. It was perhaps a bit understated for such an
important ceremony but it suited her and she knew it would please
Levi to see her wear it.

And it was such a thoughtful gift. Daisies were her
favorite flower, something she’d never mentioned to him. Perfect
pearls surrounded a single turquoise bead, all of which must have
cost him dear. Where had he acquired the money for it? If
everything she had heard about him was correct, he was supposed to
be only one step ahead of the duns. Had he returned to his
gambling?

Aurora left her chamber in thoughtful silence and
found her way to the breakfast room where Miss Ellison sat, calmly
buttering a slice of toast.

“
Good morning, my dear,” the older
woman greeted warmly, looking up from her breakfast. “How are you
feeling?”

“
I am…frightened, Ellie, to be
totally honest,” Aurora replied with a grimace as she sat down
across the table from her friend.

Her one and only footman filled a plate for her with
an egg and a piece of toast and set it in front of her. She gave
the egg a disgusted look, eyed the toast with almost the same
amount of misgiving and then smiled up at the footman.

Miss Ellison spoke up, her tone holding an
authoritative note that was seldom heard in that mild lady’s voice.
“Thank you, Edward. Please attend to your duties elsewhere.”

The footman bowed and withdrew. Aurora cocked an
inquiring brow at her friend as she bit into the dry toast,
completely ignoring her egg. She was sure the toast was all her
fluttery stomach could handle at the moment.

Miss Ellison started picking nervously at her
breakfast, her eyes never leaving Aurora’s. “It should be your
mama’s place, my dear, but as I am the only lady here to tell you
that, well—I mean, I think you should know—What I am trying to say,
my dear girl, is that—I don’t quite know. I am as ignorant as you
about these things.”

Aurora choked on her toast. “Are you trying to tell
me about my wedding night, Ellie?” she asked, feeling a spurt of
laughter bubbling on her tongue.

Miss Ellison grinned. “Yes, I suppose that is what I
am trying to do.”

“
Well, it is not necessary,”
Aurora replied. Her smile faded. “I have to tell you something that
you may not believe—you will not want to believe it, at any rate.”
She sighed. “Ellie, you are a dear friend and I love you but I have
been lying to you.”

~~~~~~

They had not had a moment for more than two words to
each other before the ceremony began. The clergyman prosed on about
the wife’s place in her husband’s life, adding undue emphasis on
her duty to obey.

Levi glanced down at his bride while her brow was
furrowed in distress. He wondered what had occurred to put such a
look on her face on her wedding day, of all days. He hoped it
wasn’t him but something told him it had at least something to do
with him. Was she regretting her decision to marry him?

Most likely, dunderhead! She didn’t want to marry
you in the first place. It was your own inability to live without
her that made you convince her it was her only choice.

Levi very nearly spoke up to halt the service but
something lodged in his throat just as he opened his mouth and he
closed it again in embarrassment when the vicar gave him a startled
look. He grinned sheepishly and the ceremony was swiftly
concluded.