The Naked King (10 page)

Clorinda was holding the note to her thin bosom. “This is an amazing stroke of luck. How do you suppose we got on Lord Kenderly’s guest list?”

“I believe Mr. Parker-Roth may have mentioned the possibility when we were with the boys in Hyde Park this afternoon,” Anne said, addressing her hands. She could feel Clorinda’s eyes on her, but she wasn’t about to meet her quite possibly probing look.

“See, I wasn’t mistaken,” Evie said. “Mr. Parker-Roth
is
taken with Anne.”

“Hmm,” Clorinda said. “It is certainly very kind of him to arrange this—the ball will be the event of the Season, and if Lord and Lady Kenderly take you up, Evie . . . Well, they are the best
ton
, you know.”

“Then shall I tell Lord Kenderly’s footman you will attend, my lady?”

“Yes, indeed, Hobbes. We cannot turn this opportunity down. Oh, and do send my regrets to Lady Brentwood.”

Anne was torn between relief and panic. At least now she wouldn’t have to face Brentwood, but she would be pitchforked in amongst another group of the
ton
—and she still had no suitable ball gown. She’d never cared much about her clothes—serviceable was all that mattered—but the thought of wearing the drab gown she’d had for at least five years was unaccountably depressing . . . especially as Mr. Parker-Roth would see her in it.

Hobbes paused on the threshold. “I’m afraid with all the excitement today I forgot to mention packages from Madam Celeste’s establishment arrived while we were out searching for the boys. One of the housemaids put them aside. Shall I have them sent up to your rooms now, Lady Anne?”

Evie clapped her hands; Anne almost did. “Yes, please, Hobbes.”

“And should I also tell Lord Kenderly’s footman that you accept Mr. Parker-Roth’s escort this evening? I was given to understand Mr. Parker-Roth was at Lord Kenderly’s home when the invitation was sent.”

“Yes, Hobbes,” Clorinda said, “that would be fine.”

“What did I tell you,” Evie said once Hobbes was out of earshot. “Anne’s betrothal is
not
a sham.”

Clorinda looked at Anne thoughtfully. “I admit Mr. Parker-Roth is making some effort to give that appearance.”

If only it were more than appearance, Anne thought, as she and Evie went upstairs to examine Madam Celeste’s packages.

Chapter 7

“So tell me why I had to invite Crane’s daughters to this evening’s blasted festivities?” Damian Weston, Earl of Kenderly, poured two glasses of brandy and handed one to Stephen, sprawled in a comfortable leather wing chair by the fire in Damian’s study. Damian lowered himself into the matching chair and stretched out his long legs, crossing his ankles. “I didn’t know you were an intimate of Crane’s.”

“I’m not.”

“A friend of Lady Crane, then?”

“No.” Stephen took a sip of his brandy. If Damian had been to White’s or Tatt’s or anywhere the men of the beau monde congregated instead of holed up here working on some obscure Latin translation, he’d already know the story.

Why couldn’t Stephen just tell him the whole now? He’d have to do so before Anne arrived this evening.

The words stuck in his throat. The thing seemed reasonable when he was with Anne—and after Lady Dunlee had caught them in the square, he hadn’t felt he’d had any options—but now . . . Damian would either call him a fool or fall on the floor laughing—or both.

It didn’t help that just a few weeks ago he’d teased Damian about
his
precipitous marriage here in this very room.

“They’re new to Town—just arrived yesterday—and don’t know anyone. Their cousin Miss Clorinda Strange is nominally their chaperone, though the older sister, Lady Anne, looks to be saddled with the real work of bringing Lady Evangeline out.”

“I see.” Damian looked at him over the rim of his brandy glass before taking a swallow. “And when did you establish the Benevolent Society for the Welfare of Young, Marriageable Misses? I confess I missed the announcement.”

Stephen shifted in his chair. “I just thought these girls could use a hand.”

“Oh?”

Silence was one of Damian’s tricks. He’d make a noncommittal, questioning sort of sound and wait for his victim to fill the void with noise—usually incriminating words.

Stephen kept his mouth tightly closed and stared back.

Damian’s lips twitched. “Don’t want to tell me, hmm? I’ll find out, you know.”

“Oh, I know. I’m sure I’ll tell you shortly. It’s all over Town anyway—which you’d know if you ever went out.”

Damian laughed and blessedly turned his penetrating gaze to the fire. “I have heard the younger daughter is quite beautiful.”

“She is—and she’s barely out of the schoolroom.”

“Yet old enough to wed. That’s why she’s here, isn’t it? To find herself a husband.”

“Perhaps. Certainly to get some Town polish.”

Damian’s voice was suspiciously bland. “And you’re going to help with the polishing.”

His tone rankled. “I am
not
interested in Lady Evangeline.”

“Oh, ho.” Damian regarded Stephen, eyebrow raised. “The gentleman doth protest too much, me-thinks.”

Stephen had an irrational urge to plant his fist between Damian’s eyes. “Good God, you are by far the most annoying of my friends, Kenderly.”

Laughter came from the study doorway, and Damian’s face assumed the besotted expression Stephen had come to expect whenever the earl heard or saw his wife. They stood to greet Lady Kenderly.

“Of course Mr. Parker-Roth isn’t interested in Lady Evangeline, Damian,” she said, stepping in and closing the door behind her. “How could he be? He’s betrothed to her older sister.”

Damian let out a long, low whistle and his damn eyebrows just about disappeared into his hairline.

“I was going to get around to telling you,” Stephen said.

“Then please excuse me for stealing your news, sir,” Lady Kenderly said, coming over to them, “and for intruding into your private meeting as well.” She glanced at Damian. “I did knock, but I suppose you were too immersed in your conversation to hear me.”

Damian took his wife’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You are always welcome wherever I am, Jo.”

Stephen averted his eyes; watching his friend act the devoted husband was not the most edifying of sights. Hard to imagine, but Damian used to be a very rational fellow.

Fortunately
he
would never be such a love struck noddy. No, selecting a bride by accident—when the bride was a sensible, capable female like Lady Anne—was a very good thing.

He glanced again at Lady Kenderly. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with her, but she seemed somehow different this evening. She was tall and slender . . .

Hmm . . . perhaps not so slender?

“What brings you here, my love?” Damian asked as he helped his wife into the chair he’d just vacated.

She laughed again. “Disaster in the kitchens!”

Damian scowled. “This infernal ball! You know I told you you shouldn’t undertake such an exhausting project, not in your condition.”

Ah, ha, so old Damian
had
been his usual efficient self, getting his lovely wife with child without wasting a moment.

Lady Kenderly smiled and patted her chair arm. “Do sit down and stop glowering at me, dear. I am not exhausted. Your inestimable housekeeper is handling all, smoothing Cook’s ruffled feathers as she’s done for years, long before I came on the scene.”

“You’re certain?”

“Completely.” She grinned. “Though just in case I am wrong, I have come here to hide until the storm blows over.”

Damian wasn’t totally mollified. “You know we could easily cancel the whole business, disinvite everyone, and spend a quiet evening together.”

“I know no such thing! We would upset countless people—even disappoint a few, I imagine—as well as set our own house in an uproar. If you think Cook is displeased now, I shudder to consider what she will say if you tell her all her work was for naught.” Lady Kenderly looked at Stephen. “And of course Cook wouldn’t say a word to Damian; she would never consider speaking directly to the Master! But depend on it, we would all suffer.”

Stephen smiled. “Surely your cook would not complain if you are in a delicate condition?”

Lady Kenderly blushed.

“Ah, so you noticed my slip, did you?” Damian said. “We have not made the news public—it’s still early days yet, you know.”

“And you think I would blab the story all over Town? I am not one to bruit your business about as I would hope you’d know.”

Damian caught Stephen’s gaze and held it. “As neither am I one to do so about your affairs. What
is
your interest in Crane’s older daughter, Stephen? You know you can trust Jo and me. Indeed, you’ve asked our help by including the ladies on our guest list tonight.”

“Yes, Mr. Parker-Roth. I may be new to your circle of acquaintances, but please rest assured you can rely on my discretion,” Lady Kenderly said. “Frankly, I found the rumors of your betrothal hard to credit, even though I heard basically the same story from multiple sources. Now that you’ve confirmed the tale is true, the question remains—why?”

Stephen let out a long breath. “If you’ve heard the rumors, you know why.”

“I’ve not heard the rumors,” Damian said. “Enlighten me, if you please.”

“Lady Dunlee caught me kissing Lady Anne on the walk outside Crane House.”

Lady Kenderly cleared her throat delicately. “It was rather more than that,” she pointed out. She turned to Damian. “Lady Dunlee found him flat on his back in front of Crane House with Lady Anne sprawled all over him.”

A hot flush crept up Stephen’s neck. “I was distracted when Lady Dunlee’s demented cat showed up. Lady Anne’s dog took off after the cat and, since I was still holding the lead, I fell down. As I was, ah, also holding Anne, she fell, too. On top of me.”

He cleared his throat. Two pairs of eyes—one brown, one blue—blinked at him. The silence stretched out, but there was no way in hell Stephen was breaking it.

Damian frowned. “This is rather sudden. Have you known Lady Anne for a long time? I don’t believe I’ve seen her in London before.”

He should have told Damian from the beginning; if he had, he could have shaped the story to his liking. This piecemeal approach made it all sound so . . . odd. “I met her this morning.”

Damian sat stunned for a moment—Stephen took a little pleasure from that; he’d never dumbfounded the man before.

“Ah. So, do I have this right? You met Lady Anne this morning for the first time, took her into a passionate embrace, and kissed her so thoroughly you so lost awareness of your surroundings as to be pulled over by a dog.” Damian rolled his eyes. “Well, you’d already lost awareness of your surroundings if you were kissing a woman on a public street, especially one frequented by society’s premier gossip, Lady Dunlee.”

Stephen studied his clasped hands. “We talked for a while first.”

“Ah, wonderful. So at least you had some conversation before you accosted the woman.”

“I didn’t accost her.”

“She accosted you?” Damian sounded bemused.

“No, of course not.” Stephen shrugged. “It just . . . happened.” He coughed. “I was rather drunk at the time.”

“I see.” Damian sat back and stared at him. “I’ve never known you to be an amorous drunk.”

Lady Kenderly laid a hand on Damian’s knee. “It doesn’t matter what happened; what matters now is what happens next.” She frowned at Stephen. “How do you feel about Lady Anne? Do you
wish
to marry her?”

What kind of question was that? “What I wish or don’t wish is immaterial. I’ve compromised a lady and I must make amends. My only option is marriage.”

Lady Kenderly sighed and looked heavenward. “You are just like a man, seeing everything in black and white.”

“Stephen isn’t just like a man,” Damian said, chuckling. “He
is
a man.”

Lady Kenderly rolled her eyes this time. “I
know
that. I haven’t been so blinded by my love for you, my lord, that I can’t see beyond the end of my nose.”

Damian bristled, suddenly frowning. “Here, now, Jo, you’d best not be wanting any other men!” He sounded only half joking.

“Don’t be silly. Looking and wanting are not the same thing at all, at least for women.” She laughed. “Or, not wishing to speak for all my sisters, at least not for
this
woman.” She looked up at Damian, a teasing note in her voice. “You keep me far too busy for my affections to wander.”

“I do, don’t I?” Damian had a very self-satisfied grin on his face.

Stephen shifted in his seat. He was glad Damian was happily married, but he did not care to observe the heated look the man was exchanging with his lady. Surely they hadn’t forgotten his presence?

Lady Kenderly patted Damian on his thigh—rather too close to a certain organ for Stephen’s comfort—and laughed again. “Here we are, putting poor Mr. Parker-Roth to the blush. What are we thinking?”

Stephen was all too aware what Damian must be thinking. The earl opened his mouth as if he were going to answer the question, but then, fortunately, thought better of it. He grinned while Lady Kenderly turned to Stephen.

“Getting back to your problem, Mr. Parker-Roth,” she began.

“Oh, no, don’t feel as if you need to get back to my problem, Lady Kenderly.” Stephen would be delighted to let that topic drop. “As I say, I don’t have any problems. No problems at all.” He took out his pocket watch. “I see I should be—”

Lady Kenderly put her hand on his wrist. “Sir, I cannot believe you really wish to wed Lady Anne.”

Was Damian’s wife a lack-wit? “As I’ve said, my wishes have nothing to say to the matter.”

“They have everything to say to the matter!” Lady Kenderly tightened her grip on him, shaking him a little, and then released him and sat back. “I realize you’ve compromised the girl—”

“She’s hardly a girl. She’s almost my age.”

“Ah,” Damian said. “Then she should have known what she was about. Perhaps she’s a conniving minx out to trap herself a wealthy husband.”

Anger surged in Stephen’s gut. “She’s no such thing.”

“She is a little long in the tooth to be unwed,” Lady Kenderly said. “She might be more than a little desperate.”

“She is
not
desperate.” Stephen drew in a deep breath. He didn’t usually have any trouble controlling his anger. “Her stepmother, the earl’s current wife, gave birth to twins when Anne should have made her come-out, so Anne never came to Town.”

“Not for all these years?” Damian sounded skeptical.

“I take it she’s had so many responsibilities, marriage never seriously crossed her mind. You know how Crane will take off at a moment’s notice when he gets wind of any new antiquity. Apparently Lady Crane is also keen on the subject and travels with him. Anne is put in charge of the family when they leave, including now.” He looked back at Lady Kenderly. “Crane and his wife dropped everyone at Crane House and immediately departed for foreign shores, leaving Anne to manage her sister’s come-out alone.”

“Heavens!” Lady Kenderly looked properly horrified. “Has she no one to assist her?”

“Only her elderly cousin, Miss Clorinda Strange.”

“That odd woman who’s obsessed with birds?” Lady Kenderly asked.

Stephen nodded. “The same.”

“Isn’t she the harridan who attacked Lady Wappingly last Season because she had plumes from some exotic bird on her bonnet?” Damian asked. “Snatched the thing right off Lady Wappingly’s head, calling her any number of unpleasant names.” He laughed. “The caricaturists had a grand time with that. The drawings were in the windows of all the print shops for a week or more.”

“Quite possibly. I didn’t come up to London last Season.” He’d stopped down at the Priory to deliver the plants he’d brought back from the Amazon for John, and then he’d gone off again.

“Ah, that’s right.” Damian grinned. “Now that I think on it, I guess it’s time for the annual Parker-Roth scandal. Your sister entertained the gabble-grinders the Season before last with her hurried marriage to Viscount Motton and staid old John shocked the
ton
last year. Now it’s your turn.”

“Very funny.” Damian was right, though. He hoped Mama and Da had become inured to tittle-tattle regarding their children.

“Gentlemen,” Lady Kenderly said, “you have strayed far from the point. Let us return to the crux of the issue.” She looked at Stephen. “Do you love Lady Anne, Mr. Parker-Roth?”