The Naked King (5 page)

“He’d just have to take us around London to the museums,” Philip said, “and . . . balloon ascensions.”

“And Astley’s Amphitheatre.”

“And the Royal Menagerie.”

“And all the things a boy should see in London,” George finished, “but which we won’t see if it’s left up to Anne or Evie or Cousin Clorinda.”

“Papa said he’d find us an amiable fellow to keep us out from under the women’s feet,” Philip said, “but then he got wind of the new antiquities discovery and forgot.”

“Papa forgets everything when anyone mentions antiquities,” George said.

Two identical faces stared up at Mr. Parker-Roth, hearts in their eyes. The man smiled as though he really understood how the boys felt.

Anne felt an odd sensation in her chest, as if her own heart had turned over. “I’m afraid Philip and George are right,” she said. “Papa did neglect to make any arrangements for them—or if he did, he didn’t tell us what they were. And I expect Evie and I will be too busy to do much with the boys. Nor can I see relying on Cousin Clorinda—”

“Cousin Clorinda? You couldn’t be so shabby as to stick us with her!” George said. “She’d probably lock us in the library. Phil might survive, but you know I ain’t bookish. I’d cock up my toes from boredom in a trice.”

Anne frowned. “A little reading would do you good, George.”

“You saw her try to get me to read that damned—”

“George!”

“—deuced book on some stupid bird last night.”

“And I saw how you gave her palpitations when you told her the only good bird was one turning on a spit,” Evie said, laughing.

“Yes, well, I did say I couldn’t see relying on Clorinda,” Anne said. “I suppose I could send you and Philip about with a footman, but I can’t like that, either. I wouldn’t put it past you to bamboozle the poor man into letting you do any hare-brained thing that occurred to you.”

“Let me talk to Nicholas,” Mr. Parker-Roth said. “He’s not in Town yet, but I expect him any day. If he can’t ride herd on these fellows, I’m sure he’ll know someone who can.”

“That would be very kind of you.” Anne glanced at the clock on the mantel and blushed. Oh dear, it would have to go, too. The male and female figures entwined around the timepiece were misbehaving in a shocking manner.
Who
had been in charge of decorating this room? “Look at the time—or well, don’t look. But I’m afraid Evie and I need to get ready to go shopping.”

Mr. Parker-Roth’s eyebrows went up. “You sound as if you’re contemplating a trip to Newgate Prison rather than a pleasant excursion to Bond Street.”

“There’s nothing pleasant about shopping.” Anne could feel her stomach clenching already. She hated going to the mantua-maker. She was too tall and too thin and had red hair—Mrs. Waddingly’s face always fell when Anne came through her door. She’d taken to urging Evie to precede her; the anticipation of dressing her beautiful sister helped keep the poor woman from complete despair.

“Mama mentioned Miss Lamont as a dressmaker, Mr. Parker-Roth,” Evie was saying, “but Mama is not much for fashion either. Nor is Cousin Clorinda—she just shrugged and said one place was as good as another when I asked her.”

Mr. Parker-Roth’s eyes widened and he deftly turned a laugh into a cough. The man was the King of Hearts. He must be very familiar—
intimately
familiar—with ladies’ clothing makers.

“I’m afraid I can’t agree with your cousin,” he said. “Nor can I advise visiting Miss Lamont. Do you know where her shop is? I’ve not heard of it.”

“No-o.” Evie looked at Anne. “Do you know, Anne?”

“Of course not. I assumed Clorinda would.”

“Then I think Miss Lamont,” Mr. Parker-Roth said, “as estimable as she may be, must be eliminated.”

“I suppose you are right.” Evie bit her lip. “But then what are we to do?”

Anne knew what she would like to do—forget the whole thing, but even she realized she and Evie couldn’t attend the Season’s entertainments dressed in their country clothes.

“I will be happy to help. I happen to know a few of the more fashionable shops.” Mr. Parker-Roth didn’t even have the grace to blush. “I’d be delighted to accompany you and act as your guide.”

“You don’t need to—” Anne started to say.

“That would be wonderful—” Evie said at the same time.

They stopped and stared at each other, and then Anne looked at Mr. Parker-Roth. “People will remark on it if you escort us to the dressmaker’s.”

He grinned and his damnably attractive dimples appeared. “No, they won’t. I’m sure it is unexceptional for a man to help his betrothed and her sister find their way when they are so newly arrived in Town. It would be more remarked upon if I deserted you in your hour of need.”

“Well . . .”

“Mr. Parker-Roth must be correct, Anne,” Evie said. “He certainly wouldn’t do anything to put you in a bad light.” She laughed, shaking her head. “I still find it difficult to comprehend you’re betrothed.” She gave the fellow a sly look. “Not that I didn’t notice how you paid particular attention to any mention of Mr. Parker-Roth in the gossip columns, Anne.”

Mr. Parker-Roth’s eyebrows shot up.

She was going to strangle Evie, if she didn’t die of mortification before she could wrap her hands around her sister’s neck.

“But where did you meet Anne, sir?” Philip asked, looking up from rubbing Harry’s belly. “She’s not been to London—she’s not been anywhere.”

“And you haven’t been to Crane House,” George said.

Anne’s stomach dropped. Dear God! Trust the boys to ask the obvious question. She and Mr. Parker-Roth had not yet concocted a plausible story—they hadn’t had time.

She flushed. And the time they’d had, they’d not spent wisely.

“I’ll let Anne tell you our story,” she heard Mr. Parker-Roth say.

What?

Everyone looked expectantly at her. Her brain—the part that wasn’t cursing a certain society gentleman—froze. “I, ah, met Mr. Parker-Roth at, er, Baron Gedding’s house party.”

She closed her eyes briefly. Why the hell had she said that? She never wanted to consider that horrible gathering again.

“At Baron Gedding’s?” Philip naturally sounded confused. “When were you at Baron Gedding’s, Anne?”

“A long time ago.” Now she would really sound like an idiot. “Right around the time you were born.”

“I remember,” Evie said. “I haven’t thought about it in years—I was only seven when you went. You did come back different.” She frowned. “But I’d have said you were rather sad and quiet. You should have been happy if you’d fallen in love.”

What could she say? She hadn’t fallen in love of course; she’d been unceremoniously flung out of it—or at least her youthful dream of it.

The days after the house party had been terrible. Her view of the world and her place in it had undergone a sea-change; there was no going back to the innocent, trusting girl she’d been.

At least her courses had come right after she’d got home, so she hadn’t had to worry there’d be a child as the result of her wrong headed encounter with Brentwood.

“And, you know,” Evie was saying, “I think you’ve been sad ever since.”

Sad? She might not have been merry as a grig, but she hadn’t been constantly Friday faced either.

Mr. Parker-Roth finally came to the rescue, in a manner of speaking. “Ah, but you see, we were far too young to consider marriage then—or, at least I was—I was only nineteen.”

And probably well on your way to being crowned King of Hearts,
Anne thought—
and not for your card-playing prowess.

“So we had to part.” He took Anne’s hand again. “And, being only nineteen, I’m afraid I was somewhat cavalier in my leave-taking. I believe I may have wounded Anne.”

Anne cringed at the romantic nonsense. George, gagging dramatically, hands around his throat, flopped backward on the couch.

Evie, however, swallowed the story as if it had been published by the Minerva Press. She sighed as she looked at Anne. “So that’s why you never showed particular interest in any of the gentlemen at home. You’ve been pining for your true love.”

Philip looked doubtful. “But for ten years, Evie? That’s a long time.”

“Not for true love,” Evie said.

Anne thought she might join George, who was now rolling his eyes and making quite amazing faces of disgust.

“Did you never see each other again till now?” Evie asked, clearly hoping they had.

“Well, I was out of the country a lot, you know,” Mr. Parker-Roth said, “hunting plants for my brother. But I believe we did meet again, didn’t we, dear heart?”

Think. Had she ever been away from home another time?

Yes—when Grandpapa had died.

She’d gone to Cambridge in Papa’s carriage with only a maid as a companion. Papa had left for some antiquity-rich patch of ground in Yorkshire before they’d got word. The twins had been sick, so for once Georgiana had stayed with her children.

“We did manage to see each other two years ago in Cambridge when my mother’s father passed away.”

She shouldn’t try to maintain this fiction, but she didn’t have much choice. Evie and the boys could never keep a secret, and while the twins probably wouldn’t have occasion to let the cat out of the bag in a socially damaging situation, Evie would. She only hoped no one from that damn house party was in Town. Who had been there besides Baron Gedding and Lord Brentwood? She didn’t remember.

“Ah, yes,” Mr. Parker-Roth said. “We had those few sweet, stolen moments before I had to leave for the jungles of South America.”

Must he mouth so
much
romantic twaddle? She frowned at him.

He grinned and pulled his watch from his waistcoat pocket. “If I’m going to escort you shopping, ladies, we’d best bestir ourselves.”

“You might wish to go home first, sir,” Philip said. “You’re rather muddy.”

Mr. Parker-Roth looked down at his spattered breeches and ruined shoes. “So I am—very good point, Philip. I’ll go back to my rooms to change, and then return for you ladies in”—he consulted his watch again—“an hour’s time, shall we say?” He looked at Philip and George. “And I’ll see you both once my duties to your sisters are completed.”

“Yes, sir,” Philip said.

“Huzza!” George cheered while Harry barked in support. “We’ll finally get out of this house.”

“You’ve only been here since yesterday, George,” Anne said. “You’ve hardly been imprisoned.”

Mr. Parker-Roth laughed. “Even a few hours can feel like a hundred to a ten-year-old boy, eh, George?”

“Yes, sir!”

Mr. Parker-Roth smiled and kissed Anne’s hand. “Till later then.”

Damn it all, Anne thought as she watched him go, she should not feel bereft at the King of Hearts’s departure.

Chapter 4

Stephen almost had to push Lady Anne through the door to Madam Celeste’s shop. He’d wager if he hadn’t been standing behind her like a wall, she would have fled. He’d never seen a female so skittish about dressmakers.

Evie wandered farther into the shop, looking around with wide eyes at all the bolts of fabric and pattern books, but Anne stopped stiffly right inside the door.

Celeste was at the counter with an older, very stylish white-haired woman—Lady Brentwood. Fortunately Lady Brentwood’s unpleasant son, the marquis, was not with her—not that the reprobate made a practice of hanging about his mother’s skirts. God, no. But Lady Brentwood’s were about the only skirts the blackguard didn’t frequent.

People might call Stephen the King of Hearts, but men called Brentwood the king of another female body part. More and more of society’s doors were closed to him. He was a
very
dirty dish—and a constant source of heartache for his mother.

Lady Brentwood was just completing her business. She turned and smiled at him, though her smile looked rather tired and sad. “Mr. Parker-Roth, how pleasant to see you.”

“Lady Brentwood.” Had he felt Anne stiffen even more? He glanced at her. Her face was ashen. He put his hand on her elbow in case she needed support. “May I present my companions Lady Anne Marston and her sister, Lady Evangeline?”

Evie smiled easily, but Anne stood like a broken puppet. What was the matter with her?

“Lord Crane’s daughters,” Lady Brentwood was saying. “So nice to meet you. Your cousin Clorinda is a particular friend of mine, so I knew you were expected in Town.”

“Ah,” Anne said. Her lovely voice sounded strangled, but Lady Brentwood seemed not to notice.

“I’m giving a card party this evening—just a small gathering. Perhaps you can attend?” Her smile flickered. “I will confess I’m not completely without ulterior motives. I’m hoping my son will be there. As you may discover some day, mothers never give up on their children’s happiness. I keep praying he will find a woman to marry.”

“Oh,” Evie said, obviously delighted at her first London invitation. “May we go, Anne?”

“I do not know our plans,” Anne said. “We have just arrived in London.” Her voice was tight now; clearly she’d gleaned Brentwood’s reputation from the gossip columns.

Lady Brentwood’s expression drooped. She’d noted Anne’s reserve—unfortunately, Stephen would wager she was all too familiar with that reaction. “I had hoped . . . Clorinda said . . . well, she happened to mention you were still unwed, Lady Anne.”

Something about Anne’s stillness made him fear she was going to explode at any moment. Poor Lady Brentwood did not merit that.

“Ah, but Miss Strange was missing a few facts, Lady Brentwood,” he said quickly. “Lady Anne isn’t wed, but she
is
betrothed . . . to me.”

He heard Celeste and her assistant, patiently waiting nearby for them to finish their conversation, suck in their breath. Lady Brentwood merely smiled, this time with genuine happiness.

“How wonderful. My sincere congratulations to you both. Your parents must be delighted.”

Mama certainly would be delighted . . . if she knew.

Evie was opening her mouth, probably to enlighten Lady Brentwood concerning the somewhat sudden nature of the betrothal announcement. He felt very sure they could leave that detail to the gossips.

“Indeed,” he said before Evie could speak. “And that is why—as you can see—I’m selfishly depriving Miss Strange of the pleasure of shopping with the ladies”—Anne snorted, but he felt it wisest to ignore that—“and have brought them to Celeste so she might work her magic on their wardrobes.”

“Very good.” Lady Brentwood’s eyes actually twinkled. “And I know Clorinda was delighted to cede this duty to you, sir, though I suspect she never intended to accompany the ladies in the first place.” She turned to Anne and Evie. “Don’t worry; I believe you can put your faith in Celeste. She is an excellent dressmaker”—she laughed—“and Mr. Parker-Roth will give you splendid advice. I do hope, once you consult your appointments, that I might see you tonight, even if my original hope will be unrealized.”

Evie made a credible curtsey and Anne managed to produce a polite murmur as Lady Brentwood departed.

What was the matter with Anne? He would have thought she’d have been a bit more gracious. Well, there was no time to consider the issue; Celeste was upon them.

“Ooo, Monsieur Parker-Roth!” Celeste said, hands outstretched. “Eet is tres magnifique to see you—and with two belles jeunes femmes aussi!”

She was almost leaping with joy; he felt like the Prodigal Son. It had been only two months since he’d parted ways with his last mistress, but Celeste had clearly been missing his blunt.

Her sharp eyes studied Anne; she raised her eyebrows slightly—not surprising as Anne had chosen to don a dress almost as hideous as the abomination she’d been wearing this morning in Hyde Park.

“As I’m sure you’ve surmised”—by what Celeste saw as much as by what he’d said—“Lady Anne and Lady Evangeline will need all new clothes for the Season.”

Celeste knew that however crazy Crane was, his pockets were deep. Her smile widened, if that were physically possible. “Bon!”

Anne squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath as if readying for battle. “My sister is the one making her come-out, madam. She will need . . .”—she paused, glanced at him, and then frowned at Celeste—“whatever one needs for such an undertaking.”

Celeste clapped her hands. “Mais oui. Ball gowns and walking dresses and . . . oh, so many things.” She surveyed Evie. “You are tres jolie, mademoiselle, but my dresses—they will make you even more beautiful. The London bucks will be dazzled; they will throw themselves at your feet. Your papa will have many, many offers for your hand.”

Evie smiled and blushed. “Thank you, Madam Celeste, though I can’t imagine . . . well, I hope there’s some truth to what you say.”

“Of course there is! Ask monsieur.” Celeste turned to him. “Is it not the case that my dresses are sought after by all the London ladies?”

“Yes, indeed. I wouldn’t have brought you here, Evie, if I didn’t know Celeste to be extremely skilled at what she does.”

He thought he heard Anne mutter something about the King of Hearts and legions of women, but he ignored her.

“Just so.” Celeste turned to Anne. “And for you, my lady? You must also need many things?” She carefully avoided looking directly at Anne’s dress.

Anne made an annoyed little sound, almost a growl. “I suppose I’ll have to get a few dresses, but I’ll not need as many as Evie.”

“Not true, my love,” Stephen said, tweaking one of her curls, and then removing his hand before she could swat his fingers. He noted Celeste’s delighted gaze. If his ears didn’t mislead him, her assistant sighed behind them.

“Lady Anne will have to play the chaperone, but I’m hoping her sister won’t need too much supervision.” He leaned closer to Celeste, dropping his voice conspiratorially. “I’m planning to lure my betrothed into as many darkened gardens as I can manage.”

Celeste giggled. “Oh, the other ladies, they will be tres desole that le Roi de Coeurs has finalement lost his heart.”

He’d swear Anne was vibrating with anger beside him—she wouldn’t darken his daylights here in Madam Celeste’s shop, would she? He looked down at his bride-to-be in what he hoped was a besotted fashion. She was not holding up her end of things—her eyes were narrowed, her nostrils flaring, and her lips were pressed into a tight, thin line.

“When is the wedding to be, monsieur?” Celeste asked, obviously hoping to have the making of Anne’s dress.

“We haven’t set a date. I’m, of course, anxious to wed as soon as possible, but my sweet termagant is threatening to make me wait till the end of the Season.”

He kissed Anne’s fingers—she tried to snatch them from his grasp, but he was stronger than she—and then smiled at Celeste. “We haven’t yet put a formal announcement in the papers. The earl had to go out of town rather unexpectedly, and Lady Anne naturally wants to wait until her father is back to make our engagement common knowledge. I’m sure we can rely on your discretion?”

“Mais oui. Certainement. I am most discreet. Do not worry, monsieur.”

He didn’t worry. He knew Celeste would spread the news far and wide as soon as they left her shop, but as Lady Dunlee and Mrs. Fallwell had already been busy about that errand, her efforts would amount to only a very small swell in the tidal wave of gossip.

“Mr. Parker-Roth.” Anne sounded as if she were speaking through clenched teeth.

Celeste took one look at her and took Evie’s arm. “Come, mademoiselle,” Celeste said, “permit me to show you some of my sketches whilst monsieur speaks with your sister.”

Celeste took Evie over to a table covered with pattern books to begin choosing dress styles, colors, and fabrics. If Evie were like most women he knew, she’d be occupied for quite awhile.

They were barely out of earshot before Anne exploded. “Are you
insane
?” she hissed. “The news will be all over London by nightfall.”

This female was definitely not like most women of his acquaintance. She almost reminded him of his sister Jane, though he had far from brotherly feelings for Anne, of course. “It already is all over London. Remember Lady Dunlee?”

Anne groaned. “Oh, blast. What are we going to do?”

He glanced at Celeste. She met his gaze over Evie’s bowed head and smiled saucily, winking as if she thought Anne was suffering from frustrated desire. If only.

“We are going to be betrothed, at least for this Season,” he murmured by Anne’s ear. Hopefully Celeste would assume he was whispering love words. “Your reputation—and your sister’s Season—will be ruined if we aren’t. Remember the scene that necessitated this charade?” And what happened later in the odd harem room, but he chose not to mention that. He certainly remembered. He’d been reliving every exquisite detail from the moment he’d left Crane House—the sweet, heady scent of Anne’s skin; the damp heat of her mouth; the pressure of her body against his.

He’d had his share of women over the years—all right, maybe more than his share—but he hadn’t been this intrigued by a female in a long, long time, if ever.

“Of course I remember. How could I forget? I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.”

He wasn’t usually attracted to viragos. Some men thought fiery women burned up the sheets once on their backs, but in his experience women who argued and nagged in the drawing room did exactly the same in the bedroom. Anne was different though. He’d wager his annual income her prickliness sprung not from bad temper but from something else . . . at a guess, something to do with the Marquis of Brentwood.

“I can’t believe I participated in such a scene,” she was saying, shaking her head. She frowned at him. “If you hadn’t been drunk—”

He put his finger on her lips and felt her breath suck in. Her eyes widened.

“If you’d slapped me soundly, Anne, I would have stopped. Even drunk, I would have stopped. As I told you before, you don’t have to fear me.”

She jerked her head back. “I’m not afraid of you, you big coxcomb.”

She was lying. She
was
afraid, if not of him, then of something. What?

He would find out eventually—but not now. He grinned instead and tilted her face up with the edge of his hand. “You seem rather . . . jumpy around me. Was your sister correct? Have you been pining for me?”

She flushed and her eyes slid away from his. “Of course not. I just met you.”

“True. But I’ve observed sisters usually know the worst truths.”

Her gaze flashed up to meet his and then dropped again. He released her, and she stepped away, turning her back on him and walking toward Evie and Celeste. “Have you found the perfect dress yet, Evie?” Her gay tone sounded more than a little forced.

Lady Anne Marston was an interesting puzzle. Spirited and shy; bold yet timid. Maddening.

It was a good thing he liked puzzles.

“Many dresses, Anne.” Evie was breathless with excitement. “Carriage dresses and evening dresses and ball dresses and walking dresses. Oh, look at this darling habit.” She sighed. “I do wish we’d brought horses to Town.”

“Well, we didn’t, and a good thing it is. Think of the expense. Horses eat their heads off.” Anne sounded so waspish Celeste and Evie stared at her.

It was going to be a
very
interesting Season if Anne was determined to pick fights with everyone she encountered.

“I don’t have horses in Town since I’m not here much,” he said, “but I have friends who keep a full stable. I’m sure I can find you a mount, Evie.”

“Mais oui, mademoiselle.” Celeste nodded vehemently. “You must go riding in the Hyde Park. Eet is de rigueur.”

Celeste was, of course, trying to coax a few more pence into her purse, but she was correct. “In any event you’ll need a habit for all the house parties you’ll attend.”

Evie’s face lit up—and Anne stiffened like a poker.

Hmm. His betrothed obviously did not approve of house parties, and since it sounded as if the only house party she’d ever attended had been Baron Gedding’s ten years ago . . .

He must find out what had happened at that ill-fated gathering. Gedding was in Town—and Stephen prided himself on his ability to extract information from people so discreetly they weren’t aware of what they were revealing. The man was such a jaw-me-dead getting him to talk would not be a problem; steering him in an informative direction, however . . . that would be the challenge.

“And you, Lady Anne,” Celeste was saying, “you must also have dresses. Pardon-moi, but this”—she gestured at the rag Anne was wearing—“eet will not do at all.” She chose a few sketches and offered them to Anne. “Regardez these, s’il vous plait.”

“No, I . . . that is, I won’t . . .” Anne looked at the papers in Celeste’s hand as if they were poisonous snakes.

“Let me see.” Stephen took the sketches and flipped through them. He stopped at one of a ball gown with an especially low bodice. “Here you go. This would look splendid on you, Anne, in moss green to match your eyes.”