A Scandalous Deception (8 page)

“Are you sure you’re all right?” She stepped
closer to him; her lilac scent swirled around him like a dream.
“You don’t seem like yourself either. Have you been imbibing?”

No, but that wasn’t a bad suggestion. Perhaps
a little whisky, or more than a little, would erase all the
improper images Fin had floating about his head. He gestured to the
doorway. “And you’ll have to do better than
that.
Come
along, your coach awaits, Felicity.” There, perhaps thinking of her
in a more formal way would help. Unlikely, but it was worth a
shot.

“Very well,” she said tentatively. “But if
you start feeling strangely, I think we should call for the
doctor.”

Fin resisted the urge to snort. Feeling
strangely, indeed. If he thought talking to old Doctor Watts would
make him feel like himself again, he’d head straight for the man’s
home and plant himself on the front stoop ‘til the doctor agreed to
treat him. But there was nothing in Watts’ black bag that would
magically fix this problem.

He offered his arm to escort her and tried to
ignore the warmth that coursed through his blood when she slid her
arm around his. Lissy held him a little tighter than she had
earlier in the day and his loins responded in kind. Hopefully, the
short carriage ride would be long enough for his damned body to get
itself back under control.

Something was most definitely wrong with Fin.
Lissy stared up at him as they crossed the threshold into the
Rotherby’s drawing room. The entire carriage ride here he’d called
her Felicity at every turn, and he’d shifted in his seat more than
Edmund had on their last journey home to Derbyshire as though ants
had taken up residence in his trousers.

Even Annie had noticed and cast Lissy more
than one questioning glance along the way. All Lissy could do was
shrug, however, as she had no idea what was wrong with the
viscount. Perhaps some vote didn’t have the support it needed to
pass the Lords. Or perhaps he was anxious about some appointment.
It could be anything, she supposed. After all, he very rarely spent
time being social. Perhaps he just wasn’t comfortable visiting one
drawing room after another.

Across the room, Lissy spotted Mrs. Phoebe
Avery and Olivia, the Duchess of Kelfield, standing near the grate,
their auburn heads tipped together in deep conversation. Hmm… Her
friends might have an idea about which gentleman owed Clayworth a
debt. Phoebe and Cordie were sisters-in-law, and Olivia and Cordie
had known each other since birth, after all. One or both of them
might know the answer.

Lissy released her hold on Fin, but he
snatched her hand back, holding on to it. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,
Fin! I’m just going to speak with Phoebe and Olivia.” Then she
yanked her hand back from him again and started across the floor
toward her friends.

Upon seeing her, Phoebe frowned and reached
out her hand to Lissy. “Why in the world did you run away from me
last night?” she asked, concern shining in her blue eyes. “Didn’t
you hear me calling you?”

Mr. Heaton
. The image of the man,
whoever he was, from the previous night flashed once again in
Lissy’s mind and her stomach plummeted. Blast it all. She’d
forgotten about him as soon as Bella had relayed her story about
the Count of Hellsburg. “I—um—” She looked from Phoebe to Olivia
and back. They were her friends. Two of her dearest friends, but
she couldn’t tell them the truth. They’d never understand. No one
would. “Well, I didn’t feel well, Phoeb. I am sorry.”

The concern in Phoebe’s eyes darkened a bit
more. “But you’re doing better now?”

Lissy’s gaze darted around the drawing room.
Mr. Heaton, or his double, was nowhere to be seen. So she smiled
and nodded. “Much.”

“Oh!” Olivia glanced toward the entrance.
“Lord Carraway’s here? That is a surprise. Don’t know the last time
I saw him.”

Lissy’s smile vanished. “He’s decided I need
a keeper, and he’s been following me everywhere. Quite frustrating,
actually.”

“A keeper?” Olivia echoed.

“Uncle Fin?” Phoebe added, amusement now
lining her voice.

Lissy rolled her eyes. “He’s not my
uncle.”

“As I’m well aware,” Phoebe replied, her
amusement still in full force. “But you do delight in tormenting
him with that moniker. Has he changed it around on you? If you
insist like behaving like a wayward niece, then he’ll be forced to
behave like a concerned uncle? That sort of thing?”

There was probably more truth to that than
Lissy would like to admit. She snorted in response, however. “I do
not need a keeper, and most certainly not Phineas Granard.”

“No?” Phoebe teased.

“He
is
handsome though,” Olivia tossed
in, unnecessarily, as though Fin’s handsomeness was supposed to
mean something.

“Who is handsome?” the Duke of Kelfield
asked, appearing at his wife’s back as though summoned there.
Truthfully, the two were very rarely separated.

“Why my husband, of course.” Olivia tipped
her head to the side to better see the one-time dangerous duke.

A roguish grin settled on Kelfield’s handsome
face. “Flatterer.”

Olivia giggled. “But I was speaking about
Lord Carraway at the moment, Your Grace.”

Kelfield shook his head. “Well, then I must
be doing something wrong if
Carraway
has drawn your
notice.”

In an instant, Lissy’s protective instinct
nearly bubbled over in her chest. The scandalous Duke of Kelfield
was the last fellow who should disparage Fin. “Well, his lordship
is
quite
noticeable, Your Grace,” she returned tartly.

She ignored the twin looks of surprise that
Olivia and Phoebe exchanged. Just because she wouldn’t let Kelfield
mock Fin, didn’t mean anything. They could save their meaningful
glances for someone else.

“My apologies. I certainly didn’t mean to
offend, Lady Felicity,” Kelfield said smoothly, his arm now draped
across Olivia’s shoulder.

Kelfield always meant to offend, it was part
of his nature, part of his charm, if one asked Olivia. And while
Lissy had once found His Grace to be wildly attractive, that was a
long time ago and she wasn’t quite the same girl she’d been
immediately after her return from Boston. In those early days, she
would have gone down any road that made her forget what she’d just
gone through. The more dangerous the man, the more scandalous the
scheme, the better. But that dust had since settled and she had
come more into the woman she was these days, a woman who truly
didn’t need a keeper. No matter how handsome Phineas Granard might
or might not be.

Her eyes flashed across the room, landing on
Fin, who was staring quite focusedly at her. Lissy narrowed her
eyes on the viscount. Honestly, did he think she couldn’t even be
trusted to engage in a simple conversation with her friends?

“I saw Cordie today,” Olivia said, drawing
Lissy’s attention back to her friends.

Lissy nodded. “I saw her as well.”

Olivia smiled, her genuine sweetness
twinkling in her hazel depths. “She told me. She was glad to see
you.”

Guilt washed over Lissy anew. “I should have
visited before now. I’m a horrible friend.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “You’re a wonderful
friend, and you know it. Where would I have been without your
counsel?”

Olivia giggled. “Unhappily married to Russell
Avery, instead of happily married to his brother?”

“Most likely.” Phoebe shivered.

“Anyway,” Olivia continued, “I am glad you
saw her today. Whatever scheme the two of you are plotting has
rejuvenated her spirits.”

“You’re plotting a scheme?” Phoebe’s blue
eyes focused on Lissy. “Do tell.”

Lissy couldn’t divulge the details about
Bella’s situation, not even to her dear friends. Everyone would
need to believe Bella was truly betrothed to whomever Cordie had in
mind. “It’s not my scheme to reveal.”

“Exactly what Cordie said,” Olivia added.
“And honestly, I don’t care. I’m just glad to see the sparkle back
in her eyes. So thank you for that.”

Lissy breathed a slight sigh of relief. Even
though she could have been a better friend to Cordie in the recent
past, if her plan for Bella also helped Cordie get past a bit of
her heartache, at least she’d done something good. She leaned a
little closer to Olivia and Kelfield. “Have you ever heard talk of
a gentleman who owes Clayworth a debt?”

“Which gentleman?” Olivia asked.

Lissy shook her head. “That’s just it. I’m
not sure who, if anyone. I thought you might have an idea.”

“The man owes
me
a debt,” Kelfield
grumbled.

All eyes shot to the duke.

“Alex,” Olivia warned under her breath.
“That’s not what she was asking.”

What was all this about? Lissy looked from
Olivia to her duke and back.

“She stayed with us some time ago when things
were difficult for Clayworth,” Olivia explained quietly. “Alex
hasn’t quite forgiven him for the turmoil Cordie went through
during those days.” Then she stood tall and said, “But everything
has worked out, and there’s no reason for any of us to hold a
grudge.”

“Of course not,” her husband agreed, though
he didn’t sound as though he was in whole-hearted agreement.

Damn the Duke of Kelfield straight to hell.
Fin narrowed his eyes on the so-called reformed scapegrace. A man
of his ilk could never be truly reformed, could he? Not that Fin
thought Kelfield had designs on Lissy – by all accounts, the man
was desperately in love with his own wife – but the duke was one of
Haversham’s closest friends. And that situation could not be
considered good. If Lissy was engaging Kelfield’s assistance with
her little plan…

A hand clapped to Fin’s back, and he turned
his head to see the aged Earl of Rotherby at his side. “Evening, my
boy.”

“Good evening, sir.”

The old man winced a bit. “I am glad you
accepted our invitation tonight, Phineas. I was hoping to get the
chance to talk with you in my study.”

As the old earl had been a friend of Fin’s
late-father and a man he’d known most of his days, he could hardly
refuse such a request. “Of course, sir.” His eyes strayed back
across the room to Lissy. If only she wasn’t in Kelfield’s company,
he’d feel much better about escaping to Rotherby’s study for a
chat.

“Prestwick’s pretty daughter will still be
there when we get back,” the old earl said with a chuckle.

Dear God. Was Fin truly that transparent?
“I—Well, I’m just keeping an eye on her.”

“Aye, I can see that.” Rotherby gestured
toward the entrance behind Fin. “But she’s not going anywhere, and
we won’t be gone long.” Then he hobbled, leaning heavily on his
cane toward the corridor.

No, Lissy wasn’t going anywhere; but that
meant very little where she was concerned. She could get into quite
a bit of trouble with just her words alone. He took one last glance
back at the lady in question. She’d be all right for just the few
minutes he’d be gone, wouldn’t she? She would, or he’d have
Kelfield’s head.

As Rotherby was already disappearing from
sight, Fin pushed through the crowd into the corridor to follow the
old man. The earl turned right towards his study and then entered
his private domain.

Fin followed suit, stepping over the
threshold.

Rotherby cocked his head toward his
sideboard. “If you want a drink, help yourself.”

Though a bit of liquor might ease Fin’s
nerves, he rather thought he might need his wits about him, if he
was truly to keep a watchful eye on Lissy that evening. “I’m fine,
sir. Thank you.”

“I wish I could say the same.” Rotherby
leaned his frail form against the edge of his desk.

“Sir?” Fin frowned at his father’s old
friend.

The man seemed to force a smile to his face.
“I’m dying, Phineas.”

The air whooshed out of Fin’s lungs. He knew
Rotherby wasn’t in the best of health, but… “Dying?”