Her Devilish Marquess (10 page)

“
Maybe Dr. Westward isn’t
scandalous anymore,” she told Malcolm. “I’ve been a perfect lady
ever since we married.” At least she was in public where others
could see her. But to be fair, Malcolm had a wicked streak in him,
too, though it was well hidden.

Malcolm sighed and glanced at Danette’s new
husband, who was saying something that made the others laugh. Yes,
having Danette and Derek at one of Lord Steinbeck’s boring dinner
parties would be a much needed reprieve.

“
Maybe I can convince Warren
and Robert he’s a better gentleman now that he’s married,” Malcolm
said. “A good, reputable lady can have a positive influence on a
gentleman. Danette meets with their approval already. She might be
the reason they’ll give him a chance.”

Whatever Malcolm needed to tell them to get
Danette to a dinner party would be fine with her, but that meant
she had to talk to Danette—and soon.

Chapter Seven

N
o
matter how hard she tried, Danette couldn’t slow down the rapid
beating of her heart. Somehow, she managed to remain standing as
her mother, Chloe, and her mother’s friends congratulated them. She
noticed that Regan and Malcolm were talking in the corner of the
room and wondered about it. But more than that, she wondered where
Derek’s friends were. Certainly, he had them.

She glanced up at her husband as he told
them how he performed a trick where he collected coins from the
children who were his patients.

“
I tuck a few coins into a
small pocket I have sewn on the edge of my sleeve,” he told them.
“That way they don’t see me pulling them from my pocket. I don’t
want to spoil the illusion of magic.”

“
They love it,” Chloe said.
“My brother looks forward to all of his visits so he’ll see how
many coins he made while the good doctor was away.”

“
And the better behaved he
is, the more coins he makes,” Derek added.

“
What a creative thing to
do,” Danette’s mother said. “You must like children.”

“
I do.” Then he turned his
gaze to Danette and smiled. “I’m looking forward to having
them.”

Danette was sure her face became a shade of
bright red at that moment, especially when the ladies around her
giggled. There was no doubt about it. Derek was just like Regan.
Both had no trouble speaking their minds.

Regan and Malcolm stopped talking and headed
in their direction. Curious about the conversation the two had just
been sharing, Danette studied her friend’s face to see if she could
guess if it’d been good or bad. Unfortunately, her gift wasn’t
reading people’s expressions. She’d just have to be content with
asking Regan about it when they had a moment alone.

For now, Chloe was telling them about the
first time Derek went to see her brother. “My mother and I weren’t
sure what to make of him as he went around Alexander, scanning him
up and down,” Chloe said. “We thought he was an odd gentleman. Then
he announced he knew what was wrong with him, and you’ll never
guess what he said. He said Alexander was a bank!”

This time Danette joined the others as they
laughed.

“
To be fair,” Derek began,
“the lad did have a lot of coins stuck in him.”

Danette’s mother waved at him and said,
“You’re a sly one. I can see that you and my daughter are going to
get along wonderfully.”

“
I think so, too,” he
agreed, surprising Danette. “I knew from the moment I met her that
this was a good match.”

Regan gave Danette a wink, and Danette
quickly glanced away. Yes, her friend had told her that, and her
friend had been right. Things were ending up much better than
Danette had ever dreamed possible. It almost seemed like it was too
good to be true. Surely, at some point, something was going to
sweep in and bring her back to reality.

Since there was a lull in the conversation,
Danette gestured to Regan. “This is my childhood friend, Lady
Cantrell, and her husband, Mr. Jasper.”

“
Oh yes,” Derek replied with
a bow. “Danette briefly mentioned you while we were playing a game
at the park.”

“
What game was that?”
Malcolm asked.

“
We were guessing what the
other people were talking about.” Derek chuckled as he gave a
playful pat on Danette’s lower back. “You wouldn’t think it to look
at her, but Danette can be witty once she opens up to
someone.”

Regan’s smile widened. “I noticed that with
her when we were younger. You won’t have any trouble getting her to
talk soon enough.”

“
I was wondering about this
game you were playing,” Malcolm began after he cleared his throat.
“What is the purpose of it?”

“
There is no purpose,
really,” Derek said. “It was simply a nice diversion. I still laugh
when I think of some of the things Danette and her mother came up
with.”

“
You don’t give yourself
enough credit,” Danette’s mother told Derek. “Both of us couldn’t
stop laughing for the rest of the day after some of the funny
things you came up with.”

Malcolm’s eyebrows furrowed with worry. “I
don’t understand how guessing what someone is saying is funny.”

Regan nudged him in the side. “Not everyone
finds the pursuit of making money as fun as you do.”

“
I just don’t see the
point,” Malcolm told her.

“
That’s the beauty of it,”
Derek said. “There is no point. We were only having a relaxing
day.”

“
Exactly,” Regan agreed then
turned her gaze back to Malcolm. “Sometimes people do things for
the sake of enjoyment. It’s no different than the times you’ve
counted the money in your ledger.”

Malcolm offered a nod as if he accepted her
reasoning, but Danette sensed he was only doing it to appease her.
And that was when Danette knew what the dark cloud overshadowing
her marriage was going to be. She’d known Malcolm was more serious
than most people, but she’d underestimated just how serious he
was.

Early on in Regan’s pursuit of him, Danette
had sympathized with him. Regan had thought little of potentially
causing a scandal. Had he known Regan’s first husband, Frederick,
her actions would have made more sense. Frederick had been
sheltered his entire life. The moment he met Regan, he’d
wholeheartedly embraced her tendency to do whatever she wanted
regardless of what others thought. Regan, wishing to make up for
the fun he’d missed out on during his childhood, had been eager to
do all the risky things he’d wanted to try.

Malcolm was so different from Frederick. His
goal was to avoid anything remotely scandalous, and from what she’d
gathered, he distanced himself from anyone who might threaten his
reputation.

Since the marriage, though, the two had
found some common ground, and Danette had assumed Malcolm had
loosened up. But now she was beginning to think Regan had been the
one who’d changed. Maybe Regan was more inclined to stay away from
scandals now.

Under normal circumstances, Danette would
have been relieved. She didn’t care for being the object of a
scandal any more than Malcolm did. If Regan was right, then Derek
probably didn’t mind scandalous activities. And that could very
well pose a problem.

While one of her mother’s friends asked him
about a certain pain she’d been dealing with, Danette decided to
talk to Regan. “Malcolm, do you mind if I talk to my friend?”
Danette asked.

“
Of course not.” Malcolm
stepped aside, so the two could make their way to the other side of
the room.

Once they were out of everyone else’s
hearing, Danette focused on her friend. “Something’s wrong. Malcolm
doesn’t like my husband.”

Regan shook her head, her gaze going
heavenward. “Now that you know the groom is happy, why do you
insist on looking for something bad to happen?”

“
I’m not looking for
something bad to happen.” All right. She might be prone to looking
for the downside in all things, but this was different. She didn’t
ask for Malcolm to respond to Derek the way he had. “I could tell
Malcolm didn’t like Derek’s answer when he asked him about the
game.”

“
Danette, I love Malcolm
with all of my heart, but it doesn’t mean I always agree with him.
There was nothing wrong with the game you played at the park. In
fact, it sounds like a lot of fun. We should try that at one of the
balls. That is,” she added with a teasing gleam in her eye, “if you
have the time now that you have one of the most handsome gentlemen
in London to spend the evening with.”

Despite herself, her lips curled up into a
smile. “Derek is good looking, isn’t he?”

Regan nodded. “And just wait until you see
him without his clothes on. It’s a shame you missed the Duke of
Rumsey’s ball when he ripped off his shirt in front of everyone.
But then, you’ll get to see him tonight, so maybe the surprise will
be even better.”

She gasped. “He didn’t.”

“
He did. Remember, I told
you he was banned from most of the balls because of
that.”

Banned from most of the balls? Danette
briefly recalled hearing a scandal about a gentleman deliberately
going around to create scandals. Oh dear. It couldn’t be… What were
the chances that the gentleman would be the one she just
married?

“
Are you sure the gentleman
who did that at the Duke of Rumsey’s ball was Derek?” Danette
asked, hoping Regan was mistaken.

“
I didn’t realize he was Dr.
Westward until I saw him, but there’s no mistaking that wonderful
physique. Even with clothes on, he makes a good
impression.”

Danette could understand why her friend was
thrilled to learn she had just married one of the most devilish
gentlemen in London. Regan thrived off the excitement of going
against the Ton’s expectations. But this was horrible. She glanced
at Derek, who seemed to be holding all of her mother’s friends
captive with one of his stories about being a doctor. If he was
banned from most people’s balls, did that mean she was banned, too?
Would people assume she was just as scandalous as he was?

“
Your husband wants to be
with you,” Regan said, touching her arm to get her attention.
“That’s what matters. Don’t mind what other people
think.”

Danette couldn’t help but notice that
Malcolm looked uncomfortable, even though he listened to what Derek
was saying. Danette’s gaze went back to her friend. “What if one of
those people is Malcolm?”

“
I already talked to
Malcolm. Yes, he’s shocked to learn you married someone with
Derek’s reputation, but I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“
And if he
doesn’t?”

“
Malcolm isn’t as uptight as
he seems. He learned to fall in love with me, faults and all. I’m
sure once we get him and Derek together, he’ll want to befriend
him. We’ll invite you and Derek to a dinner party. A nice, private
dinner will ease a lot of tension.”

Danette wasn’t so sure her friend was right.
Things couldn’t be that simple. Things were never that simple.

“
Everything will be fine,”
Regan said. “Remember, you promised to suspend your doubts for
once.”

Danette sighed. Her friend was right. She
had promised that, and she was determined to follow through on that
promise. “All right. We’ll have the dinner party and see how things
go.”

“
Wonderful!”

“
But don’t expect too much,”
Danette warned before her friend could get too optimistic. “As much
as I seek out the bad, you seek out the good. Things can’t be good
all the time.”

“
Well, I know Malcolm. When
it comes down to it, he’ll choose what’s right.”

“
Or what he thinks is
right.” Before her friend could argue, Danette added, “They’re
probably wondering why we’ve been talking for so long.” Plus,
Malcolm looked uncomfortable by himself. Without waiting for Regan
to reply, she headed back to the group.

***

Derek noticed a considerable difference in
Danette after she talked to her friend. He’d spent his life
watching people, and he’d gotten pretty good at figuring out what
they were thinking. This gift had also gotten him into some serious
trouble when he chose to confront them about it, especially if they
said one thing but meant another.

In this case, Danette’s conversation with
Regan had left her feeling insecure. It wasn’t something he faulted
Regan for. The conflict, Derek guessed, stemmed from Malcolm’s
reaction to him.