Her Devilish Marquess (14 page)

“
All right,” Derek relented.
“I’ll join White’s if I’m voted in.”

Christopher jumped up and cheered.

“
I’m not so sure I’d get
excited,” Derek commented.

“
Why not?” Christopher
asked. “We finally have something to wage war against Lord
Steinbeck. After you get voted in, he won’t be able to bully us
around anymore.”

“
If I get voted.”

Though Derek had offered the warning,
neither Christopher nor Ethan seemed to be paying him attention.
They were too busy making plans on how they would nominate him at
the next meeting at White’s.

Well, there was no stopping them. When they
got excited about something, they didn’t listen to anyone.

“
If you don’t mind,” Derek
finally said as he collected their glasses, “I want to get back to
my bride.”

“
We don’t mind at all,”
Christopher assured him then patted him on the shoulder. “Do
everything I would.”

“
Don’t you mean, don’t do
anything I wouldn’t do?” Ethan corrected.

“
No, I mean do everything I
would.” Christopher gave Derek a knowing grin. “The more
adventurous, the better.”

“
I enjoy the bedchamber as
much as the next gentleman, but I don’t obsess over it like you
do,” Ethan told Christopher. With a glance at Derek, he added, “It
will be nice to have you at White’s. Lord Steinbeck and his kind
are dampening all the fun. We’ll let you know how the vote
goes.”

Derek indicated he understood and saw them
out. He’d just shut the door when Danette came down the stairs.

“
I thought the footman was
supposed to get the door,” Danette said in surprise.

“
I don’t mind doing it from
time to time.” Derek went over to her and cupped her elbow with his
hand. After he gave her a kiss, he said, “Your timing is perfect. I
was about to ask you if you wanted to join me in getting something
to eat?”

“
I’d be
delighted.”

His footsteps feeling light, he escorted her
down the hall.

Chapter Ten

A
week passed before Regan came to visit Danette. Danette had
been getting ready to pay her friend a visit when the butler
announced Regan’s arrival.

Danette encouraged her lady’s maid to hurry
in finishing with her hair, and then she hurried down to the
drawing room where Regan was sitting on the settee, sipping
tea.

“
I was going to go to your
townhouse to see you,” Danette greeted. “It’s positively spooky
that you read my mind.”

“
That’s the second time
we’ve done this, if you’ll recall,” Regan quipped. “Last time, you
came to my townhouse.”

“
I did.” She sat next to her
friend and turned to face her. “I was so nervous because Derek
wanted to meet me. You were the first person I thought of to talk
to. You’re more patient with me than my mother is. She wouldn’t
have understood why I was so nervous.”

“
It was a long time since
she married. I think the older we get, the harder it is to remember
the uncertainty of being young.”

“
You’re probably
right.”

“
Where is your handsome
husband?” Regan asked.

“
He has a couple of patients
to see today. It was wonderful of him to spend all of last week
with me. He really seems to care for me.”

“
That’s terrific, Danette.”
Regan’s gaze went to the open doorway before she lowered her voice
and added, “What did I tell you about his chest? Isn’t it
magnificent?”

Despite the heat rising in her cheeks,
Danette admitted, “He is very well built, but I have no gentlemen
to compare him to.”

“
I do, and I can tell you he
has a marvelous build. When you find out how he managed to acquire
all those muscles, let me know.”

“
He chops wood and carries
supplies for people in need. He does this with no pay.”

“
He does?”

Danette nodded. “He mostly does this for
people who are old or have a physical reason that hinders them from
doing the work themselves. He says he was fortunate to be brought
up in a wealthy home where he never had to want for anything. Most
people in London aren’t so fortunate. I never thought about it
until he told me.”

“
It’s easy not to think
about it when you’re preoccupied with our world of balls and dinner
parties.” Regan smiled. “You couldn’t have been matched with a
better gentleman.”

“
I know. Helena, Chloe, and
Melissa did a wonderful job in picking him for me.”

“
They did. I knew they
would.” Regan finished her tea and set the cup on the table. “Now,
the reason I came by was to invite you and Derek to a dinner party.
It’ll be an informal affair between you, me, and our husbands.
Malcolm’s parents will be watching Leonard, so our husbands will
get to know each other.”

“
Do you think that’s a good
idea? I mean, they come from two different worlds.”

“
They’re not all that
different. They’re gentlemen who have money and wonderful
wives.”

Danette’s lips curled up at the last part of
her friend’s comment. “I agree we are wonderful. However, you know
how much scandal Derek created in the past. I know he’s changed all
that, but doesn’t Malcolm have trouble overcoming that sort of
thing?”

“
He got over my
indiscretions.”

“
Yes, but you kept yours
tame. You were never mentioned in the
Tittletattle
or banned from
balls.”

“
I got fortunate,” Regan
said. Before Danette could ask her what she did in the past that
might have warranted such a scandal, her friend added, “Malcolm and
I would love to have you and Derek over this Saturday evening. What
do you say? Will you come?”

“
I’ll ask Derek, but I’m
sure he’ll say yes.” Her new husband seemed willing to do whatever
she wanted. She couldn’t imagine he’d say no, especially since he
knew Regan was a good friend.

“
Good! In the meantime,
would you like to take a walk?”

“
That’d be nice.”

Getting up, the two ladies headed for Hyde
Park.

***

“
Good afternoon,” Derek
greeted the twelve-year-old girl of a small residence. “I have an
appointment with your mother. Did she tell you I was coming
by?”

“
Yes.” The girl gestured for
him to enter the home. “You’re early. You aren’t supposed to be
here for another thirty minutes.”

Derek stepped into the house and said,
“Things didn’t take as long with the last patient as I expected. I
hope that’s all right.”

She nodded. “I’ll tell Mother you’re here.
She’s taking a nap.”

As she hurried off down the hallway, he went
further into the room where her younger siblings were. The
seven-year-old girl was quietly reading a book. The two, three, and
five-year-olds were playing with toys. Well, none of the children
seemed to be ill. So the matter involved either Christina Leith or
her husband.

He sat on the couch, and the children came
over to him, asking if he’d brought any candy. He dug out the small
treats from his pocket and handed them to the children.

The twelve-year-old came back out. “I
knocked on Mother’s door and let her know you’re here. She said
she’ll be out soon.” She turned to her brothers and sisters. “Let’s
go to the park. The doctor needs things quiet while he visits with
Mother.”

With candy in hand, the children ran to get
their shoes, nearly bumping into each other as they did so. Derek
chuckled at the sight. Maybe someday, he and Danette would have
children who toppled over each other like these did.

A couple minutes after the children left,
Christina came into the room, her face flushed and her hair
slightly out of place. She was patting it, but no matter how hard
she tried, a few errant strands wouldn’t cooperate. Even her skirt
showed signs of an afternoon tryst. Derek’s eyes widened in
surprise. He had assumed her husband was at work, but apparently,
he wasn’t.

“
My lord,” she greeted with
a bow as he rose to his feet, “I didn’t expect you here so
early.”

“
First, there’s no need to
stand on formality just because I have a title now. Second, I’m
sorry I came early. My last appointment was over sooner than had I
anticipated,” he replied then gestured for her to sit.

She settled on the settee and adjusted the
skirt neatly around her. “It feels so different to have a marquess
as my doctor.”

“
It shouldn’t,” he replied,
returning to his chair. “I’m the same person I always was. Now, I
notice your children are doing well, and I take it your husband is,
too. You also look to be in good health. Shall I guess why you
wanted me here?” he asked, his tone taking on a teasing
quality.

“
You know me much too well.
I bet you can guess.”

“
Only because I’ve been
taking care of you and your family for years. All right. Since you
want me to guess, I will. You’re expecting another child, and you
want me to confirm whether or not you’re right.”

“
I know it’s silly. I’ve
been with child often enough, but I feel better having the
assurance. I haven’t lost a single child to childbirth since you’ve
been my doctor.”

“
I understand. In that case,
I’ll ask you the questions I usually do.”

“
Ask away.” She shifted and
a handkerchief fell out of her pocket.

“
I’ll get that for you,” he
offered before she could bend over to retrieve it.

As he picked it up, he
noticed
WBT
embroidered on the fabric. It was a gentleman’s handkerchief.
There was no mistaking the masculine design.

“
Oh, that’s my brother’s,”
Christina said, taking it from him and stuffing it back into her
pocket.

Derek thought back to a time when she’d
mentioned a brother, and after a moment, he recalled it. But he was
sure her brother’s name was Maxwell Ford. Those initials didn’t
match up with the ones on the handkerchief. And if he recalled
right, she only had the one brother.

She was lying. He was sure of it. He debated
whether or not to let the matter go. Of all the things he could
accept, lying was the hardest one. He might not have cared much for
his brother, but at least his brother had been decent enough to be
honest with him. But worse than the shock of finding out she was
lying to him was the fact that she was one of the few people he
trusted…at least up until now.

Pushing aside the unease in his gut, he
returned to his chair and forced the pleasant smile back on his
face. “All right. Let’s start with the last time you had your
lady’s time.”

“
Um, I believe it was about
six weeks ago today.”

“
That being the case, have
you been unusually tired lately?”

“
I feel tired on most days,
given all the running around I do after the children.”

If he hadn’t seen the initials on that
handkerchief, he would have chuckled at her joke. The way things
were going, however, he could barely manage a smile. “You know the
kind of tired I’m referring to. You go through it for a couple
months when you’re with child.”

“
Yes, I know. I suppose I’m
afraid to hope. When I lost my dear Wilma at birth, I decided I
wanted to have as many children as the Good Lord
allows.”

“
I understand.”

And there was nothing wrong with that, as
long as she went about it the right way. Her disheveled hair, the
blush in her cheeks, and the unkempt skirt, along with the
handkerchief, indicated things weren’t as innocent as she’d have
him think. If he’d come here when he was supposed to, would she
have been presentable? Would he have stumbled upon her secret? How
many times had he missed her secret trysts?

He cleared his throat. “How have you been
eating?” he forced out.

“
Now that I think about it,
not all that well,” she replied, her casual tone indicating she’d
been doing nothing inappropriate. “The other day when I ate, I
thought I got ill because it’s something I often have trouble with
anyway, but there might have been something else to it.”

She continued discussing the other things
she’d been experiencing lately, and he halfheartedly listened. How
long had she been having an affair? Did her husband know? Worse,
did her children know?