Her Devilish Marquess (19 page)

“
I agree,” Lord Toplyn
replied. “I’d much rather make the whole thing a lot more
interesting with a wager.”

“
That’s easy for you to say
since your wife is wealthy,” Davenport said.

“
Your wife brought a sizable
amount of money into your marriage, too,” Toplyn was quick to point
out. “You could afford to lose a little of it in a
wager.”

“
No thank you. I’m happier
to sit back and just play a game.” Then, before anyone might utter
a word of protest, he said, “Wagers are nothing but
trouble.”

“
I can’t believe it,”
someone called out from behind Derek and Christopher. “Finally, one
of White’s scandal seekers is making sense.”

Derek turned in time to see two gentlemen
approaching. He recognized Lord Steinbeck, but he did not recognize
the tall, dark-haired gentleman standing next to him.

“
I see you brought the
gentleman you and Lord Edon begged everyone to vote for,” Steinbeck
told Christopher, giving Derek a critical glance from head to
toe.

Derek bristled but kept quiet. It wouldn’t
do to start his first day at White’s with a brawl.

“
We didn’t beg anyone to
vote for the Marquess of Dodsworth,” Christopher replied, using the
same casual disdain in his tone Steinbeck had just employed.
“Enough gentlemen know that if they want to save this establishment
from years of boredom, the best thing to do is to vote for someone
like him.” Christopher patted Derek on the shoulder. “Besides, a
marquess outranks a viscount.”

Steinbeck stiffened. “You think a rank is
the only thing that matters? You have no title, you simpleton. If
it weren’t for your cousin, Lord Clement, you wouldn’t even be
here. No, it’s not a gentleman’s rank that gets him into the club.
It’s his connections.”

“
Which explains why you two
reptiles are slithering through here together,” Christopher
replied, smiling as if he came up with the cleverest retort anyone
could come up with. “I suppose you’re off to seek out more of your
kind. Well, you’re in luck. The menagerie is that way.” He pointed
out the west window. Turning to Derek, he added, “I hear they added
new vile creatures to their exotic supply of animals. These
gentlemen must be on their way to meet them.”

Steinbeck spoke to his friend, but his voice
was loud enough for everyone to hear as he said, “It’s quite sad
when someone doesn’t know his jokes aren’t funny. It leaves me in a
dilemma. Do I tell him, or do I let him continue on with his
delusion?”

Steinbeck’s friend chuckled. “Why waste your
time? He’s not intelligent enough to understand you.”

“
Unfortunately, you’re
right.” Steinbeck gave Christopher the kind of smile one might give
a foolish child. “It’s all right. We know you can’t help being what
you are.” Then, without letting Christopher reply, his gaze went to
Derek. “This is the Viscount Worsley. Your brother had hoped to
make his acquaintance, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. We are all
sorry to see your brother go before his time. He had much to do and
offer the world. It’s not fair someone like that should die while
in the prime of his youth.”

“
You’re right,” Derek
agreed. “It’s not fair. Deaths of the young are the hardest to
accept.” He paused then added, “On his deathbed, my brother shared
a secret with me. He mourned the fact that he hadn’t married and
had an heir. All the money he’d acquired meant nothing to
him.”

“
That’s understandable since
he was a titled gentleman,” Steinbeck said.

“
It’s not just the titled
gentlemen who say these things. People, regardless of their
monetary situation, often think of their loved ones as they depart
from this world to go to the next. The real tragedy is in the
things they never said or did with the people in their lives while
they lived. Money, titles, and the acquisition of things mean
nothing at the end.”

“
Exactly!” Christopher
exclaimed. “I have a wife and a darling little girl. More than
that, my wife and I love each other. So it seems to me, I’m better
off than you, Lord Bachelor.”

Steinbeck glowered at him. “I didn’t realize
we were in a competition.”

“
Not everyone wishes for
marriage,” Lord Worsley said. “Some gentlemen see it as an
inconvenience.”

“
Then by all means,” Derek
began, “don’t marry. Your title will go to your next of kin. I only
hope you approve of him.” Figuring he’d said enough, he turned to
leave, Christopher quick to follow him.

“
That reminds me of
something, Dodsworth,” Steinbeck called out.

As much as Derek wanted to keep on walking,
some morbid sense of curiosity bubbled its way to the surface and
forced him to stop and turn back to face Steinbeck.

With a knowing grin, Steinbeck continued, “I
recall how much grief your brother had in trying to come up with
excuses for your crude behavior.”

Toplyn put his cards on the table and rose
to his feet, his eyebrows raised in interest. “Crude behavior? From
him?” He gestured to Derek. “I don’t remember hearing anything
scandalous about Lord Dodsworth, and I like to keep abreast of the
latest scandal.”

“
How could you not recognize
him?” Steinbeck asked. “He’s Dr. Westward, the one gentleman in all
of London who’s been banned from everyone’s balls except from those
hosted by him,” he pointed to Christopher, “and Edon.”

Eyes wide, Toplyn hurried over to Derek and
shook his hand. “Well done, my good man. Up to now, I’ve only heard
your name. Now I get to meet the legend.”

Steinbeck rolled his eyes. “Perhaps if you
weren’t so busy reading that obscene book of yours, you would have
recognized him.”

“
Are you still complaining
about that book?” Christopher asked. “We voted to keep it at
White’s, and that vote was final.”

Steinbeck glowered at him.
“You won by one vote.” Then for emphasis, he added,
“
One
vote. That
means half of the gentlemen here had the good sense to vote it
out.”

“
Sure,” Christopher began.
“The half that have miserable wives. Or, like in your case, the
ones who have no wives at all. And quite frankly, you can tell
which gentlemen aren’t reading it. They’re the ones who aren’t
happy.” Christopher nodded toward Steinbeck and Worsley. “Like
them.”

Steinbeck’s jaw clenched. “The way I see it,
there’s a respectable gentleman in this club who voted against
common decency, and when I find out who it is, he’s going to have
to answer to me.”

Derek decided he’d had enough. “You’re
acting worse than a child. Even children understand that when
something has been voted on, it’s time to end the discussion.” And
since he risked no consequence to what he said in this
establishment, he added, “You can’t coerce people into doing what
you want. Sooner or later, you’re going to end up alone and
miserable just like my brother. Of all the people I’ve ever met, I
feel the most sorry for the ones like you. No one truly enjoys your
company. They’re only with you for what you can offer them.”

Steinbeck’s eyes darkened, and Derek knew
he’d struck a nerve. But the only reason he’d struck the nerve was
because he’d spoken the truth. Deep down, Steinbeck knew what he
was saying was right.

“
I have better things to do
than waste my time with you and your miserable friends,” Derek said
then left the room.

It wasn’t until he was safely out of
Steinbeck’s range that he remembered Malcolm was one of Steinbeck’s
friends. No doubt, word would get back to Malcolm about this. That
would likely upset Regan, which, in turn, would upset Danette.

He considered returning to the room and
apologizing, but he caught the proud expression on Steinbeck’s face
and couldn’t bring himself to do it. No matter how much he willed
his feet to go back in there, it just wasn’t going to happen.

It was gentlemen like Steinbeck who brought
out the worst in him. If they wouldn’t go around spouting off that
they were much better than everyone else, he wouldn’t feel the need
to say something. And what good did it do to confront them anyway?
They never listened. They refused to change their ways. In the end,
all it did was frustrate him.

“
Derek, where are you
going?” Christopher called out as he hurried after him.

It wasn’t until Derek stopped at the door
that he realized he’d made a beeline straight for the exit. With a
sigh, he faced his friend. “I need to go home and tell my wife what
just happened,” he said.

“
Why? What happens here
stays here. Besides, no one cares what Steinbeck or his friends
think.”

“
My wife will.” When he saw
Christopher’s eyebrows furrow, he decided it was pointless to
explain why Danette wasn’t going to be happy with him once she
found out what he’d told Malcolm’s friend. “This is why I try to
stay away from these types of establishments. I only end up doing
or saying something that upsets someone I care about.”

“
Steinbeck had it coming. No
one can argue that.”

“
People who want his
connections will argue it. Don’t you understand how this works? His
relationships might be superficial, but as long as he can keep
giving people what they want, they’ll support him. That’s how the
Ton is.”

It’d been a mistake to come here. He should
have listened to his gut and stayed away. He didn’t know why he
thought he could actually find a place to belong in the proper side
of Society. He’d been fooling himself by coming here. Without
another word, Derek flung the door open and left.

Chapter Fifteen

“
M
arriage agrees with you,” Danette’s mother said as the two
were sitting in the drawing room, enjoying the afternoon sunlight
that filtered in through the windows. “You’re sewing a happy image
for a change.”

Danette glanced up from her embroidery and
shot her mother a pointed look. “I’ve sewn happy images
before.”

Her mother pulled the thread from her own
embroidery and clucked her tongue. “Danette, you know very well
animals aren’t the same thing as butterflies and bows.”

Danette looked down at the assortment of
butterflies surrounded by bows etched in the rectangular fabric she
was sewing. “It’s for my vanity,” she said. “My old tablecloth is
worn out, and I need a new one. I wanted something more ladylike
than what I’d do for another room in the townhouse.”

“
You never did butterflies
or bows for your vanity before.”

Danette let out an exasperated sigh and set
her embroidery down in her lap. “Must you persist in this, Mother?”
she asked, sure her mother would end the topic now that Danette had
made it clear she didn’t wish to keep on about it.

To her surprise, her mother answered,
“Yes.”

“
Yes?”

Her mother smiled. “I only mention it
because it shows me how much you’re enjoying your new life. Derek
has been good for you.”

Returning her smile, she said, “Yes, he
has.”

“
And he’s good looking,
too.”

“
Mother!” She glanced around
to make sure no servants were lingering in the hallway.

“
I might be old, but I’m not
blind. A kind and loving husband is important, of course, but it
never hurts if he’s attractive, too.”

“
All right, Mother. You made
your point. There’s no need to continue with this
discussion.”

“
All I’m saying is that I’m
happy for you.”

“
I know, and I appreciate
it. I just don’t want to get into anything private when others
might come by.”

As if to prove her point, the front door
opened and a few seconds later, Derek peered into the drawing room.
She shot her mother a pleading look to not say anything that might
embarrass her. Her mother let out a sigh, indicating she thought
Danette worried far too much, and as much as Danette hated to admit
it, her mother was right.

“
You can come in,” Danette
told Derek, surprised he hadn’t ventured further into the
room.

“
I didn’t want to interrupt
anything,” he said, glancing at her mother.

“
You’re not interrupting
us,” her mother assured him. “I was just having a nice talk with
Danette. In fact,” she gathered her embroidery and placed it in the
basket next to her, “I think we’re done talking. I can always come
by and continue this embroidery another day.”