The Devil You Know (9 page)

“Of course. Now that Beauclerc no longer stands in our way,

we are at last free to be together.”

DeVere answered dryly, “By my count, we have already
been

together
in as many ways as is humanly possible. Thus, it appears

to me the good duke was never any true obstacle.”

“You are entirely too wicked.” She laughed and raised herself

up to straddle his belly. She rubbed her mons against him with a

purr, reaching a hand behind to guide him into her, but not find-

51

The Devil You Know

ing what she expected. “Is there a
problem,
my lord? I’ve never

known your cock to require any encouragement.”

“Perhaps it’s become bored with the menu?”

“Bored!” She threw her powdered head back with a derisive

laugh. “You lying whoreson! I’m the best you’ve ever had! You

just don’t want to make an honest woman of me.”

“All too true, my sweet. Did it never occur to you that it was

precisely your
unavailability
that made up the greater part of your

charm?”

Her face contorted with rage, she drew back to strike him,

but he caught her by both wrists. “Tsk, tsk, Caro. I think not!” He

flipped her onto her back, caging her with his body.

“I
thought
we would be good together, but I see now I’d only

demean myself if attached to you.”

He smirked. “But why would you even consider settling for a

mere viscount after having a ducal coronet? As I recall, you once

thought it a very poor bargain.”

“Is
that
what this is truly about?” Her breathing was ragged,

her gaze venomous. “Just some petty revenge because I once jilted

you? How pathetic.”

He thought she would make the effort now to push him off

her, but she undulated beneath him instead, wrapping her legs

around his waist, pressing her hot core against him. He found

himself hardening against his will.

“Part of you still wants me,” she said with smug satisfaction.

“You can’t deny it
now.
” No, he couldn’t; but then again, his cock

always had defiantly refused to be ruled by his brain. “Very well,

Caroline, I
won’t
deny it.” He gave her a fulsome smile as he thrust

into her. “So let us just consider this our farewell fuck.”

Diana left DeVere’s

***

chambers in a peculiar daze comprised

of equal parts anger, confusion, and lust. She had never been so

affected by a man. All he had to do was look at her to set her skin

tingling and pulse racing. It had taken little more than a touch

and a suggestive word from him for her emptiness to expand and

a powerful yearning to take hold of her body. When his lips had

seared her skin, she had almost melted away—certainly her fine

upstanding resolution had.

52

Victoria Vane

Outwardly, she had reacted with the proper amount of righ-

teous indignation, storming away as any virtuous woman would,

yet now she wondered how virtuous she really was. The meaning

of his parting comment was clear, and Diana wondered if a small

part of her shared his disappointment.

Deny it as she tried, she actually envied the freedom of those

like the duchess and DeVere, people who broke convention and

flouted society to take what they wanted and do as they pleased.

She knew that many unhappy wives hired strapping, young foot-

men to satisfy their unfulfilled needs, but she told herself she

wasn’t such a woman. If she was, wouldn’t she have taken a lov-

er long ago? But then again, she’d never experienced the acute

physical awareness, the profound magnetic pull that she felt with

DeVere. God knows
what
might have happened had the duchess

not interrupted them.

Still, as much as Diana was drawn to him, she hated her vul-

nerability. He was unquestionably an expert in the arts of seduc-

tion. Even his best friend had warned her about him, but she had

believed herself impervious to his mesmerizing charm. She now

laughed at her own folly. The Viscount DeVere was a dangerous

man indeed.

With these thoughts pillaging her peace, Diana knocked on

Annalee’s door.

“Come in,” was the faint reply. Diana entered the apartments

decorated in soothing shades of oyster and dusty rose damask to

find Annalee had been dozing with a book in her lap. She gave

Diana a tired smile. “Have you seen DeVere?”

“Yes,” Diana said. “I have just come from speaking with him.”

“And?” Annalee studied her intently.

“Let us say Edward’s warning did not go astray.”

Annalee’s eyes widened. “Did he importune you, Diana?”

She considered her answer. “Not precisely, but his invitation

was clear.”

“The cad! You never should have spoken with him alone. Ned

should have insisted—”

“No, dearest. This was a matter I had to take into my own

hands. As it stands, I feel we will come to an agreement.”

“What do you mean? Has he not given you an answer?”

“He said he wishes to see the horse run before he will make

any decision.”

53

The Devil You Know

“Then I give him credit for wisdom, anyway.” Annalee sighed.

“That man is truly a conundrum. I doubt there is any woman ca-

pable of taming him.”

“What of our darling duchess?” Diana asked

“Caroline? I never did tell you that story, did I? She might

have had him once, you know. They had an understanding, but

the very night before Ludovic was to petition her father for her

hand, she threw him over for the duke.”

“Did she? It seems she harbors regrets now.”

“She might, but he certainly does not!” Annalee laughed.

“But isn’t she his mistress?”

“DeVere is no fool. Despite her designs on him, that’s all she’ll

ever be.”

“So he uses her?” Diana said.

“It is my understanding she came uninvited. The hussy de-

serves what she gets.”

“Such condemnation!” Diana laughed. “I didn’t think you

had it in you, dearest.”

“DeVere is a rogue, but he once had honorable intentions to-

ward her. Though he vehemently denied it at the time, I think she

hurt him badly. I hold her much to blame that he’s never settled

down. I wonder now if he ever will.” Annalee yawned.

“How are you feeling, Annalee?”

“Excessively drained,” Annalee confessed. “I have no energy

and often wish that I could sleep the day away. It takes what little

reserves I have to keep Ned from hovering over me. He worries

so. I told him I want nothing more than to give him a son, but

after the last miscarriage...” Her lip quivered slightly at the word.

“...and my extended recovery, he swore he wouldn’t allow it to

happen again.” Annalee rubbed her belly with a shy smile. “But

fortunately, I am blessed with a passionate man. Oh!” she cried

out suddenly.

“What is it?” Diana exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

Annalee gave her an ebullient smile. “I am wonderful! I just

felt little Ned kick me! Come, Diana!” She sat upright and patted

the cushion beside her. “See if you can feel it too.”

Diana perched gingerly on the divan and laid a light hand on

her cousin’s belly.

54

Victoria Vane

“Here,” Annalee said, laying her own hand firmly on top.

Both women held their breath until Diana sensed the faintest flut-

ter. “Is that movement?” she asked, incredulous.

“Yes!” Annalee laughed, her eyes alight with joy. “It was! I

can’t wait to tell Ned.”

“I am so happy for you both,” Diana said. “I only wish I could

also have had a child...”

Annalee’s smile disappeared. “Do you not think there is any

chance you and Reggie...”

“No,” Diana said flatly. “There is none. I only want it to be

over now.”

“I am so sorry.” Annalee squeezed her hand in sympathy.

“So am I,” Diana said, plucking at her skirts. “I have been

very unhappy in this marriage, Annalee, but I know that is the lot

of many women. Unions like yours with Edward are exceedingly

rare. We never had what you and Edward have together. The af-

fection...the passion. If only Reggie had shown me a modicum of

kindness and respect, I would have resigned myself to carry on.”

“Even in the beginning?” Annalee asked. “Are you saying he

never showed you attention or cared for your pleasure?”

“Pleasure?” Diana laughed bitterly. “You mean in the mar-

riage bed? Never. It was a most unpleasant experience.”

“It often is in the very beginning,” agreed Annalee. “But it

never improved?”

“On the contrary, it got much worse, became intolerable.” Di-

ana averted her gaze. “At first, I thought it was me. He accused me

of being frigid and said it was my fault...”

“He was impotent?”

“Unless he drank,” Diana said. “So he began to come to me

only when in his cups, and that’s when matters took a different

turn. It was as if he had decided to punish me for failing in my

duty to produce a child.”

Annalee’s forehead puckered. “How do you mean?”

Diana opened her mouth and closed it again. She studied the

floral pattern on the toe of her embroidered slipper.

“What is it, Diana?” Annalee asked. “Surely you can tell me.”

“Have you and Edward ever...” Diana fought the huge lump

forming in her throat. The thought of sharing her humiliating se-

cret made her feel ashamed and dirty.

“Go on,” Annalee urged.

55

The Devil You Know

She licked her lips. Her eyes grew bleary. “Has Edward ever...

has he ever used you...in a way that is...unnatural?”

Annalee threw both arms about her. “My God, Diana! What

did that
beast
do to you?”

The question opened the floodgate of five years keeping. An-

nalee held her and stroked her hair as Diana choked out her story.

“It was never good between us.” She hiccupped. “When he came

to me, it was never tender. It was
never
as a lover.”

56

Chapter Seven

In the ostentatiously gilded library with its Italianate frescoed

ceiling, DeVere lounged, his booted feet carelessly propped upon

the burnished mahogany desk, studying his guest in a silent and

scowling appraisal. DeVere noted the bloodshot eyes, the facial

ruddiness, and slightly bloated features. Of medium height and

slight build, the Baron Palmerston-Wriothesley might have ap-

peared somewhat boyish from a distance, but in close quarters,

he showed all the signs of deterioration from dissipation. Sizing

the man up, DeVere found the sum total wanting.

Lord Reggie deserved to squirm like the worm he was. In-

deed,
far
worse. What he truly merited was to be strung up by his

bollocks.

“You wished a word with me, my lord?” Reggie finally

prompted, the lengthy silence having achieving its purpose. “If

it is an apology you seek for my...er...condition last evening.” He

gave an embarrassed laugh. “I’m sure you know how it is...”

57

The Devil You Know

“To be carried home stinking drunk?” DeVere made no effort

to hide his scorn. “Not in a good many years. It is my observation,

Lord Reginald, that if a man cannot hold his drink, it behooves

him to abstain unless in the company of those he implicitly trusts.”

“Lofty words from one whose own exploits in debauchery are

legendary,” Reggie snapped back. “I was lost in the heat of the

moment. You are a notorious gamester. Surely you have found

yourself in a similar predicament—”

DeVere raised a hand and gave the man a dangerous look.

“Don’t
ever
presume
to compare yourself with me. I may play deep,

but I have the means to do so. And when I lose, I pay the reckon-

ing. A gentleman
never
shirks a debt of honor.” He retrieved a

handful of notes from his breast pocket and slammed them on the

desk. “Your vowels, I believe?”

“How do you have these? And why?” Reggie’s expression

grew thunderous. “I credited O’Kelly with more discretion.”

“How I came by them doesn’t matter a whit,” DeVere an-

swered. “As to why? To save certain innocent people embarrass-

ment. While you can go to the devil for all I care, I won’t have oth-

ers suffer on your behalf and certainly not while under my roof.”

Reggie’s gaze narrowed. “I told O’Kelly I would get the mon-

ey. I sent notice to the banker—”

“And thus, you forfeited your estate, your sole means of live-

lihood to that blackguard? An estate that I understand only came

to you by marriage? What manner of jackass are you?”

Reggie looked like he would explode but managed a tight-

lipped reply. “I find myself in a bit of a tight spot at present, but

all will be well after the races.”

“And so you would place your entire future on a stupid four-

legged creature?” DeVere rolled his eyes heavenward. “The fool’s

folly never ends!”

Reggie’s fists were balled by his sides, his eyes glazed with

fury. “If I win the race, my problems are resolved.”