Her Devilish Marquess (15 page)

Should he tell her husband? How would the
situation affect her children if he did? How many of the children
were even her husband’s?

This was why he hated lies. They only
complicated things, and they forced others to make very
uncomfortable decisions when they learned the truth.

“
I feel much better since
you came by,” she finished after rambling for a few
minutes.

He blinked, unaware he hadn’t heard most of
what she’d been saying. Not that it mattered. She had a tendency to
rehash the same things.

She rose to her feet. “Thank you, Dr.
Westward. I mean, my lord.”

He slowly stood up and gave careful thought
to what he should say. “Christina, will your husband be happy to
learn you’re expecting?”

“
He always is.”

“
Am I right to assume he has
a reason to be happy each time you tell him?”

“
Is that what’s troubling
you? Well, don’t worry about a thing.” Her smile widened. “He loves
children as much as I do, and he takes it as a sign of his strength
and virility each time I bring him another one.”

Each time she
brought
him another one?
Whether she knew it or not, that could be interpreted different
ways. He stopped himself from saying more. He could very well be
misunderstanding the situation. Maybe the handkerchief had nothing
to do with her afternoon tryst. Maybe it had to do with something
else.

Then why lie about her brother? As much as
he wanted to find a reason to hold her blameless, he was having a
hard time doing so.

“
I better go,” he finally
told her.

“
Of course,” she said. “You
have other patients to visit. I’ve been selfish enough with your
time. Shall I have my husband send payment, or should I give you
some eggs and biscuits?”

“
Let’s wait for now,” he
decided. “I’ll get back to you later about it, all
right?”

“
Anything you wish,” she
agreed.

Once he was finally outside, he took a deep
breath, held it, and released it. He knew full well what his
brother would want him to do. His brother would want him to act
like nothing happened and go about his life as usual. Discretion
was the highest priority. As long as no one knew about the affair,
this was perfectly acceptable in London.

Don’t make trouble,
his brother would tell him.
Husbands take mistresses and wives take lovers all the time.
There’s nothing unusual about it.

But even as his brother’s warning played
over and over in his mind, he stayed within eyesight of the home
and waited to see who might slip out the back. He doubted the
gentleman she’d been entertaining would go out the front.

It took a half hour, but the gentleman
finally slipped around from the back. His hat was lowered, and he
was looking down. The clothes he wore would make anyone believe he
was part of the middle class, but the handkerchief told Derek
otherwise.

Keeping his distance, Derek followed him.
The gentleman took a long walk around a park, even sitting for a
good ten minutes, before leaving. From time to time, he glanced
around, and Derek wondered if the gentleman suspected Derek had
figured out what was going on. To this end, Derek made it a point
to be discreet himself, slipping around trees and buildings when
possible.

In the end, the gentleman finally went to
his townhouse. A very expensive one at that. Derek shook his head.
Lord Riggley. Of all the gentlemen who might be having an affair
with a lower-middle class lady, it was Lady Cadwalader’s brother,
one of London’s elitist members.

Chapter Eleven

“
D
erek, what’s bothering you?” Danette asked that
evening.

She went further into the den but stopped
short of approaching the chair where he sat, staring at nothing in
particular. If he was one of those gentlemen who needed to be left
alone when they were upset, then it wasn’t her place to intrude.
However, there were times when she’d been upset and it had helped
to have someone with a caring ear listen to her.

Derek glanced over at her and indicated she
could sit in the chair beside him. Once she did, he said, “You go
to most of the balls and listen to people talk.”

Not sure what he was getting at, she settled
for nodding.

“
Don’t you ever hear
anything that bothers you?” he asked.

She clasped her hands together and braced
herself for his answer. “Did you overhear someone say something
unpleasant about me?”

“
No. No one has said
anything unpleasant about you. What I mean is,” he shifted so he
could face her, “have you ever overheard someone mention they were
having an affair?”

Her face warmed. Those tended to be the
things she paid the most attention to because they happened to be
the most interesting pieces of gossip. If it wasn’t that, she often
listened to people say what they didn’t like about another person.
But she didn’t dare tell him any of this.

What she chose to tell him instead was,
“I’ve heard of some affairs.” She shrugged and added, “I don’t
think people are even aware I’m nearby when they discuss such
things.” It wasn’t like she hid behind furniture, plants, or long
drapes at the balls. She sat in a chair where anyone could see
her.

“
What do you do when you
hear such things?” Derek asked.

“
Well…nothing. I figure it’s
not my place to interfere.”

He waited for a moment, probably weighing
her words, and she gulped, wondering if she’d said something wrong
despite the care she took in choosing her words.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes. “I’ve never
learned to stay out of things. That’s what has gotten me into so
much trouble in the past. Sure, the Ton will call scandal on an
affair if it’s exposed, but they really don’t care if someone is
having an affair or not as long as no one finds out. What I’ve
never been able to resolve is the hypocrisy of it all. What’s the
sense in saying something is wrong if you’re going to go behind
closed doors to do it?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Are
you seeing a mistress?”

He blinked in surprise and shook his head.
“No. This isn’t about me. It has nothing to do with either one of
us.”

She exhaled, more than a little relieved to
hear this.

“
This is about someone you
don’t know,” he continued. “But that’s not even the problem. If
someone knows something is wrong, do they have a moral obligation
to warn the innocent person about it? Or, because it’s accepted by
Society, does one keep quiet on the matter?”

“
I never thought about it,”
she said. “I just assumed most married people took lovers, so it’s
to be expected.” Though, to be fair, she’d never thought about it
happening to her. Then again, she hadn’t expected to ever get
married.

“
I suppose you’re right,” he
replied. “People probably assume their husbands or wives are
already seeking out lovers. If the husband knew, he probably
wouldn’t be surprised. And who knows if he isn’t engaged with
another lady on the side?”

“
Not all married couples
seek lovers. Regan and Malcolm don’t.” She wished she could think
of more examples, but her mind drew a blank. Regan knew many more
people than she did. Since she had no other examples to give, she
finally offered, “I don’t have a lover on the side.”

At that, his expression softened, and he
smiled at her. “I don’t have a mistress. I never have. I’ve had to
visit too many gentlemen and ladies who had unpleasant results from
such encounters.”

“
You did?” Not once did
anyone ever mention getting hurt from such activity, but then, why
would they when they were bragging about it?

“
If people understood the
dangers of syphilis and gonorrhea, they’d be more inclined to stick
with one partner.”

Unable to stop herself from being curious,
she leaned toward him. “What dangers?”

“
It can be anything as minor
as foul odors, abnormal discharges, and rashes to something more
serious like dementia and blindness.”

“
Really?” Not one single
person had ever mentioned any of this, and honestly, she never
would have guessed this type of thing possible.

Derek reached out and took her hand in his.
“It’s not always easy to tell what’s happening early on because
these things can be mistaken for other illnesses. Most of the time,
I don’t even get the right prescription because the patient fails
to tell me everything I need to know. It’s been one of the most
frustrating things in my profession. I got into this to heal
people, but I can’t do my part if I’m not given all the facts.”

“
What kind of
facts?”

“
I’m sure you heard enough
at those balls.” He squeezed her hand. “I don’t want to upset your
sensibilities. You’ve been spared from the harsher realities of
life. It’s one of the things I like most about you, and it’s one of
the things I hope never changes.”

She bit back her disappointment. He was
right. She shouldn’t be so curious about bad things. She’d be much
better off focusing on the good.

“
Just so you know,” he
added, “I won’t ever take anyone but you to my bed. Or,” he
grinned, “go to anyone’s bed but yours, as I’ve been doing every
night since we married.”

“
I won’t have anyone but you
either,” she replied, her disappointment quickly waning.

So what if she didn’t know more about the
type of things he’d seen? What mattered was that he wanted the kind
of marriage she did, and for that, she considered herself very
fortunate.

“
I’m glad,” he said. “I
don’t want our marriage to be like the others in London. I want
ours to be better than that.”

“
I do, too.”

“
Good, because I’ve never
been the kind of person who wanted to do what everyone else is
doing.”

She returned his smile. “Do you feel better
about that thing you overheard today?”

“
I feel better because I
have you.”

It wasn’t quite the answer she had expected,
but his mood had considerably lightened so that was enough.

***

Malcolm sat next to Warren Beaufort, the
Earl of Steinbeck, at the large table at White’s.

“
I hope whoever gets voted
in is reputable,” Warren whispered. “You know what they say: bad
company corrupts good character.”

Robert Byron, the Earl of Dunnaby, sat on
Warren’s other side with a glass of brandy in his hand. “Are you
still moping about the fact that the gentlemen voted to keep that
book in this establishment?”

“
No, this has nothing to do
with that obscene book,” Warren said, though Malcolm suspected the
results still bothered him. “Do you know how difficult it was to
get Malcolm voted into White’s? Half the gentlemen want someone
like those cads over there.” He gestured to Ethan and Christopher,
who were laughing with Malcolm’s brother-in-law, Logan, and a
couple of others. “How much do you want to bet they already have
someone in mind?”

“
You do, too,” Robert
replied.

“
Yes, but Lord Worsley will
benefit the group.”

“
Because he’s like
you?”

Warren turned his gaze to Malcolm. “Is it my
imagination, or does Robert want a reprobate to be voted into the
group?”

“
I didn’t say I wanted a
reprobate to be voted into the group,” Robert argued. “I’m just
saying there’s no harm in a little fun from time to time. I see no
reason why everything has to be so serious with you.”

Malcolm’s eyes grew wide. He had suspected
Robert was developing a more lenient stance on issues that once
bothered him, but this only confirmed it.

Apparently, Malcolm wasn’t the only one who
noticed because Warren asked their friend, “What’s gotten into
you?”

“
Nothing,” Robert
said.

Usually, Malcolm wouldn’t press the issue.
He had a sister and mother who would claim nothing was wrong all
day long, and until they chose to come out and say what it was,
there was no getting them to talk. But Robert wasn’t a lady, so
maybe Robert could be encouraged to talk.

Malcolm leaned forward in his chair to give
Robert a better look. “Something’s troubling you. Come. Out with
it.”

In all fairness, Malcolm never would have
spoken that way to his sister or mother, but this was Robert he was
speaking to. Gentlemen didn’t require all the tenderness ladies
did.