Secrets of a Wedding Night (27 page)

“But Lily, I don’t want to go home. Home isn’t even home any longer. Northumberland isn’t our home.” Annie burst into tears.

Lily hugged her sister. “Oh, Annie, you must believe I only want the best for you.”

“I know you think you do, Lily,” Annie sobbed. “I believe that. But just because marriage and family were not what you wanted, doesn’t mean it’s not what I want. I’m afraid you’ll never understand. I had to show you just how important it is to me.”

A lump clogged Lily’s throat. She hugged her sister more tightly. “Oh, Annie. This was not the way to do it.”

Annie pulled back to look at Lily, and Arthur rushed forward to offer a handkerchief. “I know that now,” Annie said. “But I didn’t think … No, I
knew
you wouldn’t listen any other way. I had to do it. I am so grateful for you taking care of me, Lily. I will always be. But I must live my own life now.”

Lily slumped onto the bed. Mr. Eggleston was right somehow. She had pushed her sister into this. Made Annie desperate enough to flee in the middle of the night without any regard for her reputation. And Annie thought Lily had never wanted a husband and family. She had wanted both of those things once, very much.

Yes, Arthur was right. It
was
Lily’s fault. She was the one who had become inebriated and told Annie they would be leaving for Northumberland. She was the one who had made all the decisions and issued the decrees. But she was the elder sister. She was the one with the responsibility. And she’d never imagined Annie would react like this.

Lily straightened her shoulders. She must rectify this awful mess. She swung her cloak off her back and draped it over Annie. “We’ll fix everything, Annie. Somehow. But not like this. Come with me, now. We must go.”

Annie hung her head and nodded and Lily ushered her sister from the room.

*   *   *

Devon glared at Eggleston. His arms tightly crossed over his chest, he watched the young man through narrowed eyes.

Eggleston cleared his throat. “I’m qu … quite sorry, Lord Colton. Please believe, I meant no harm. Anne and I are in love, my lord. We only wished to be together.”

Devon afforded him his most withering stare. The lad looked frightened out of his wits.

Good
.

“On the contrary, Eggleston, you must believe that had you actually caused any harm, we would not be having this highly civilized discussion at the moment.”

Eggleston’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly in his throat and the first bead of sweat dripped from his shiny, young forehead. He nodded rapidly. “I understand, m … my lord.”

“Do you?” Devon shot back. He paced, his hands clasped behind his back. “Do you understand the enormity of what you’ve done? You might have ruined Miss Andrews’s reputation, her future, her life.”

Unshed tears shone in Arthur’s eyes, but he pushed up his chin. “I never intended to harm her, my lord. I love her.”

“Marriage is important, Eggleston. It’s hardly something to be entered into lightly, and certainly not the way you attempted to go about it.”

A long sigh came from Eggleston’s throat. “But Lord Colton, haven’t you ever been in love?”

Devon cursed under his breath. “Damn it, lad. Yes. Yes, I have.”

Eggleston nodded shakily. “And what did you do, my lord?”

Devon exhaled slowly and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Bloody hell, Eggleston. I had planned to do the same damned thing.”

*   *   *

Devon informed Eggleston of their plans and left to allow the younger man to dress himself in private. Devon shut the door to the room and pressed his back against the wall in the hallway. Expelling his breath, he slid down to the floor and sat with his knees up, his wrists resting atop them. For the first time in the last two days, Devon allowed himself to really think.

Life was ironic. He was halfway to Gretna Green with Lily Andrews.
Damn it
. Why couldn’t it be five years ago?

He could just keep going. He shook his head. Thoughts like that were purposeless. No, instead he was rescuing Lily’s sister, trying to talk an impetuous young lad out of doing the same thing he’d wanted to do once upon a time, and attempting to keep Lily from running off to Northumberland.

Why?

How had he gone from trying to convince that woman to write a retraction to her silly pamphlet, to ending up being seduced by her at the Atkinsons’ house party? His intentions of shaming her, rejecting her, leaving her, he’d abandoned them all the moment he recognized her vulnerability on the balcony at the house party.

She’d turned to him, her lavender gown making her look like a goddess come to life. After telling him she’d been in love with him five years ago, she’d said,
“My heart was broken when you took off for the countryside.”

It didn’t make any sense. His father had told him Lily was engaged to Lord Merrill and Devon had written to her, sent a footman out in the middle of the night to reach her. And he’d received his answer. A letter informing him she was, in fact, engaged to the earl, and she must end her flirtation with Devon. Devon had lived with that betrayal all these years.

But Lily had been telling the truth on the balcony. He knew it. She had been waiting for him that night. But how? And why?

He scrubbed his hands across his face. Lily couldn’t marry Medford. The man would drive her insane with his constant perfection.
Blast it
. Why should Devon even care if she married him? Medford was the best choice for her. The pillar of Society. Not a rake or a gambler.

Besides, Devon needed a mother for Justin. And Lily didn’t even know about the boy. How could he tell her about him and the circumstances surrounding his birth? Damn it. What did it matter? Lily hadn’t been for him five years ago and she wasn’t for him now.

Fine. Devon had felt something for her last night. A lot of something, and he’d remembered why he felt so much for her years ago. But the fact remained, Lily had jilted him. She didn’t want him now any more than she had back then. The night they’d spent together didn’t change that.

But, God, last night. It had been unimaginable. Unlike anything he’d experienced before. It had changed him. For good. After last night, how could she sit across from him in the coach the past day, tempting him beyond all that was holy with her pert nose and pretty lips, and tell him she had an offer of marriage from Medford and planned to go to Northumberland?

Devon leaned his head back against the wall. She was running away from life. That was all. She thought she’d be safe, she and her sister, if they escaped town and all men. But if she was so intent on keeping men out of her life, why the hell had she climbed into his bed last night? What was she trying to do, drive him mad? If so, she was doing a stellar job.

And what was she playing at, pretending not to take Medford’s suit more seriously? A life in Northumberland wasn’t right for her. Didn’t she recognize that? Devon shook his head. It didn’t matter. Whatever Lily chose to do with her life from here on out was her affair. He had a promise to fulfill, a tournament to win, a child to raise. He’d spent enough time with his blasted memories.

Devon hefted himself up, a renewed burst of energy flowing through his veins. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do, rescue Lily’s sister. Now, he must concentrate on his own priorities, the first being to return to London as quickly as possible.

He took the stairs two at a time and pushed his way through the inn’s front door to find Lily and her sister standing next to the carriage. Jordan Holloway stood a few paces away, leaning against a low, stone wall. His legs were crossed at the ankles and he had a decidedly annoyed look on his face.

“Ashbourne, you made it,” Devon called out.

“Yes, and I’m deuced unhappy to realize I came in second place. I was so hoping to be the knight in shining armor in this little escapade,” he said, the annoyed look replaced with a grin.

Annie gave him a narrowed-eyed glare.

“Thank you for your help, Lord Ashbourne,” Lily said. “We expect you will keep this unfortunate incident to yourself, please.”

Jordan stood up straight and bowed at the waist. “My pleasure, Lady Merrill. And as far as I’m concerned, there’s been no unfortunate incident. This entire journey never happened.”

Lily smiled and nodded at him and Annie grudgingly mumbled her thanks.

Jordan bowed to Annie. “Ah, I see you’re just as happy to see me today as you were the other night at the house party when I asked you to dance, Miss Andrews.” He threw his head back and laughed. “You sisters are not easy to please, I tell you. Not at all.”

Annie gave him a tight smile.

Lily turned to Devon. “We’re close to Northumberland. We’ll hire a coach. We’ll go straight there.”

“Lily, please!” Annie clutched at Lily’s hand.

Devon leaned against the side of the carriage. “You cannot go to Northumberland.”

Now, what the devil had made him say that?

Lily’s head snapped up to face him. “What are you talking about? Why not?”

Devon inclined his head. If he was going to make this argument, he might as well be convincing. “If you don’t return to London, the entire
ton
will flay you alive. The rumors will run rampant. Annie’s reputation will be beyond repair.”

Lily opened her mouth, most likely to issue a retort, but soon clamped it tight again. She slumped against the side of the conveyance, her brows furrowed. “I don’t care about the
ton
.”

Devon shook his head. “You don’t now, but you will when the rumors follow you to Northumberland. Rumors about
Annie.
She must come back to London to be seen again. Otherwise, God only knows what sort of outlandish stories people will invent.”

Annie’s face was ashen. She buried her face in Eggleston’s handkerchief. “Oh, I cannot bear to think about it.”

Lily paced away from the coach. “What is best for Annie?” she whispered, pulling nervously at her own handkerchief.

“Returning to London is what’s best for Annie,” Devon replied quietly. “You know it is, Lily.”

Annie’s face brightened. She looked as if she might hug Devon. “I think Lord Colton is absolutely right.”

Lily glanced beseechingly at Ashbourne. “I must agree with them,” he said.

Lily marched back toward the carriage. “Very well. I refuse to argue with all three of you. We’ll go to London. We can stay at Medford’s property. But as soon as it is seemly, we’ll be leaving for Northumberland. Do you hear me, Annie?”

Annie, obviously pleased with her reprieve, nodded eagerly.

The two ladies waited near the carriage while Devon spoke with the innkeeper, arranging for the horses to be changed out. It was the right thing, for Lily to bring her sister back to town. He might not care about her future any longer, but surely there was no harm in performing one more chivalrous act for Annie. She was a nice young lady. He’d just have to ignore the fact that Lily would be staying with Medford.

Devon made his way back to the coach just as Eggleston reappeared.

Devon eyed the younger man. “We’re nearly ready to leave, but first let me make myself clear. It should go without saying, Eggleston, that you will not mention a word of this ill-advised journey to anyone.”

Eggleston nodded. “Of course, my lord. Upon my honor.”

Devon gave him a skeptical glance. “I intend to circulate the story that you were overheard telling everyone you were headed to Bath for a few days, and when you return, that’s exactly what you’ll tell people. You went to visit friends, became horribly ill upon your arrival, and spent the last few days in bed where no one visited. No one. That’s why you haven’t been seen in days. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly,” Eggleston replied, bowing at the waist to Devon.

Devon rolled his eyes. “Very good. And if I should ever hear that you’ve circulated any other story, you shall not be pleased by the visit I intend to pay you.”

Eggleston nodded vigorously. “I understand, my lord.”

“Or the visit I intend to pay you,” Jordan called, a wide grin on his face.

Eggleston tugged at his neckcloth. “Lord Ashbourne, I didn’t realize you were here. Yes, yes. You’ve nothing to worry about from me.”

“Excellent.” Devon pulled on his gloves. “Let’s go.”

“If you won’t be needing my services any longer,” Jordan said. “I’ll just slip back to London the way I came and do my part in damage control.”

Devon nodded to his friend. “Yes, see you back in town, Ashbourne. You have my thanks.”

Jordan tipped his hat and grinned at Annie and Lily. “Nice to see you again, Miss Andrews, Lady Merrill.” And then he was gone, in a cloud of dust kicked up by his mount.

Eggleston made to enter the coach, but Devon raised his arm, blocking him. “You’re riding in the other carriage.” He nodded to a space across the courtyard where Eggleston’s own carriage waited.

Annie opened her mouth to protest, but Devon cut her off. “Eggleston must arrive from a different direction and cannot be seen with us.”

Lily nodded, sighed, and climbed into the coach, pulling Annie with her.

“Now go, Eggleston.” Devon gestured to the coach. Arthur, apparently in fear for his continued safety should he disobey Devon, hurried off toward his own coach.

Arthur started to turn back around to say something to Annie, but the collective looks of reproach from both Lily and Devon must have made him change his mind. Instead, he bowed to the three of them and said simply, “Good day.”

Annie pressed her handkerchief to her lips.

Lily pulled on her own gloves. “Annie, it’s time to leave.”

Annie wiped her wet eyes, dabbed at her cheeks, and blew into the handkerchief. “I will miss him so.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you will.”

Devon climbed into the carriage with the sisters. He relaxed back in the seat across from them and stretched out his legs.

“Ready?” Devon knocked on the door between the coachman and the carriage and the coach jolted into motion.

*   *   *

The first half of the day, they traveled in silence. The two sisters dozed intermittently. Lily tried to catch Devon sleeping, but it was as if the man weren’t human. He seemed completely awake and relaxed at all times. Meanwhile, she felt as if she’d been through the wash and back again.