Secrets of a Wedding Night (32 page)

Devon chuckled. “Before you say anything you’ll regret, I’ll be taking
the rest
of my winnings.” He grabbed the gold ring from the dirty tabletop, tossed it in the air, and caught it in his palm. He slipped it onto his third finger.

“This is for my father,” he hissed to Winfrey. “Your filthy hands will never touch the Colton signet ring again.”

Winfrey shook with rage, his fists clenched at his sides.

Jordan moved next to Devon. He bowed from the waist to Winfrey. “Can’t say it’s been a pleasure.” Jordan eyed the crowd and the place. “Your housekeeping skills are sorely lacking. Thankfully, my friend and I won’t be returning. Will we, Colton?”

“I have what I came for,” Devon said, rubbing his ring with his thumb.

They turned to leave. The floorboards cracked as one of Winfrey’s cohorts rushed toward them. Jordan quickly stuck out a booted foot and tripped the man, who fell to a heap on the moldy floor. Jordan stepped on the man’s back and ground his boot into his coat before whipping out a pistol and glancing around. “Any other takers?” His voice was casual.

Their hands raised, the other men backed away slowly. Two of them ran from the room.

The giant, bald man in the corner eyed Devon and Jordan with ill-concealed animosity. The giant cracked his knuckles and shuffled restlessly on his massive feet.

Winfrey held up his hand. “Not now, Monty,” he said through clenched teeth. “We’ll be seeing Lord Colton and Lord Ashbourne again soon.” He cracked his own knuckles menacingly. “They can count on it.”

Devon and Jordan quickly made their way out of the broken door and into the streets where the urchins still huddled and begged. Devon tossed his small change purse to them to sort out themselves as he and Jordan climbed into the carriage.

The coach took off at a good pace and Devon rapped his knuckles along the cool glass of the window.

“Was it worth it?” Jordan asked, expelling his breath and relaxing against his seat.

“There was only one thing I wanted.” Devon held out his hand and stared at the ring. He slipped it off his finger and hefted it in his palm. “Only one thing I ever really wanted. And I’ve got it.”

But even as he said the words, Devon knew they weren’t true.

The one thing he ever really wanted had probably just finished packing her bags.

CHAPTER 34

Lily eyed herself in the looking glass. She still looked tired. The bags under her eyes had not been alleviated by leaving the city. She pinched her cheeks.

It had been a sennight. One week since Lily and Annie had appeared on Cousin Althea’s doorstep and she still felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest.

She sighed. It merely required time. Coming to Northumberland had been the right thing to do. Hadn’t it? She bit her lip. The last words Devon had uttered repeated themselves over and over in her mind.
“It seems we both must do what we both must do.”

And that’s exactly what she had done. Very well. It was true that Lily was in love with Devon, but the man couldn’t give her the one thing that would make her feel secure. His promise to stop gambling. And if he couldn’t do such a simple thing as that, she couldn’t ever fully love him. Open her heart to him completely.

But she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him either. Him and the entire messy situation. No doubt by now, Devon had told the entire
ton
they were not actually married. She regretted that he would have to deal with the consequences. But it was only fitting. He’d been the one to tell the lie.

So be it. She couldn’t live with his secrets and his addictions. He had a son, a child she’d never known about. No, she couldn’t live with his secrets. But why was it proving to be so difficult to live without him?

Her cousin’s many children were charming and intelligent. She enjoyed spending time with them. She could see herself living a life here among them, watching them grow. But they would never be her own. That wistful thought crept into Lily’s mind whenever she had a moment to herself. She would never have her own children. She couldn’t stop herself from wondering what Justin was like. Did he have his father’s dark hair? His eyes?

Lily shook her head. Turning from the mirror, she grabbed up her bonnet and cloak and hurried from her room and down the staircase.

Annie and the four oldest children were waiting in the foyer.

“Ready for our walk?” Lily asked with her nearly perfected false-happy voice.

At the chorus of nods, Lily led the little group out the front door, across the courtyard, and into the meadow beyond.

The children soon scattered through the field like colorful little bees, and Annie caught up to Lily.

“You’re looking worse and worse,” Annie said, lifting her skirts to navigate through a particularly high patch of grass.

“That’s terribly kind of you.” Lily looped her arm through her sister’s. She couldn’t even bring herself to smile at her own sarcasm.

Annie squeezed Lily’s hand. “I would have thought the country air would do wonders for you, but you’re so melancholy, one would think you were pining for your lost love or something.” Annie cracked a smile.

“I am doing no such thing,” Lily shot back too quickly.

“My, my, my. Touchy, are we not? I was only jesting.”

Lily watched the children’s tiny blond heads bobbing through the willows. She let her own feet drag. “I wonder why
you
seem so happy here,” she said to Annie. “Weren’t you the one who refused to come to Northumberland no matter what?”

Annie sighed. “Ah, what a difference a few days makes. Arthur wasn’t sufficiently coming up to scratch, and I thought his attitude might benefit from my absence for a bit.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “Well. Dare I say you’re becoming more savvy, Miss Anne? You’re learning the art of keeping a man waiting.”

Annie winked at her. “I’ve learned from the best, dear sister.”

Lily furrowed her brows. “You mentioned a few days. You do realize we’ll be here indefinitely, don’t you? Cousin Althea has agreed to let us stay.”

Annie nodded sagely. “There was another reason I came, Lily. I thought the journey here would be good for you. You were so insistent on leaving London. I thought you’d finally realize what a mistake you were making trying to leave your troubles behind.”

Lily stopped walking and turned to face her sister. She let out her breath in a long, weary sigh. “If I was trying to leave my troubles behind, it hasn’t worked. It hasn’t worked at all.”

Annie nodded again. “I know. You are madly in love with Lord Colton, my dear sister, and the two of you will not stay apart for long.”

Lily plunked her hands on her hips. “What in heaven’s name makes you say such a thing?”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Do you deny you love him?”

Lily bit her lip, dropped her hands to her sides, and began walking slowly again. “No,” she whispered.

“There, you see? And it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen the two of you together that Lord Colton loves you to distraction as well.”

Joy leaped in Lily’s belly. “How do you know?”

“He simply cannot keep his eyes from you. You have that man twisted completely around your little finger and you don’t even know it.”

“Annie Andrews! Now I know you have gone mad!”

“I have not. Anyone can see it. You cannot see it because you are too busy trying to punish him for what he did to you five years ago. You’re not even interested in the happiness that’s right within your grasp now.”

Lily bent over and plucked a daisy from the ground. She twirled the white flower around in her fingers. “Punish him?” Her voice drifted away, as she watched the children playing.

“Yes. It’s quite frustrating, really. You’ve received a proposal of marriage from the most perfect man for you, and you don’t even realize it.”

“He only asked me to marry him because he’s under the mistaken impression that I’m wealthy.”

Annie tossed her hands in the air. “You cannot honestly believe such a thing? The man is a handsome marquis. He could take his pick of wealthy young ladies. And believe me, there are plenty who would give their eyeteeth to marry him even
after
they read your scary pamphlet.”

Lily groaned. “But he’s a gambler. He’s a rogue. He put himself in danger on a regular basis and he has a son who—”

“So what?” Annie pulled the daisy from her sister’s limp fingers and pressed it to her nose.

“So what?” Lily echoed, blinking.

“You heard me. So what?”

“Annie, what are you talking about? You’re speaking in riddles and making no sense.”

Annie tucked the flower behind her ear. “You’ve always been so concerned with propriety and rules and responsibility, Lily. But where has it got you? Destitute and unhappy, that’s where. You’re obsessed with controlling everything, but what has that left you with? A defiant sister and a broken heart. You’ve tried it your way for quite some time now. May I suggest trying it my way, for once?”

Lily furrowed her brow, her sister’s words not forming coherently in her brain yet. “And what exactly is
your
way?”

Annie winked at her. “Why, following your heart, of course. You love Lord Colton desperately and everyone knows it but you. Go to him. Tell him you’re sorry. Let him explain. Would you rather have a life filled with the knowledge that you were right, or a life lived with the love of your life? Lily, you’ll be fine. But you must learn to let go.”

Let go.
The words echoed through Lily’s mind. Tears brimmed in her eyes. Annie was right. Her sister, her little sister whom she’d always found foolish and in need of guidance, was now the one pointing out the obvious and making everything seem so simple. Lily loved Devon. She had always loved him. She didn’t want to lose him.

Lily pulled Annie into her arms and hugged her. “Oh, Anne, when did you become so wise?”

Anne smiled a knowing smile. “When you weren’t looking, dear sister.”

The children had dispersed like so many fireflies across the meadow. Lily clapped her hands. “Children, come quickly. We must get back to the house.”

“Why, Cousin Lily?” one of the girls called back from across the field.

“Because your cousin Anne and I must return to London immediately!”

CHAPTER 35

“The first few days of your rampant drinking spree were amusing, Colton. I might even use the word ‘droll,’ but it’s been a bloody sennight, and I fear I might have to hang you on a drying line to sober you up.”

They were sitting at Brooks’s, and Jordan rolled his head back and forth against the back of the leather chair where he was propped.

“You’re more than welcome to leave, Ashbourne.” Devon’s voice was clipped.

“No. I intend to see you through this bloody awful drinking binge. I swear I haven’t seen you this bad since your father died. In fact, I’d say this time is a sight worse. Your recklessness is a bit refreshing, actually. I’d thought you’d given it up once you became a father.”

Devon growled. “Justin is safe. I’d never allow him to see me in such a state.”

Jordan nodded. “Now,
that
I would never question.”

Devon scrubbed his hands across his face and took another drink. “I finally did it. And this is what happens.”

“Did what? What are you mumbling about?”

“Asked her to marry me. Again. Like a bloody fool.”

“Well, I won’t argue with the fool part, but you might start with finding the woman and telling her—”

Devon slapped his hand on the table. Hard. “I tried to tell her. She didn’t want to listen. And now I’m through with explanations.” Devon tipped the bottle to his lips. He’d slipped the footman a guinea to hand over the entire thing and now he drained it.

Jordan whistled and then he clapped. “Quite a performance. I haven’t seen someone polish off a bottle that quickly since … goodness, probably the last time I did it.” He smiled wryly.

Devon set the bottle down shakily and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Let’s go.” He stood on unsteady feet and lurched toward the door. “This place bores me. I have better brandy at home. My coat, if you please.” He tossed the same footman another guinea.

“Be careful, Colton,” Jordan warned, with a snort. “At this rate, you’ll be poor again before you know it.”

The footman bowed and rushed off to retrieve their cloaks.

Devon and Jordan made their way to the front door of the club and pushed it open, stumbling out onto the steps facing the street front of St. James.

Jordan glanced around the darkened street. “Damn that boy. You should take your coin back. The coach isn’t here yet.” He turned to summon the footman.

The sound of hooves slapping against the packed dirt of the street penetrated Devon’s drunken haze. The night was strangely quiet except for the noise made by the lone rider drawing nearer. The air was chilly. Images blurred in front of Devon’s eyes. He tried to focus. He leaned against the balustrade.

The glint of his signet ring drew his attention. He pulled it from his third finger and eyed it carefully. “Were you worth it?” he asked the inanimate object. “Were you?” He squeezed the ring in his fist.

When he let go, his hand slipped and the ring fell to the step in front of him. The pinging sound made his head turn. His stomach roiling, Devon bent to retrieve the ring just as the rider passed by and fired a shot.

At him.

Devon slumped onto the steps. The scene played out in slow motion. The sounds muted, the figures draped in shadows.

Jordan leaped down the steps, ripped his pistol from his coat pocket, and fired a shot at the rider. The rider fell to a heap in the street. Jordan turned, his cloak billowing behind him like a specter come to life. He yelled for help and the sound echoed off the building.

Jordan rushed toward him then, caught him by the shoulders, and hauled him up. Devon’s head slumped. Bright color caught his eye. His shirtfront was stained scarlet.

“A doctor! We need a doctor!” Jordan yelled, Devon’s blood trailing down his fingers.

CHAPTER 36

Lily rushed through the front door, nearly toppling the butler. Lifting her skirts, she took the steps two at a time. She barreled through Devon’s bedchamber door and came to a stop only when she saw him, resting quietly in bed. His eyes were closed, his dark hair fell over one eye, his chest rose and fell peacefully. He slept. She pushed her hand against her heart, closed her eyes, and released the pent-up breath she’d been carrying around for over a day since she’d received word that Devon was hurt. She’d heard the rumors during a stop in her journey from Northumberland. A traveler from London had been at the same inn with a copy of the
Times
in his hand. Apparently, the entire town was agog with the news that the Marquis of Colton had nearly been murdered.