Secrets of a Wedding Night (34 page)

Devon shrugged. “Naïve of you, Medford. You know anything can be controlled when whispered to the right gossip with the right amount of confidence. I’ll laugh it off. Pretend the entire thing was merely a jest.”

Medford leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs at the ankles, a mimic of the other two men. “That makes what I’ve come to tell you even easier.”

Devon shifted in his seat. “Really. And what’s that?”

“I’ve come to tell you, Colton, what a fool you are.”

Jordan made a move toward Medford, but Devon stopped his friend with a hand on his chest. “I can fight my own fights, Ashbourne. Besides, I’m intrigued. Why does the bastion of Society think I’m a idiot?”

Medford flicked a nonexistent bit of lint from his sleeve. “Not an idiot, a fool. There’s quite a difference.”

Jordan cleared his throat. “Feel free to tell us why you’re here sometime before the Prince Regent is crowned king, Medford.”

Medford smiled at them both before settling his gaze on Devon. “You’re a fool, Colton, because you had the love of the most perfect woman in the world and you tossed it away. Lily’s not with me. She never was. She didn’t accept my suit. In fact, she’s nursing a broken heart, thanks to you.”

Devon narrowed his eyes on Medford, but he didn’t say a word.

“She wants you,” Medford continued with a sigh. “Though God knows I’ll never understand why. She wants you and always has. Lily was ready to marry you even after you refused to stop gambling, even when she believed you were destitute.” He laughed a humorless laugh. “I’m richer than the bloody pope, far richer than you could ever be. If Lily were after money, she’d marry me, but she’s flatly refused. In fact, she intends to return to her cousin’s house and live in poverty. You’re a fool, Colton, because you pushed her away.”

Devon’s chest tightened. Every word Medford said was true. He knew it. He just hadn’t realized how much knowing it would hurt. And he wanted to kill Lord Medford for saying it.

Medford stood up, straightened his cravat, and nodded to them. He gave them a tight smile. “Not to worry, Colton. I shall remain at her side until she’s over you.”

Devon lunged at Medford then, but Jordan got there first, blocking him.

He watched Medford walk away with narrowed eyes and a tic pounding furiously in his jaw.

CHAPTER 39

Devon wiped Justin’s hair from his eyes and pulled up the blanket over the sleeping boy. Devon glanced around the room. A model of a ship rested on a bookshelf in the corner, schoolbooks lay piled on a desk near the window, and a journal full of numbers lay open, a long string of numbers. Justin had obviously been practicing his arithmetic.

Devon still wore a sling on his right arm. With his left, he took a swig from the bottle he was carrying, and made his way over to the desk. Setting the bottle down momentarily, he ran his finger along the row of numbers. Correct. All correct. Justin took after his father, not his grandfather. Thank God.

Devon stretched. Grabbing the bottle again, he crossed the room to look down at Justin.

“My lord?” The whisper broke the silence. Devon turned to see Mrs. Appleby standing in the doorway.

Justin rolled over in his sleep and Devon raised his finger to silence the housekeeper. She nodded and he made his way toward the door, the bottle still dangling from his fingertips. Once they were both in the hallway, Mrs. Appleby shut the door behind them.

“I must say I’m surprised to see you here, milord,” she said. “I thought you wouldn’t be back again until Master Justin’s birthday. Did you bring your new bride with you?” Her smile was wide.

Devon took another swig from the bottle. “Yes, well, plans have the most unexpected way of changing at times. And no, Lily’s not here.”

Mrs. Appleby’s face fell and she gave him a wary look. She crossed her arms over her chest. “How long have you been drinking, my lord?”

Devon’s crack of laughter followed. “Not long enough.” Another swig and Devon made his way unerringly down the hallway and then down the grand staircase. Mrs. Appleby dogged him.

“Where are you going, my lord?”

“If you must know, I’m headed straight for the library and the next liquor bottle that awaits me there.”

His strides were long, but Mrs. Appleby managed to keep pace. She panted along next to him.

“If you don’t mind my saying, my lord, you seem tired. Your eyes are bloodshot and you look as if you haven’t slept in days.”

Devon groaned. “Feels like weeks, actually, and yes, I do mind your saying.” He pushed open the door to the library with his good shoulder, and marched inside. Several candles were already lit. They blinked in the breeze caused by the door sweeping open. Devon made his way directly to the sideboard.

Mrs. Appleby had blushed at his reprimand, but she crossed the carpet toward him with a determined look in her normally soft blue eyes and put her hand over his on top of the stopper on the decanter of brandy.

“It cannot be good for your recovery to be drinking like this,” she said.

“Right again. The doctors assure me it is not.”

She patted his hand. “Master Devon,” she whispered softly, real caring in her voice. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Devon’s shoulders slumped and he let his hand fall away from the decanter. “You haven’t called me Master Devon since I was in short pants, Mrs. Appleby.”

She nodded. “I haven’t had to.”

He turned his head toward her. “Why must you be so astute?”

The older woman patted his hand again. “It’s one of my many duties, my lord, and you know I pride myself on my work. Now, come, sit down, and tell me what is wrong.”

Mrs. Appleby crossed over the rug again and placed herself on the chair in the middle of the room. She patted the seat of the cushioned chair next to her and waited for Devon to join her.

Devon expelled his breath and followed his old friend across the room.

“There, now,” Mrs. Appleby said when he was settled. “What is it?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’s nothing.”

“I see. If I don’t miss my guess, that nothing is named Lily, is she not?”

His eyes widened momentarily and then he smiled. “Astute, I tell you.”

Mrs. Appleby clasped her hands in front of her. “It’s no mystery when I heard you had married, and you show up here, half in the bottle and with your new bride nowhere to be seen.”

Devon sighed. “Mrs. Appleby, the truth is … I’m not married.”

The housekeeper’s brow furrowed slightly. “I see. But it seems to me this Lily must be someone very special if you’re allowing the rumor of your marriage to continue.”

Devon slumped back in the chair and closed his eyes. “It’s more complicated than that. I asked her to marry me, then I sent her away.”

“Away? Where?” She blinked.

Devon growled. “She’s staying with that fool Medford.”

Mrs. Appleby nodded sagely. “Ah, so there’s another gentleman involved?”

“I suppose Medford is a gentleman, but it’s more complicated than that still. I never told her about Justin or my promise to my father. She was the one I had planned to marry five years ago before all of this … Ah, I don’t know why I even care.”

The housekeeper shook her head. “I do see, my lord. I truly do. And it’s high time I told you the truth about some things.”

She hefted herself up from her seat, crossed over to the sideboard, and poured two glasses of brandy. Devon watched her with a half-smile on his face. She returned, handed him his glass, and proceeded to down half the amber liquid in her own, before settling back into her seat.

Devon eyed her warily. “Now you’re beginning to worry me, Appleby.”

She smiled a humorless smile and rested the glass on her belly over her apron. She stared off into the shadowy corner of the room. “I need a drink if I am to tell you this tale. I promised your father I would keep it to myself, but the time has come.”

Devon took a hefty swallow of his own drink. “By all means, proceed.”

Mrs. Appleby took a deep breath. “You see, I remember that night nearly five years ago now when you came racing back from London at your father’s request.”

Devon nodded. “Yes, he’d written to me to tell me Justin was here.”

“And you came, just like you always did. You were always such a loyal boy.” She smiled at him, before continuing. “‘Appleby,’ your father said, ‘don’t you dare breathe a word of what you know to Devon when he gets here.’ And Lord knows I’ve fretted over it these years since.”

“What?” Devon sat forward in his chair and eyed her intently. “What did you know?”

“Oh, Master Devon. The truth is, your mistress, Celine, came to your father months before Justin was born. You were out of the country at the time. She told your father she was carrying your child and she needed money.”

Devon sucked his breath between his teeth. “Go on.”

“Your father turned her away. He said he had no intention of paying for your bastard. Too bad for Celine, she didn’t even realize your father had no money. And of course he didn’t tell her the truth.”

Devon set the drink down on the table next to him. Hard. “If that was the case, how did Justin come to be here and why did my father summon me?”

Mrs. Appleby closed her eyes. A tear leaked from the corner of one of them. “That was the worst part, my lord. Your father wanted nothing to do with Justin. He told Celine she and the baby could live on the streets … until the Earl of Merrill paid him a visit.”

Devon’s head snapped up. “Merrill? Lily’s husband?”

Mrs. Appleby nodded. “He wasn’t your Lily’s husband quite yet. In fact, that’s why he came. You see, he was courting Lily at the time. It seems he knew he had competition in you and he didn’t like it. Not one bit. He told your father to call you home. To draw you away from London so that you and Lily would be apart.”

Devon shook his head. “That makes no sense. Why would Merrill ask my father such a thing? And why would my father agree to it?”

“You don’t understand,” Mrs. Appleby continued. “Your father owed the Earl of Merrill money, a great deal of it from what I understand. So your father repaid him with a favor. Merrill wanted you away from Lily and, in return, he forgave your father’s debt.”

Devon slammed his fist against the tabletop. “Now
that
sounds like my father. But what did Justin have to do with it?”

“Your father spent days trying to think of what would lure you from Lily’s side and could think of nothing. Finally, he realized your child was the perfect thing. He would find the baby and make you come home.”

“Why did Celine give up Justin?”

Mrs. Appleby closed her eyes. “She didn’t. Your father hired a man in London to find them. By the time he learned what had happened to Celine, she had died in childbirth the day before. The other women in the poorhouse where she’d been staying were caring for the baby.”

Devon dropped his head into his hands. His voice was a harsh whisper. “My father knew I had a child in this world, but he had no intention of telling me until it suited his purposes. He allowed Celine to die alone. He would have allowed Justin to be raised in the gutter.” Devon looked up at Mrs. Appleby. “Unimaginable.”

Tears streamed down the housekeeper’s wrinkled face. “I know, my lord, I know.”

Devon clenched his jaw. “He made me promise. He made me promise him on his deathbed … He pretended to care about his grandson. It was all an act.”

“Oh, Master Devon, your father always knew you were more full of honor than he ever was. He knew you wouldn’t turn the lad out on the streets. He knew you would refuse nothing for your son. It was clear you didn’t care about money for yourself, but he’d always wanted you to use your skill with numbers to restore his coffers. And he finally found the perfect plan. He used you, Master Devon.”

Devon expelled his breath harshly. “That’s why I haven’t been able to locate Celine all these years.”

Mrs. Appleby nodded. “That was my fault, my lord. I deceived you there too. All the letters you wrote her … to try to find her, ensure she was all right. I never sent them. I knew there was no place for them to go. I’m sorry, my lord. I wouldn’t blame you if you turn me out without a reference for what I’ve done. I know it’s no excuse, but that’s why I didn’t tell you for so long. I was worried for my position. I know it was wrong of me.” She hung her head. “Very wrong.”

Devon stood and paced the room. It turned his stomach to think of how close Justin had come to a life on the streets. Justin, who was as blameless as Devon in his father’s game.

Devon turned to face the housekeeper. “You shouldn’t have kept such secrets, Mrs. Appleby, but I can understand why you did. My father was not one to cross.”

Mrs. Appleby wrung the handkerchief in her hands. “I should have told you after he died, my lord. I just couldn’t see what purpose it would serve and I was scared … for myself.” She pushed the handkerchief to her eyes. “I’ll pack my things and leave immediately.”

Devon moved over to her and placed a hand on her shaking shoulder. “I could no more turn you out on the streets than I could my own mother.”

The housekeeper sobbed harder for a moment. “Thank you, my lord. You are too kind.”

Devon let his hand fall back to his side. “Now, who else knows about this, Mrs. Appleby?”

She rapidly shook her head. “No one. No one. I’m sure of it. I was there that day when the baby arrived and never spoke of it with the other servants. Your father wouldn’t allow the gossip. Of course, everyone had an opinion, but no one knew for sure.”

“See to it that you continue to keep that secret,” Devon commanded. “Justin will have a difficult enough life without the details of his birth being known.”

“Yes, my lord, of course. Whatever you like.” She shook her head. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for, Mrs. Appleby. My father was the sorry one.”

“Yes, my lord.” She nodded solemnly. “Should I prepare your room, Master Devon? Will you be staying the night?”

Devon pushed his half-empty glass away. He pressed his palm to his forehead, the coolness of the Colton signet ring slid against his temple. He slipped the ring from his finger and stared at it until his eyes were unseeing.