“No, they are younger, more of your age. I hardly know them, as I was already living at Eton when Delia’s husband died and they had to move in with us. And as I continued directly from school to the army, I haven’t spent much time with them as an adult, either.”
“That’s so sad.” Fanny couldn’t stop feeling sorry for the threesome forced to live in a faraway castle when they lost husband and father.
Devlin, who obviously didn’t share her feelings, snorted.
“No, it is not sad at all. They have had comfortable lives at Pendragon for almost fifteen years now and should be thankful instead of demanding.”
“Demanding?”
“Delia, my selfish little aunt, thinks I should bring them to London now my father is dead and has no more use of them at the castle. She writes to me every day, and sometimes I feel I am drowning in the pile of letters.”
“Why not give in to her wish and bring them here? I can understand how your young cousin must be looking forward to having her own debut season.”
“Not as long as I’m alive.”
Fanny took a step away from him, and looked at him in shock.
“Don’t you think you are being selfish? Think of your poor aunt, forced to live all those years in the countryside, longing for the pleasures of London, believing her life would change with your father’s death...”
Devlin arched an amused eyebrow at her choice of words, but she didn’t let him interrupt her.
“You must bring them here to London, so they too can continue with their lives.”
“You think?”
“Yes, Your Grace. So is my wish.”
Devlin must have found her words amusing, as he laughed again, another head-turning laugh that made her heart skip a beat.
“Before you decide what you’re wishing for, I think you should consider the situation. You see, my aunt is desperate to come to London, but not for her daughter’s first season. No, she is afraid I will marry before she has a chance to convince me otherwise.”
“You must have misunderstood her. I can’t think she wants to convince you not to marry. I think she wants to be a part of your marriage, as the only living relative you have.”
Devlin gave her an odd smile. It was filled with warmth and something that strangely enough seemed to be pride.
“You have a kind heart, Lady Francesca.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. But I still think you are acting selfishly.”
“She is afraid I will find someone to marry before she has a chance to get here and force me into marrying her daughter Amelia.”
“Not as long as I’m alive.”
Fanny winced as she realized she had snorted the words aloud. Horrified, she closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath.
What was wrong with her? Why on earth had she said those mean-hearted words straight out, and why had she said them to him?
She felt embarrassed, so utterly devastated, and wished she were anywhere but here. She wished she had courage enough to look up at him, to meet his eyes to see what he thought about her outrageous remark.
Why had she said it?
Bloody why?
Chapter 9
Devlin looked down on the top of Fanny’s head, which was all she let him see after blurting out her wonderful remark.
Oh, how he adored her.
He wished she would look up at him, but as her whole body screamed how embarrassed she felt, he didn’t force it. If he’d had any doubts earlier about her being the right choice as the wife for him, they were all gone now.
He admired her immensely. Her honesty, her rightfulness, and her kind heart were everything he ever could wish in the woman who would raise his children.
He had left Pendragon with anger and refused to read any of the letters his aunt showered him with, all because of a young girl he didn’t want.
Then, by some strange twist of fate, he found himself longing for the company of another young girl, and without hesitation he had thrown himself into the society swirl he loathed and even gone to a picnic.
A picnic, for goodness’ sake.
And, worst of all, he, who found peace in his solitude, was now surrounded by her family, all fifty, hundred, or thousand of them. They, of course, were all pretending to ignore him, but he could feel their probing eyes whenever he looked another way.
Fanny let go of his arm and, still without meeting his eyes, mumbled something inaudible before leaving his side for the table where the food was placed.
Caroline Darling, the lovely Marchioness of Newbury, approached him with a sweet smile. She invited him to join their company for luncheon, and he thanked her courteously, grateful for a reason to stay close to Fanny.
But before he had a chance to move toward his desired wife-to-be, he was surrounded by some of the younger Darling men and dragged away to a set of chairs, where he was forced to sit down in a not-too-gentle way.
“Having a nice afternoon?” Sin asked, deceitfully polite.
Before Devlin had a chance to answer, Jamie and Sebastian sat down facing him, giving him their best fake smiles. He glared at them, refusing to back down.
Another man sat down beside him, and by the look of him he also was a Darling family member. The same dark brown hair and light gray eyes as most of his relatives, and just as tall and muscular. As he was about Rake’s age, this probably was one of the younger brothers, Edward or William.
He could feel more men silently standing behind him, but he refused to turn around. That might show weakness. It wasn’t very hard to understand what it was all about.
They were trying to intimidate him, and he would rather die than let them know they succeeded all too well. Instead, he kept up his assumption of indifference, a skill he’d polished during his time in France, and to his satisfaction, that seemed to make the men rather frustrated. They couldn’t know he had learned the hard way to keep his face blank, to not give away any emotions.
They were, in Devlin’s mind, too innocent to be aware of all the malice in the world. They had grown up surrounded by an overprotective family, and probably not more than one or two of them had been anywhere outside England.
“So the lost heir has returned to society,” Sin said, a little less politely.
Sebastian wasn’t as polite. “We all thought you would return to claim your place in society last season, but you were nowhere to be seen. One would think a son would honor his father by at least being present at his deathbed.”
Devlin could tell the thought of not standing by one’s father’s side as life slipped away was something they had a hard time understanding. Their ignorance came from always being loved and cherished, and the unexpected jealousy he felt made him a bit incautious with his reply.
“As he never thought it was important to be a part of my life, I saw no importance in rushing home to be a part of his, especially not to honor him by standing at his side during his last breaths.”
That baffled them.
“How can you not honor your father?” Edward-or-William asked, astonished.
“Yes, I was thoroughly enjoying my afternoon,” Devlin said to Sin, responding to his first question and ignoring the rest of them.
Rake, who had always had a good feeling for when Devlin needed to be rescued, stepped through the wall of relatives and looked at the group with feigned surprise.
“How come you’re gathered here, when our lovely ladies stand over at the sandwich table all by themselves and without protection? Well, except for George and Harry, but they are too old to be able to fight off the persistent suitors.”
Sin didn’t take his gaze from Devlin’s face.
“We are a little busy here. Why don’t you go and protect the ladies instead of interrupting this very interesting conversation.”
Rake lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow at his nephew but didn’t do as he was asked. Instead he turned to Sebastian, and with a wicked smile he continued, “And here I thought you all detested the young Mr. Pembroke because he was a leech and a fortune hunter, but instead you let him walk away with Fanny without even a blink.”
This time he got a reaction.
In a second, all five men were up on their feet and on a new mission, to rescue Fanny from the leech. Rake sat down beside Devlin, stretching his long muscular legs in front of him.
They sat quietly for a while as Rake watched his relatives walk all over poor Mr. Pembroke, and Devlin tried to decide how to answer Rake’s questions.
He knew there would be questions.
Their friendship was too good for Rake not to ask him about his intentions. But was Devlin ready to admit openly he wanted to court Fanny?
Last night he had decided he would marry her, that she was the perfect bride for him. And, more importantly, she would be a wonderful and loving mother to their children. Her family would never let her down, and she and the children would always be protected and cherished, as they well deserved.
This morning he had been a little unsure whether his feeling from the night before had been nothing more than an extension of the delight of meeting her and her family again.
But all bewilderment had disappeared like butter in sunshine when he met her today.
She was perfect in every way.
As if she could feel him looking at her, Fanny raised her head and met his gaze for the first time since she’d blurted out her wonderful outrageous words. To his pleasure, it seemed her earlier embarrassment was gone, and she gave him a slow, sweet smile that made him ache.
He wanted to kiss those lush lips and make her whimper with the need for him. Something must have shown on his face, because suddenly she blushed and looked away, and all he could think about was kissing the sensitive spot beneath her ear.
“You have to stop looking at her like she is a piece of cake. One could easily make the assumption you have thoughts about her you’re not supposed to have toward a young debutante, especially one belonging to your best friend’s family.”
Devlin groaned silently.
Of course Rake would have seen him drooling all over Fanny. To be honest, he had not been very subtle about it, as even Fanny had noticed, and she was standing several feet away.
He looked at Rake, but the friend still had his eyes locked on the men who now were dragging poor Mr. Pembroke away from the Darling family. Fanny looked a little frustrated, and he guessed she wasn’t too pleased with how her family was behaving toward her suitor.
“I would never do anything to endanger our friendship,” he pointed out firmly, forcing Rake to look at him.
“No?”
“Of course not. You know me, Rake. I would never do anything to someone who means something to me.”
Rake was quiet for a while, pondering what Devlin had said.
“I haven’t seen you in more than five years. Why should I believe nothing has changed between us, and believe that you still are the man you were when we last met?”
“Why would I be here if I had anything but honest intentions toward Fanny?”
Rake suddenly sat straight up, staring at Devlin with disbelief. “You want her.”
Devlin rolled his eyes. “I thought this whole conversation was about the fact that I want Fanny.”
Rake shook his head and stood up, forcing Devlin to look up at him. “No, this conversation was all about you lusting for her, and me letting you know I’m aware of it. But now we are discussing you marrying her—and that, my friend, is a completely different matter.”
Devlin could see the thought of courtship and marriage rattled his friend, because Rake couldn’t stay still. Instead he paced to and fro in front of the chairs, obviously brooding about what he’d just heard.
As the other Darling men now had Mr. Pembroke chased away far enough, they were heading back toward their original victim, and Devlin knew he hadn’t much time before they would be all over him again.
He rose and forced Rake to stop pacing by standing in his way.
“Do you think I have a chance?” he asked in a low, serious voice. Rake looked at Fanny, who now was whispering with her friends again. Now and then they would steal glances toward them, obviously talking about Devlin.
He snorted. “Of course you do, you bloody fool. She is completely awed by you, and would probably throw herself over a puddle of mud just so you wouldn’t get your pretty feet dirty.” He sighed deeply before he continued, “It’s not that I would mind if you became a family member by marriage and not only in spirit. The thing that makes this whole affair feel strange and awkward is who we are talking about: my Fanny.”
“So what do you want from me?”
Devlin could see there was something on Rake’s mind, but his friend had trouble getting the words out, and before he had a chance to say more, Sin and Sebastian reached them.
Fanny’s brothers immediately started to brag about how they had extracted Nicholas Pembroke from Fanny’s presence. Jamie, Raleigh, and the two men who were probably Edward and William also joined them, and before he knew how it happened, he too was somehow extracted from the gathering of Darlings and away from Fanny’s vicinity.
He looked at Rake, and his friend mouthed “White’s,” and Devlin nodded. He would have to wait a couple of hours, but then he would meet with Rake in peace and quiet, and they could talk about the situation.
His thoughts were interrupted by Lady Charmaine de Vere, who all too obviously was trying to charm him into courting her, and he sighed quietly before he put on an interested face.
No one ever won anything by being uncivil.
Chapter 10
“Don’t you think they make a striking couple?”
Fanny ripped her eyes from Devlin and Charmaine to glare at Emma Archer, who had joined her where she stood at the food table, pretending to ponder what to eat while watching the too-gorgeous couple.
Of course
she
thought they were a perfect match, as she was one of Charmaine’s worshippers. She was supposed to think well of her friend. It wasn’t Emma’s fault Charmaine was an ogre.