The Devil You Know (14 page)

rowed her face into the pillow.

Christ Jesus!
He turned her over. “Diana, what the devil is wrong?”

Her eyes were wide. She trembled. “Weren’t you going to...”

“Sodomize you?” he finished, aghast. “Did he...”

Her lower lip quivered. She nodded mutely.

“That bloody buggering bastard!” His vision blurred again, but

this time in blind rage. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply,

stroking, soothing. “It’s all right, my love. I won’t ever do anything to

hurt you. Do you understand me, Diana?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, his fury adding a harsh and unfamiliar

edge to his voice. “Just know that whatever we do together is about

mutual
pleasure. I will
never
do anything you don’t wish me to do.”

“I know that now,” she said, twining her arms around his neck

and kissing him back.

“Do you? Then let us be certain.” He pulled her down on top of

him.“What are you doing?”

“Putting you in control,” he answered, positioning her thighs on

either side of his hips. “We shall start the races early, my dear, for you

shall ride me.”

Chapter Ten

It was dangerously past dawn when Diana crept stealthily back

to her own bedchamber. She quietly opened the door, praying Polly

hadn’t already noticed her absence. Upon closing it behind her, she

noted the bed curtains were still drawn just the way she had left them,

and the fire was still banked. She breathed a sigh of relief that she was

undiscovered. Yet, when Diana looked to the chair by her dressing

table where she had discarded her night rail, it was gone.

Strange.
She searched the room in vain. Mayhap she had left it on

the bed? Diana drew back the heavy velvet and gasped.

Reggie lay fully clothed atop the counterpane, reclining back on

a mountain of pillows. He raked her with an insolent gaze. “Looking

for something, my dear? It must have been an
eventful
night indeed.

I’ve waited for you for hours.”

“Eventful? Hardly.” She laughed, her mind scrambling for an

alibi. “I was reading in the library and fell asleep in the chair.”

“Without your night rail?” He held up the cotton gown with an

evil smirk. “Even if I was stupid enough to believe you, your appear-

ance betrays you. Look at yourself, Diana! You look like some Covent

Garden whore.”

She stole a glance to the mirror over the mantel and knew that it

was true. Her lips were swollen, her hair mussed beyond redemption,

and most telling of all was the faint purple shadow of a love bite on

her neck. She realized she had no defense, but neither did he have the

right to accuse her. Her initial shock turned to fury. “Does it really

matter to you, Reggie where I spent my night?” she hissed. “As I cer-

tainly know where you have been spending yours.”

His gaze narrowed. He abruptly sat up and seized her arm,

squeezing as if it were clamped in a vice. “Do you now?” His eyes

glittered dangerously. “And just where might that be?”

“Must I say it aloud?”

He paled at the realization she had discovered his well-guarded

secret. “You have no proof of anything,” he spat. “Besides, where I

bed and with whom is my own damned business.”

“Your own business? But I am your wife! You made vows to me!”

“As did you, Diana. No man likes to be made a fool. So I ask

again—where were
you
last night?

“I already told you.”

“Don’t bother lying again as I already have all the proof I need of

your iniquity. I only marvel that any man could stir you to passion.

Or were you simply moved by desperation? Did you hope to bargain

with him by playing his whore? Did you please him well, Diana? I

truly hope so, as your tight little quim might be the only way to regain

what was lost.”

His words stunned her. She regarded him with a blank stare.

“Bargain? Wh-what are you talking about?”

“That DeVere has the deed to Palmerston Hall. Did you not real-

ize?” Her mind reeled. “How can that be? You lost it in gaming at Clay

Hill.”“I do not know precisely how it came about. I can only conclude

that DeVere bought my vowels from O’Kelly.”

“You lie! Why would he do such a thing?”

“How the bloody hell would I know? I first thought he intended

to ruin me to claim the estate, but what is a meager five hundred acres

and run-down manor house to such a man? I can only presume then

that he desired the stud, but whatever his motives, all seems now to

have miraculously worked to my advantage.”

“How do you mean? How can any of this be to your advantage?”

she asked, her heart racing.

“Simple, my dear heart. You are lawfully my wife, my legal prop-

erty, whether I choose to use you as such or not. If DeVere desires that

which is
mine,
he must pay for the privilege.”

“You would pimp me like a whoremonger? You bastard!” she

screamed.

He smiled. “Needs must when the devil drives and all that rot.

I have needs, and that devil DeVere happens to be an exceedingly

wealthy man. Don’t look so put out, my dear. After all, it was you who

provided the perfect solution to our little problem.”

“And what is that? Your perfect little solution? Extortion?” she

asked between clenched teeth.

“Such an unpalatable word. I would rather call it a discreet and

amicable arrangement. But if DeVere does not wish to come to such

an agreement, he can pay much more dearly in the courts of law. If I

recall correctly, Lord Grosvenor received compensation to the tune of

ten thousand pounds when Lady Grosvenor bestowed her favors on

the Duke of Cumberland. By my calculation,” Reggie continued non-

chalantly, “your betrayal should be worth at least that much, mayhap

even twenty thousand.”

“You have no proof of anything.”

“But there you are wrong. I have sworn statements from two wit-

nesses who have seen you alone with DeVere. That is all the proof I

need for a court of law. You may as well go back to his bed, Diana, for I

swear you will both pay dearly for it either way. As for his possession

of the deed, if you still don’t believe me, just ask DeVere yourself.”

He gave her a blithe shrug and pulled out his timepiece. “Although

your little tête-a-tête may need to wait until a more opportune time.

The races begin in less than two hours. I must say I am much relieved

to know my fate no longer rests on the horserace. Damned unpredict-

able, those animals can be.”

Reggie rang for the maid. “You really must do something about

your appearance, Diana.” His face devoid of expression, he reached

a hand to her neck tracing the evidence of DeVere’s passion with his

fingertip. “Might I suggest you wear your hair down today?”

“Shut up, Reggie! Just shut up!” Diana jerked away with a look

of abhorrence. “Leave me now,” she commanded. “We have nothing

more to say.”

“For the moment,” he agreed. His laughter rang with a hellish

echo as he departed through the connecting door.

Diana was trembling, shaken to the depths of her being. She

bathed and dressed in a speechless daze, myriad questions searing

her brain. How did DeVere come by the deed to Palmerston Hall and

why? Was he confederated with O’Kelly all along to ruin Reggie? But

why, when they were barely acquainted with one another? If he had

acquired the deed, what did he intend to do with it? Was it for the

stud, as Reggie suggested? Their horses were the only thing she could

think of that might hold the slightest appeal to DeVere, the stud being

the only thing of value.

Unless?
Diana recalled their very first meeting but immediately

shook the notion away. It was outrageously vain to think he might

have intended to use the deed to get her into his bed. If that was his

intent, would he not have mentioned it when she first sought his help?

Now Reggie thought to turn the tables. Although he believed he

had the upper hand, his avarice would surely be his undoing. Diana

knew DeVere would never submit to blackmail, yet there was noth-

ing she could do to prevent a legal action. A judgment could help her

secure a separation and thus freedom from the travesty of her mar-

riage...but at what cost?

She descended to breakfast with a feeling of dread at the thought

of meeting DeVere so soon after sharing his bed. Although only

knowing each other a matter of days, they had parted that morning on

terms of intimacy she had never experienced with anyone. It was both

breathtaking and terrifying. They had become lovers, but then Reg-

gie’s revelations had followed. Diana still wasn’t sure what to think

or how to react.

As it turned out, there was no opportunity at all to speak of the

concerns that plagued her or to warn him about Reggie. DeVere and

Hew had broken their fast early and left almost directly afterward. In

the few minutes they might have had to talk, Edward and Annalee

had been present.

DeVere’s reaction upon seeing her, however, the secret smile he

bestowed, melted her insides and promised more of what they had

shared the night before. It also told her he knew nothing of Reggie’s

blackmail. She was partly relieved. If only she could find a way to

speak with him first.

A crowd of hundreds w
***

ere gathered along the racecourse when

Diana, Ned and Annalee arrived on the down. They took their places

apart from the rabble upon the raised dais erected for the owners and

aristocrats. Her spine stiffened when the Duchess of Beauclerc joined

them on the arm of the Earl of March.

Edward bowed to them both. “Duchess. And so good to see you,

my Lord March,” he addressed the earl and then introduced Annalee

and Diana, both of whom dipped in a brief show of obeisance. “Have

you a horse in the running?” Edward asked the noted turf man.

“Aye,” said the earl. “A fine mare in the second race.”

“Is that so?” said Diana. “Then I promise you a great challenge as

I also have a horse in the running.”

The earl regarded her with a rapt interest that Diana knew had

little to do with the horses. “Do you, indeed, madam? Then I wish you

the best of luck.” Diana was certain she could hear Caroline’s teeth

grinding as the Lord March’s gaze lingered much longer than proper.

“Ah! There is Lord Derby and Elizabeth Ferren. William, dearest,

we must go and greet them.” The duchess tugged on her companion’s

silk sleeve.

“As you wish, my sweet,” answered the earl, though Diana noted

his reluctance.

“Lady Chambers. Baroness,” the duchess awarded them a brittle

smile as the pair departed.

“It didn’t take her long to find a replacement,” said Diana be-

tween her own tightly smiling teeth.

“She’ll get nowhere with that one if she seeks a second ducal coro-

net,” Edward replied in an undertone. “Although he’s next in line for

the dukedom of Queensberry, March is a notorious roué with a pen-

chant for Italian opera singers.”

“No doubt she only wished to pique DeVere,” said Annalee.

“Then the effort is truly wasted.” Edward laughed outright. “He

was never happier to send a mistress on her way.”

Their moment of jollity was disrupted when Reggie joined them

after presumably having consulted with his lover-jockey. His smug

expression suggested he had confronted DeVere as well, but also

told Diana that he was yet unaware his race-fixing scheme had been

discovered. Though she tried to ignore him altogether, his presence

alone set her teeth on edge.

“When do the mares run?” Diana asked Edward.

“The stallions will be up first,” he answered. “They are to run a

single, two-mile heat, followed by the geldings and then the mares.

The top three horses will then run against one another in the fourth

race for the grand prize.”

Three thousand.
Enough money to get her home back, but not her

life. Diana realized with a jolt that her life would
never
be the same.

She stole a sidelong look at Reggie, wishing he would just disappear.

Perhaps she should just give him the winnings? Part of her wanted

him to run off with his lover as he and Johnson had planned. She

would then have grounds for her own legal action, but what if he re-

fused? If he had determined to press matters with DeVere, it would be

impossible for him to abscond with his lover.

No, surely he would wait and play out his hand now that he

thought he held the trump card. If he carried out his threat as she

presumed he would, where would that leave her? Her name would

be besmirched in the broadsheets. The scandal would be unbearable.

Yet she was even willing to live with a ruined name if she could only

obtain a separation from Reggie, but deep down, she knew he would

never agree.

To do so would give her freedom—the chance to move on with

her life and the option to remarry one day. Though that option was

furthest from her mind, it was one of very few alternatives available