Page 54 of Enticed By an Earl
“I can assure you that no one has been tricked,” Dev said.
“Another,” Evelyn went on, “is that Miss Dryden is a foundling who has lied her way into a marriage far above her.”
“Ridiculous,” Dev’s mother sniffed.
“Still another,” Evelyn went on, blushing, “is that Miss Dryden is not a woman at all and that she is, in fact, a man.”
Kitty nearly dropped the spoon she was using to eat her soup. She put it down carefully, swallowing hard and staring at the bowl as if she would never be able to eat again.
“What sort of blasphemous nonsense is that?” Dev’s father grumbled. “Who would dare speak such horrific things at a lady’s salon?”
Across the table, Dev caught James watching him with a particularly astute look. Dev stared right back at him, but it felt as though his brother had pulled at the first loose string that would unravel the entire cloth.
Reports of rumors circulating London did not die down after that first day. If anything, they grew more intense as the week plodded slowly on toward Saturday. Kitty stayed mostly to Russell House during those days, assisting Dev’s mother in final arrangements for the wedding breakfast. Dev stayed with his beloved most of the time, but by Friday afternoon, he felt it was necessary to leave the house with James in order to gauge just how far the rumors had gone.
“Deveraux, you know I care deeply about you,” James launched into what Dev suspected was about to turn into a lecture as they made their way to Hyde Park, “but I worry that you have set yourself up for ruin by marrying a womanwho has become the subject of such speculation in the last few days.”
Dev glanced sideways at his brother, bristling with the need to tell the truth to someone, anyone. “I love Kitty,” he said, starting at the bit of the story that mattered the most. “I have never loved anyone like this before. I intend to spend the rest of my life with my love.”
He very deliberately failed to attach a specific gender to his statement.
That was perhaps what sealed whatever conclusions James had drawn on his own.
“The rumors are true, aren’t they?” James asked.
Again, Dev glanced sideways at his brother. “To which rumors are you referring?”
James let out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I will admit,sheis incredibly convincing,” he said, putting emphasis on the pronoun. “I did not notice the ribbons she constantly wears as decoration until Ivan pointed it out to me.”
Ivan was one of the senior footmen in the house. Dev wanted to groan. If one servant had figured it out, the entire house would know.
“I have always known that your tastes tend to be eclectic,” James went on, “and I do not judge you for it. I think we all know that the lines that have been drawn for us from the pulpit are not a reflection of all of our experiences, particularly for those of us who attended boarding school.”
Dev’s brow shot up and he looked at his brother more directly. It was not the time to ask whether James had dabbled a bit at school, though. Most gentlemen had, but few ever spoke of it.
“You will not tell, will you?” he asked by way of an admission.
“I will not,” James said. He sent Dev a frank look andadded, “Father already suspects. I believe Mother does as well. But if neither of them has said anything to you as of yet, I believe they intend to keep their suspicions to themselves.”
Dev blew out a heavy breath. Once again, he was deeply impressed by how broadminded his family was and how loyal and loving they were to each other, even under extreme circumstances. It made him even happier to have brought Kitty into their fold. If anyone would protect her secret without causing a fuss, it was his family.
That hope was put to the test on the morning of the wedding.
“I do not mind helping you prepare, my dear, if you will have me,” Dev’s mother said as she, Dev, and Kitty escorted Miss Jones upstairs to Kitty’s guestroom with the wedding dress early in the morning. “I am not above playing lady’s maid to someone so precious to me, particularly on your wedding day.”
“Oh, I thank you, my lady,” Kitty answered her in a soft, shaking voice as they approached her room. “I could not possibly ask you to do such a thing.”
“I promise you, I do not mind,” Dev’s mother said with a particularly curious inflection. She glanced to Dev as she spoke as well.
Dev’s heart was already beating twice as fast as it should have and his mother’s strange manner did not help his nerves at all. He should have sat her down earlier to ascertain whether she suspected the truth, but it seemed far too late for that now.
“I promise you, my lady,” Miss Jones answered, coming to the rescue, “that I will take utmost care of Miss Dryden. As soon as she is dressed, we will call you in for final approval.”
“Very well,” Dev’s mother conceded with a smile as theyreached the guestroom. “I cannot wait to see the marvel you have constructed for our Kitty.”
Dev sent his mother a look then turned to Kitty. “I cannot wait to see as well,” he said.
He would have marched into the room to help Kitty dress, but even he could not cross that line. Instead, he turned to his mother with a smile and said, “I suppose I should go dress as well.”
