Page 61 of Enticed By an Earl
Wilkes took a breath then spoke quickly, as if he had much to say and little time to say it. “Detective Talboys is my beloved,” he began. “He was, indeed, employed by Scotland Yard, but you should know that he is not now. He is in private employ as a man who assists others and fixes awkward problems, all as part of The Brotherhood.”
The amount of information contained in those few words had Dev’s head spinning.
“Are you saying that no body was found?” Dev’s father asked. “That Bedminster will discover the truth?”
“That is not what I am saying at all, my lord,” Wilkes said, holding up a hand and shaking his head. “Forgive me if I was unclear. Derrek, that is, Detective Talboys, still has a great many friends at the Met. They have worked with him in this particular situation. A body was, indeed, found in the banks of the Thames this morning. It was decomposed enough to be unidentifiable. We have been waiting for a circumstance like this in order to verify the Earl of Castleton’s demise. It is a bit dramatic that it should happen on the morning of your wedding,” he glanced to Dev and Kitty, “but also convenient.”
“So when my…when the Duke of Bedminster is taken to wherever Talboys has taken him, he truly will be presented with a corpse that has been identified as the Earl of Castleton?” Kit asked.
Wilkes beamed. “He will. The physician has agreed to theidentity of the corpse as well, though Derrek will not tell me what incentive the man was given to corroborate our story.”
Dev was stunned to silence. It was precisely the turn of events that was necessary to relieve Kit of his old identity entirely and to allow him to live as Kitty alone for as long as she desired to.
Wilkes shared a few more details as they continued on to Russell House. It seemed that The Brotherhood had been working behind the scenes, without either Dev or Kit being aware of it, or even of the organization, for weeks. Wilkes was, of course, responsible for the unseen protection they had had all along as a friend of Kit’s and member of The Brotherhood.
“We would be more than happy to have both of you join,” the man said once they reached the house and stepped down from the carriage. “But I suppose this is a matter that should be discussed at another time.”
“Indeed,” Dev’s father said, looking a bit overwhelmed by the volume of information they had all discovered on the drive from the church. “A certain discussion with the family needs to be had before all others.”
Dev’s gut tightened at his father’s words and at the way the man looked at him. That look made him feel thirteen again, as it had when he’d gotten into one sort of mischief or another.
Goodbyes were said to Wilkes along with promises that Dev and Kit would call on him at some point when they returned from the country, if they returned from the country. After that, the family entered the house.
Instead of going straight to the wedding breakfast, where some of Dev’s and Kitty’s close friends had already arrived, Dev’s father steered the family into one of their private parlors.
“I believe a few things need to be brought to light beforewe proceed,” Dev’s father said once Dev and Kitty were seated together on a small couch, James and Ameila on another to one side, Dev’s mother and sister on their other side, and the rest of the family who had come in from the country, all of whom looked confused, standing around them.
Dev fully intended to make whatever excuses he needed to for Kitty, but before he could, Kitty sat straighter, hands folded in her lap, likely to keep them from shaking, and glanced up at the newfound family around her.
“I must beg your forgiveness for not confessing all immediately,” she said. “I understand that this is a monumental secret that I am asking you to keep.”
“What secret, my dear?” Dev’s mother said in a somewhat tremulous voice, attempting to hold her smile and pretend that nothing was amiss. She had donned her spectacles once they reached home, however, so she could not claim a lack of vision for her ignorance. “You are my daughter now, and I fully intend to embrace you as such,” she said.
Kitty glanced to her with grateful, teary eyes. She then reached to the back of her neck to unhook the fastenings of the elaborate choker she wore with her wedding gown. As soon as she took it away, her Adam’s apple was clearly visible.
Those of Dev’s family members who had not already guessed the truth drew in breaths of surprise. It was only his sister, Olivia, and his brother Julian’s wife, Barbara, who reacted, however.
“My father was correct in every accusation he made,” Kitty said, lowering her face, but only for a moment. She lifted her eyes to meet everyone’s that she could before continuing with, “I was also correct when I said that I am not now nor was I ever his son. I do not know how these things transpire, but I have always known in my heart who I am. Itis some sort of accident of nature that I was born into the incorrect physical form. But I am and always have been Kitty.”
Silence filled the room. Dev’s heart swelled so much with pride in his beloved’s bravery that it nearly brought him to tears. He reached for Kitty’s hand, taking it in his and squeezing it.
“I love Kitty,” he told his family. “I accept her fully for who she is. She is my wife. Nothing else matters. I understand if any of you cannot accept this, but I ask of you, I beg of you, for both of our sakes, that you forget whatever past my beloved might have had and see her only as the daughter or sister that she will forevermore be to you.”
More silence followed. For a moment, Dev was uncertain whether the two of them would find the acceptance that he longed for. What he was asking was incomprehensible, and some would call it willful participation in sin.
“Of course we accept you,” his mother said, standing and coming forward so that she could kneel in front of Kitty and take her free hand. That in itself was a gesture so profound that Dev caught his breath with the intensity of the emotion it evoked in him. “I must confess that I always suspected something,” his mother went on, shocking him even more. “But I have also seen how sweet and how kind you are, my dear.” She rested a hand on the side of Kitty’s face. “And I have seen that you have embodied a great sadness which needs love as its remedy. I would be honored to give you that love as your mother.”
Kitty let out a quick moan of relief as tears streamed down her face. “Thank you, my lady.”
“Have I not already bid you call me ‘Mama’?” Dev’s mother said, pushing up a bit so she could kiss Kitty’s cheek.
“And you will call me ‘Papa’,” Dev’s father added. Dev glanced to his father in surprise. “Your mother is right,” hesaid in answer to Dev’s expression. “Kitty is lovely. You have chosen an admirable bride.”
Dev gusted out a breath and shook his head. “I never would have thought we would find so much acceptance.”
“Well, you will not find it anywhere but in this house, among these people,” James said, coming forward with a more serious look. He glanced back to the others before saying, “We must all pledge to keep Kitty’s secret for as long as we live. Our brother’s happiness and, I fear, our sister-in-law’s life, depend upon it.”
The family agreed, which would never cease to astound Dev. Kitty was beside herself with gratitude as each of Dev’s family members came forward to hug her or kiss her cheeks and welcome her into the family. When that was done and when Kitty’s choker was put back into place by Evelyn herself, the entire family left the parlor as one and joined their guests for the wedding breakfast.
