Page 22 of The Allure Of Lord Devlin
“Now, now, that’s uncalled for,” Charlotte scolded.
Rosemary shrugged. “Rich doesn’t make her right for my brother.” She leaned forward. “I think it has something to do with our father. Mother told me yesterday that Devlin received a note at Lady Elwood’s, from the man he has still working on father’s account. He found a lead in Scotland from a widowed Mrs. McTavish. That’s when he dashed to Scotland. I never dreamed he’d return with her.”
Dharma turned to stare at Devlin. If this was about clearing his father’s name, she could hardly hold it against him that he’d left with no word. But she couldn’t forgive his silence since.
She understood what it would mean to clear his late father of his rumored treason. For a start, Whetton would have no objection to Rosemary as a potential daughter-in-law, and society would no longer shun her. They could even present her to the Queen. “Perhaps Mrs. McTavish knew something about that grain shipment that was destroyed? It was supposed to have fed the army and the government is sure it was deliberately targeted by Napoleon’s spies from information that could only have come from the inner War Cabinet, of which the late Lord Devlin was a key member.”
Flora patted Rosemary’s hand. “We know your father would never have sold this information to our country’s enemy, no matter how much money they offered him. It has to be someone else. Besides, where did the money go?”
“That’s what Devlin has been trying to uncover for the past few years. It eats Devlin up that he doesn’t know if our father was a traitor. As for me,” Rosemary shivered, “I don’t want to know. What if he was? But without a lead or any proof … If this was a lead, then I cannot blame him for racing off.” Rosemary smiled across at her brother as she spoke the last few words.
Dharma merely sat and considered what she had learned. She looked at the handsome couple in a different light. What was Mrs. McTavish doing staying with Devlin? Was it because she was helping him find this traitor, or was there more to their relationship? “Did he say anything to Sinclair?”
Charlotte shrugged. “If he did, my husband hasn’t shared the confidence with me. But I can ask.”
“Would you?” Dharma pleaded.
Rosemary gave her a knowing smile. “Why is it so important you learn about Mrs. McTavish?” When Dharma said nothing, Rosemary added, “Give Devlin the benefit of the doubt. I’d love for you to become my sister-in-law. I know he has feelings for you, but I wonder if he’ll ever marry with the word traitor hanging over our family honor. Now that our money troubles are resolved, he is even more determined to clear father's name.
Dharma didn’t respond to her friend’s words. She didn’t know what to say. He’d hurt her by leaving without a word. That callousness was hard to overlook. Would she be made to look the fool again? Would she miss out on marriage to another wonderful man? She stared at Fencourt and tried not to compare.
Fencourt was just as handsome, but lacked the rugged masculinity of the older Lord Devlin. She didn’t become overwhelmed with attraction or tongued tied when in Fencourt’s company, but Devlin could tie her up in knots. She could never picture letting Fencourt touch her the way Devlin had.
Charlotte stood. “I should mingle with our guests. Dharma, please come to luncheon tomorrow. We have much to catch up on and I’ll ask Sinclair about Lord Devlin’s trip up north.”
With that, she left the three ladies and circulated through her guests.
Flora smiled at Dharma. “Lord Devlin is a fine man. You could do a lot worse than a man who has put his family before himself for so many years. Sometimes, it’s the quiet more reserved men who are really what our hearts need.”
Flora would say that. Her second husband, Lord Battling, had waited patiently for her to see him as something other than just her dead husband’s best friend. Now they were married and completely happy.
Before Dharma could reply, a shadow fell over her. It was Devlin. She didn’t need to look to know. Her body recognized him, almost like an animal sensing danger. This man could break her heart and cause her pain. He’d already hurt her. She’d been so confused when he suddenly left with no word, sure he had not wanted her.
“Lady Dharma, may I have a word?”
She sat up straighter because he took the chair vacated by Charlotte without waiting for her reply.
She looked at Flora, and Rosemary and the two ladies left to circulate.
“You look exquisite this evening,” his soft words found their mark and her heart beat faster. “Or maybe seeing you in the flesh is infinitely preferable to fantasizing about you in my dreams.”
She took a deep breath, trying not to fall under his spell. He looked so handsome tonight in his navy jacket and crisp white shirt and cravat. It made his light-brown locks glow golden in the candlelight and the green in his eyes appear darker than the emeralds she wore at her neck. His face drew women’s stares, even happily married ones. In a way, she should be thanking his father for the scandal surrounding the Devlin name, or else she’d be struggling to shoo the young debutantes away from him.
But then she glimpsed Mrs. McTavish from the corner of her eye. Was she interested in Devlin, other than whatever business she shared with him? That thought made her speak rather sharply. “I hope your trip to Scotland was productive, however a note to tell me of your plans would have been nice.” She thought it best to show him he couldn’t waltz back here and she’d be happy to see him. She expected more from a man who was courting her because he was—supposedly—desperate to marry her. Was he?
“I meant to call on you to apologize for my abrupt departure, but I’ve been a tad busy with the tin mine and other business since my return.”
Keep the green-eyed monster at bay. Don’t say it… “So busy you have a guest in tow.” If he smiles…
He surprised her by not smiling. He simply leaned forward and took her gloved hand in his very large one. “That is what I wished to talk to you about, but I was not at liberty to do so. My business with Mrs. McTavish is not what you think.”
She wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but why had he brought her here to London? “I don’t know what to think because you haven’t kept me informed. You disappear at the Elwood ball, making me a laughingstock, and then don’t write. Then you arrive back with a beautiful rich widow, who you move into your home.”
“It’s totally respectable. My mother and sister are in residence.”
“It would be, except you escorted her to the opera and to a dressmaker before visiting with me. Thetonis slavering with curiosity.” And she suspected thetonwas snickering behind her back.
“I am sorry for that.”
