To Be by Your Side

by Lilybeth Zefram

  ‘Really? See, your reputation is clearly not well earned.’

  She smiled shyly. ‘I still cannot see, Your Grace.’

  ‘I find medicine quite fascinating, though, Lady Evelyn,’ the Duke explained. ‘My brother-in-law is a physician. He went to medical school in Edinburgh. The man always has his head in books but I have to admit that he tells me some extraordinary things.’

  Evelyn smiled at that.

  ‘Lady Evelyn, I find myself needing to say your smile is beautiful.’

  ‘I am told that I have my mother’s smile, though I look more like my father,’ she said, deflecting the compliment.

  ‘In that case, your mother must be a beauty and your father is quite handsome.’

  ‘Oh.’ She felt her face burn up. ‘Oh. Thank you, Your Grace. But both my parents are dead, since I was a child. But I still remember them.’

  ‘In that case, Lady Evelyn, to avoid my stumbling, I suggest you take the compliment for what it is. An observation about your person.’

  ‘Oh...yes, I apologise. Thank you, Your Grace.’

  Lord George chuckled. ‘You do not need to make it as though I am torturing you. It appears to me, Lady Evelyn Mayhew, you are an extraordinary woman who hides behind the mask of what society has labelled you.’

  Evelyn felt her cheeks flush and felt rather like a foolish girl. She simply hoped that Lord Marsden with his exceedingly kind smile did not notice. ‘Your Grace, I do not—’

  ‘You just admitted it to me, Lady Evelyn.’

  Her shoulders slumped, knowing the man was right. ‘Sometimes it is easier to accept and settle.’ She had always called herself the blind spinster but suddenly she found her views being questioned. It was an odd feeling.

  ‘And sometimes it is best to stir the pot of perception,’ Lord George drawled. ‘Would you care to waltz with me, Lady Evelyn? I assume it would be the easiest dance for you as you will scandalously be in my arms the entire time.’

  She found herself smiling widely at the outrageous suggestion. She had rarely danced with a gentleman other than her brother as many assumed she could not dance. The Duke was correct, though, when he said that the waltz was the easiest dance for her. Now she was nearing thirty, much of the scandal involved with the waltz was overlooked. If the Duke of Windermere had not danced with scandal by divorcing his faithless, scandalous wife, then he would never have taken notice of Evelyn, let alone took the time to speak to her.

  And she found that she quite liked the Duke. She hoped that the rapport they shared was not only imagined on her behalf.

  Evelyn looked up at the gentleman’s undefined face. ‘I would be honoured, Your Grace, to dance the waltz with you.’

  The waltz came up a half hour later, which meant more time for conversation with the Duke, and it was quite enjoyable. Evelyn made a mental note to be careful because she was immediately charmed by the man, though not sure if there was anything else in her mind regarding the man. The Duke had, of course, been the perfect gentleman, also fetching her a drink.

  Their turn on the dance floor was uneventful. Lord George was attentive as he led their dance. For the most part the couples around them or on the floor with them did not notice. Or rather, she only heard the whisper that the ostracised Duke could only dance with a lady who was well on the shelf.

  ‘Thank you, Your Grace,’ Evelyn told him. ‘You are a perfect gentleman and I have enjoyed speaking with you.’

  ‘And dancing?’

  ‘Naturally.’ She smiled. ‘My brother is the only gentleman, generally, to believe that I can dance without abusing feet.’

  The Duke chuckled. ‘And likewise to you, Lady Evelyn. I rarely enjoy an event as much as I have tonight. Thank you.’

  * * * *

  Lord George Marsden, Duke of Windermere and Marquess of Locke, was utterly mesmerised by the strong, mature beauty that was Lady Evelyn Mayhew. He only knew her brother in passing and had heard some about the lady herself by his cousin. Before tonight they had only been briefly introduced to each other once. Still, he remembered the occasion well because he had been as taken by her as he was now. Well, he was more taken now because in speaking to her he got to know Lady Evelyn as a person. He supposed it was not odd that they had not met before this Season. After all, he probably would have been married, if not a couple years away from marriage, when she had been much younger and newly presented to the ton. Aside from that, he would have been too ignorant to realise that there was more to her than her lack of sight.

  Now he had a new appreciation. He had not heard of his cousin contriving to find Lady Evelyn a husband, but he was sure that was what the lady meant when she asked whether or not Lady Lauren had pointed him in her direction.

  He was sure there would be another chance to encounter the beauty. And if not, he was certain that his cousin the Duchess would be more than willing.

  George was only newly divorced, but he had learnt a lot of hard lessons during his five-year marriage to a woman he likened to a witch. He could not say he was looking for a new relationship, let alone a second wife. Since encountering Lady Evelyn just mere hours ago, he felt something that was rather new to his being.

  And it was certainly more than the tightening of his groin.

  He would not seek out a soft body to deal with the issue. However, he was partially ashamed that he planned to imagine Lady Evelyn as he touched his cock. The immediate physical attraction was something that was intense. He was at a loss because once more this was something that had happened quite suddenly.

  George closed his eyes and groaned, imagining that Lady Evelyn before him. He quickly adjusted his trousers, but when the carriage jolted, he groaned again.

  ‘Sweet Jesus,’ he gritted. ‘Why now? What do I do?’

  His reputation, at the moment, was not something that he would like to push onto a lady. If anything ever happened between them he would cause another scandal, which he would get through unscathed but Lady Evelyn would not be so lucky. Her brother would probably call him out.

  His carriage pulled up at his townhouse.

  George went immediately to his chambers. ‘Do not disturb me,’ he ordered his secretary. ‘I will see you in the morning.’

  ‘Yes, Your Grace,’ the man murmured and left George to his arousal and flicker of images of a certain lady going through his mind.

  * * * *

  ‘I heard that the Duke of Windermere spoke to you and danced with you,’ James said to his sister idly the next morning.

  ‘Indeed, he is quite a nice gentleman, despite his recent troubles,’ Evelyn replied carefully.

  ‘Good, as long as he did not say anything to hurt you,’ her brother replied.

  ‘Why would you assume such a thing? He was exceedingly kind and we had an enjoyable conversation.’

  ‘I have to make sure of these things, Evie,’ James defended himself. ‘The man does have a reputation, after all.’

  ‘He divorced his wife after she ran off with another man to the Continent. We did not speak of it but I cannot say that I do not agree with his actions,’ Evelyn retorted. ‘And we merely danced and spoke. If he hadn’t been involved in a scandal I doubt that he would have deigned me with more than a glance.’

  James merely nodded. ‘Very well.’

  ‘James, I honestly doubt I will see the man again and if I do, it will be because he is Laura Ashton’s cousin.’ Evelyn shrugged daintily. ‘I was a convenient wallflower. I have been asked to dance maybe six times this Season and the Duke of Windermere is the one whom you are concerned with.’

  ‘Evie...’ James muttered as a warning.

  ‘I apologise. I was just making a point. Lord Percy Holbrook danced with me and his hands wandered more than a spooked horse. I think he mistook blindness for leprosy.’

  James sounded shocked. ‘Leprosy?’

  ‘You know very well leprosy affects one’s ability to feel.’

  That made James chuckle. Then he said seriously, ‘Well, if I see that
man again, he’d better not have intention of coming near you.’

  ‘You are adorable, James, for a big brother.’ Evelyn chuckled.

  That made her brother growl, which made her laugh.

  * * * *

  Evelyn decided that the Lord or fate had conspired somehow and come up with a most ridiculous scenario for her. Contrary to her own words, she did indeed encounter the Duke of Windermere more. To add to that, the more she spoke to the gentleman, the more she decided that she liked the man.

  However, Evelyn could not decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Heaven help her, Lord George just endeared himself more when he asked about Ruby, despite the fact he had never met her daughter. Naturally, though, he did not know that Ruby was her natural daughter and saw no reason why he ever would.

  With the season drawing to a close and society ready to flee to country estates for house parties and the like, Evelyn was a bit at a loss. She rather looked at Lord George as somewhat of a friend.

  * * * *

  The close of the Season brought a couple of surprises Evelyn’s way. In the week before she was to leave London, she received invitations from two friends, one of which was the Duchess of Rushmore, for summer house parties. She had accepted both, but neither invitation was the surprise. She had seen Lord George a few more times and while that startled her, it wasn’t the surprise either.

  One surprise was when the Duke of Windermere asked to call upon her one afternoon for a stroll through Hyde Park. It was a wonderful afternoon and highly enjoyable. Lord George had also admitted to her that his younger brother, Lucas, who he had mentioned once or twice, preferred to be outside of society these days. Lucas had been in the army at the time of Napoleon’s defeat. He had lost a leg and the sight in one eye as a consequence of battle. Evelyn suggested that this could be why Lord George had been accepting of what was perceived to be her blindness.

  Lord George had sighed softly and said, ‘Perhaps between my brother coming home and my failed marriage, I have learnt a lot in the recent years.’

  Evelyn had accepted that. It was because of the Duke that she no longer saw herself as a blind spinster and was now more receptive to her physician’s continual insistence to test new lenses that were being created to correct her eyesight.

  The other surprise also involved the Duke of Windermere. It seemed that Lord George had also decided to accept an invite from the Duke and Duchess of Rushmore for their house party.

  It seemed that for some reason fate appeared to be throwing Lord George Marsden, the Duke of Windermere, in her path.

  Evelyn honestly did not know how she felt about that.

  To be truthful to herself, she was developing some feelings for the gentleman. She was more mature than she had been two years before when she conceived Ruby. She was not sure about trusting her feelings, but she certainly could admit that whatever was developing was serious. The other thing was, she didn’t know what Lord George was thinking and whether she could trust his feelings, or lack thereof. For the most part, she thought she was contriving a situation beyond belief—despite the scandal, the man was a very wealthy duke and a duke without an heir. So she was feeling torn about that, too.

  In the end, though, Evelyn knew it was something only time could tell.

  She was unsure about her judgment but one thing her time with Lord George had taught her was that she should never deny the facts about her innermost thoughts. If anything, her association with the Duke thus far had made her develop a sort of belief in herself. She no longer mocked herself, and she no longer saw herself as the half blind spinster.

  That, she decided, if nothing else, was worth the little time she had spent with the Duke.

  Chapter 6

  Lord George Marsden leaned back in the comfortable chair across from his good friend, His Grace Lord Leonard Sutton, Duke of Ralston, and three or four other titles. He lazily swirled his glass of brandy as his friend went into a spirited lecture of how much they both needed to find wives to produce heirs. The two men were simply meant to be having a relaxing drink at a local gentleman’s club.

  ‘I have heard this from a great deal of people, Leo. I do not need to hear it from my best friend, too.’ George sighed. ‘And if you recall, I have gone down the path of finding a wife who is proper by Society’s standards. That worked out splendidly,’ he said with heavy sarcasm before taking a gulp of brandy. ‘And for heaven’s sake, my divorce has been official for ten months.’

  ‘So what is it with you and the Mayhew chit?’ his friend questioned. ‘I would say you’re getting awfully friendly there, old chap.’

  George wasn’t about to go into an essay where he would wax lyrical of just about everything that was amazing and beautiful about Lady Evelyn. He had quickly discovered from her varying facets of personality that this would take more time than he had. His most recent discovery was that she was somewhat of a musician.

  ‘She is a wonderful lady, a perfect delight to be around and to speak to,’ George replied to his friend’s question. ‘There are not many women in this world—in the ton—where one could say such a thing about her.’ Thoughtfully he added, ‘The ton in general, I believe, underestimates her.’

  Leo looked at him sceptically. ‘She is blind and she has to be thirty, at least.’

  ‘And we are six and thirty,’ George said. ‘It may be fashionable for men to wed later but I have to say there is a certain maturity in an older lady than one fresh out of the schoolroom.’

  ‘A thirty-year-old virgin.’ Leo shuddered. ‘Sounds positively horrid. Who wants a twenty-year-old crying in bed, much less a lady ten years older?’

  George sniggered. ‘If that is even possible. Even most of the ladies are rid of virgin status in their first Season, if not before. But I am not about to think on a lady’s status in bed and besmirch her honour.’ Besides, George thought to himself, if a lady was crying and not in a good way, the gentleman was certainly not doing something right.

  Leonard frowned at his friend. ‘But you are aware she is completely improper?’

  ‘We are dukes with great wealth, Leo. Surely if anyone could wed a lady of his choice it would be us.’ George shook his head. ‘Stuff with Society. Some can be a bunch of harpies.’

  ‘Very true, old chap.’

  George glared at his friend. ‘And regardless, I just told you that I have merely stepped out with the lady. Refreshingly, she does not shun me for a divorce. In fact, she told me one day that she agreed with my decision. In her mind there was no other choice. It is good that at least someone thinks as I.’

  ‘I agree with your decision, too, George.’ Leonard leaned back. ‘The problem is that you are smitten with the lady.’

  ‘Smitten is such a ridiculous word,’ George dismissed. ‘I find that there are two things in this world when it comes to the fairer sex—lust and love. And I’ve yet to know the latter.’

  ‘Then you do intend to bed the chit?’

  George rolled his eyes. He had confused his friend, it seemed. ‘I do not know how to define what I think of Lady Evelyn. However, I hold her in too high regard to simply have a tumble in bed.’

  ‘Then you intend to have her as a mistress.’

  ‘No,’ George retorted, exasperated. ‘I am unsure of what precisely is happening. But I am not going to take Society’s judgments into consideration. As it is, Lady Evelyn is raising her godchild. She adores the child. Lady Evelyn has told me much of the child when I’ve asked.’

  Leonard leaned forward. ‘Rumour has it that the child she has taken responsibility for is Dalton’s bastard. It would not be a surprise either. Their uncle acknowledged his bastard daughter and the chit lives with her cousins.’

  ‘Lady Evelyn is the first to admit that her family is an oddity,’ George said derisively. Frowning, he added, ‘The child’s parentage, if it is Dalton’s bastard, is between Lady Evelyn and her brother.’ He shook his head. ‘What is it, Leo? You do not normally indulge in gossip. You scoff at the lot of
them.’

  ‘I am trying to protect my friend.’

  George sighed heavily. ‘I thank you very much, Ed, for having my best interests in mind. But my mind knows what it needs.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s your mind? Are you thinking with your heart or your cock?’ Leonard frowned.

  ‘I know my mind,’ he repeated firmly.

  George would be a fool if he refused to admit that he was indeed thinking with his cock—and did not on a regular basis at night when he thought of the lady in question. He was hesitant to admit, though, that he might also be thinking with his heart. As he had just disclosed to his friend, he’d never been in love before so it was difficult to define with absolute certainty what was happening.

  Just as he was about to leave the club sometime later, George had perhaps the misfortune to literally run into the Earl of Dalton. The man frowned at him, looking remarkably like his younger sister.

  ‘Dalton.’ George nodded.

  ‘Ah, Windermere,’ Dalton drawled. ‘Just the chap I was hoping to run into.’

  George frowned because other than being mutually acquainted to Rushmore, they rarely ran in the same circles. ‘What is it, Dalton?’

  ‘Nothing much,’ the Earl replied crisply. ‘’Tis just that I, more than others perhaps, realise your recent—shall we say—association with my sister.’