Dancing With A Devil

by Julie Johnstone

  “The Marquess of Davenport is―”

  “Do be quiet,” she snapped, turning toward Lord Thortonberry in time to see his face darken. He stood, anger twisting his mouth.

  “Do you wish for me to ask Davenport to leave?”

  Her heart thudded in her ears. That would be wise. The exact right path for a woman determined to put a man out of her heart and head. She shook her head, mentally cursing herself. “I don’t wish him to think he can cow me.” Liar. Deep down, the truth was she would never be able to quit wondering why he’d come here this morning if she sent him away without talking to him. And she knew she could never live with that. “Why don’t you come back to collect me for the art unveiling at one?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll wait here to make sure you don’t need me to throw him out.”

  She shoved her hands on her hips. “Careful, my lord. I’m not a woman who has ever enjoyed being told what to do.”

  “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry. Davenport brings out the worst in me.”

  “Likewise,” Trent’s voice drawled from behind her.

  Audrey gasped and whirled toward the door. Trent leaned lazily against the door frame. His cold eyes belied his easy smile. Dressed in tan leather riding breeches that hugged every bulging muscle of his legs and a dark bottle-green waistcoat cut to fit close to his chest, Trent looked fearsomely handsome and easily capable of stripping off his coat and pummeling any man who irked him into the ground. Audrey gulped, then forced herself to gain control.

  “What are you doing here?”

  A genuine smile spread across his face as he raked his gaze slowly over her body and lingered at her chest, exactly as he’d done last night. Oh, the devil! She really wished he’d quit doing that. As if he could sense how discomfited he made her, he chuckled. “I’m here to see you, of course. And might I add it pleases me immensely to see you’re wearing the chartreuse gown that I chose for you.”

  She groaned, dearly wishing he hadn’t said that. She’d never intended to tell Lord Thortonberry that Trent had actually been the one to purchase the wardrobe for her. By the satisfied gleam in Trent’s eye, she could tell he was all too pleased to have revealed it was him. “I intend to help sweep the house later,” she snapped. “That’s why I chose this gown. I don’t care about it, so it’s perfect to wear for housework.”

  “Brava, my lady. I’m glad to see you’ve not lost your tart tongue while I’ve been gone,” Trent murmured in a way that managed to sound both seductive and genuine and made a blush sear her cheeks.

  Lord Thortonberry stepped beside her and pressed a hand against her back. “Lady Audrey has no need for anything from you. She’ll be sending the dresses back to you to give to whatever mistress you’re currently keeping.”

  Jealousy twisted her insides as anger made her bite hard on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from being rude to Lord Thortonberry. How dare he suppose he could tell her what to do, even if his pride was prodding him to act so boorish. Still…perhaps he had a point. She’d not planned to send the dresses back, but perhaps it was the wisest thing.

  Trent pushed slowly away from the doorframe and came to stand directly in front of them. He didn’t presume to touch her, the way Lord Thortonberry had, yet Trent didn’t have to. So near to her, he was all she could smell, see and feel. Leather and pine filled her nose with every breath. He’d gone again without shaving, and his whiskers glittered like brushed gold over his skin. His heat wafted to her and made her insides clench.

  He looked at her and it was as if it was just the two of them in the room. “I don’t have a mistress. And just so there’s no confusion, I’ve not touched another woman since the day I met you.” His eyes smoldered as they held hers.

  The shock of his words hit her full force. Her legs trembled so that she had to lock her knees to keep the shaking from being obvious. “I see,” was all she could manage to say, and that came out as a throaty whisper.

  Trent regarded Lord Thortonberry with a coldness that made her skin prickle. “You cannot claim the same loyalty to Lady Audrey, can you?”

  Audrey stiffened. Had Lord Thortonberry been pursuing her while sleeping with other women? The rational side of her brain knew it wasn’t uncommon, yet she didn’t want a man who was common as her husband.

  His hand clenched on her back before dropping away. “I don’t owe you any explanations,” he snapped.

  “No, you don’t,” Trent agreed so readily she gaped. Then he smiled sardonically. “You owe her an explanation as to why after you have seen her home every night for the last two weeks you’ve eventually made your way to every known and unknown hellfire club in the city, where you’ve not left until the sun rose again on London.”

  “Have you been following me?” Lord Thortonberry snarled.

  Audrey’s pulse skittered erratically. Had he? Because of her? That blasted bubble of hope that she was trying to burst in regard to Trent popped up inside her.

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Trent drawled, “but I don’t find you that interesting. Men talk. Simple as that.”

  That bubble inside her deflated with a pop. Trent hadn’t followed Lord Thortonberry because he was concerned for her, and Lord Thortonberry was a beast. Slowly, she turned toward him. “I think perhaps you ought to leave and not bother returning.”

  “You don’t understand,” he said, his jaw setting in a determined line.

  Trent grabbed the man’s elbow. “She doesn’t want to understand,” he growled. “The lady has asked you to go.”

  “Stop it,” Audrey commanded, fearing a fight would occur if she didn’t intervene. “Please just go. That is twice you’ve lied to me. I’ll not allow a third time.”

  “I’ve not lied. Allow me to explain. In private. Then I’ll leave without argument.”

  “All right,” she huffed. She wasn’t such a fool not to see if the man refused to go Trent might very well forcibly remove him no matter what she said. She eyed Trent. “Wait here. I’ll deal with you momentarily.” When he opened his mouth as if to protest she glared. “You can always leave too, if you cannot acquiesce to my wishes.”

  He grinned and rolled back on his heels. “Here will do nicely. I prefer you speak with him without closing the door to whatever room you’re in, for safety’s sake.”

  “You may go to the devil,” she snapped, then waved an impatient hand at Lord Thortonberry. “Come along.” She marched out the door and down the hall.

  Once standing in the library, she turned and faced Lord Thortonberry as he strode in after her. He motioned to the door. “May I shut it?”

  “No.” Her anger made her words short.

  “Shall we sit?”

  “You’ve five minutes. What is it you wish to say?”

  “I was not with other women in those clubs. I swear it. Or rather I was with women, but not in the way I am sure you’re thinking.”

  She raised her eyebrows. Did he think her so easily manipulated? Surely not. He’d known her all her life, for heaven’s sake.

  “No? Well, then what you were doing? I know enough to understand that men go to hellfire clubs to either gamble or find pleasure in paid companion’s arms, and if you haven’t guessed, neither of those lofty pursuits are hobbies I wish in a future husband.”

  “I’ve guessed, and I agree with your views. I was there to find my brother, plain and simple.”

  “But you don’t have a brother.”

  He nodded. “I know. Or at least I did. After my father died, when his will was read, it came to light that I may well indeed have a half brother. My father’s dying wish was that I find him and bring him into the fold. I’ve been searching for the last two years and my search has led me to believe the mother of my half brother once worked in one of London’s hellfire clubs.”

  “I can’t believe it,” she whispered.

  “Neither could I, but then I recall my father and it’s not so hard to believe.”

  “No,” Audrey said slowly. “I
don’t suppose it is.” They stared at each other for a moment, leaving his family’s history unspoken. His father had not been very good at keeping his affairs secret, though it was customary in the ton to do so.

  Audrey shifted from foot to foot, trying to order her thoughts. She understood why he would want to fulfill his father’s dying wish, and she also understood why he never mentioned what he was doing to her. It wasn’t any of her business, after all.

  “Lady Audrey, will you consider giving me the chance I asked you for?”

  She opened her mouth to answer just as Mr. Barrett stepped into the room.

  “You’ve another caller,” her coachman turned footman said in a gruff tone.

  She repressed a smile at the way he tugged on the collar of the livery. “Tell whoever it is, I’ve the plague,” she said jokingly, though she was a trifle annoyed.

  When Mr. Barrett turned as if to leave, she gasped. “Mr. Barrett, I’m joking. Show them to the salon, and tell them I’ll be along in a minute. Is it a gentleman or a lady?”

  “A lady.”

  “Thank goodness for that.” She didn’t think she could handle anymore gentlemen callers today. As he departed the room, she eyed Lord Thortonberry. She needed time to figure out how to proceed with him. “May I give you my answer this afternoon? I’ve a lot to think about.”

  He nodded, but his jaw tightened. “May I still take you to the art showing?”

  “Why don’t you meet me there?” she suggested, wanting to buy as much time as possible to decide what to do. Her head told her to give him a chance, but her heart―ah, her problematic heart. Her heart would not allow her head to rule until she learned exactly why Trent had come here this morning.

  “As you wish,” he said with a casualness that sounded forced to her ears.

  After seeing Lord Thortonberry to the door she made her way to the salon, half expecting to find Whitney there, or possibly Gillian or Sally, though when she’d said goodbye to Sally last night the duchess had been preoccupied with worry over the duke not feeling well. Entering the salon, Audrey frowned.

  A petite, fair-haired young lady she didn’t recognize sat with her back straight as a board and her hands locked on her knees. Her perch on the edge of the settee made her look as if one wrong word and she would dash out the door. Audrey cleared her throat to get the woman’s attention. The woman jerked her gaze to Audrey and quickly rose. “Lady Audrey?”

  Audrey nodded. “Yes. How may I help you?” Though she had absolutely no idea who the woman was, something about her was familiar in a way she couldn’t name.

  The woman fidgeted with the silk reticule in her hands as she stared at Audrey for such an unaccountably long time that Audrey found herself fidgeting as well. She forced herself to still. “Have we met before?”

  The woman shook her head. “I’m from Shropshire.”

  Audrey smiled. “It’s a lovely place. I’ve visited it before. My father’s brother lived there.”

  “Yes, I know,” the woman mumbled.

  “Did you know my uncle? He passed away some years ago.”

  The woman nodded. “I knew him. Every time Father came to visit us he would take Mother and me to see Uncle Johnathan.”

  “Uncle Johnathan?” Audrey repeated, her thoughts spinning dizzily in her head. Did this woman mean Audrey’s Uncle John? Was this stranger calling Audrey’s Uncle John her uncle? “I think I better sit down.” Audrey walked across the carpets and plopped onto the settee. The woman quickly sat and faced her. Trying to calm the quaking inside her, Audrey inhaled deeply. “Perhaps you ought to tell me straight out who you are.”

  “All right. I’m your half sister, Victoria. Father, our father, met my mother a year before he met yours. They were very much in love, but his father, our grandfather, threatened to disinherit him if he married her. Grandfather had already promised Father would marry your mother and would lose a great deal of land he was receiving from the union if the marriage contract fell through.”

  Audrey clenched at the material of her dress. Her mother had never told her any of this. Had she even known? Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, but she swallowed and asked, “I take it he never quit seeing your mother.”

  Victoria’s cheeks reddened, but she nodded. “Shortly after his wedding to your mother, he visited Mama unexpectedly. After he left, she was very ashamed she allowed him to come, so she says, but she loved him desperately and nine months later I was born. Out of love and necessity the visits continued.”

  Audrey nodded. She was afraid if she tried to speak she would scream. This information certainly explained why her father was always so cold to her mother. He’d never loved her and had been forced to marry her. Forcing herself to meet Victoria’s curious gaze straight on, she said, “I assume you knew all about us?”

  “Yes. Father kept no secrets from Mama.”

  Audrey laughed bitterly. She wished she could say the same. “What are you here for? Money?”

  Victoria gave her a strange look. “No, Father left us plenty. The solicitor showed up right after his death and gave us enough money to keep us well off for a lifetime.”

  Audrey’s lips were numb but she forced herself to speak again. “A lifetime.”

  “Yes. And well, the money was such an astonishing sum Mama worried Father hadn’t provided for all of you as he should have. She fretted for six months. Afraid to contact you and anger you and your brother by being so bold, but equally fearful that you may need our aid. She always begged him to be kinder to you and your brother, because she worried he took out his unhappiness in the marriage on you both. I told her he’d never do that. He was such a wonderful father, so loving and kind, but she wanted to be sure. So, here I am. I’m embarrassed to inquire, but I assume you’re well provided for?”

  Dumbfounded, Audrey could do nothing but stare. Hurt heated her and rushed through her body, gaining fire as her shame grew until she was sure her humiliation would kill her. Victoria stared at her, but Audrey couldn’t speak. She’d die before ever admitting Father had left her and Richard destitute, without any of his money, love or even the memory of his caring about them. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. By God, she might sit here all day like a statue, but she refused to cry. She willed the tears away.

  “Lady Audrey, did he provide for you?”

  The ticking hand of the clock clicked five times in Audrey’s ear before the soft tapping of shoes startled her and a warm hand pressed down on her shoulder. She whipped her gaze up to find Trent standing over her, a strange faintly familiar look in his eyes. He swept his gaze toward her for a moment, and she caught her breath. The pain she felt seemed to be mirrored in his eyes. Impossible. He squeezed her shoulder and spoke. “You must forgive Lady Audrey’s silence. She’s still mourning the loss of her beloved father, and I’m sure all you’ve told her has come as a great shock.”

  “Oh. Oh, yes, of course.” Victoria looked at her. “I’m sorry. How unthinking of me.”

  Audrey didn’t need to worry about answering. Trent bowed over the woman’s hand, introduced himself and had the lady smiling dreamily at him within seconds and seemingly forgetting all about her question to Audrey. Audrey stared at them both. She knew they were talking, because their lips alternately moved, but she couldn’t seem to make out the conversation.

  She was horribly hot and her head buzzed with memories of all the times she’d cried over Father not loving her and wondering what she could do to make him give her some affection. He never would have loved her. All his love had already been given somewhere else. To someone else. Another woman. Another child. His preferred family.

  She laughed hysterically and Victoria’s lips stopped moving. The woman gave her a quizzical look.

  “As I was saying,” came Trent’s voice, crashing through the silence. “Lord Bridgeport provided very well for Audrey and her brother. You may tell your mother not to fret. He loved them dearly and treated them like they were his most prized possessions.”

 
; Audrey frowned. Surely the woman wouldn’t believe that drivel. Victoria nodded. “I knew it, and I must say, hearing you say it, Lord Davenport, makes me rest easy.”

  As Trent held out his hand to assist the woman to her feet, Audrey stared at the man before her. He was still a puzzle after all this time. Selfless protector or selfish rake? In this moment, she didn’t know whether to throw her arms around him and kiss him or demand he take his leave right along with her half sister.

  Trent wanted to take Audrey in his arms and wipe away all the hurt swimming in her eyes. She looked as if she were barely keeping herself together. The sooner her half sister left, the better. “Miss, um, er…” Damnation. He didn’t know what surname she went by considering her parents had never been legally married.

  Her cheeks turned brilliant red before she spoke. “Cringlewood,” she murmured, darting a glance at Audrey. Trent couldn’t help but looking as well to see how the news affected her.

  Audrey’s glassy eyes and flushed cheeks concerned him, but more than that was her silence. She was never one to hold her opinion to herself, but she said nothing. She simply stared at the woman as if the right words would not come. Trent pressed a hand to the new Miss Cringlewood’s back and motioned toward the door. “I think perhaps Lady Audrey needs time to come to terms with all you’ve told her.”

  “Yes. Quite understandable.”

  Trent guided Audrey’s half sister to the door while sparing a parting glance for Audrey. Silently, she watched them leave. Trying not to appear as if he was rushing the woman out of the house he forced himself to a congenial pace. When the footman shut the door behind her, after a quick goodbye and a promise from Trent that he’d tell Audrey to call on her sister if the desire ever arose, Trent let out an impatient sigh and strode toward the salon, not sure what he might find.

  Audrey’s crying floated to him before he reached the door. He increased his speed and barreled into the room, stopping short at Audrey slumped over with her head buried in the crook of her arm with her now slipperless feet tucked under her. She looked small and helpless. His heart squeezed mercilessly as he rushed to her side and gathered her in his arms.