The Dark Matters Quartet

by Claire Robyns

  Greyston, who hadn’t stirred himself beyond observing thus far, sat back in his chair. “Kelan is many things, few of which I’d recommend, but he does not strike me as a man to take quite so much offence to a badly cooked meal.”

  “It’s not the meal that offends him,” she snapped. “It’s the cook.”

  “The loss of Timothkin is a bump in the road, nothing Kelan can’t take in his stride.” Greyston shrugged. “Whatever has him unhinged, it’s not that.”

  “You think something else happened in Clitheroe?”

  “Or he has some other apocalyptic theory brewing that he cannot be bothered to share.”

  “You don’t think one giant parasite is apocalyptic enough?” Her lips twitched.

  “My dear lady,” he said with a lofty air, “please don’t make me discuss parasites on an empty stomach.”

  Lily sighed. “We can always prevail on Evelyn for supper. It’s still early and they never sit down before eight.”

  “Will the duke be there?”

  “Since Harchings House belongs to Devon, I cannot vouch for his absence,” Lily said drolly. “Why, are you two quarrelling?”

  “Men don’t quarrel amongst themselves,” he informed her. “We draw swords and I’m too fond of Evelyn to make a widow of her tonight.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “You do realise Devon’s known for months you’re Captain of the Red Hawk and he hasn’t done anything with that knowledge.”

  “There isn’t anything he can do,” Greyston scoffed. “I’ve never hidden my identity.”

  “If you get to know each other,” she pressed, “you might find common ground to see eye-to-eye.”

  “I own the Red Hawk, a ship built on revolutionary steam technology that hasn’t yet, and possibly never will, be replicated and Harchings is the Secretary of Alternative and New Threats.”

  “You’re not a threat to England,” Lily exclaimed.

  “Harchings thinks it’s my duty to the Crown to sell him the blueprints and, let’s just say, we’ve agreed to disagree.”

  “Amicably, I presume?”

  “He threatened to take what he wanted and I encouraged him to give it his best shot.”

  “Greyston,” she warned. “You will be careful, won’t you? A threat from Devon isn’t to be taken lightly.”

  “Harchings will try his damnedest to steal my technology and I’ll try my damnedest to not kill him.” A slow grin tugged at his lips. “With a bit of luck, we’ll both fail. You have nothing to worry about.”

  Lily narrowed her eyes at him as they pushed up from the table. “You’re teasing.”

  “Probably,” he said, but with a wink that set her mind at ease. “As for dinner, I’ll take my chances at the pub. I’ll see you safely to Evelyn first, though.”

  “Afraid I’ll banish another demon along the way?”

  “No.” He walked a step behind, his hand on the small of her back as he guided her from the room. “But I assume Kelan took the carriage, so we may as well share a hackney cab.”

  The weight of his hand was comforting, familiar, a ghost of what might have been. Lily stopped, turned, and found herself in his accidental embrace. She tipped her head, meeting his dark gaze. Her world tilted backward to a time where could have been was still a whispered promise of what might be.

  “Greyston?” Bracing herself with a palm to his chest, she tipped up onto her toes, bringing her mouth within an inch from his. “Don’t you ever wonder…?”

  The pressure on her back increased ever so slightly, urging her closer. His head lowered, his words a hot breath thrumming her lips. “How could I not?”

  The moment stretched to an eternity. Her lips parted. Her heart yearned. The feelings were still all there, the sensual warmth, the sense of belonging. And it was that much more difficult to ignore when Kelan treated her like a leper. She closed her eyes, her pulse fluttering as she waited. They’d only kissed once before, and it had been wonderful, everything she should imagine or want.

  The butterflies at her pulse stuttered at the mistake.

  Their kiss had been everything she could imagine or want.

  Greyston was every bit as arrogant, confident and stubborn as Kelan. The two men were so alike, yet so vastly different. Kelan’s fierce loyalty was to his demon cause while she’d always felt, despite everything, Greyston’s overriding loyalty was to her.

  Each man was a law unto themselves. Greyston was an unruly Scotsman, a pirate and a rogue, but inside, he was butter-soft. Kelan, on the other hand, had the attitude of an avenging angel. And the rugged harshness carved into his features went bone-deep.

  And, of course, there was the force majeure. Greyston might have loved her, if he hadn’t spent his whole life running, running from the demon in his blood, put there by a McAllister. Kelan might have hated her, if it didn’t require quite so much condescension to feel anything that intensely intimate at all.

  The arm circling her fell away. Greyston was speaking again, but his words no longer brushed her lips.

  “I once believed I’d destroy you,” he said softly. “But a recent conversation has made me see the whole truth, Lily. We would destroy each other.”

  Lily’s eyes blinked open. “Did that conversation happen to be with my charming husband?”

  He shook his head. “With a charming young lady, actually.”

  “Oh my goodness.” Lily jumped back a step, filled with mortification. Of course he’d turned his attention elsewhere. Why shouldn’t he? “I am so, so sorry. What must you think of me? What would your lady think?”

  “It was just a conversation, not a contract of ownership. Knowing Georgina Bonnington, she’d think a host of unlikely things, but she wouldn’t be thinking them as my lady.” His hand came up, his knuckles grazing beneath her chin. “Lily, I care for you, deeply. I wanted you for mine.” His thumb stroked her jaw as he spoke, his gaze as warm and rich as the honey tones of his voice. “I had the opportunity and, no matter my excuses, I didn’t take it. That says it all, doesn’t it?”

  “I recently arrived at a similar conclusion.” She tilted her chin away from his touch, slowly, gently, smiling up at him. “But I do still wonder.”

  “So do I,” he said huskily.

  And the way he looked at her, basking her in a glow of warmth, she knew he did, each and every day.

  Her sigh held a trace of regret, and perhaps a larger dose of hope. She almost let it go, almost crept back behind her wall of social protocol. But she was tired, so very tired, of taking ten dainty steps back for every rebellious leap. Besides, when had she ever acted like a proper lady with Greyston?

  “I’ve set you from my mind many times,” she said to him. “Yet here you are, once again…” She pressed the ball of her palm to her temple, still looking into his kind, brown eyes, still smiling. “That’s where I’ve gone wrong. I don’t want to set you aside, Greyston. I need you to stay.” Her hand dropped to her side. “As my friend.”

  A friend, every bit as dear to her as Evelyn. She couldn’t lose either of them.

  He took her hand in his. “I’d like that, Lily.”

  “I’ve never spoken this frankly to any member of the opposite sex. Ladies aren’t supposed to, you know. But I like this, too.” She gave a small laugh. “You’re my first male friend.”

  “And you’re my first lady friend,” he said, then chuckled. “Well, I’ve had my share of lady friends—”

  “Greyston!” She tugged her hand from his to slap his arm. “That might be a little more frank than what I had in mind for this friendship.”

  “Fair warning.” He chuckled harder, amusement creasing the corners of his eyes. “Does this mean you’ll finally call me Grey?”

  They were walking again, Lily a step ahead of him in the narrow passage. “Certainly not.” She threw him a look over her shoulder. “I’ve grown attached to the cadence of your full name on my tongue.”

  When they reached the entrance hall, Greyston cocked a brow at the footman
in attendance. “Given the staff dilemma,” he said in a low, mocking voice, “couldn’t the poor sod be put to better use?”

  Lily bit down on a retort. Greyston would never appreciate the pomp and waste of strict social measures and, she finally admitted, she’d never want him to.

  “That is Andrew, and he’s still in training,” she murmured. “Mr. Hamilton doesn’t trust him beyond opening doors, handing out coats and hailing hackney cabs.”

  The latter of which, to her astonishment, wouldn’t be required.

  “His lordship set out on foot,” Andrew informed them. “I’ll have Brinn bring the carriage around front, m’lady.”

  “Kelan went all the way to Whites on foot?” Lily mused. “That’s an awfully long walk.”

  “I once walked twenty miles to…” Greyston cleared his throat. “Never mind.”

  She slanted a curious look his way. “To…?”

  “Clear my head,” Greyston said, not quite meeting her eyes. “Loosen the limbs. And Kelan did spend last night on a cramped train.”

  Lily’s arrival at Harchings House caused somewhat more of a commotion than she’d expected.

  The butler, a Mr. Bryns, seemed downright flustered as he admitted her into the drawing room. “Lady Harchings is not receiving, I’m afraid, and his lordship is not in attendance.”

  “My visit is unexpected,” Lily apologised with a wide smile. “I’m sure Lady Harchings will receive me once she’s been made aware of my presence.”

  He dipped his head and turned to leave.

  Evelyn not receiving?

  The antique clock on the mantelpiece showed the time as nearly eight o’clock. Even if Devon was away, it wasn’t like Evelyn to hide upstairs or make herself unavailable at the supper hour.

  Not unless… Evelyn was with child, almost two months gone. Was she unwell?

  A pang of worry sent Lily after Mr. Bryns. She found him at the bottom of the grand staircase, instructing a maid, who Lily recognised as Evelyn’s lady’s maid, Alice.

  “Wait,” Lily called, hurriedly walking up to them. If Evelyn was resting, there was no need to get her up and dressed. “Is Lady Harchings in her bedroom?”

  When Alice nodded, Lily proceeded past them and up the stairs, issuing, “I assure you Lady Harchings will not mind if I see myself up and I do,” she reminded them, “know my way about.”

  She’d stayed here with Evelyn for a few days, right about the time Greyston had come into her life and flipped her world from husband hunting to demon hunting.

  Evelyn was indeed in her bedroom, looking positively radiant and rather fiercely spirited, if the stamina behind that pacing was any indication. She spun around at the sound of the door clicking shut and her eyes widened. “Lily? Good graciousness, were we expecting you tonight?”

  “Not at all. I’ve arrived quite unannounced. I dare say, Mr. Bryns will never recover from the shock,” Lily said, moving deeper into the room. “Were you about to retire? I didn’t mean to intrude.”

  “Don’t be a goose.” Evelyn came forward, folding Lily in an exuberant embrace. “My home will always be yours. I’ve missed you so.”

  “I saw you only yesterday morn—oomph!” Lily gasped as Evelyn’s hug squeezed the breath from her lungs.

  “Yesterday’s an age away.” Evelyn released her, standing back. “I’m so, so happy that you’re here.”

  Were those tears glistening in her eyes?

  That pang of worry whipped into a storm. “Whatever is the matter?”

  “Nothing is the matter.” Evelyn grabbed the edges of her silk wrapper and threw her arms out. “Everything is the matter! I’m a pothouse.”

  Lily’s glance swept over her splendid figure, most of it revealed quite indecently by that sheer nightgown. She suppressed a giggle. Evelyn didn’t have a shy hair on her body and it wouldn’t do to encourage her too much. “What precisely is a pothouse?”

  “I’m as round as a pot and as big as a house,” Evelyn declared.

  “You’re not showing in the slightest,” Lily said. “You’re as slender and beautiful as ever.”

  But Evelyn wasn’t listening. She flung herself facedown on the bed, groaning, “My hair is duller than old dishwater and my skin is a bloated wasteland of repugnance!”

  “Your hair is a waterfall of glossy curls,” Lily countered, perching on the bed beside her friend to push one of those glossy curls aside. “And I was just thinking, when I stepped inside, I’ve never seen you look more radiant.”

  Evelyn rolled onto her side, peering up. “You’re the only one who thinks so.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Lily said gently, then sighed as understanding hit. “What has Devon said now?”

  “Don’t use that tone on me.” Evelyn pulled herself up into a sitting position, her face set in a mutinous scowl. “Why do you always choose his side?”

  “I’ve gotten into an enormous amount of trouble for doing the exact opposite,” Lily reminded her.

  “I know.” Evelyn’s mutiny crumpled. “I’m sorry for being such a beast, Lily.”

  “You’re not being a beast.” Lily reached out, stroking her hair. “You’re simply a little over-emotional. A baby growing inside you can do that, I’ve heard.”

  “Perhaps you’re right.” Evelyn tipped her head back, staring at the ceiling. When she brought her head down, there was a sadness in her eyes. “I may be over-emotional, but I’m not daft. Devon no longer finds me attractive.”

  “I sincerely doubt that.”

  “He no longer shares my bed.” She shot Lily an apologetic glance. “I know you don’t approve of discussing—”

  “But you need to talk about it and I don’t mind,” Lily interrupted. She wasn’t even blushing. Her brush with death had aged her. She felt at least ten years older today than she had yesterday. She felt positively matronly. “Besides, we’re both married women. But, Evie, have you spoken to Devon?”

  “Is it not enough my husband finds me repelling?” Evelyn snorted. “Must I now court his pity, too?”

  “He doesn’t find you repelling,” Lily insisted. “Is it possible Devon’s merely being careful?”

  “We could still sleep in the same bed. He could still hold me in the night. He hasn’t so much as kissed me in days.” Evelyn huffed. “He frequents Whites far more than he’s ever done before and we all know what that means.”

  “You need to instate a new cook?” Lily asked hesitantly.

  Evelyn gave her a strange look. “Men have needs, Lily, and if I’m not fulfilling them, I’ll wager someone else is.”

  Lily blinked. An odd, tightening sensation wound her stomach into a knot. “At Whites?”

  “No. Well, perhaps…” Evelyn mangled her lower lip beneath a row of small teeth. “God knows what happens behind those hallowed doors, but that’s the point, isn’t it? The place is a blasted male abyss, swallowing their darkest secrets. I can’t follow Devon there, and anyone I ask will swear he was there all night, even if he wasn’t there at all.”

  “Oh!” Perhaps Kelan’s long walk wasn’t that long at all. “Kelan keeps a mistress in the vicinity.”

  “Kelan has a mistress?” gasped Evelyn.

  Lily clamped her lips. Had she spoken aloud? “We were talking about Devon,” she hedged.

  “I’ll deal with him later.” Evelyn leaned forward, a determined gleam wiping the earlier despair from her eyes. “Are you sure about Kelan?”

  “Of course not.” Lily didn’t really want to talk about it. In all honesty, the idea was making her quite queasy…for no reason she could grasp. Why should she care? “We argued terribly this afternoon,” she explained. “This evening, Kelan informed me he’ll be taking his meals at Whites.”

  “The adulterous devil!”

  “We have a temporary arrangement, Evie, not a proper marriage. You did say a man has needs, which I’m most decidedly not fulfilling.”

  “Do you want to?”

  “Evie!”

  Some of Evelyn’s u
sual mischief returned in the form of a wry smile. “You have no wish, whatsoever, to explore the rocky depths of all that raw, potent power?”

  So much for feeling matronly. Lily’s cheeks were burning. “Evie!”

  “Oh, do stop Evie’ing me. Your marriage may not be conventional or romantic, but it is legal. There’s no harm in taking advantage of the benefits.”

  “Except for ruining any chance of an annulment when this is over.”

  “Kelan McAllister?” Evelyn said thoughtfully. “The Earl of Perth? Do you sincerely believe he’ll ever agree to a divorce?”

  “Neither of us would,” Lily said firmly. “That’s why we’d never do anything to risk an annulment.”

  “Pish posh.” Evelyn shrugged. “Is marriage to Kelan truly such a hardship?”

  “It’s worse,” Lily assured her. After today, she had not a single doubt. And neither would Evelyn, if she could confide in her dearest friend.

  She just had to recall the way his arctic gaze had bored into her, and her spine bristled all over again. Your actions are inexcusable.

  You have my permission to search for demons. As if she needed his permission!

  “However, I am his wife, for now, and Kelan did suggest I’d neglected my training.” Lily’s chin edged high. “It’s my duty to obey, surely?”

  Evelyn’s eyes lit up. “This sounds deliciously ominous.”

  “Do you still have that pair of bloomers from New York?”

  “Is this your way of asking to loan my riding habit again?”

  Lily shook her head. “I need more freedom of movement than split skirts provide.”

  “Whatever is this training for?” Evelyn giggled. “Apprenticeship to a highway man?”

  “Not exactly,” Lily said with a mysterious smile. “But close enough.”

  “Ooh, then the bloomers will not do. Not at all!” Evelyn slid from the bed to tug the service bell. “I know just the thing and I need all your measurements.”

  FOUR

  Greyston was restless. The kind of restless a lap of Kensington Gardens couldn’t cure. He gave a wistful thought to his crew, the lucky bastards, gliding the Aether and chasing treasure bandits across the desert.