Eggleston nodded. “Of course, my lord. Upon my honor.”
Devon gave him a skeptical glance. “I intend to circulate the story that you were overheard telling everyone you were headed to Bath for a few days, and when you return, that’s exactly what you’ll tell people. You went to visit friends, became horribly ill upon your arrival, and spent the last few days in bed where no one visited. No one. That’s why you haven’t been seen in days. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” Eggleston replied, bowing at the waist to Devon.
Devon rolled his eyes. “Very good. And if I should ever hear that you’ve circulated any other story, you shall not be pleased by the visit I intend to pay you.”
Eggleston nodded vigorously. “I understand, my lord.”
“Or the visit I intend to pay you,” Jordan called, a wide grin on his face.
Eggleston tugged at his neckcloth. “Lord Ashbourne, I didn’t realize you were here. Yes, yes. You’ve nothing to worry about from me.”
“Excellent.” Devon pulled on his gloves. “Let’s go.”
“If you won’t be needing my services any longer,” Jordan said. “I’ll just slip back to London the way I came and do my part in damage control.”
Devon nodded to his friend. “Yes, see you back in town, Ashbourne. You have my thanks.”
Jordan tipped his hat and grinned at Annie and Lily. “Nice to see you again, Miss Andrews, Lady Merrill.” And then he was gone, in a cloud of dust kicked up by his mount.
Eggleston made to enter the coach, but Devon raised his arm, blocking him. “You’re riding in the other carriage.” He nodded to a space across the courtyard where Eggleston’s own carriage waited.
Annie opened her mouth to protest, but Devon cut her off. “Eggleston must arrive from a different direction and cannot be seen with us.”
Lily nodded, sighed, and climbed into the coach, pulling Annie with her.
“Now go, Eggleston.” Devon gestured to the coach. Arthur, apparently in fear for his continued safety should he disobey Devon, hurried off toward his own coach.
Arthur started to turn back around to say something to Annie, but the collective looks of reproach from both Lily and Devon must have made him change his mind. Instead, he bowed to the three of them and said simply, “Good day.”
Annie pressed her handkerchief to her lips.
Lily pulled on her own gloves. “Annie, it’s time to leave.”
Annie wiped her wet eyes, dabbed at her cheeks, and blew into the handkerchief. “I will miss him so.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you will.”
Devon climbed into the carriage with the sisters. He relaxed back in the seat across from them and stretched out his legs.
“Ready?” Devon knocked on the door between the coachman and the carriage and the coach jolted into motion.
* * *
The first half of the day, they traveled in silence. The two sisters dozed intermittently. Lily tried to catch Devon sleeping, but it was as if the man weren’t human. He seemed completely awake and relaxed at all times. Meanwhile, she felt as if she’d been through the wash and back again.
The journey to London was a bit slower than the full pelt trip to stop Annie from ruining her life. Devon kept the two sisters laughing with his stories about the ton, his time on the Continent, and his foibles as a child.
Finally, they stopped at an inn for a midday meal. Arthur sat with them, and Lily gasped when she glanced over and saw Annie and Arthur holding hands.
“Stop that,” she insisted, pulling Annie closer to her.
Annie gave Lily a defiant glare before glumly plucking her hand from Arthur’s grasp.
“It’s not fair that Arthur should have to ride back alone,” Annie insisted.
Lily swallowed a bite of crusty bread. “I disagree. I think it’s more than fair after what he’s done.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Annie said to Lily.
Lily shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Annie glared at her. “Yes you do. You’ve been giving me that I’m-so-disappointed-in-you look all morning.”
Lily tossed her bread back on the plate. “I am disappointed in you. You have very little idea what you’ve done. We can only hope the ton will believe the story that you weren’t feeling well after the party. God knows if one loose-lipped servant says something, your reputation will be shredded beyond repair.”
Annie poked halfheartedly at her stew. “But you can hardly blame me, Lily. I did what I thought I had to do. I followed my heart and I will never regret that. Besides, where do you think I got the idea?”
Lily sucked in her breath. She turned to face her sister head-on. “What do you mean?”
Arthur Eggleston cleared his throat and made a show of helping himself to his meal, not speaking. Devon’s face was curiously blank.
Annie looked away, her lips tightly drawn.
“Annie,” Lily said under her breath in a warning tone. “Answer me.”
Annie pushed her food around in the bowl, her eyes downcast. “I heard what you said at the ball. To Lord Colton.”
Lily’s face burned. “What exactly did you hear?”
Annie still wouldn’t look at her. “I heard you tell Lord Colton you’d waited for him, you’d planned to elope with him. You’d planned to go to Gretna yourself.”
Lily let out her breath in a rush. Fortunately, there were no other patrons in the inn today to overhear them. “We did not go to Gretna.”
Annie slapped her palm on the table. “But you were planning on it. You meant to go. Admit it!”
“Thank God, Lord Colton didn’t come for me that day,” Lily breathed. But even as she said the words, unexpected tears clogged the back of her throat. She glanced away, snapping her mouth shut. “You shouldn’t have been eavesdropping,” she whispered.
Annie stood and dropped her bread to her plate. “You don’t understand, Lily. You never do! It doesn’t matter that it didn’t happen. What matters is that you tried. You wanted to. It was in your heart, just like mine, and believe me, I hadn’t believed until then that you had a heart! All you want is to control everything and everyone around you.”
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Annie, can’t you understand? I want to keep you from making the same mistakes I did. I’m older, wiser. I know better now and I want you to have the benefit of my experience. All I’ve ever done is what I think is best for you.”
Annie turned away. “I’ll be waiting in the coach,” she said quietly before turning and making her way toward the inn’s front door.
“I’ll escort you outside, Miss Andrews,” Arthur said, taking a final bite, wiping his mouth, and hurrying after Annie.
Her elbow braced on the table, Lily dropped her forehead into her palm. A mixture of surprise and dread knotted in her belly. Devon had heard the entire embarrassing episode. Not to mention Arthur Eggleston. Yes, Devon had heard it before, the first time she’d told him, but she’d been mercifully in her cups that night. Right now she was completely sober. Too sober. Much too sober.
She turned to look at him. He shook his head and gave her a soft smile. He bit his lip with his perfect white teeth.
“She has a point,” he said with a sideways smile that made Lily’s heart skip a beat.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Lily replied, wishing herself anywhere else. “I never would have said all of that if I thought Annie had been listening.”
“Nor if you’d been completely sober,” Devon added.
She couldn’t help her answering smile. “That too,” she admitted.
“Believe me. I know how you’re feeling, Lily.”
She turned to face him. “What do you think I’m feeling?”
“Guilt. You’re feeling guilt because you may have been part of the reason Annie ran away. If her reputation is destroyed, you’ll blame yourself.”
How did that confounded man know so much?
She expell
ed her breath. “You’re right.” It felt good to admit it, to not fight with him anymore.
Devon put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her back against his chest and Lily allowed it. It had been so long, so long since she’d had someone to lean on. And leaning on Devon felt so right.
“I’m responsible for her, Devon. Completely responsible,” she whispered. She rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt.
“Believe me, I understand.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him how he understood. How could he? Devon squeezed her shoulders then and she shook it off. The moment was gone. She pulled away from him and made a show of smoothing her skirts.
“We should get back to the coach,” he said. “God knows, your sister may have talked George into taking her to London by now.”
Lily shook herself and nodded. “Yes, we should go.”
Devon settled the bill with the proprietor and put his hand on the small of Lily’s back to escort her from the inn.
She glanced at the coins Devon had tossed on the wooden table. “I shouldn’t let you pay for all of this,” she said, biting her lip.
“Nonsense. What sort of a gentleman would I be if I allowed you to pay?”
Lily nodded wanly. She could not pay even if he were inclined to “allow” her. Gentleman or no, she didn’t have a shilling to her name. “Well, thank you, just the same. I do appreciate it, Devon.”
He pushed open the front door and allowed her to precede him into the courtyard.
Lily glanced up at him, almost as if she saw him for the very first time. The midday sun glinted off his black hair and the smile on his face made him look positively boyish. It was true when they’d started this journey, Lily hadn’t been entirely sure she could trust him. But now she realized Devon had helped her, truly helped her when she needed help. Unlike any man except Medford.
Oh, Medford! She’d forgotten to tell him they’d left. And that after he’d proposed marriage to her. Oh, God, would he hate her? She hoped not. She’d just have to explain after this nightmare was over.
She glanced up at Devon again. Yes, Medford was a good man, there was no question, but the man standing beside her now was Devon Morgan. Like Medford, she could trust him.
But unlike Medford, Devon made her feel things, deep things she didn’t want to examine.
She shook her head and followed Devon into courtyard. A cloud of dust had been kicked up by one of their carriages.
Lily glanced around the square, her heart in her throat. George called out to them. “Milord, Mr. Eggleston’s coach just took off.”
CHAPTER 28
Devon made his way toward his coach with ground-devouring strides. “I can see that, George. Why did it leave?”
George pushed his hat back on his head. “Those two said you’d be right behind and not ta worry.”
Devon cursed under his breath. He turned to help Lily into the coach.
“And you just let them leave?” Lily cried.
The coachman shrugged, a puzzled look on his face. “Aren’t ye all traveling together, my lady?”
Lily opened her mouth to retort, but Devon put a hand on her arm and shook his head. “It’s better not to let the servants know too much,” he whispered. “Annie and Eggleston can’t have gone far. They’re headed straight south. Even they wouldn’t be foolish enough to try to go to Gretna again.”
There was no choice at the present but to get in Devon’s coach and follow them, so Lily allowed Devon to help her up. The two of them settled into the coach. Lily rubbed her temples. Devon was right. No doubt Annie had merely wanted a few more stolen hours with Arthur Eggleston.
“When did my sweet little Annie become so defiant?” she sighed.
“I suspect it was around the time you began telling her what she could and could not do.”
Lily scowled at him. “We must catch up with them and get Annie back.”
Devon rubbed the back of his neck. “I agree we should catch up to them and keep an eye on them, but what harm does it do to let them enjoy each other’s company a bit longer?”
Lily let her jaw drop. “What sort of a chaperone would I be if I allowed such a thing?”
“A realistic one.”
Devon knocked on the door that separated the coachman from the interior. “George, catch up to the other coach. Keep them in your sights. If they change direction, let me know immediately.”
“Yes, my lord,” came George’s reply.
Lily rubbed her hand across her face and groaned. “Oh, I suppose you’re right. It’s not as if they can be making passionate love inside a coach for heaven’s sake. It’s much too cramped in here.” She smiled, but her face heated at the same time. “We’re getting Annie back at our very next stop, however.”
“A wise decision, Madame Chaperone,” Devon replied with a grin.
Lily settled back and rubbed her hand against the velvety squabs. A prick on her thumb made her wince. “Oh, blast it,” she said, staring at her hand.
“What is it?”
“I must have got a splinter from the table at the inn.” She squeezed her thumb and brought it closer to her nose, examining it. “I can’t get it out.”
Devon moved across the seats to sit next to her. His strong thigh slid along hers, rubbing against her gown. Lily gulped. She should have come up with this splinter story long before now. Not that it was a lie. The confounded thing was blatantly stuck in her thumb.
“Let me see,” Devon insisted, grabbing her hand and examining it closely.
“It’s deep,” she told him.
“I can see that.” He squeezed her thumb between his two forefingers. “Seems it’s a stubborn one. It’s not budging.”
Lily pulled her hand away. “Perhaps I can suck it out.” She promptly stuck the offending appendage into her mouth.
“Here. Don’t do that.” Devon gently took her thumb and guided it to his mouth.
The heat of his tongue and lips made Lily grasp for the wall. Suddenly, the air was thick and hot in the coach. Devon’s mouth on her skin was her only thought.
“No, don’t,” she whispered, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to pull her thumb away.
Devon, looking a bit chagrined, pulled her thumb from his mouth and examined it again. He drew a small knife from his boot, and before Lily had a chance to gasp, he popped the splinter from her thumb using the blunt edge.
“It’s out,” he announced. He held out his palm, displaying the tiny stick.
“Th-thank you,” Lily whispered, shaken.
Devon disposed of the splinter out the window while Lily made a show of rearranging her skirts. She assumed Devon would move back to his own seat at any moment. She hesitantly looked up at him when he didn’t appear to be leaving. He seemed completely relaxed and content where he was.
“What shall we talk about?” Lily asked, still fussing with her skirts. She was so aware of Devon’s body close to hers she could barely breathe.
His eyes captured hers. “Who says we need to talk?”
Their eyes met. Locked.
She leaned into him and one of his arms came around to pull her close. His other hand moved up her thigh. His mouth claimed hers, a hot brand.
Lily ripped at his cravat with greedy fingers while he pushed up her skirts. He turned her sideways on the cushions of the coach and leaned over her. They both fumbled with the buttons on his breeches. Devon’s strong hand moved up the outside of her thigh and pushed up her shift.
Lily couldn’t breathe. Didn’t want to breathe. His mouth shaped hers, played with her, taunted her, his tongue moving insistently inside. She pushed her hands into his dark hair, holding his face to hers.
“Devon,” she cried out. “Please.”
“Oh, God, Lily. I’ve wanted you ever since you came to my room.”
“I want you too,” she breathed against his ear, wrapping her fingers through his hair.
Devon positioned himself and slid inside her hot, welc
oming sheath.
He groaned, pulling back and pushing inside her again, making them both crazy. Lily cried out again and again until he moved his finger down to play with her sensitive core and then she ceased to think at all.
He rubbed her in little circles, pausing only to move inside her and Lily’s head moved back and forth on the cushions fitfully. “Please, Devon … I want…”
“I know what you want,” he breathed against her cheek. “Take it, Lily.”
He moved his finger still, over and over in perfectly timed little circles and Lily finally cried out, her hips arching against his hand. Then Devon pushed into her, again and again, sweat beading on his brow. Groaning, kissing her. “Oh, God, Lily I can’t wait,” he whispered.
She smiled against his lips and kissed him fiercely. “Don’t wait.”
Devon grabbed her hips and thrust into her once more. He exploded this time, a harsh groan ripped from his chest. His breathing came in spurts and he breathed her name one last time.
He flipped over, taking her with him then. She lay on top of him and they both rested there, breathing heavily on the cushions of the coach.
Lily finally mustered the strength to speak. “What just happened?”
He kissed her forehead. “Magic.”
She smiled at that. “I had no intention of doing that again.” That was a lie.
“Do you regret it?” His thumb traced her ear.
“No,” she admitted, rubbing her cheek against his bared chest.
“Good.”
A few minutes later, Lily sat up slowly and moved to the corner of the seat to straighten her garments. She smoothed her hair, smiling to herself. She was tempted to hum. Despite the awful traveling conditions, she suddenly felt simply wonderful.
Yes, it was true she hadn’t exactly meant to do that with Devon Morgan today, but oh, that man made her feel good. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off him. There was no harm in it, was there? Soon she’d be off to Northumberland and a chaste, boring life. She might as well enjoy herself a bit.
“Well, that was … fun,” she sighed.
Secrets of a Wedding Night Page 22
