“He’s not my husband.”
Anne crossed her arms over her chest. “Not yet.”
Lily contemplated the matter for a moment. She hopped off the bed and marched over to the looking glass. She eyed her reflection. She pulled a handkerchief from her bodice, wiped at her tired eyes and blew her nose in a most indelicate manner. Then she straightened her shoulders.
Anne was right. This was it.
It wasn’t a game. She loved Devon, blast it, loved him and wanted to marry him. And while her first marriage might have been a sham, her second would be a success no matter what she had to do to make it so.
She pinched color back into her cheeks and smiled, already feeling better. She wasn’t one to give up. She wasn’t one to lose. It didn’t matter what had happened five years ago. What mattered was what she’d found in Devon’s arms recently. Devon had told her he wasn’t a gambler. She believed him. He loved her. She knew he did, as surely as she knew she loved him. And she would prove it. To both of them.
Lily stood up straight and pushed a wayward curl behind her ear. She was beautiful, wasn’t she? Or so people told her. And Devon wanted her. Or at least he had. Yes, there was one way to get him back that couldn’t fail. Devon might have been the one to seduce her the first time and he’d plied his skill like a master. Well, this time she would be the one plying her skill.
She would get him back.
Lily would go to the Stanhopes’ ball and seduce Devon Morgan.
She spun around quickly, her skirts pooling at her ankles. “Quickly, Mary, help me dress. I’m wearing the lavender ball gown. Devon loves that gown.”
“But me lady, that one is cut so low, I need to remake it for you.”
“Precisely,” Lily replied with a gleam in her eye, “why I want to wear it.”
Mary blushed but nodded and turned back to the dressing room to retrieve the scandalous garment.
Anne gave her an impish grin. “Does this mean you’ve agreed?”
Lily floated over to her dressing table and pulled out a pot of rouge, a pot she’d never used before. “Yes. I intend to have a great deal of fun tonight. I intend to seduce my future husband.”
CHAPTER 41
“I swear I don’t know why I allow you to involve me in these sordid things,” Lord Medford whispered in Lily’s ear hours later as he escorted her into the gleaming ballroom at the Stanhopes’ town house.
“Because,” Lily replied, “we are friends.”
He smiled down at her and sighed. “Don’t pretend for one moment that you didn’t ask me to escort you tonight because you want to make Colton jealous.”
Lily snapped her mouth closed, her smile immediately fading. But then it spread slowly, completely, across her face. “Maddeningly so. I want him to be so jealous, he cannot see straight.”
Medford laughed. “Happy to help. Few things give me more pleasure than making Colton angry.” He tucked her hand under his arm and led her farther into the room.
Lily glanced about. All eyes were upon them. She swallowed. Hard.
“Not to worry,” Medford whispered. “If Colton doesn’t have a conniption at the sight of you in that dress”—he allowed his eyes to dip appreciatively to her generous décolletage—“I’ll make sure I finish him off with my complete adoration of you.”
Lily gave him a sidewise glance and smiled sweetly. “Precisely what I had in mind.”
“Ah, and here’s the bloke now.” Medford nodded toward a dark figure ahead of them.
Lily’s head snapped up to look. Yes, there he was. She pressed her gloved hand against her belly. She hadn’t expected to be quite this anxious. Her gaze followed him.
Devon moved across the ballroom. Despite the sling he wore over one arm, he looked devastatingly handsome in his perfectly tailored black evening attire. He stopped by a column only a few paces away and rested his good shoulder against it. Lily watched him. Her stomach twisted in knots as beautiful ladies approached him like lovely moths attracted to a gorgeous flame.
He was engaged in flirtatious discussion with a buxom, red-haired lady who laughed at everything he said and touched his arm entirely too often. When the redhead turned, Lily recognized her.
Lady Weston.
Medford cleared his throat in what seemed suspiciously like an attempt to cover up his laughter. “Ahem, seems Colton had the jealousy idea first.”
Lily gritted her teeth. “Dance with me, Medford,” she said, not taking her eyes from Devon and Emma, Lady Weston. “Dance with me until my head spins off.”
She pushed her chin in the air and threw herself into Lord Medford’s arms. They danced. And the entire time, Lily ensured her brightest, most radiant smile was plastered on her face. And she carefully ensured that she never, ever glanced Devon’s way.
* * *
Devon leaned against a pillar, surveying the crowd. He’d been searching for a way to get Lily alone all evening, but that nuisance, Medford, never left her side.
And it was driving him insane.
Devon’s gaze flicked across the ballroom. Lily stood in a group of people in the corner, smiling and laughing. If she touched Medford’s sleeve one more time, Devon would just have to snap the viscount’s neck.
Devon growled under his breath. He shoved his one good hand into his pocket and narrowed his eyes on her. She was wearing that lavender gown, the one with the décolletage he couldn’t ignore. That was it. He’d tried it the polite way long enough, now was the time for action.
He stalked over to the group, his resolve strengthening with each pace. He grabbed Lily around the waist with his good arm, hoisted her up, and easily tossed her over his uninjured shoulder.
Lily gasped. “Devon! What are you doing?”
He didn’t reply. He merely turned on his heel.
Medford stepped in front of them. Devon narrowed his eyes on the viscount. “I’ve been fantasizing about ripping you limb from limb all bloody evening, Medford. Don’t give me an excuse.”
Ignoring the looks of shock on the faces of the other guests, Devon pushed past the other man, Lily pummeling his back, and stalked out of the ballroom. He didn’t stop until he’d kicked open the wooden doors to the Stanhopes’ library. He took two strides into the room and tossed Lily unceremoniously on the settee before quickly turning back toward the doors and locking them.
When Devon faced her again, Lily’s eyes were shooting violet sparks at him. She scrambled up from the settee. Her breath came in violent puffs, her lovely breasts rose and fell in her daring décolletage with each inhalation. Her entire body shook.
Moving carefully behind a group of delicate antique chairs, she put distance between the two of them. She glared at him. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
The doorknob rattled. “Lily, Lily? Are you all right?” Medford’s voice was full of concern. He pounded against the wood. The doors shook.
A muscle ticked in Devon’s jaw. “Tell him to go away. Tell him, or by God, I’ll kill him. I swear it.”
* * *
Lily’s chest still heaved. God only knew what had got into Devon. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her or Lord Medford either, but there was no sense antagonizing him when he was being like this. “I’m fine, James,” she called, doing her best to make her voice sound confident.
Devon’s nostrils flared. He crossed his arms over his chest. “James?”
“Are you sure, Lily?” Medford’s voice penetrated the heavy doors. “Just say the word and I’ll break down the doors. I’ll—”
Lily raised her voice, hoping she could continue to sound calm. “No, James, really. I am fine. Please, just give us a few minutes.”
Silence for a few moments and then, “As you wish.” The fading sound of Medford’s boots clipping against the marble floors signaled his retreat.
Lily nodded toward the doors. “Have you any idea what sort of scandal you’ve caused?”
Devon’s eyes never left hers. “It’ll blow over eventually. Besides, they think
we’re married. As far as they know we’re having a domestic dispute.”
Lily pressed a hand to her chest, willing her heartbeat to slow to normal. “Fine then, Lord Colton, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
“I don’t want to talk.” He stalked across the room toward her, shoving the chairs out of his path.
Lily sucked in her breath, backing away from him. “That’s surprising. You seem to have been doing a lot of it with Lady Weston tonight.” Her voice shook.
Her back hit the far wall, stopping her, and Devon advanced. He stood in front of her, looming over her, pinioning her into the corner, his good arm braced against the wall on the side of her face. His brandy-laced breath was hot on her neck. “You cannot believe I’ve been lusting after Lady Weston when I’ve had you in my peripheral vision all night like a goddess come down from the heavens.”
His mouth swooped down to capture her lips and Lily ceased to think. His mouth claimed hers, ravaged hers. His lips forced hers apart and his tongue entered her with force and longing. Lily clung to his neck and kissed him back.
When Devon finally lifted his head, Lily was still breathing heavily. “Are you purposely trying to drive me mad?” she asked. “One minute you hate me, the next you kiss me.”
His crack of laughter bounced off the wooden bookshelves that lined the walls. “Hate you? Hardly. Damn it, Lily, I’ve spent the last fortnight trying to, but I can’t.”
“Isn’t that romantic?” She turned her head away and took a step to move past him, fluttering her hand in the air.
Devon grabbed her wrist. “Don’t.”
Lily stopped, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. “What?”
“When you wave your hand in the air like that, you’re trying to be flippant. But I know it means you care more than you can say.”
She swallowed. They were so close she could make out the dark irises of his eyes. “Why haven’t you told anyone we’re not married?”
“Because I want it to be true.”
Lily snapped her head to the side. Tears sprang to her eyes. Tears. Real tears. They slid, unbidden, unwanted, down her cheeks. She clenched her fists at her sides and willed them away. “Devon, don’t—”
His voice was calm. “Why do you hate me?”
She wiped away the tears with her fingertips. She turned to him then, and the vulnerability in his eyes nearly sent her to her knees. “I don’t.” She shook her head. “I never did. I was so sure you would hurt me again.”
Devon pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket and pressed it gently into her hand. “I never meant to hurt you the first time. But you chose to marry Lord Merrill.”
Lily pressed the white cloth to her cheeks. Her voice shook. “I only agreed to marry the earl after I received your letter that morning, telling me you had changed your mind and must marry a girl with a larger dowry.”
Devon clenched his jaw. He searched her face. “I never wrote a letter. I received one from you.”
“I never wrote a letter,” Lily breathed. “I—” Lily doubled over, understanding finally dawning. She squeezed the handkerchief. “Oh, God. It was my mother. I know it. I always wondered how she came to me so swiftly that morning. It was as if she knew I was waiting. She was so quick to tell me I’d been wrong about you, to comfort me, to suggest I marry Lord Merrill.”
Devon clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles cracked. “And my father wouldn’t have been above such a thing as forging a note from me either. I left you that night because my father drew me away.”
Lily put her hand to her throat. “I feel ill,” she whispered.
Devon rested a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve blamed each other all these years, when our parents were at fault.”
Lily stepped away from him, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. “But that wasn’t the only thing separating us.” She breathed in deeply and turned back to face him. “Devon, why did you gamble again if you detested it? Why couldn’t you stop when I asked you to?”
He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “You have to understand, Lily. I made a promise to a dying man—my dying father, no less—that I would reclaim the signet ring.”
Lily reached out and touched Devon’s hand. “Why hadn’t I ever heard of Justin before?”
Devon expelled his breath. “The story we circulated in town was that Justin was my half brother. My father’s second wife had died roughly around the same time Justin was born. It had been during the winter and we simply told everyone she’d died in childbirth. Most of the servants didn’t even know any better. Only Mrs. Appleby, my father’s housekeeper, and a few others knew the truth.”
Lily sucked in her breath. “I’m sorry, Devon. Truly sorry. For everything.”
Devon pulled her into his embrace. Lily rested her head against his chest. His lips grazed the top of her head. Tears slipped down her cheeks and Devon tipped up her chin with his finger and thumb to look into her eyes.
“Why are you crying, my love?”
“I want you to know why it was so difficult for me to trust you. I was so scared for you. My father was always gambling and I never felt safe. It wasn’t about money. It was never about money. It was about security. I never cared that you were penniless.”
“I understand,” Devon replied. “But why the tears still, darling?” He kissed them away one by one.
“Because you said we can never go back. Too much has happened.”
He kissed her forehead. “It’s true. We can never go back.”
Lily’s heart stopped. She knew it. It was still too late.
Devon pulled her down next to him into the nearby window seat. Her brows furrowed. He tilted her face up to look at him.
“We can never go back, Lily,” he repeated, “but we can go forward, together, and build something better, something stronger than the past. I’ve lost you, twice. Once because of our parents’ schemes and again due to my own pride and foolishness. I cannot lose you again. I won’t lose you again.”
He kissed her lips. So softly, so sweetly. Lily wanted to cry harder. She’d been so sure she’d never feel his touch again.
Devon tugged her back against him and cradled her in his arms. “There’s something else I must tell you, Lily.” There was a smile in his voice. “I know you’ve had your heart set on being married to a poor bloke who has no means of income other than his spotty gambling winnings, but the truth is … I’m quite wealthy.”
She grinned against his chest. “Medford told me,” she admitted. “But you should have.”
Devon raised his brows. “When did Medford tell you?”
“A few days ago. He also told me you’d paid off all my creditors.” She glanced at her hands. “When did you discover I was poor?”
“When I saw Mr. Hogsmeade leaving your house that day I came with Bandit. I recognized him from the many visits he’d paid to my father over the years. After that, I looked into it and discovered how many creditors you had.”
Lily sighed. “It’s been a struggle for a very long time. But I still don’t understand. Why do you want everyone to think you’re destitute?”
He shrugged. “You quickly learn who your true friends are in such a situation.”
Lily nodded. “Including me?”
“Oh, God, Lily. The reason I became rich, the reason I worked so damned hard at it, was for you. I believed you’d refused my suit because of my lack of money and it drove me mad. Yes, I did it for Justin and my father, but I also did it for you. I won the Colton signet ring back. But what I almost gave up for that damned ring. The blasted promise I made to my unworthy father was more important to me than what we could have had. I pushed you away to protect myself. I realize that now. I expected the worst of you. Instead, I showed you the worst of myself.” He hung his head. “I’m sorry, Lily.”
Tears flowed down Lily’s cheeks. She smiled through them. “I love you, Devon. I always have.”
Devon wrapped his good arm around her. “I love you, too, Lily. I’ve
loved you since we danced in the gardens at your debut ball. I’m sorry for the last five years, how difficult your life has been.”
“It’s not your fault, Devon.” She squeezed his hand.
“No, but I’m partially to blame.” He fell to his knees on the floor next to the window seat. He clasped her hand. “Lily, I love you, and I’ll never let you forget it. I’m asking for the third time, the last time. Will you marry me?”
She smiled through her tears. “Yes, Lord Colton. For the third time, the last time, I will marry you.”
EPILOGUE
“We could not have chosen a more perfect day for a wedding.” Devon winked at his new wife as they strode arm in arm around the grounds of Colton House. They’d spent the whole day celebrating with their friends and family and had just finished a late dinner on the lawn. The smell of summer jasmine floated through the summer air. Stars twinkled in the sky above.
“Without a doubt.” Lily smiled and squeezed Devon’s arm. Justin ran across their path, a puppy nipping at his heels. He waved happily at them.
Lily laughed and waved back. “Justin is such a wonderful boy and he loves the new puppy you gave him for a birthday present.”
Devon tucked her hand closer into his arm and escorted her toward a walking path. “No doubt you’ll have the whole ragtag group of dogs out here before long.”
Jordan Holloway caught up to them, a crooked smile on his face as he gave them a jaunty salute. “Congratulations, Lord and Lady Colton.” He shook his head. “I must say you two took your time getting together, even after all of my machinations.”
“Machinations?” Lily furrowed her brows.
Devon crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you talking about, Ashbourne? Do you mean to imply you attempted to matchmake?”
“Attempted?” Jordan slapped gloves against his thigh. “I did everything short of abducting Lily and tossing her into your bed.”
Secrets of a Wedding Night Page 28
