by Vella, Wendy
Fleeing his house hadn’t been the action of a rational woman. But then, Dimity often did what she shouldn’t, and her pride couldn’t take much more pity or help from Lord Raine. She would of course contact Abby when she had her life set to rights again. Hopefully by then, Gabriel Deville’s anger would have eased too.
Slowing to a walk when she was sure she had put enough distance between herself and the Deville townhouse, she wondered where she should go first? Dimity was resourceful, had slept a full night and eaten. For today she was taken care of. Tonight, however, would be another matter entirely.
She and Walter walked into a small park. She would spend a few minutes thinking here, formulating a plan. Finding a bench beneath a tree, she sat. She needed money, and then perhaps she should leave London.
High-pitched yapping came from her left, and soon appeared a small brown furry dog. Running at speed, ears flat, clearly it had escaped its owner. It sprinted straight for Walter, who instantly sat on Dimity’s foot and started shaking.
He was not terribly brave when it came to other dogs.
The little dog stopped abruptly and started jumping up and down beside Walter. He lifted his head and ignored it.
“It’s just wanting to play, Walter. There is no need to fear a dog that is no bigger than your hind leg, surely?”
Walter grumbled low in his throat.
“Romulus!”
Dimity watched a woman appear on the path ahead of her from the direction the dog had come. Elderly, wrapped in a black cloak, hood up, she walked with a cane. Behind her ran a footman and maid, both looking harried.
“You are fools. She is but a small, sweet-natured dog, and evaded both of you!” The woman pounded the sturdy cane into the ground as she walked at a surprisingly brisk pace.
The maid and the footman galloped past the woman and down the path to where Walter quivered and the little dog, who Dimity guessed was called Romulus, looked up at him adoringly.
They stopped when they saw her seated on the bench.
“There she is.” The maid stopped, puffing out a relieved breath. “Rotten little toad,” she muttered to the grim-faced footman.
“Careful, she’ll hear.” The footman shot a wild look at the old lady.
“Who are you?” the woman demanded, coming to a halt before them. The maid and footman slunk back a few steps, leaving Dimity facing her.
It was likely, Dimity thought, she was a woman of consequence. The jewels on her wrinkled fingers and clothing were a clue, but also the haughty expression on her face. She had faded brown eyes and a lined face. Her mouth formed a straight line.
“Miss Brown.” Dimity climbed to her feet and sank into a curtsey.
“And who is this?” The woman jabbed the end of her cane at Walter.
“He will likely grab that if you put it near his mouth.”
The eyes narrowed. The little dog yapped and leapt at Walter, who simply raised his chin higher, ignoring the creature.
“Cease that yapping, Romulus!”
“That seems a weighty title for such a little dog. Firstly, wasn’t he… well, a he? Secondly, didn’t he kill his twin brother?” Dimity asked, looking at the dog who should be called “Fluffy” or “Puffy.”
“You read?” The woman punctuated each word with a jab of her cane on the ground.
“I do.”
“Who taught you about Roman mythology?” the woman, who had still not given her name, asked Dimity.
“My father.” She needed to keep moving. There was still much to do today. Stopping here had clearly been a mistake, as now she had company and Gabriel Deville could arrive any second. But then maybe he hadn’t even bothered to follow her. That would be a good thing, Dimity told herself.
“It seems a weighty name for a small dog.” Dimity looked at the still yapping pup. Walter looked bored.
“Because an animal is small does not mean it is therefore not mighty.”
“Very likely,” Dimity muttered. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to leave.”
“Where are you going?” The woman leaned closer and appeared to study Dimity.
“I’m not sure that is your concern.” As the words left her mouth, the maid and footman gasped.
Dimity looked at them, and the maid did a gesture with her finger that mimicked having her throat cut.
“Do you know who I am?” the woman asked, sounding like the rattle of hail on a windowpane.
“As you have yet to tell me, I fail to see how I can.” The maid was making frantic gestures now, and the footman had lost all color in his face. Odd.
“I am the Duchess of Yardly.” The words were said in a carrying tone.
“It is a pleasure to you meet you, Your Grace. Now if you will excuse me, not all of us have carriages to ferry us hither and yon,” the maid sounded like she was now choking on something, “or servants to carry out our every whim.”
Perhaps that was unnecessary, but Dimity was past caring. She had more important things on her mind than stroking the ego of a duchess she’d likely never see again.
“Good day.”
“Just one moment, if you please.” The cane barred her way.
“I wish to pass,” Dimity said politely.
“What is your occupation?” the duchess asked.
“I worked in a tavern full of sailors where I danced on the bar,” she snapped. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to find employment and a bed for the night!”
“A person who understands Roman mythology should not be working in a seedy tavern,” the woman said almost conversationally. “In fact, I doubt anyone should be forced to do such a demeaning thing unless it was their wish to do so.”
“I’m not sure why anyone would wish it.” Dimity went for honesty. “I’m sure if given the choice we’d all rather live in grand houses with soft bedsheets and plenty of food.”
“But you don’t,” the duchess said, her sharp eyes focused on Dimity.
Dimity snorted. “Does this look like it’s made of expensive material?” She held out her skirt. “Now, I have no wish to be insulting or rude, but I have no time for this conversation and little time to secure a place to sleep that is not in a cold and damp lane, so goodbye.”
“What else do you do?” The duchess placed a hand on Dimity’s shoulder and forced her back a few steps until her legs hit the seat. She then urged her down and settled beside her.
“Please do not handle me in such a way.”
“Answer the question, gal.”
“I play piano, read and write, and other useless things that will not secure me employment without a handful of references, all of which I did have, but now don’t as my brother threw them away.” She tried to rise again.
“Sit!”
“I bloody will not!” The anger felt good and held the sobs at bay.
“She’s gone and done it now,” the footman muttered.
“I’m not sure where we’ll bury the body,” the maid said.
Before the duchess could add anything to that, Romulus sank her teeth into Walter’s ear, making him bark. The little dog got a fright and ran. Walter decided he’d quite like to chase her and tugged on his necktie. Dimity’s grip had not been strong, and Walter pulled free and was soon in pursuit. In seconds, the two dogs had disappeared.
“Well, don’t just stand there, gal, go and retrieve my dog before yours eats it!”
“Your wish is my command,” Dimity muttered, taking off at a run. Nobility, she thought, were always issuing orders, which people like her were always obeying. Behind her, she heard the thud of feet and gathered the footman and maid had been dispatched also to find the dogs. Of course the duchess would stay seated under that tree enjoying the spectacle.
“Bloody nobility!”
Chapter Ten
“Why are you accompanying me, Nathan? I can assure you I can take care of myself, and do not need a bodyguard.”
“We know you can take care of yourself, Gabe. But you will allow us some worry, surely
? Ombrage is a dangerous foe, brother.”
He grunted.
“But the real reason I came is to ensure you do not strangle Miss Brown.” His brother, the most short-tempered of the Devilles, sat across from Gabe. Legs crossed, foot swinging, calmness itself.
“You? The fiery Deville?”
“Lately I have taken great strides in character development. I am now able to stay calm when need be.”
“Bollocks.”
Nathan laughed. “See, I am even able to laugh at your obvious disbelief instead of being insulted.”
“What was the bet?” Gabe asked.
“If I come with you, I do not have to dance with a wallflower tonight.”
The Deville brothers always bet each other; it was their way. They bribed, bet, and challenged each other most days. If they could get the last piece of cake through arm wrestling or paying a bribe, it was done.
“Abby will be displeased.”
Nathan smiled at the mention of his sister. “How many years ago did she make us promise to dance with a wallflower each evening?”
“Four,” Gabe said. “I miss her.”
Nathan’s smile fell away. “As do we all.”
They were silent for long minutes, thinking of their sister. The brothers were a bit rudderless now that she’d left them. They had each other, of course, but Abby had been different. A sister to protect.
“What are your plans for Dimity, Gabe?”
“I want to see her settled in a good position, but—”
“’Tis easier to settle a wild animal than Miss Brown? Plus, as we’ve already said, she is not your responsibility.”
“Then who’s responsible?” Gabe snapped. “I was her employer, and she is Abby’s friend—”
“And can look after herself.”
“That, how I found her, was looking after herself?” Gabe scoffed.
Nathan gave him a long look before turning to face the window.
“All I will add to the matter is Miss Brown needs consultation regarding her future. You cannot just demand and hope she will follow meekly. She is very much like you, Gabe, which is most likely why you are like two circling rabid dogs when together.”
The sun bounced off the windows of carriages as they rolled by, and there was no sign of the rain that had plagued him last night.
She was safe surely in daylight hours? But what if he’d not found Dimity by the time darkness fell? What would happen to her then? Would she return to that place? Likely not, as he knew she’d stayed there and could find it easily enough again.
“She shouldn’t have run,” he growled. “Why did she flee our house when all I wanted was to see her safe, Nathan?”
His brother took his time answering. “Because she has pride, Gabe, and likely not a great deal more. That, plus you and she have battled wits from the outset, and I doubt she would like relenting to you any more than you would to her.”
He heard the truth in the words even if he was reluctant to acknowledge them.
“Her pride would put her out on the streets rather than in a warm bed with a full belly?”
“As yours would were your positions reversed, brother. Pride will come before a fall for each of the Devilles; it is our way.”
“When did you become insightful?” Gabe studied his brother. Nathan was changing. Now he took the time to look, he could see it. Maturing, Gabe thought. He hadn’t heard his brother roaring constantly like he used to.
“Is all well with you, Nathan?” Something was there in his eyes, shadows that he’d not noticed before. “A problem you wish my help with?”
The smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I am well.”
“But?”
Nathan looked out the window.
“Tell me, Nathan.”
“I was going to ask her to marry me.”
“Miss Carlow?”
“Yes.” The look his brother threw him was filled with pain. “I loved her, Gabe. It takes time to get over something like that.”
“It is two years ago now, I believe?”
“Two and a half.”
“At the time you had no wish to discuss the matter, and then you seemed to return to the Nathan you’ve always been, so I did not question you further about it.”
“We are Devilles. We do not sit about the place weeping.” His brother’s smile was small.
“Will you tell me what happened now, Nathan?”
“I don’t know actually. One minute she told me she cared and seemed headed as I was in the direction of our future marriage.”
“You never told us at the time it was that serious.”
“I was about to when she disappeared. Our friendship had grown into so much more over the last few months, and it was time to take the next step… or so I thought.”
“Disappeared?”
“She simply stopped attending balls and events. I sent a note to her townhouse to see if all was well, and her reply was simply that she was no longer interested in me—”
“She said that?”
“The note said that she was not ready to marry and she had no wish to mislead me into believing she did.”
“But you believed otherwise?” Gabe watched his brother’s face closely.
“Yes. It was so at odds to how she’d been with me that I called on her. The Carlow townhouse was closed up. The servant who answered my knock said the family had left London and would not be returning.”
“That’s odd.” Gabe frowned, trying to remember when last he saw a member of the Carlow family. “And now I think about it, they have not been seen in London for the last two seasons.”
“I still don’t understand it, Gabe.” He saw his brother’s confusion.
“You’ve been carrying this alone for two years? Why did you not tell one of us?”
“Tell you what? That Miss Carlow fled London rather than wed me?”
“Perhaps it is not as it seems? I mean, why would they just leave like that because she’d changed her mind? Something sounds off. Carlow is not known for investing in shoddy deals, but perhaps it is something to do with that?”
“Perhaps.”
“We will do some investigating, brother. There are four of us, after all. You are not alone. Talk to me next time. I’m always here for you and the others.”
“I should just move on, but strangely I’m struggling to do so. But enough of that, let us find your Miss Brown.”
“She is not my anything.”
“Of course she isn’t. My mistake.”
While Nathan looked out one window, Gabe looked out the other as the carriage rolled slowly through the London streets. Where are you, Dimity Brown?
As they passed the edges of a park, he saw the head of a large dog above the small fence.
“Stop!” He rapped on the roof and was out the door before the carriage had stopped.
Gabe ran into the park and was soon in pursuit of Dimity, who was just about to disappear into the trees. His legs were longer, but she was surprisingly swift. Still, as he rounded the curve, he found she’d managed to grab the necktie—his necktie—attached to Walter’s collar.
“Stop it, Walter!” she scolded the dog. “And as for you, you little troublemaker.” Gabe watched her bend and scoop up a little black ball of fluff. “You need to mind your manners, Romulus.”
“Romulus?”
She turned, eyes wide, and looked at him as he approached. The flash of annoyance made him want to smile. Dimity never hid the way she felt.
“H-How did you find me?”
“I saw Walter and thought it likely you would be nearby.” She looked like a sweet, crisp apple, her cheeks pink, luscious, and tasty enough to nibble on. However, he knew that was a facade. The woman could slice him to ribbons with her tongue.
“You did not say goodbye, Dimity.”
“Do all the servants in your house say goodbye when they go about their business each day, my lord?”
She had a sharp mind and wit, and talking with her inv
igorated him, a thought that should have disturbed him way more than it did.
“Not all, no, just the ones who sleep in my sister’s bed and eat their morning meal with my family.”
Two bands of color appeared on her cheeks.
“Yes, well, I needed to go. I must secure myself employment and lodgings.”
“Both of which I said I’d help you with.”
“I don’t want your help. I can do this myself, and I am no concern of yours. Tell Abby I am well, and we need never see each other again.” The little dog licked her chin.
“Who does that belong to, and why do you have it?” he said as something stabbed hard in his chest at the thought of not seeing her again.
“The Duchess of Yardly.”
“Good Lord, really?” Gabe looked around him. The woman had been terrorizing members of society for years. He rather liked her and often battled verbally with the woman when others slunk off to lick their wounds in dark corners.
“Romulus nipped Walter. He took exception and chased her. I am retrieving the dog for her.” Dimity’s words were clipped. “Now, if you will excuse me, I will return her, as the day is not getting any younger and I have needs to attend to.”
“Seems a weighty name for a dog like that,” Gabe said.
“Very.”
“Dimity, let me help you. If not for me, then for Abby.”
“I would rather do it alone,” she said stiffly. “You have helped me enough, done your duty to Abby. Now go away.”
“Don’t dismiss me, you little baggage. I am offering help, so you’ll take it.”
“I won’t.” She backed away. “Goodbye, Lord Raine. I hope you achieve your goal.”
“Which is?” he snapped.
She forced her lips upward into what he guessed was a fake smile.
“Why, to find the perfect countess of course. Well bred, docile, someone who will give you your heir but be happy to sit in the background and bask in your magnificence!”
“You ungrateful shrew.” He stepped closer, and whatever she saw in his eyes had her fleeing. In seconds, she’d skirted him and fled back down the path, leaving him swamped with an anger and lust.
He followed, taking several deep, steadying breaths as he did.
