Notorious Deception (18 page)

“Just look at Morgan grind his teeth,” Tristan said.

Diana and the other two women focused their attention on the duke, who was watching his oldest daughter with a decidedly possessive gleam in his eye.

“I hope Derek has not offended the duke,” Diana said in a worried voice. She had the utmost confidence in Derek's ability to protect and defend himself, but she did not want to see Derek pitted against so formidable an opponent as Morgan.

“Oh, Morgan isn't offended, Diana,” Alyssa said. “He is obsessively protective of the girls, especially Katherine.”

“I don't believe he is even aware of what he is doing,” Caroline said in amazement.

“He isn't.” Alyssa shook her head and said with good humor, “God only knows how we will manage when the girls are grown and become interested in the opposite sex.”

“Ah, then we shall see my brother's true protective instincts emerge,” Tristan said with a boyish grin. “'Tis merely poetic justice a rake like Morgan should have the responsibilities of raising daughters.”

“Tristan!” Caroline said.

“Oh, sorry, Alyssa,” Tristan said sheepishly. “Reformed rake.”

Alyssa smiled mischievously at her brother-in-law, then crossed the room to stand by her husband. Diana could see Morgan instantly relax when his wife touched his arm, and he absently stroked her hand while she spoke quietly to him.

“I do believe I have some serious competition for your affections, Derek,” Diana whispered to him when he sat down next to her.

They both turned toward Katherine, who was still standing in the same spot, her pretty face openly curious.

“Katherine likes me because I treat her like a grown lady,” Derek said. “And because I gave her a new pony for her fifth birthday this past December.”

“I think she is very fond of you, Derek,” Diana said. “You must be certain not to inadvertently hurt her feelings.”

“Ah, 'tis a curse I carry,” Derek said mockingly. “To be adored by women of all ages.”

Diana jabbed him in the ribs and called to Katherine. “Come and sit with us. Derek was just telling me about your new pony. I should like to hear all about it.”

Katherine enthusiastically complied and wedged herself between Derek and Diana. She was soon chattering away, and Diana was impressed by the quickness of her mind. Katherine was certain to grow into a much admired young lady someday. Then Morgan truly would have his hands full.

Juliet snuggled in Tristan's lap, her face buried against his broad shoulder, and her thumb once again in her mouth. Her eyelids were drooping, and it seemed to be only a matter of time before the child succumbed to sleep.

Morgan was also keeping a close watch on his youngest daughter. Diana saw the duke walk over and say something to his brother. Then he reached down and gathered the sleeping child in his arms.

As the duke left the room, Alyssa told Katherine to follow her father upstairs so she could join her sister in a nap. Katherine's lower lips instantly jutted out in rebellion, but she did not protest.

“I would be happy to accompany you upstairs, Katherine,” Diana said, feeling the child's disappointment at having to leave.

Katherine immediately brightened at the suggestion. “And the earl too?”

Derek flashed her a charming smile. “I should be honored, Lady Katherine.”

“That is most kind of you both,” Alyssa said thankfully. She bent down and gave the little girl a kiss on her cheek before they left.

Once in the hallway, Diana was waylaid by Sutton, who handed her a parcel that had arrived earlier in the day. As Diana held the package in her hands, Katherine began fidgeting, so Diana instructed Derek to bring the little girl upstairs without her, explaining she would follow after she opened her package.

The parcel was a hatbox, with the address of a fashionable London millinery discretely printed in gold-leaf lettering on the top. She wondered if it was a mistake that the box had been sent to her. Although she had heard of the shop, she had never before patronized that particular establishment.

Curious, she untied the yellow ribbon around the box and then smiled to herself. Thinking she had solved the mystery, she decided Derek had ordered a surprise gift for her. Anxiously she lifted the lid—and caught her breath sharply when she looked inside.

She would have screamed, but she was so shocked that her voice failed her. She instantly dropped the box and it fell to the floor, the contents spilling out. The room actually swam before her eyes for a few seconds and then a feeling of cold dread washed over her.

Endless questions raced through her mind as she stood there, her gaze transfixed on the marble floor. Lying at her feet was a crushed black bonnet she remembered all too well. She had lost it several weeks ago, in St. James's Park, during the confusion that had ensued when an unknown adversary had fired two pistol shots at her and Derek.

“Is something amiss, Diana?” Morgan asked.

The duke's gentle voice startled her and she jumped. Morgan's overwhelming presence, coupled with her shock at discovering the bonnet, caused her to become speechless. She simply stared up at him dumbstruck while he repeated the question. Scrupulously avoiding the duke's piercing gray eyes, Diana shook her head.

But Morgan planted himself firmly in front of her, saying he would not move until Diana either spoke to him or Derek arrived to deal with the situation. Diana was very pale and nervous, and her fists clenched and unclenched her gown.

“I should like to help you, Diana, if you would only allow it.”

She raised her head slightly, but she still refused to meet Morgan's gaze. Her eyes came to rest instead on the duke's snowy-white cravat. She saw a red stain marring the perfection of the garment and realized it was a bit of strawberry jam, no doubt from Juliet's sticky little fingers. Despite her fear, Diana smiled. Perhaps she had been too quick to judge the duke. Any man who was so loving with his children must have a kind heart, no matter how arrogant his exterior. And he had offered his help.

“This came for me today,” Diana said in a shaky voice, bending low to retrieve the hatbox and bonnet.

Morgan stretched his powerful frame down, picking up both the box and the hat before Diana could. Grimacing, he held up the crushed bonnet.

“It isn't very attractive, I'll grant you that,” the duke said wryly. “I am sure the establishment you purchased it from will take it back.”

Diana shot him a look of pure exasperation. “Good Lord, you think I am this upset because I don't like the stupid thing?”

Morgan lifted a dark eyebrow. “Exactly why are you so upset, Diana?”

“The bonnet,” she said passionately, pulling it out of his hands. “It is my bonnet. At least it was my bonnet.” She put her hand to her head and rubbed her temples. Morgan continued to stare at her. “I was wearing this bonnet when Derek took me for a carriage ride in St. James's Park a few weeks ago. Someone fired two pistol shots at us that afternoon, and in all the confusion, my bonnet was lost.”

“Are you absolutely certain this is the same bonnet?”

“Yes.”

At her answer, Morgan asked, “Who delivered this package? Is there a note inside?” He began firing questions at Diana, but she could only shake her head, not knowing the answers.

“Tristan!” the duke shouted.

Diana winced. She had never heard anyone shout with such a loud, booming voice.

Tristan strolled into the hallway after a few moments. He was clearly accustomed to his brother's yelling and didn't seem to think anything was unusual. Morgan unceremoniously thrust the empty hatbox into Tristan's hand.

“Find out which one of your servants accepted this package today,” the duke said. “Then find out everything you can about it. What time the box was delivered, what precisely was said when it was left, a complete description of the person who delivered it, and so forth.”

Tristan's demeanor changed radically at his brother's request. “What is the trouble?”

“I'll tell you after you bring me the information I need,” Morgan said, dismissing his brother.

Diana thought Tristan might protest the duke's high-handed manner, but he didn't. After Tristan left, the duke once again spoke to Diana. “Do you want me to have Derek summoned?”

“No,” she replied softly. “He will be down soon enough.”

“Fine. We shall rejoin Alyssa and Caroline,” Morgan said.

The conversation between Alyssa and Caroline halted abruptly after Diana and Morgan entered the room and the two women saw Diana's pale face and Morgan's grim expression.

“What has happened?” Alyssa asked directly.

“Diana received a most disturbing package,” Morgan told his wife. “We hope to know more about it when Tristan returns.”

Diana could see both women were exceedingly curious, but they did not ask any further questions, and she was grateful. The minutes seemed to drag by as they waited anxiously for Tristan and Derek to arrive. Caroline, the most socially adept of the group, kept up an endless stream of soothing chatter, and Diana appreciated her attempts to keep the mood light.

Derek and Tristan entered the room together, their expressions solemn.

“Well?” Morgan demanded without preamble.

“Not much, I'm afraid,” Tristan replied. “One of the underfootmen, Robins, took the parcel. He said it was delivered by a young boy dressed in unkempt and none-too-clean clothes. The lad practically threw the box at my footman and then ran away. The boy said the package was for Lady Diana Rutledge.

“Oh, God,” Diana said. “He used my married ” name.

Derek placed a comforting arm around her. “It is all right, love,” he said soothingly. “We will get to the bottom of this mystery.”

“Mystery!” Diana echoed, her voice rising with panic. “It is hardly a mystery, Derek. First I am shot at. Then my house is burned. Now my missing bonnet suddenly appears. It is obvious someone is watching me very closely. But why?”

All three men exchanged concerned glances.

“Giles,” Derek finally whispered softly. “This has to be tied to him in some way. There might even be a connection to his murder.”

Caroline gasped loudly at Derek's comment. Diana backed away from him and began pacing the room in agitation, coming finally to rest in front of a large overstuffed chair in the corner of the salon. As she faced everyone, her fingers gripped the fabric back of the chair.

“How is it possible the boy was told to use my married name?” Diana asked. “Aside from my servants in Cornwall, and you, no one else knows of my marriage to Giles. My home was burned and along with it my marriage lines, and Derek and I discovered only a few days ago that no record exists of the wedding in the church where the vows took place.”

“We don't know who set fire to the Manor, but we assumed Giles removed the information from the church register himself,” Derek said. “Perhaps we were mistaken.”

“Whoever is behind all of this is someone who knew Giles well,” Morgan said. “What was the name of the solicitor you wanted to question, Derek? The one who disappeared so suddenly.”

“Jonathan Marlow,” Tristan and Derek said at the same time.

“Have your men had any success in locating him, Tristan?”

“Not yet,” Tristan replied. “They have managed to discover a few things about him, however. None of them very flattering, I might add.” He cast a questioning eye toward Caroline and Alyssa. “Shall I get the files from my study, Morgan?”

“Well, you certainly can't expect us to leave now,” Alyssa huffed, correctly interpreting her brother-in-law's look.

“We will not leave unless Diana requests it,” Caroline readily agreed.

Everyone waited for Diana to speak. She felt torn. She certainly could use the moral support, but she did not want Caroline and Alyssa upset by what might be revealed. In the end, Diana figured the women would probably eventually wheedle the information out of their husbands anyway, so she asked them to remain.

“I would appreciate if you both stayed,” Diana said gratefully. “That is, if your husbands don't object.”

“It is not their place to object,” Alyssa said immediately. Her ready response brought a frown to Morgan's face, but his wife ignored it.

Soon everyone was reading through the papers Tristan brought out and commenting on various unsavory facets of Jonathan Marlow's character. Although the documents contained a wealth of information about Mr. Marlow, there was actually very little that would shed any light on Diana's problem.

“I think we all agree Jonathan Marlow is a dangerous man,” Diana said, placing the papers she had been reading on the tea table. Everyone nodded in accordance. “If Marlow is, as we believe, the man behind all this nonsense, then I fear I have placed Tristan and Caroline in grave danger by living here with them. I'm going upstairs to begin my packing. I should be completed within the hour.”

The room erupted in pandemonium as everyone began talking and shouting at once.

“We just won't hear of it, Diana.” Tristan exclaimed loudly. “I am sure you are safe here with us, but if you are worried, I shall have men posted round the clock to ensure your safety.”

“It is not my safety that worries me so much, Tris,” Diana said. “I am more concerned about you and Caroline.”

“Well, I am concerned about your well-being, Diana,” Derek said. “Either you remain here with Caroline and Tris, or you return home with me.”

“Derek!” Caroline exclaimed in horror. “Diana cannot possibly reside at your house without a proper chaperon. What would people think?”

“For pity's sake, Caroline,” Derek replied. “Who is going to know about it? We will hardly be receiving social calls, nor attending any of the few functions taking place at this time of year.”

“I seriously doubt you can keep Diana's living with you a secret,” Tristan said. “Even if you kept her a virtual prisoner in the house.”

“There are also the servants to consider, Derek,” Morgan said.

“Yes,” Alyssa agreed, “servants do gossip—within the household and among friends who are in service at other houses. Even among the most loyal staff, it would be difficult to keep this confidential.”

“And your staff is hardly a loyal group, Derek,” Diana said sarcastically.

“Besides,” Tristan said, “there is always the pos sibility Henriette might suddenly descend on you.”

The mention of Henriette brought an abrupt halt to the debate.

“If Henriette ever found out you two were living in the same house, it would be common knowledge among the
ton
within hours,” Caroline said with authority. “Diana's reputation would be ruined beyond repair.”

“Diana could stay with us,” Morgan said.

“No,” Diana replied, shaking her head. “It is very kind of you to offer Morgan, but I must refuse. I would not only worry about the risk to you and Alyssa, but also to the girls. If anything ever happened to Katherine and Juliet, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.”

“If you insist on leaving, we could try to find someone suitable to chaperon you while you were at Derek's house,” Alyssa said. Then shaking her head, she added, “Of course, that plan does have the potential of putting another innocent person at rick.”

“You are back to your original decision, Diana,” Derek declared. “Stay here, or leave with me.”

“That is not a solution,” Diana said.

“Now, wait just a moment,” Caroline said, interrupting. “It would be proper for Diana to stay with Derek if they were married.”

Diana blanched visibly at the suggestion, and Derek felt a twinge of hurt at her reaction.

“I don't think that is a plausible solution, Caroline,” Derek said hastily. He knew Diana was not yet ready to fully trust him and still needed more time to accept marrying him. Pushing aside his own bruised ego, Derek vowed to give Diana the time he promised her, despite his own great desire to have her for his wife.

“But, Derek, you don't actually have to get married,” Caroline said. “You could just pretend to be married.”

“What!” everyone shouted simultaneously.

Caroline held up her hand. “Hear me out first,” she said, then took a deep breath. “It would be improper for Diana to inhabit Derek's house as an unchaperoned, unattached female, but it would be perfectly proper for her to be there if she were Derek's wife. The servants might gossip about the sudden nuptials, and Henriette might even find out, but it wouldn't create a scandal. Diana might even be able to uncover some clues while living in the house.”

“And what happens to Derek's pretend wife when this mystery is solved, Caroline?” Morgan said. “Does Diana succumb to some fatal disease or just suddenly disappear one morning, never to be seen again?”

“Well,” Caroline said, hedging.

“I was going to marry Derek anyway,” Diana said suddenly. “In fact, he has already told Lord Bennington we are betrothed. That is the main reason we have returned to London: to announce our engagement.”

“Bennington?” Morgan asked. “Why would you tell Henriette's brother about your impending nuptials?”

“It certainly wasn't by design,” Derek replied, actually forgetting about the meeting in all the ensuing confusion. “We ran into him quite by accident in Chippenham.”

“Personally I think it is splendid news,” Tristan cried with delight. “There is no need for a pretend wedding at all. We shall have the real thing.”

“No,” Derek said. Above all, he did not want Diana to feel she was being forced into the marriage. “We will wait until all this mess is cleared up before we actually marry.”

“Yes,” Diana quickly agreed, biting her lip.

“All right, that solves one problem,” Morgan stated. “Now what about Diana's background? She can hardly be introduced into society as Giles's widow.” Turning to Derek, Morgan asked, “How did you introduce her to Bennington?”

“I used her maiden name and introduced her as Lady Diana Crawford.” Derek's eyes narrowed in concern. “You are right about Diana's background, Morgan. We must create a plausible lineage for her, as well as an opportunity for us to have met.”

Silence prevailed as everyone pondered the newest point in question. “You certainly have a talent for finding fault, Morgan,” Caroline said grumpily.

“I am merely being cautious, Caroline,” Morgan replied, giving her a charming smile.