The Devilish Duke, page 13
“Very good, Your Grace.” The man beat a hasty retreat after the very excited “young sir.”
A few moments later, Devlin heard the animated chatter of Nicholas’ voice carrying down the passage, followed by a melodious laugh, which he instantly recognized as Sophie’s. Their footsteps grew louder, and he found himself watching the doorway expectantly.
Nicholas rushed in first, followed by Sophie. She smiled at Devlin, and for a moment, he felt uncharacteristically clumsy. Slowly getting to his feet, he could not help but drink in the sight of her. She was dressed in a modest blue gown that molded her body to perfection. The blue bonnet perched jauntily atop her head framed her heart face while small golden curls from her hair teased the nape of her neck.
She appeared so wholesome and filled with light and laughter, so very different from his own darkness within.
He knew she was much too good for him, but just looking at her and breathing in her sweetness was like a tonic that he had somehow become addicted to without even knowing when or how.
Suddenly, he felt extremely vulnerable in a way he never had as an adult. He did not like the feeling at all. This arrangement with her was to further his business empire only. He must remember that and not let his emotions become involved, for that was a sure path to ruin.
“Good morning, Devlin,” she said, gliding across the room to the breakfast table where Nicholas was holding out a chair for her to Devlin’s left.
“Morning,” he replied gruffly.
“Why thank you, Nicholas,” she said, smiling at the boy while taking a seat on the chair proffered to her. “I did not expect to see you this morning.” There was surprise alight in her face.
He sat down and scowled. “Why is everyone commenting on my staying home this morning?”
She grinned at Nicholas. “I think someone may have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.”
The boy giggled.
The woman was enjoying teasing him. “Well, at least in the future that is something you will be able to ensure does not occur.”
He had the satisfaction of watching her eyes widen in comprehension before she hastily looked back toward Nicholas.
“So, Nicholas,” she began, “are you ready for your morning adventure to the orphanage?”
He tilted his chin up slightly. “Just so you know, you ain’t allowed to leave me there. Devlin won’t allow it.”
“Of course not!” she exclaimed. “You are to be my brave protector today, and I could not leave such a protector in an orphanage, now could I?”
Nicholas pressed a finger against his cherubic cheek in contemplation. “No, I don’t suppose you could. Do ya think I’ll need me wooden sword to protect ya with?”
“What an excellent idea,” she quickly agreed. “Why don’t you run up and go fetch it?”
“Okay.” He scooted back from the chair and stood. But before racing off, he glanced back at Devlin. “Is it okay to be excused and all?”
“Yes. Off you go.” He then watched as the boy ran out of the room. He turned back to find with satisfaction Sophie’s gaze upon him. She looked extremely thoughtful and much too shrewd for his comfort.
“Could you please dismiss the footmen?” she leaned forward and whispered.
“Very well.” He glanced at the two footmen standing to the side of the buffet. “Leave us.” He watched as they departed, then swung his eyes back to Sophie. “What scheme are you up to now?”
A scowl formed across her beautiful features. “Why would you assume such a thing?”
“Besides the fact you asked me to get rid of any eavesdroppers?” He grinned. “You have the same expression on your face as when you are assessing a crowded ballroom, looking for plump pockets to extract donations from.”
Sophie pursed her lips slightly. “Well, you have no need to worry, for I am not about to ask you for another donation or anything of that sort.”
“Good. After the ridiculous monthly amount I agreed to give you, I should bloody well hope you would be satisfied.” He still wasn’t certain how she’d managed to get him to agree to such a sum.
“You will be glad to know that all I am after is an invitation to Lord Crowley’s house party in a fortnight.”
She was serious. He nearly choked on his drink. “Lord Crowley’s house party? Are you mad, woman? The place runs rife with debauchery. I shall not risk ruining your reputation by taking you. Absolutely not!”
“But you must,” she implored. “You did receive an invitation, I assume?”
“Yes, but that does not mean I shall be taking you anywhere near the place.”
“But Devlin, it is imperative I attend!”
He narrowed his gaze. “Why?” She was hiding something; of that he was sure.
“I’ve heard his parties are all the rage,” she explained, her lovely face the very picture of innocence.
“Since when have parties known to be full of debauchery and scandalous entertainment been to your liking?”
“If I am to be married to one of the most notorious men of the Ton, then at least I should be exposed to some of his past amusements,” she replied. “Besides, only the highest-ranking members of the Ton ever get invited, so it cannot be all that bad.”
“Oh, yes, it can. Its exclusivity is not something to recommend it to an innocent and respectable unmarried lady.” He pondered her possible motives for a moment, then resorted to asking her directly. “What is the real reason you wish to go?”
Her expression became shuttered. “I have told you why.”
“No,” he corrected. “You have given me a fictitious tale, not told me the true reason behind this grand notion of yours.”
“I shall marry you within the month if you agree to take me,” she blurted out.
Devlin relaxed back against his chair and looked at her. She was so determined to go to some ridiculous house party that she would change her mind about the wedding time frame, even after she had protested it greatly the night before? Yes, something was definitely going on, and it was clear that she was not going to tell him, at least not yet anyway. “Very well, I shall accept the invitation.”
“Just like that?” she asked. “No more questioning me?”
“You have agreed to marry me within a month, and I shall be there to protect you at the house party.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “If you are that determined to go, we shall do so. I will find out the reason of why you wish to attend soon enough.”
“I have told you the reason.”
“So you say,” he said, picking up his paper. The woman was up to something; that was a certainty. But he wasn’t worried. His fiancée wasn’t particularly an expert in the art of concocting false tales.
“Well, thank you anyhow. Perhaps I best go and hurry Nicholas along.” She pushed back her chair and stood.
Devlin put his paper down and rose also. “Very well. However, I will be sending a footman with you both for an added measure of protection.”
Her eyebrows knitted together in consternation. “That will not be necessary. I have my maid with me.”
“I did not get to my position without making enemies, and I guard what is mine very fiercely.”
A slight flush crept up her cheeks. “Luckily, I am not yours yet,” she said archly.
Before she had a chance to move, he reached across, wrapped his hands her waist, and pulled her body in close to his. He was gentle, so she could escape if she needed to, but she went liquid in his arms, and soon, they were mere inches from touching. He leaned his head down so that his mouth was only a breath away from her ear.
“But you are already mine,” he whispered as he brought his other hand up and slowly trailed the pads of his fingers leisurely down her cheek until his thumb was slowly caressing the outline of her lower lip. He drew his hand under her chin and tilted her face up to his.
“A fact you obviously need reminding of,” he whispered before his lips found hers.
A breathless sigh escaped her. As irritated as she had claimed to be with his highhandedness, her body did not seem to care as she practically melted at his onslaught. She reached up and wound her arms across the back of his neck, pulling him in closer.
He curled his hands more possessively around her waist, and their bodies melded against each other, the perfect fit.
She gasped as his hands traveled lower and kneaded her derriere. His tongue slowly caressed the inner edges of her lips, gentle yet persistent in coaxing her to open up to him. Tentatively, her tongue began to mimic his movements.
Devlin’s mouth became more insistent and demanding upon her own. A deep growl rumbled from his chest as his right hand skimmed up her bodice. Her skin felt like it was on fire. A deep satisfaction welled in him at the observation.
His fingertips moved over the fabric and began to tease the skin at the top of her breast that was exposed by the neckline of her dress.
His mouth broke away from her own and slowly started traveling down the column of her neck, softly kissing the exposed skin.
“So soft,” he whispered as his mouth hovered just above her neckline. With a deft flick of his fingers, he pushed aside the material. Her breast sprang free, and as Sophie tangled her hands in his hair, his lips covered her nipple, softly sucking it deeper into his mouth.
She moaned in response, and Devlin felt a surge of satisfaction.
Flicking his tongue across her nipple, he began to knead her other breast with his right hand. She arched her back, pushing more of her breast into his mouth.
She stumbled slightly as he tore his mouth from her body and straightened. There was a dazed look in her gaze as his hands deftly replaced the fabric of her dress back over her.
“I am afraid I hear the sound of running footsteps rapidly approaching.” He glanced into her eyes and slowly traced the bottom of her lip with his finger. Her breath hitched in her throat, and he smiled in gratification at her response. “Next time, you shall have to choose the location of where you wish to seduce me with more care.”
“Where I seduce you,” she exclaimed, stepping back from him, the haze of passion clearing from her emerald gaze.
He laughed. He loved how the emotion in her eyes had suddenly condensed into a jade furnace. She really was incredibly beautiful, even when she was flaying him alive with those cat-like eyes of hers.
“Of all of the conceited notions,” she retorted. “You might distract me with kisses and the like on occasion, but I’ll have you know that that will not distract me from that dribble you were spouting. I am not yours yet, Huntington, and you would do well to remember that fact.”
“You have always been mine, Sophie, and we both know it. Ever since you fell out of that tree and landed at my feet, you were meant to be mine.”
She squared her shoulders. “I am no man’s.”
“You might be able to lie to yourself, but your body does not lie. It responds to me as if just begging to be possessed fully.”
He watched as knowledge of what he was alluding to dawned in her eyes, and a rosy flush started to creep across her cheeks. Her modesty delighted him.
Nicholas burst through the double doors, his wooden sword held high above his head. “I am ready to protect you, my lady.”
“Perfect timing, lad,” Devlin applauded. “I think Lady Sophie is in need of rescuing.”
Chapter Fifteen
Nicholas, who sat across from Sophie in the carriage, was regarding her with an altogether too somber expression for one so young. She smiled at him. “I hope you enjoy your visit with me to Grey Street. You will have fun, I know.”
He scowled slightly. “As long as you remember that you ain’t allowed to leave me there.”
Leaning slightly forward, she looked directly into his little blue eyes, her heart melting. “You have my word I will not.”
Fear all but radiated from his every pore, although he did seem to relax slightly at her words. “All right. I suppose if Dev trusts ya, I will, too.”
“Thank you. I am determined we shall be good friends, you and I.”
“We can’t be friends. You’re a girl.” Terror was replaced by mortification at the prospect.
“You can certainly be friends with a girl.”
“I can?” A small smile slowly started to spread across his face. “I ain’t had a friend before.”
“Really? But what about on the ship you grew up on?”
Nicholas glanced out the window, his attention momentarily diverted by a flower girl before returning to Sophie. “Nah, them men were all crew of me pa’s. They taught me some really great stuff sometimes, but mostly they were too busy working to play with me. Suppose it would be all right to have a girl as a friend.”
“Perfectly all right.” Sophie laughed.
“Okay then, friend.” He extended his right hand.
Reaching out with her own hand, she shook his. “It’s official,” she said. “So what things did the men teach you?” She was genuinely curious to know.
His eyes lit up in enthusiasm. “They taught me how to hock me spit over the side of the boat. And how to make funny noises with my hands, and how to cuss real bad, and how to fight with my wooden sword.” He brandished the wooden sword that was sitting to his left and waved it in the air.
Sophie laughed again, delighted by the thought of being a mother figure to this effervescent little boy.
“Me pa said I was a natural,” he said with a big grin. Then slowly his grin disappeared. “But I ain’t allowed to do any of that here.” He put the sword back down on the seat next to him.
“Well, perhaps not everything you were taught is suitable in polite society. Though I am sure Devlin could arrange some fencing lessons for you. You would have to use a much thinner sword then you currently have, but you would be able to learn more fighting skills.”
He pursed his lips. “You’re a girl. How do you know about fighting skills?”
“My brother believed in teaching me how to defend myself.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her, almost perfectly imitating Devlin. Her fiancé really must spend quite a bit of his time with the boy, in an age where many noble parents chose to shunt most of the responsibility for raising their children to the servants. Perhaps he wasn’t all devil after all. “I ain’t never known a girl that could fight before.”
“I must confess that I’m not a very good fighter,” she began, “but I am rather good with a rapier.”
“What’s a rapier?” he asked.
“It is a very thin sword, used in fencing.”
“Girls don’t know how to use swords.”
“That is what men would have everyone believe, but luckily, my brother thought different.”
He thought about that for a moment. “Your brother sounds all right.”
“Yes, he is.” As annoying and bossy as he could be, she loved her brother greatly.
“So you really gonna come and live with us?”
The change of topic stopped her short. It still seemed so surreal that she was going marry the Duke of Huntington. Particularly now she had agreed to do so within the month, rushing the wedding in exchange for his escorting her to the Crowleys’ to search for Jane.
Funny how quickly one’s life could change in only one day. “Yes, Nicholas,” she answered him. “I am.” How on earth was she going to break the news to Mabel, let alone her brother? Definitely a task she was not looking forward to.
“So does that mean that I don’t need no stinking governess no more?” he asked, an expression of hope lighting up his face.
“No, you will still require a governess to teach you your lessons.”
He kicked his little legs out in frustration. “I hate stupid books. I don’t need to learn nothing.”
He looked angry but scared, and she remembered his earlier comments about reading. “You did say that the words got all jumbled up on the page, did you not?”
“Yeah. So what?”
“Mmm, well, a friend of mine who is a doctor might be able to help minimize the words getting all jumbled.”
“A doctor? I don’t want one of them quacks near me.”
“That is up to you, of course,” she said in a gentle tone. “But what do you want to do when you are all grown up?”
“I’m gonna be a captain like me pa,” he declared.
Sophie tapped her index finger on her chin. “A very good choice. But captains need to be able to read maps and write logs and chart navigational courses. I believe reading and writing are essential skills to learn in order to become a captain.”
His face fell slightly. “I hadn’t thought ’bout all that.”
Reaching across, she used her fingers to clasp the bottom of his chin. She tilted his face up toward her and smiled at him. “I know you have only known me since last night, but I promise, you can trust me. I want to make learning fun and easy for you, and I think my friend Dr. McGuiness might be able to help. He provides medical care for the children at the orphanage, and he has been experimenting with some special glasses, with colored lenses. He says the colors in the lenses can sometimes assist you in focusing better on the page, which in turn helps you to see the letters a little clearer. But you do not have to see him if you do not want to, all right?”
“All right. I might think about it then.”
“Excellent idea,” she replied. “I shall send a note to him and ask about the glasses.” The carriage came to a halt, and she peered out the window.
“We here then?” he asked.
“Actually no, I just need to run an errand first,” she replied. “Would you mind waiting in the carriage for a few moments? I need to speak to someone in that residence.”
“All right.”
The footman opened the door, and she stepped out, looking up at Lord Crowley’s residence. It was an impressive brownstone terrace, though the outside windows showed signs of slight neglect, if the film of dirt built up on the glass was anything to go by. She walked up to the door and rang the bell.
A few moments later, the door opened, and a butler of indeterminable years answered.
