Her Devilish Marquess (8 page)

“
The important thing is,
he’s not boring. Since he makes you laugh, I’m assured he’s not all
business.”

“
Oh, even if he was serious,
I’d like him.” She smiled. “He paid me some nice compliments. It
seems gentlemen are often interested in money and heirs, but with
Derek, I think he sincerely wants someone to spend his life with.
You know, to share its joys and sorrows. I don’t get the feeling
I’d be just his wife. I’d also be his friend.”

Regan returned her smile and pressed her
hand to her heart. “I never thought I’d see the day when you fell
in love.”

Surprised, Danette gasped. “It’s too soon
for love.”

“
No, it’s not. I loved
Malcolm the first time I talked to him. Sure, it took him longer to
return my feelings, but I assure you, with me, it was instant. I
think love is one of those things that doesn’t take time to develop
for everyone.”

“
But you don’t know the
person enough to love them when you’ve only talked to them one
time.”

Regan shook her head in amusement. “When
will you learn that it’s all right to think with your heart? Throw
caution to the wind and enjoy the moment. Put down your wall, and
live life to the fullest. You’ll get so much more enjoyment from
it.”

“
I understand what you’re
saying.” Then when Danette caught the flicker of disappointment in
her friend’s eye, she added, “Really, I do. But I can’t separate my
mind from my heart like you can. We’re two different people. What
works for you doesn’t work for me.”

“
If being with Malcolm has
taught me anything, it’s that there’s always room for compromise.
Just because you’ve done something a certain way, it doesn’t mean
you can’t do it another way.”

“
Let’s agree that this is a
very promising match the duchess has put together.”

“
See? Already you’re
compromising. I like Derek. He’s exactly what you need.”

Danette nodded, thinking her friend could
very well be right. The question, however, was whether she might be
what he needed. If so, they would compliment each other very well,
and perhaps, they might enjoy a love match.

***

The next morning, Derek arrived at Mr. and
Mrs. Boyle’s residence to check on eleven-year-old Alexander. As
soon as he entered the drawing room, he examined the lad, who stood
in front of him, his face lit up with excitement.

Derek resisted the urge to chuckle. Of all
his young patients, this particular lad was the most enthusiastic
one. And because of that, Derek couldn’t help but oblige him with
the lad’s favorite game.

“
Let’s see if you have any
coins today,” Derek said.

As he expected, Alexander stood up a little
straighter. “I think I do.”

“
Oh? What makes you think
that?”

“
I helped my mother when she
needed it, and I was nice to my brothers and sisters. You said I
would gain more money that way.”

Surprised Alexander had taken his words to
heart, Derek laughed. “In that case, I have a feeling you might be
correct. All right. We’ll take a look and see if you’re good works
have paid off.”

While Derek allowed some coins to slip from
his sleeve and into his hand without Alexander noticing, Mrs. Boyle
came into the room. “I think we’ll have the tea and scones by the
window,” she told the butler.

Derek put his hand behind Alexander’s ear
and produced a coin for him. Reaching up to his other ear, he
glanced at Mrs. Boyle as the butler left the room. “You don’t have
to go through all this trouble for me,” Derek said.

“
It’s no trouble at all,”
Mrs. Boyle replied. “Besides, my daughter wished to speak with you
today.” She shot him an apologetic smile. “I hope you don’t
mind.”

“
No, I don’t.” It was
because of Chloe that business was even better for him. Who knew a
lady’s word could have such an impact on so many people? He
produced two coins from the lad’s ear. “Hmm…”

“
What is it?” Alexander
asked, inspecting Derek’s hand.

“
It seems two coins came
from this ear,” he replied. “I wonder what we’ll find under your
armpits.”

Mrs. Boyle shook her head and walked over to
them. “I don’t understand why you always check under his armpits,”
she told Derek.

He shrugged. “Sometimes coins can drop from
his head, roll down his neck, and slide to his armpits.”

Alexander chuckled. “Check them. I’m seeing
if I made more money this month, Mother. Remember how I helped you
calm Gretchen down after her nightmare? Then I let Bethany borrow
my comb.”

Mrs. Boyle frowned. “What did she want with
your comb?”

“
I don’t know.” Alexander
lifted his arms. “She didn’t say.”

“
Bethany already has a comb.
There’s no reason why she should need to borrow yours,” his mother
insisted.

“
I didn’t think to ask why
she wanted it,” Alexander replied. “I told her she could borrow
anything if she needed it, and that’s what she chose.”

“
I’ll have to talk to your
sister about this later.”

By the expression on her face, Derek
suspected Bethany had used the comb for something other than her
hair, but not having children, he couldn’t begin to guess what that
something was. However, since the lad would probably need a new
comb after this, Derek decided to give him three coins from one
armpit and two from the other.

“
Well, look at that,” Derek
said, showing him the coins. “Your good works have paid off. Maybe
you should refrain from letting your sisters borrow anything. Maybe
you can compliment them instead.” He winked at Mrs. Boyle and
handed Alexander the coins. “Good job on making so
much.”

The lad gasped and took them. “I made all of
this?”

“
Yes, you did.” Derek patted
his shoulder. “Now, let’s get down to the reason I’m here. How have
you been feeling?”

“
Good.”

“
You haven’t had any bad
coughs?”

“
No.”

Mrs. Boyle smiled. “He hasn’t. He’s only had
the occasional cough, but it’s been very manageable.”

“
Since that’s the case,”
Derek began, “I want to try a different prescription. This one will
be less potent. If this makes his cough worse, let me know at once,
and I’ll get him back to the one he’s currently on.”

“
That’s wonderful news.”
Mrs. Boyle hugged her son. “You may go.”

As Alexander left the room, Derek said, “I
recently moved my things to a new townhouse. I’ll write my address
down so you have it in case you need to alert me about his
health.”

With a nod, she gestured to the desk. “Help
yourself.” While he did, she added, “Chloe said you inherited the
title of a marquess.”

“
Yes, I did,” he replied as
he wrote the new address on the parchment. “My brother had an
unfortunate accident, and the Good Lord took him before his
time.”

“
I’m sorry. It’s never easy
to lose someone you love.”

He kept quiet and turned his attention to
writing the prescription. Often, he wished he could feel something
over losing his brother. Despite their differences, they had been
brothers, after all, but he didn’t feel anything. It was strange to
experience such apathy for another person, and it was getting
harder and harder to play the role of the mourning brother.

Society had many expectations. Those
expectations were the reasons there was so much hypocrisy,
especially among the nobility. The middle class was right to make
fun of them.

Stifling a sigh, he finished the
prescription and handed it and the new address to her. “Life goes
on,” he said.

“
I suppose being a doctor,
you’ve seen your share of heartache and death,” she
replied.

Fortunately, it was at this moment Chloe
arrived with her two-month-old son. He turned his attention to her
and bowed. “Lady Reddington, it’s a pleasure to see you. How are
you and your son, Clifford?”

“
We’re doing well, thank
you,” Chloe replied.

“
Splendid!” Mrs. Boyle held
her arms out. “I was hoping you’d bring my grandson.”

“
I wouldn’t dare come here
without him.” Chloe gave him to her mother then glanced at Derek.
“Helena won’t be able to attend your wedding. I’ll be there
instead.”

“
Is she doing all right?”
Derek asked.

“
She’s fine,” Chloe assured
him. “It’s just that since she’s close to giving birth, she’d
rather restrict her activities.”

“
As long as she’s doing
well, that’s the important thing.” She bit her lower lip in a way
that indicated she was having a hard time not asking him what was
on her mind, so he pressed, “Is there something you’d like to ask
me?”

Chloe’s gaze went to the chairs near the
window.

“
Your mother didn’t go
through the trouble of providing something to eat and drink just to
have us say hello.” He smiled. “I’m sure she was hoping we’d
discuss how things went when I met the lady you helped the duchess
match me up with.”

With an excited cry, she clapped her hands.
“You don’t mind telling me?”

He chuckled. “Not at all. It’s the least I
can do for all the work you and your friends went through. I’m very
pleased with the match.”

Chloe’s face beamed with pleasure. “You
are?”

“
I am. Miss Everson is a
lovely lady, and I’m looking forward to the marriage.”

“
In that case,” Chloe took
his arm and guided him over to the chair, “tell me
everything.”

Derek glanced at Mrs. Boyle, who probably
would have been shocked by her daughter’s bold action had she not
been preoccupied with cooing at her grandson. Derek, however,
didn’t mind Chloe’s openness.

If only more people would just come out and
say what they wanted, the world would be a better place. There’d be
no guesses. There’d be no misunderstandings. Things would be much
simpler. Happy to oblige her, he sat down and told her all about
the afternoon he spent with Miss Everson.

Chapter Six

D
anette shifted from one foot to the other in her bedchamber.
The day of the wedding was finally here, and she couldn’t bring
herself to go to the drawing room where the small ceremony would be
held. What if Derek decided not to come? She didn’t think she could
live down the horror of being rejected three times. Two had been
hard enough.

“
Are you sure you don’t want
me to go down and see if he’s here?” Regan asked.

Danette almost shook her head when she
remembered her lady’s maid was still putting flowers in her hair.
The flowers had been her mother’s idea. Her mother had said the
yellow flowers would bring good luck. “Yellow is a happy color,”
her mother had said. “That means this will be a happy day.”

Stupid superstition.
Danette didn’t know why her mother had to be so
hopeful about everything. It was hard enough to face the day as it
was without her mother’s continual optimism.

“
I’m going to see if he’s
here,” Regan said and headed for the door.

Gasping, Danette hurried after her, ignoring
her lady’s maid’s protest as she did so. She grabbed Regan’s arm.
“No. You can’t.”

“
You have to find out if
he’s here sooner or later,” Regan reminded her.

“
I know, but I don’t know if
I can do it right now.”

“
Danette, everything will be
fine. I saw Chloe’s carriage pull up to this very townhouse a half
hour ago. She wouldn’t be here if the wedding wasn’t still going to
happen.”

“
Maybe she’s waiting down
there to tell me bad news. I haven’t heard anything from Derek
since that day he came to visit.”

Regan let out a frustrated sigh. “That was
only last week, and you said the visit went well.”

“
I thought it did, but he
hasn’t said anything to me since. He hasn’t even sent a
missive.”

“
Malcolm didn’t even want to
meet me before the wedding, but he showed up and made his vows. At
least Derek took the time to meet you.”

“
Maybe I said or did
something to upset him without meaning to.”

“
Danette, he’s a doctor.
Maybe he wanted to meet with all his patients before this wedding
so he’d be able to set aside time to get to know you for the next
couple weeks. That was Malcolm’s plan. Gentlemen who are committed
to their work are busy. They don’t spend all their days at a
gentlemen’s club gossiping and playing games.”