Her Devilish Marquess (9 page)

“
You’re right.” Danette
wiped her palms on the skirt of her gown. “I did say
that.”

Regan’s expression softened. “I know it’s
hard, but it’s not going to do you any good to keep expecting bad
things to happen.” She hugged her. “I’m going to check on things
downstairs, and I will come back with good news. Let your poor
lady’s maid finish getting you ready, all right?”

Danette nodded and went back to her lady’s
maid. Her friend and mother were right. She needed to stop seeing
the worst in everything.

Regan had just put her hand on the doorknob
when someone knocked from the other side. After giving a slight
jump, Regan laughed and glanced at Danette. “I think your anxiety
is affecting me.”

Danette grinned at the joke but remained
still so her lady’s maid could finish putting the flowers in her
hair.

Regan opened the door, and Danette heard
Chloe from the hallway. “Mind if I see how the bride’s doing?”

Danette indicated it was fine to let Chloe
in, so Regan moved aside and waved her in. Chloe was smiling. That
was a good sign. She wouldn’t be smiling if Derek had decided not
to go through with the wedding. But even as she told herself this,
she held her breath and waited for Chloe to speak.

“
You look beautiful,” Chloe
told her, glancing her up and down. “Derek will be pleased when he
sees you.”

“
So he’s here?” Regan asked
on Danette’s behalf.

“
He’s been here for about
twenty minutes,” Chloe replied. With a smile at Danette, she added,
“He’s very happy with the match.”

“
I’m not surprised,” Regan
said. “You, Helena, and Melissa did very well with me. It stands to
reason you’d do well with Danette, too.”

Chloe’s face beamed with pleasure as she
turned back to Danette. “Helena wanted to be here, but with her
being so close to giving birth, we thought it best for her to stay
home. I hope you don’t mind that I’m here instead.”

Mind? Why would Danette mind? As long as
Derek was here, that was all that mattered. And more importantly,
he was looking forward to being married to her. What could be
better than that?

“
When is she due to have the
baby?” Regan asked.

“
It can be another week or
two, but the baby will be here soon.”

“
How exciting. I remember
how wonderful it was to hold Leonard for the first time. Danette,
just wait until you feel a baby move inside you, and then you get
to hold him or her in your arms. It’s one of the best things about
being a lady.”

“
I agree,” Chloe added. “It
is. Are you expecting yet?”

“
No, not yet,” Regan
replied. “But I think Leonard will enjoy having a little brother or
sister when the time comes.”

“
He will,” Danette
interjected with a chuckle. “Then Malcolm can explain how to
properly use money with chess pieces to someone else for a
change.”

“
He uses chess pieces to
teach a child about money?” Chloe asked, glancing at
Regan.

Regan laughed. “It’s adorable. Leonard is
more interested in what the pieces look like than he is about
attaching monetary meaning to them.”

“
Let me guess,” Chloe began,
“the Queen is the most expensive piece?”

With a nod, Regan said, “You guess right.
The Queen must be protected at all costs.”

“
It’s hard to argue that a
lady is the most important thing a gentleman should worry about,”
Chloe mused. “It seems like Malcolm’s learned a great deal about
being a good husband.”

“
If only all gentlemen
learned that,” Danette said.

Chloe turned to her and gave her a
reassuring smile. “Oh, you have no need to worry about your
intended. He knows the value of a good lady. I have no doubt you
two will be happy together.”

Danette suspected Chloe was telling her this
in hopes of easing her nerves. And it worked. Danette felt much
better. She had thoroughly enjoyed Derek’s visit. He had struck her
as a kind and sincere gentleman, but it was still nice to hear
Chloe speak of him in such a good light.

Danette’s lady’s maid went to get a hand
mirror and gave it to her. “Is there anything else you wish for me
to do?”

Danette inspected her reflection and then
let her gaze drop to her gown, finally taking note of the soft
yellow color that was a close match to the flowers in her hair.

Her mother had picked the dress. Since
Danette had picked the others that led to a broken engagement, she
figured it was best to let her mother do it. Her mother had picked
yellow, saying it not only complimented Danette’s complexion but
that it was also a color of hope. And, apparently, luck. Derek had
shown up. More than that, he hadn’t told anyone he couldn’t go
through with the wedding.

Danette handed the mirror back to her lady’s
maid. “You did a perfect job.” Just as she had the last time
Danette attempted to wed someone. This time, however, really was
different. This time, she would be married by the end of the
day.

“
It’s about time you came
around,” Regan said, picking up on Danette’s change of mood. “I’m
sure everyone is eager for the wedding breakfast, so let’s get
downstairs.”

Picking up the edge of her gown so she
wouldn’t trip, Danette followed her friend. As they left the room,
Danette caught sight of her mother, who was waiting for them by the
stairs.

“
You weren’t waiting here
for long, were you?” Danette asked her mother, not hiding the
surprise in her voice.

Her mother shrugged but smiled. “I thought
it’d put your mind at ease if I didn’t go into your bedchamber. You
might be afraid you’d end up with another broken engagement since I
was with you last time.”

Danette wished she could tell her mother she
didn’t give herself over to such superstitious nonsense, but her
mother knew her too well. She’d never believe the lie. But still…
“I heard the marquess came a half hour ago.”

“
Yes, I got a chance to talk
to him,” her mother said.

“
I don’t understand. If you
talked to him, why didn’t you come and see me?” She gestured to the
open door of her bedchamber.

“
Because Lady Reddington was
on her way to see you,” her mother replied. “I assumed you’d feel
much better hearing it from her.”

Again, her mother was right. Just as Regan
had been right. How was it possible they knew her better than she
knew either of them? She didn’t think she could ever figure them
out so well.

“
It doesn’t matter, does
it?” her mother continued as Regan and Chloe went down the
steps.

“
No, it doesn’t.” Danette
offered her mother a smile and hugged her. “Sometimes I wish I
wasn’t so predictable.”

Her mother tucked Danette’s hair behind her
ears and patted her cheeks. “Your husband will like not having to
guess what you’re thinking. It’s a cause of frustration to many
gentlemen when they can’t figure their wives out.”

Well, that was one way of looking at it,
Danette supposed.

“
Come. Let’s not keep the
groom waiting.” Her mother slipped her arm around hers and guided
her down the steps. “It’s a shame your father isn’t here to see
this day. He had hoped to see you wed before he passed on to the
next life.”

“
I know.” When they reached
the bottom of the stairs, she asked, “Do you think he might be
watching us right now?”

“
I’d like to think
so.”

Danette would, too, which was why she
decided she’d envision him stopping everything he was doing and
looking down from Heaven. She often wondered what people in Heaven
did. Did they attend balls and gather together to talk like so much
of the nobility did? Or did they choose to spend their time
working? And if they did work, what would someone do for work up
there?

Her mother squeezed her arm. “Danette?”

Danette turned her attention back to her
mother. “I’m sorry. I got distracted.”

Her mother chuckled. “You may daydream
later. Right now, we need you here.”

Her mother’s words, though laced with humor,
weren’t all that fair. Danette didn’t often give herself to such
thoughts. She did spend most of her time in the moment, or at the
very least, in a good book.

Chloe stood at the doorway of the drawing
room and waved for Danette and her mother to come over.
“Everything’s ready.”

Danette took a deep breath and forced her
feet forward. This was it. She was finally going to get married!
Holding her breath, she followed Chloe and her mother into the
room.

***

Regan almost believed her friend wasn’t
going to show up to the drawing room since she’d taken so long, but
she finally walked through the doorway. Regan thought she made a
beautiful bride and was glad she could witness her friend’s special
day.

She was even gladder to see that the new
Marquess of Dodsworth was none other than the one gentleman in
London who had the courage to stand up to the Ton. And as if that
alone wasn’t enough to commend him, he was also the one she’d seen
take off his shirt in the middle of the Duke of Rumsey’s ball and
shouted London had more hypocrites than rats infesting it. Well, to
be fair, she couldn’t remember exactly what he’d shouted. She’d
been too busy staring at the nice muscles on his chest. The doctor
did much more than tend to patients. He did physical labor, or at
least he had at some point in his life.

“
Why didn’t you tell me Dr.
Westward was the one who creates a lot of scandals?” Malcolm
whispered in her ear.

She forced her eyes off the gorgeous doctor
so she could look at her dear husband. “I didn’t realize he was the
one who did all those things to upset people,” she whispered in
return.

“
How could you not know? I
thought you delighted in scandals?”

She shot him a pointed look. “I’ve made it a
point to stop all that after we married.” When he seemed
appropriately contrite, she added, “I remember him now that I see
him, but I forgot he was the one who did all that. With Frederick’s
death and helping Leonard mourn his passing, it just got pushed to
the side.” She shrugged. “You can’t blame me for not remembering
exactly who he was. It was years ago when he did that.”

And if he had looked that good without a
shirt on back then, who knew how he looked now? Danette had
suddenly become one of the most fortunate ladies in all of London.
On this very night, she was going to get the chance to see what
most of the ladies fantasized about, even if they were too polite
to say so.

Malcolm frowned. “I don’t like the way
you’re looking at him.”

Heat rose to her cheeks. She never should
have stared at the doctor too long. It did no good to do such a
thing, especially with her husband right next to her. Not that she
would ever do anything to hurt either her friend or her husband.
She’d do well to not even let her mind stray to that evening at
Rumsey’s ball.

She took Malcolm’s hand in hers and squeezed
it. “There’s only one gentleman I want, and that’s you.”

“
When we get home, I’ll make
you forget all about him.”

The promise of making mad passionate love
made her heart leap in anticipation. If there was one thing Malcolm
excelled at, it was lovemaking. Perhaps letting her gaze linger on
the doctor hadn’t been so bad after all.

“
I demand you watch your
friend instead,” Malcolm whispered in her ear.

Regan couldn’t help but smile. Her husband,
for all his preoccupation with making money, could be incredibly
sweet when he was jealous. “You’re the only one I want,” she
assured him and squeezed his hand again.

The two remained quiet during the vows, and
Regan, considerate of Malcolm’s feelings, kept her gaze on Danette,
who was glowing with the pleasure of new love. The ceremony went
smoothly, and soon, Danette was the Marchioness of Dodsworth.

Just as Regan was going to run over to
congratulate her friend with the others who gathered around the
bride and groom, Malcolm stopped her. He pulled her aside to the
corner of the room, and Regan giggled.

“
Oh seriously, Malcolm, I’m
not going to do anything with the marquess. The only gentleman
who’ll ever be in my bed is you.”

“
It’s not about that,” he
said, keeping his voice low. “I just remembered something
important.”

“
What is it? Does he write
for the
Tittletattle
?”

He hesitated. “I don’t think so, but it
wouldn’t surprise me if he does.” He shook his head. “Anyway, what
I remembered is that he’s the brother of the Marquess of Dodsworth
who just died.”

She had to hold her hand over her mouth so
no one would hear her as she burst out laughing. “Goodness,
Malcolm. I already told you that. It’s not like you to forget
something.”

“
Regan, I’m being serious.
My friends liked the Marquess of Dodsworth. They didn’t like his
brother. I didn’t understand why until now.”

“
What does that have to do
with anything?”

“
A lot. You wanted me to
bring Danette and her new husband to one of my friends’ dinner
parties. I thought I could talk them into giving him a chance
before I realized who he was. They’ll never stand for it. They’re
irrational enough when it comes to propriety.”

Regan hadn’t expected this. It was hard
enough going through those dull dinner parties, especially since
the ladies his friends invited were just as boring as they were.
She’d been hoping with Danette marrying a titled gentleman, she
could convince them to extend an invitation to Danette and her
husband. Then she’d have someone interesting to talk to while
Malcolm and his friends created their business plans.