A Family Affair

by Jennifer Wenn

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Overton.” Fanny smiled politely and offered a cup of tea from the tray Jarvis brought, with impressive foresight, and set on the small table. “You are the first of my husband’s acquaintances I have met since we arrived here yesterday.”

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Overton said graciously in an amazingly strong voice for such a small person. She accepted the cup of tea Fanny held out. “I have always made sure no newcomers arrive in our parish without being properly greeted and introduced to our small corner of east England.”

  “How nice of you, Mrs. Overton.”

  “I know,” the old lady admitted, and Fanny had to cough to cover her laughter. Mrs. Overton cast a probing gaze upon her, and Fanny forced herself to sit still, trying to look as innocent as possible.

  “So where is your new husband?” Mrs. Overton continued. “I haven’t seen the young man for quite some time now, as he has been abroad for so many years. I do hope everything fares well with him?”

  Fanny smiled inwardly at the lady’s transparent attempt to get information from her hostess. This visitor was no different from the ladies of her own home parish in Berkshire. In small communities, gossip was like air, and everyone constantly searched for information about others. No one could do anything without everyone knowing about it.

  Living in the countryside had its benefits, but this wasn’t one of them. As Fanny didn’t know how Devlin felt about the ladies and their wagging tongues, she decided to tell the lady as little as she possibly could without being rude.

  “He is just fine. Thank you so much for asking.”

  Mrs. Overton bent forward and patted Fanny’s hand. “You poor little thing. You have to promise to come and see me if you feel lonely, as I know it can’t be easy for a young girl to be married to such a busy man as Hereford. And you must miss your family dearly, being such a young girl. This was your debutante year, I understood?”

  Fanny nodded, thankful for not having to answer in more detail. Mrs. Overton frowned, a bit vexed with her hostess. She obviously had thought it would be easier than this to obtain the information she wanted.

  “It must be hard for you, being so far away from your mother. I have always said a husband is just a husband, a friend is just a friend, but a mother will always be a mother, no matter the distance. You must come to see me if you feel lonely. You are always welcome, my dear child.”

  “Thank you,” Fanny replied politely, silently promising herself to never go there alone. She really didn’t like the older woman’s gossipy nature, and loathed her probing questions. There were some things about people’s private lives you just didn’t ask.

  She offered Mrs. Overton cakes, which were accepted with a little cry of joy; the lady obviously had a sweet tooth. Just as Mrs. Overton put the last cake in her mouth, Jarvis entered the room, closely followed by a young lady who gazed around her with eyes big as saucers and her mouth open wide.

  She had obviously never been to Pendragon before and was now having the time of her life, finally getting to see what was inside this magnificent old castle.

  “Your Grace…” Mrs. Overton’s carefully modulated tones became a high-pitched squeal in reaction to her excitement. “It is my pleasure to introduce to you my own dear, dear granddaughter, Annabelle.”

  Mrs. Overton stared pointedly at the young lady, who stepped forward in a superior manner with a simpering smile on her pretty face. Fanny disliked her immediately, as Miss Overton was obviously spoiled rotten and too aware of her own beauty.

  Fanny had no doubt this girl must be the incomparable one among the socialites in the parish. It was like seeing Charmaine in the shape of another girl. Yet even though this girl was prettier than most, she was far from the astounding beauty of the incomparable queen of the London ton.

  For her part, the girl took one look at Fanny and apparently crossed her off the list of rivals for the place as the most popular beauty and instead gawked at the gloriously decorated room, obviously awed by its luxury. Fanny had no doubt the Overton family lacked large funds. Besides the staring, small details about their outfits and the worn old carriage at the steps told Fanny the truth.

  “How nice to meet you, Miss Overton,” Fanny said with a slight bow of her head, silently putting a distance between her and the guests by being impersonally polite. Unfortunately, Mrs. Overton wasn’t a person who listened to others, not what they told her straight out and especially not what lay between the lines. She had already decided her own granddaughter, now that she couldn’t become the new duchess, should be Fanny’s best friend, and nothing was going to stop her from achieving her goals.

  “Oh, you must call each other by your first names, being of the same age as you are. As her friend, you can feel free to call her Belle.”

  Both Overton ladies looked expectantly at Fanny, waiting for her permission to use her given name in return. She cursed silently, not knowing how to get out of this awful situation.

  But, being her special knight in shining armor, Devlin chose just this moment to search for his wife. “Ah, I see we have visitors,” he exclaimed as he entered the parlor, unaware he had saved his wife from a fate worse than death, that of becoming Annabelle’s friend.

  Mrs. Overton cried out with joy and rushed forward to greet the magnificent man who stood before her. Her granddaughter, who obviously had never met Devlin before, looked unusually un-pretty as she stared at the duke, her mouth wide open.

  Fanny hid a smile. She knew Devlin was a lot to take in even when one was already acquainted with him, and seeing this splendid-looking man for the first time had to be a shock like no other. Mrs. Overton had to say her granddaughter’s name four times before she woke from her stupor and was able to collect the pieces of her dignity enough to perform a stumbling curtsy in greeting.

  “We have missed you sorely, Your Grace,” Mrs. Overton said as Devlin sat down in the only free armchair, opposite his wife. Fanny kept her gaze on her guests, but she could feel Devlin’s eyes on her.

  She had no doubt her husband was very nervous about how he would be met by her today, and she could hardly blame him for his insecurity. She had been quite unstable in her behavior toward him these last days, from extremely happy during the wedding to extremely angry in the carriage to extremely passionate in bed. It was no surprise he wasn’t sure where he was with her.

  She was a little annoyed with him, though, as he had, after all, left her this morning without one word and stayed away nearly the whole day. A part of her wanted to punish him for it, make him suffer a little, so he would know what she had gone through that day, not knowing where he was or who he was with. But her heart was too good, she thought with a wry smile, because her conscience told her not to give him pain.

  Instead of ignoring him, she looked directly at him with a sweet, alluring smile. It turned him into stone for a second, before a fire started to burn in those golden eyes.

  Poor Mrs. Overton and Miss Overton. They had no idea their host was now in desperate need of them to get lost, so he could hurl himself upon his duchess and kiss her senseless.

  The lady chattered on, talking about this and that, who had done what during the years Devlin had stayed away, unaware of how unwanted she actually was. All the while, Annabelle sent Devlin flirty looks more like the ones a common whore would send a prospective client than those an innocent young miss sent a man of her liking, especially when the man’s wife sat right beside her.

  After finishing three cups of tea and two plates of cake, Mrs. Overton and her granddaughter finally declared themselves ready to leave. But not before they forced a promise from Fanny that she and Devlin would attend an upcoming Overton dinner party.

  “You certainly do know how to choose your friends,” Devlin said as he and Fanny finally were alone again.

  “It’s almost impossible to tell the woman no.” Fanny laughed. “She won’t take no for an answer. Or actually, she won’t take an answer at all! Lord, how will I ever be able to get out
of her dinner party without hurting any feelings, or ending up on the social black list?”

  “You shouldn’t worry about black lists, my dear, as you are the Duchess of Hereford and as such the unmovable queen of social life here. Mrs. Overton knows this too, and I would hazard a guess that would be why she rushed here, so she could make sure she would end up on your good list. As your guide to society here and as the one to introduce you to others, she will climb the social ladder, and I dare say her granddaughter will have better hands in marriage to choose from.”

  “It sounds so shallow.” Fanny frowned. “Everybody must know social standings are not important. It is the family who really count.”

  Devlin gave her an amused smile. “You really don’t understand the slippery ladder most other debutantes and their families have to climb, do you?”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t.

  “So I am important to you, then?” he teased her, and she cursed silently as she felt a blush creep over her cheeks.

  “Well, you are my husband, so I guess you should matter,” she replied with a wink.

  He leaned back in his armchair and, with a sultry grin, beckoned her with a finger to come to him. At first she decided to refuse. She was still a little upset with him, first for dragging her away from her family, and then for leaving her all alone, without caring how her day was.

  But again, she did find his kissing most wonderful, and so, before she could change her mind, she went to him. He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her into his lap, as if he liked having her close to him.

  She leaned her head against his chest, and he kissed her hair as he put his arms around her. She sighed happily and felt him chuckle in response.

  “I must say I find your honesty in speech and reactions most attractive.”

  “Where have you been today?” Fanny ignored his comment, asked the question uppermost in her mind and, glancing up, saw he smiled with his reply.

  “It pleases me more than I thought possible that you care enough to want to know where I’ve been.”

  She frowned at him. “Of course I care about where you are. You’re my husband.”

  “So I am.”

  “I must admit I felt a bit abandoned when I woke up and found myself alone in bed, without any knowledge of your departure or your whereabouts.”

  “I was making sure my aunt and my cousins got on their way.”

  “So I heard.” Fanny sighed. “Please don’t tell me you threw them out of here because of me?”

  “Of course I did. I don’t want your first time at Pendragon to be colored by that witch and her children.”

  “Devlin, this is awful. You really shouldn’t have done such a thing.”

  “Oh yes I should, and I did. It should have been done years ago.”

  “But it’s so brutish. Your poor, poor aunt.”

  Devlin snorted at her misdirected compassion. “Poor aunt? There is nothing poor about Delia. She would have made life terrible for you. It’s better this way, with all our relatives a couple of days away.”

  “There is nothing wrong with my relatives.”

  “No, they are the best, especially at this distance.”

  “Devlin!” Fanny gasped, trying to look outraged, but laughter lurked in her throat. He hauled her closer again, and this time he bent down and gave her an earthshaking kiss that made them both breathless and in desperate need of their bedroom.

  Without another word, Devlin rose with Fanny in his arms, kicked the door open, and carried his wife up the stairs and into her bedroom, where he threw her onto the bed as the door shut behind them. Fanny immediately started to unbutton her dress, and with a chuckle over her obvious frenzy, he helped her.

  Chapter 25

  What Devlin didn’t know was that her relatives weren’t as far away as he thought.

  When the bride and groom left the wedding so unexpectedly without any time to say farewell properly, the Darling family was shocked. For a few days they all went around grunting and behaving in a rather unfriendly manner toward each other, until Hannibal had enough.

  “For goodness’ sake, stop moping about. Go to her instead,” he boomed to her parents with a roll of his eyes, and a few days later, after finally overcoming their hesitation to commit such inconsideration toward the newlyweds, Fanny’s parents and Rake left in a carriage heading eastwards. Few words were spoken during the long trip; they all had a lot on their minds, and each was worried about what they would find at Pendragon but didn’t want to alarm the others.

  They had promised each other to not care what Devlin said, or had the right to, if they found Fanny was miserable and unhappy. If she was suffering in any way, they would take her home with them, even if it meant they would have to use force.

  “I will kill him,” George muttered through his teeth. “If she has shed but one tear, he is mine and only mine.”

  The last part was directed to Rake, who nodded, just as seriously determined, and Caroline rolled her eyes over their childish declarations. The men of the Darling family tended to be a little too dramatic sometimes, and she had a feeling this was a time their antics wouldn’t be a good thing.

  But she knew better than to try talking them out of it, as that would only put more wood into their fire. Instead, she decided on a change of subject, and she looked at Rake, who had a forlorn air about him these last days.

  Since the night Penelope had tumbled in through Fanny’s bedroom window, Rake had become more and more silent, until he was like a brooding shadow moving through the house. At first he had seemed desperate to know what Penelope had gone through, but when they kept the lid tightly screwed on, he stopped asking questions.

  It was not hard to understand there were deeper feelings than friendship between those two, but they both were stubborn as mules about keeping a distance from each other.

  Penelope had asked Caroline to let her stay at Chester Park when Fanny’s wedding was over, so she wouldn’t have to return to London and rejoin the social scene. The Lord Bolton affair had destroyed something inside her, and Caroline had every intention of finding out what lay beneath the surface when she got back from Pendragon.

  Rake, on the other hand, had been roaming London with a new beauty on his arm every day, except for the one night when he had a beauty at each arm. He flirted outrageously with every lady he met, leaving piles of broken hearts behind him. Both George and James had tried to talk to him, but their efforts met with such a cold stare they gave up. Solemnly George told his wife that the time for the younger brother to surrender to his heart had not yet arrived.

  It had surprised them, though, when Rake had insisted on going with them to Pendragon. The surprise was not because of his non-relationship with Penelope, but that he would leave London and all the ladies currently throwing themselves happily all over him.

  Now he sat on the opposite seat in the carriage as they came closer and closer to Fanny, and for the first time since they’d left Chester Park he seemed to actually want to talk.

  “Killing him won’t be enough,” he objected. “Dragging him behind the carriage with a snare tightly around his malicious head might do, as a starter.”

  “Richard Darling!” Caroline gasped, deeply offended by his crude language, but he didn’t even look at her. George, who rather liked the image his brother painted, ignored his wife too, and leaned a bit closer to Rake.

  “I can’t believe he kidnapped her right out of our home. He took our Fanny, without even asking what she wanted. Or more importantly, he didn’t ask if it was all right with us.”

  Rake nodded sternly, agreeing with his brother over this incredible insult, while Caroline threw out her hands in despair. “Oh, come on, Rouge,” she said aghast, using George’s old nickname from his libertine days. “She is his wife, and he has all the right in the world to drag her all the way to the colonies if he wants to, and there is nothing we can do about it.”

  Both men stared at her as if she had lost her mind, and she
continued quickly, before they had a chance to say something.

  “It’s Devlin we are talking about. It is your best friend, Rake. You know in your heart he would never mistreat Fanny in any way, because he has a kind heart, and he does love her.”

  Rake muttered something inaudible, but in the end he had to give in. Caroline was telling the truth. Devlin wasn’t a bad man. He was honest, straightforward, and brave, and would never go berserk on a woman. “But he still stole her away,” he objected, not wanting to give up the indignation completely.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Caroline sighed. “They were newly married, and he must have wanted to have Fanny for himself when he finally could. He just forgot to enlighten us about his plans to leave immediately instead of staying put for another week.”

  “It wasn’t so hard to see that he had forgotten to tell Fanny too,” George interjected harshly.

  “He still didn’t do anything wrong. He only followed his heart and didn’t think about how he left the rest of us standing there feeling rather abandoned.”

  “I hope she has made him as miserable as he made us,” Rake said with a grim smile, and George nodded in agreement.

  Caroline shook her head. These two Darling men had obviously decided they were upset, and nothing she said would change their mission. They would continue their brooding until they had Fanny in front of them telling them everything was all right.

  She leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes, knowing she had to use the time left before their arrival at her daughter’s new home to gain some strength. Strength to hold the stubborn, ridiculously indignant men back, and strength to hold herself from hurting Devlin if Fanny had been in any way mistreated.

  She knew what she had said to her husband and brother-in-law about Devlin, but deep in her heart she was too afraid to believe in those words herself.