Her Devilish Marquess

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Marriage by Arrangement: Book 2

  Her

  Devilish

  Marquess

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  Wedded Bliss Romances, LLC

  Her Devilish Marquess - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Coming Soon in the Marriage by Arrangement Series

  Other Regencies Written by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All Books Written by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Where To Find Ruth

  Join Ruth’s Email List

  Dedication: To Bonnie J. Schuster for sticking with me through the years. Thank you for your encouragement along the way!

  Chapter One

  July 1817

  Dr. Derek Westward stared at his older brother who was in bed. If only his brother would have let him tend to him. Derek knew he could have prevented the infection from getting worse. But the cut had given way to an infection, and the doctor his brother believed to be much more capable of healing him didn’t live up to his expectations.

  Derek sat in the chair next to his brother’s bed and watched as the once vibrant gentleman slowly slipped from this world into the next. He’d seen too many people die to know his brother wouldn’t survive the week.

  His brother grimaced.

  “Ronald, will you at least let me give you something for the pain?” Derek asked.

  His brother glanced at him then snorted. “I wouldn’t take anything from you.” He gritted his teeth, clutching the blanket covering him. “The only reason I asked you to see me is because you’ll inherit the title once I’m gone. This visit is borne of necessity.”

  It wasn’t like Derek looked forward to visiting with him either, but at least he managed to hold his tongue. His brother was dying, after all. The least he could do was be pleasant.

  “Unfortunately,” Ronald began, “it is up to you to take care of the estate. I urge you to hand over the financial matters to the steward. He is good with money and won’t let it go to waste like you would. I also need you to marry a reputable lady. I don’t have any hope you’ll amount to anything, but the very least you can do is give your son a good mother. Then there might be a chance he’ll live an honorable and decent life.”

  Ronald closed his eyes for a moment and groaned. Derek got up and retrieved a bottle from his medical bag. He was ready to pour the medicine in a spoon when his brother threw the bottle out of his hand. The medicine spilled onto the rug. Derek hurried to grab the bottle, saving what little he could. The medicine wasn’t cheap, and he had patients who might need it.

  “I told you,” Ronald said, “I won’t take anything from you. Everything you touch is tainted.”

  Derek let out a long sigh, put the lid back on the bottle, and set it back into the leather bag. “All right, be in pain. If that’s the way you want to spend the next day or two, then so be it.”

  “Listen to me,” his brother replied, ignoring Derek’s comment. “If you manage to only do one thing right with your life, you need to marry. Finding a wife should be your first order of business. If you wait like I did, you might not live long enough to have a son. You have a responsibility to the estate. You have failed in every other area of your life. Don’t fail in this one.”

  “Am I to assume you believe your life is a failure because you have no heir?” Derek snapped before he had time to stop himself. Good heavens, but his brother could push him past his limit.

  “Yes,” his brother said, surprising him. “I spent so much time acquiring money that I forgot what really mattered. Here I am, about to die, and all I have to show for my life is a lot of money. What’s worse is that you,” he grimaced, “will be the one who’ll run the estate. This isn’t how it should have been. And you better take note of that. None of us know how long we have. Get that wife and have a son.”

  His brother grimaced again and clutched the blanket to his chest.

  Derek leaned over him. “I’ll make you a deal, Ronald. If you take my medicine so you can enjoy the last moments in this life without pain, I’ll make finding a wife my first deed when I inherit your title. Deal?”

  Though still in pain, Ronald managed a nod.

  With a shake of his head, Derek poured another dose into the spoon. Why did his brother have to be stubborn to a fault? Why did it have to take him making Ronald a deal on his deathbed for him to accept his help?

  “Here,” Derek said, doing everything he could to hide his frustration.

  His brother wouldn’t be alive for long, and the last thing he wanted was to live with the guilt of doing anything unpleasant before his death.

  Thankfully, his brother took the medicine this time. Relieved, Derek put the medicine and spoon back in his bag. “It’ll start to work in ten minutes.”

  “Even if it’s poison, I don’t care at this point,” his brother replied. “As long as you marry and get an heir to pass on the title to, anything you do will be worth it.”

  Reminding himself this was the last time he’d see his brother while he lived, Derek gave his brother a hug. Just as he’d expected, Ronald stiffened.

  “We didn’t always get along,” Derek began.

  “Because you consistently made fun of the Ton,” his brother was quick to interrupt him.

  “But,” he continued, undeterred by his brother’s foul mood, “we did get along as children. Those are the moments I choose to remember when I think of you, and they’ll continue to be the ones I’ll recall after you’re gone.”

  His brother shook his head. “You had such potential,
but you consistently wasted it.”

  “I am a good physician. You’ll find out soon enough when the pain goes away.” He picked up his bag and gave one last look at his brother, figuring he wouldn’t see him again until it was time to bury him. “The medicine wasn’t poison, but it will make you sleepy.”

  “In that case, let me see Lord Steinbeck before I fall asleep,” Ronald said.

  Derek left the bedchamber and hurried down the steps. When he reached the bottom, he told the butler Ronald was ready to receive another visitor. The butler nodded and went to the drawing room to invite Lord Steinbeck up the stairs.

  The footman opened the front door, and Derek thanked him, knowing full well the footman would soon be under his employ. Once he became the Marquess of Dodsworth, this would be his new residence. And he wasn’t the least bit excited about it.

  ***

  “Danette, please give marriage another chance.”

  Miss Danette Everson let out a frustrated sigh before she set her teacup on the saucer and turned her gaze to her friend. “Regan, I’ve already been through two failed engagements. What makes you think another one will do me any good?”

  Regan’s smile widened. “That’s the beauty of going with the Duchess of Ashbourne. There will be no engagement. You’ll go straight to the marriage. By the time the gentleman promises himself to you, it’ll all be done, and you don’t have to worry about him running off with someone else.”

  Danette groaned. “Just because the duchess picked the right gentleman for you, it doesn’t guarantee she’ll pick the right one for me.”

  “Of course, she will. Besides, it’s not just the duchess. She has two other ladies helping her. Together, they ask questions and pair up couples based on their compatibility. If you’re compatible with someone on paper, it stands to reason you’ll be good together in person.”

  Of all things, Danette wouldn’t have thought her friend was so naïve. “No one can know who is perfect for someone simply by asking questions.”

  “Sure, they can. You knew how important it was for me to have a good father for my son. If the duchess and her friends hadn’t known Malcolm liked children, we would never have been matched.”

  Danette smirked at her friend. “I give you credit for trying, Regan, but they picked Malcolm because his sister happened to be one of the ladies in the group of matchmakers. And she knew you wanted him.”

  “It most certainly did. However, his sister also knew we’d be good together, and she was right. We are. I’ve heard they’ve done well with the other marriages they’ve arranged. You ought to give them a chance.” Then, with eyes wide, Regan clasped her hands together and put them under her chin. “Please?”

  “I don’t understand why this means so much to you.”

  “Because I want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy.” When Regan shook her head, Danette asked, “When have I ever said I wasn’t happy?”

  “You’ve never said it.”

  “There you go.”

  “But I see the longing in your eyes when you watch couples dance and when you see children at the park. Danette, you didn’t say yes to those gentlemen’s proposals because you wanted to be a spinster. You said yes because you wanted to be married.”

  Danette closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. It wouldn’t do to wake her mother from her nap in the other room. When she opened her eyes, she asked, “If I agree to let the duchess arrange a marriage and,” she quickly added before Regan could yell for joy, “if this engagement ends as horribly as the others, will you never speak of marriage again?”

  After a moment, Regan nodded. “Yes. I promise. If this time doesn’t work, you may remain a spinster for the rest of your life, and I won’t say a single thing about it.”

  Sure she was going to regret it, Danette relented. “All right. I’ll see the duchess.”

  “Oh good!” Regan clapped her hands.

  Unable to believe the extent of her friend’s enthusiasm, Danette picked her cup back up. “It’s always better when you bring your son over for a visit.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yes. He interrupts you enough so you don’t have a chance to become annoying.” Noting her friend’s gasp, Danette smiled and took a sip of her drink.

  ***

  Three days later, Derek stood outside the door to the Duchess of Ashbourne’s townhouse, the heavy weight of his impending title pressing down on his shoulders. If he wasn’t so sure his brother was ready to die, he’d wait it out, but he’d seen too many people die over the years. They always had the same resigned expression on their faces. Maybe not right away, but eventually, they gave into the inevitable. And his brother was making his peace with the world.

  Of all the things Derek had done in his life, this was the one he was going to regret. God help the lady who ended up with him. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door then clasped his hands behind his back.

  The footman opened the door, and Derek said, “Greetings. I’m Dr. Westward. I have an appointment with Her Grace.”

  “Yes. I was told to expect you.” The footman stepped aside and waved him in. “I’ll tell her you’re here.”

  “Thank you.”

  Feeling more like a gentleman about to go to war than one about to take a bride, Derek entered the townhouse. He followed the footman to the drawing room where two ladies were sitting on the settee and laughing. One of them, Chloe Emmett, the Lady of Reddington, whose son he’d just delivered in May, glanced up at him and rose to her feet.

  “Dr. Westward,” Chloe said, coming over to him, “I didn’t think you wanted to get married. In fact, when I asked about it, you said no lady in her right mind would marry you.”

  “Let’s just hope there’s a lady in London who isn’t in her right mind,” he replied, unable to stop himself from making the joke.

  She giggled and turned to her friend. “What did I tell you, Melissa? He has a marvelous sense of humor, doesn’t he?”

  Melissa chuckled and nodded. “Indeed, he does. What brings you here if you don’t think a lady will be better off married to you?”

  “Duty,” he replied. “My brother will pass on to the next life in a matter of days, and since I’m next in line for the title, it’s up to me to have an heir. I only hope there’s a lady out there who wants a child badly enough she’s willing to overlook my reputation.”

  “Oh, you have more to offer a lady than you think,” Chloe told him. “Any lady would be fortunate to be married to you.”

  “You better not let your husband hear you say that,” Melissa quipped.

  “Orlando knows there will never be another but him in my life,” Chloe said. “I’m speaking of other ladies.”

  “Hmm… If I were to tell Orlando, would he believe it?” Melissa asked with a sparkle in her eye.

  Chloe lifted her chin indignantly. “Of course, he would. He knows my affections are only for him.”

  “Are you two fighting again?” came a female voice.

  Derek turned in time to see the duchess come into the room, her hand on her pregnant belly. “I didn’t realize you were in a delicate condition,” he told her. “If you’re tired, I can come back at another time.”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” the duchess assured him. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Dr. Westward. I’m the Duchess of Ashbourne, but you may call me Helena.”

  “And you may refer to me as Derek.”

  “But he’ll be the Marquess of Dodsworth soon,” Chloe interjected, her gaze going to Helena.

  “Yes,” he told Helena. “That’s what prompted me to come here today.” Noting her pale complexion, he asked, “Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

  “Yes. My condition has nothing to do with the baby. It’s lack of sleep. When I lie down at night, sometimes it feels as if my food wants to come back up. It leaves a burning sensation in my throat. I actually prefer to be busy. It helps me not to dwell on it.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. “This doesn�
�t happen to all ladies who are with child, but some do experience this. It’s nothing to worry about. Take a small handful of almonds the moment you notice any discomfort.”

  “Almonds?”

  “Do you ever eat them?”

  “Well, yes, from time to time.”

  “Good. Then you have some on hand. Almonds have oil in them, and this oil suppresses the acid in the stomach. Just make sure you don’t eat so much of your dinner that you get full. Eat until you’re comfortable. Then you’ll have room for the almonds.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll try it.” She gestured to the chair. “Shall we get started?”

  Chloe hurried to sit next to Melissa, and the duchess chose to sit at the desk. “Dr. Westward knows what he’s talking about when it comes to things that ail us,” Chloe told Helena. “He does wonders for my brother.”

  “Then Alexander’s health has improved?” Derek asked.

  She smiled. “Yes. He barely coughs anymore.”

  “Splendid.” He sat in a chair and folded his hands over his stomach. “Now that we have the formalities done, I suppose I should get to the reason for this appointment. I need a wife, and I’d like her to be one who doesn’t mind my reputation.”

  “Oh, you’re not that bad,” Helena told him. “There are gentlemen much worse.”

  “But I mock the Ton,” he said. “That makes me less...deserving…of a wife.”

  Helena smiled in a way that indicated she thought he was being too hard on himself. “Since I can’t change your mind, we’ll get to it. Why don’t we start with something easy?” She picked up her quill and dipped it in the inkwell. “What type of lady would you like?”

  “Someone who can stand the thought of spending the rest of her life with me,” he said, not sure how else he could better explain it.