Laurie Brown

by Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake

  She just wanted to go home.

  Unfortunately, she ran into Estelle before she could find Mrs. Binns.

  “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the belle of the ball.”

  Josie looked over her shoulder, but no one else seemed near.

  “No need to play coy with me,” Estelle said with a snide smile. She played with the handle of her punch cup. “It appears I underestimated you.”

  “I doubt it will keep you awake at night.”

  “Your name is on everyone’s lips. They are already calling you an original.Mrs. Binns is in alt.”

  Josie had never heard the term in alt before, but she refused to ask Estelle for a definition and assumed by her usage and displeased expression she meant Mrs. Binns was thrilled.

  “Lady Jersey has all but guaranteed you will be at the first assembly of the season at Almack’s,”

  Estelle said with a scowl.

  Josie snorted. She didn’t have time to discuss theoretical impossibilities with the malicious bitch.“Whatever. Have you seen Mrs. Binns? No?

  Fine.” She started to walk on by, but Estelle blocked her path.

  “Our conversation is not over.”

  Josie crossed her arms. She decided not to knock the other woman into the middle of next week, but only because she wasn’t worth the effort.

  “I wanted to wish you enjoyment of your brief success,” Estelle said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” Estelle heaved a dramatic sigh.“Adoration is brief among the ton. Once everyone learns you are the cause of a duel, your fleeting fame will fade into infamy.”

  “Impressive alliteration, but you have the facts wrong. There will be no...what do you mean I’m the cause?”

  “Lord Waite challenged Lord Hargrave to a duel over some unspecified insult to you. Pistols at dawn.”

  “What?” She hadn’t changed history after all.

  That’s why Deverell still felt the bullet in his heart.

  Estelle continued speaking even though Josie paid her little heed. “Without specific details, wild stories will abound and word will pass like wildfire. Soon everyone will know.Tonight, most likely.”

  With Estelle’s help, no doubt. “Don’t be so quick to spread tales or you may be named a gossipy fool,” Josie warned the other woman.“There will be no duel, especially not one over me.” She wasn’t sure how she would stop it, but she would.

  Mrs. Binns came up to them, positively glowing and with a wide smile.“Such a wonderful party.”

  “Have you seen Lord Waite?” Josie asked her.

  “Why, no. Oddly enough, I...”

  “I need to speak to him immediately. Hey!” She jumped back too late. Estelle emptied her cup of punch down the front of Josie’s dress.

  “Oh my, I am so sorry.”

  “You did that on purpose.”

  “Such a terrible accident,” Estelle continued, ignoring Josie’s accusation. “Someone must have bumped my arm.You should put some cold water on that stain before your gown is ruined.”

  Josie curled her fingers into a fist.

  Fortunately for Estelle’s nose, Mrs. Binns took Josie’s arm and steered her toward the door.

  Dora met them at the bottom of the stairs. “I saw everything,” she said. “That...that witch did it on purpose.”

  “I know,” Josie said.

  “Don’t you worry. I’ll have it cleaned up in no time,” the maid assured her.

  As she started up the steps, Josie turned to Mrs.

  Binns.“No need for you to miss any of the ball.”

  “That’s all right.”

  “No. I insist you go back and enjoy yourself.”

  “Well, I did want to speak to Lady Georgina, and she usually retires before the supper.”

  “Fine.You do that and I’ll join you later,” Josie said even though she had no intention of coming back to the ball before the séance. Inspiration had hit her during the short walk. She had a plan for stopping the duel, but she needed to think it through first.“We’ll be back in no time. Isn’t that right, Dora?”

  The maid nodded, glancing warily at her mistress. Mrs. Binns, however, accepted the ruse and returned to the ballroom.

  “What are you up to?” Dora asked, as they walked up the stairs.

  “Nothing. Nothing at all,” Josie lied.

  Dora left the room with the damaged ball gown.

  Josie tied the belt of her dressing gown and stepped from behind the screen. Deverell sat in the chair by the window.

  “Did you hear what Estelle said?” she asked.

  “Dev has challenged Hargrave to a duel.”

  “One cannot simply let an insult pass without...”

  “But the insult was to me, not him.”

  “So you intend to challenge him to a duel yourself? A fencing match with knitting needles?

  Fisticuffs in petticoats?”

  “Don’t be patronizing. I don’t want there to be any duel at all. And if I choose not to retaliate, that should be the end of the matter. Insult to me equals my decision to act or not. Get it?”

  “Dev is the master of the house where you are a guest, and therefore he is responsible for your well-being and safety.”

  “I’m safe. I’m well. An insult is not worthy of a duel. He could be shot.You could be shot. Because of some overblown sense of responsibility?”

  Deverell shrugged.“I hate to say I told you so.”

  “No, you don’t.You relish saying it.Well, in this case I won’t let you be right. I will stop this ridiculous duel.”

  “How?”

  “Dueling is illegal. I’ll get the cops or whatever you call them from the nearest town to stop it.”

  “A blind eye is turned to matters of honor.

  And Dev owns the nearest town. The sheriff works for him.”

  “Then I’ll talk Dev out of it.”

  “Not bloody likely. The challenge has been given. If he backed out now, he would never be able to show his face in society again.”

  “A fate worse than death?”

  “There are such universal truths, you know.

  There are fates worse than death.”With that cryptic comment, he disappeared.

  Sinking into the chair he’d vacated, she put her chin in her hands. Her plan was to meet Dev after the séance according to the terms of the deal and talk him out of the duel. She would still try, but if he was anything like the ghost there was little hope of changing his mind. She needed a plan B.

  What else could she do? How far was she willing to go?

  Her gown had been saved thanks to the housekeeper’s secret cleansing formula, but Josie didn’t return downstairs until minutes before the séance was scheduled to begin.Wearing the simplest dress Dora deemed appropriate for evening, Josie paused at the head of the stairs. Her mind was made up and she was committed to her plan, but she would need strength to pull it off.

  “I don’t like this,” Dora said. “Not one bit.”

  “But you’ll do as I asked?”

  The maid hesitated before she nodded. “Oh, miss. Be careful.”

  Josie ran down the stairs and paused to raise her chin and paste a smile on her face before entering the library.

  “There you are,my dear.”Mrs. Binns rushed over and draped the sash of charms around Josie’s neck.

  “I heard about your gown,” Honoria said.“I am so sorry your evening was ruined.”

  “Such a terrible accident,” Estelle added, her pitying expression unable to mask the malevolent glee in her eyes.

  Josie shrugged, refusing to give Estelle the satisfaction of knowing just how much she’d upset her.

  Not with the attempt to ruin the ball gown, but with the news of the duel. “No sense crying over spilled punch. Shall we start the séance?”

  “We’re waiting for Dev,” Estelle said.

  “What about me?” Dev asked as he entered the library at the stroke of the hour.

  Estelle looped her arm through his and dr
ew him into the room.“Only that we would not start without you.”

  “I was afraid you had decided not to attend,”

  Honoria said.

  “What? And miss out on such a promising event?” He took a folded slip of paper from his vest pocket.“In fact, I have a question regarding a deal I recently made. I want to know if the party involved will hold up the other end of the bargain.”

  Josie rolled her eyes at his not-so-subtle reminder.

  “I am sure Amanu will be happy to help with your business decisions, won’t he, Madame?”

  “Of course he will,” Estelle answered for her friend.

  As before, the gypsy was dressed in her voluminous robes and lavish turban that revealed only the golden mask. She sat on the thronelike chair.“We can begin.”

  Dev seated each woman in turn, surreptitiously passing Josie a note in the process. She opened it in her lap and glanced down at the bold handwriting.

  The door at the end of the gallery opens onto the garden path.

  Innocuous words to anyone else.

  “You may light the Candle of Omniscience,”

  Madame intoned.

  Repeating the procedure of the previous séance, the footman put out the lamps and left the room.

  Josie put her hands on the table as directed, and when the slips of paper were placed in the brass bowl and set afire, she added Dev’s note.

  The lone candle sputtered and flared. Madame X chanted in tongues and moaned and rocked.

  “Hear me, Amanu. I command you to come forward and do my bidding.”

  “Yes, my queen,” the spirit guide answered.

  “Speak the beckoning enchantment and I will appear.”

  Madame mumbled and fell forward onto the table in a trance. In a few moments the glowing specter rose behind her chair.

  Josie watched closely and saw a slight hitch in his rising as the man stepped up onto the door of the chair’s secret cabinet. Funny how you saw things differently once you knew how they were done. At least she knew he wasn’t seven feet tall.

  She hoped her traps would provide additional information about how the man got into the locked room.

  “There is great unrest among the spirits you seek,”Amanu said.“They are angry because you do not listen to their advice.”

  “Daniel is upset with me?” Honoria asked in a shaky voice.“Tell him not to be angry.Tell him...”

  “The spirits are not your servants. I am not your servant. If you do not intend to heed the spirits’ advice, I will not bother to come again.”

  “No, please,” Honoria cried.“I will. I will. Please tell Daniel I will do everything he wants me to do.”

  “Now, Mother, I think...”

  “Hush,Dev. I cannot lose this last link with your father.”

  “You must not allow the unbelievers into my presence again,” Amanu said. “The spirits are hurt by skepticism.”

  “I won’t. I promise. Is Percy there, too?”

  “That is all I can say for now.” The specter folded his arms, bowed his head, and sank away from sight. The candle sputtered and the table shook.They waited.

  Moments later Madame X sat up. “You may blow out the candle and light the lamps,” she said in a weak voice.

  “He was a bit bold for a spirit, don’t you think?”

  Mrs. Binns said.

  Estelle shot her a disgusted glare and rushed to help her friend. “This session has been especially hard on Madame. I must get her to our room immediately.”

  After they left, Dev said to his mother, “These séances are getting out of hand.You must see...”

  “What I see,” Honoria said, turning to her son with tears in her eyes, “is that you are one of the unbelievers. I cannot ban you from any function in your house, but I would appreciate it if you would refrain from hurting your father’s spirit again.”

  “Madame X is...”

  “Perhaps we will continue this discussion another time. Right now I have duties that require my immediate attention. As do you.”

  Dev bowed his acquiescence.

  “The supper dance will be called soon,” she reminded him.With that, Honoria left.

  “May I escort you back to the ball?” Dev said, offering his arm to the elder of the two.

  “Yes, thank you,” Mrs. Binns said, laying her fingertips on his forearm.

  “No, thank you,” Josie said. “Dora is waiting with my repaired ball gown,” she explained to Mrs.

  Binns. The truth, if not the whole truth. “You go on. Dora will take care of me.”

  As if he understood her plan, Dev placed his hand over Mrs. Binns’s to prevent her from pulling away. “Then I will see you later,” he said.

  “You can count on it,” Josie answered.

  Sixteen

  DEV PACED THE GARDEN, SECOND-GUESSING his decision to keep his appointment with Josie. She disturbed his equilibrium, made him think about things he had long ago decided were not for him. Marriage. Children. His plan did not include becoming leg-shackled to one woman so early in his life.

  Especially that woman. She challenged his preconceived notions of the perfect female. Josie was neither meek nor mild, and definitely not demure or unassuming, sedate, modest, or even proper. She had none of the expected talents. Couldn’t paint or play the pianoforte. Although he must admit she danced beautifully.

  What was dancing when the woman was too intelligent, argumentative, aggravating, and outspoken? She was also passionate and endlessly fascinating. He should be going to London instead of subjecting himself to self-torture.

  But she was trying to prove Madame X was a fraud, and he had just witnessed the control the gypsy had over his mother. If he didn’t do something, there was no telling where that would lead. And Josie, for some unknown reason, seemed to have a plan for accomplishing exactly what he needed to do.

  He would just have to maintain a distance from her. No romance in the garden as he’d originally planned. No moonlit kisses. Definitely, no kissing. One touch of her lips and he would be lost. Just get the information from her and then get the hell out of there.

  Josie approached the moon garden with trepidation. If she couldn’t talk Dev out of the duel, was she willing to proceed with the rest of the plan?

  Willing? Ha! Eager was a better word.

  Okay, she admitted she’d had her dreams of meeting him in the garden and making love. But she’d always been able to distinguish fact from fiction and maintain a certain amount of personal dignity. However, she’d recently stumbled on one of those universal truths, one Deverell had never mentioned. When the right man beckons, any woman is a one-night-stand kind of girl.

  And if in the process of living out her fantasy she happened to keep him from attending his dawn appointment, so much the better. Even if her motivation wasn’t noble, the end would be. At least she would return home knowing she’d saved his life.

  Her steps faltered. Home. How would she live the rest of her life without him? Wouldn’t she be better off not making love? Shouldn’t she protect her heart? No. If all she had was this one night, then she would make enough memories to last her a lifetime.

  She opened the door at the end of the gallery and stepped into the darkness with firm resolve. The occasional shuttered lantern barely illuminated the rose arbor. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light as she followed the path to her right. One foot in front of the other.

  When she reached the end of the darkened tunnel, the garden itself seemed brilliant. All the white flowers glowed in the moonlight, giving the enclosed area a fairy-tale ambience. Dev waited in the far corner, seated on a white marble bench near a seashell fountain. She ran the rest of the way.

  He stood as soon as he saw her.“Thank you for being on time. Promptness is often underrated, but I consider it a virtue.” Josie skidded to a halt. Not exactly the welcome she’d anticipated. Perhaps her fantasy was just that after all.“Uh, sure.”

  “Please have a seat.”

  “I think I’d ra
ther stand.”

  “Would you care for a tour? I shall endeavor to answer any of your questions. In a moon garden the plants are specifically chosen for white-colored blooms that remain open at night and for their scent.”

  What was wrong with him? She hadn’t come to the garden for a freaking tour. Could he have meant literally a walk in the garden? Had she misunderstood his intent? No, something had changed. Perhaps he was thinking about the duel and regretting his rash action. “Dev,” she said, reaching for his arm.

  As if he did not see her hand, he turned and pointed to a flowering bush. “These roses are not particularly attractive, but the scent is heavenly.” He stepped to his left, putting the bench between them, before indicating another plant. “This...”

  “I don’t care about the flowers.We need to talk.”

  He faced her with a solemn expression. “I agree.”

  “I was quite disturbed earlier this evening.” That was a bit of an understatement. She’d been devastated when she’d heard about the duel. She would try to talk him out of it, but if that didn’t work...“Very disturbed,” she added for good measure.

  “As was I.”

  “It must be stopped. I can’t allow...”

  “I am in absolute agreement.”

  Well, that was easy enough. Josie suppressed a sigh of disappointment.

  “Things have gone beyond what is reasonable,”

  Dev continued.“The problem is, how do I stop it?

  I was hoping you...”

  “Me? I should think you would know more about this than I!”

  “You’re the one with all the strings and...things.”

  “What in the world are you talking about?”

  “Your trap...things.” He paused and gave her a quizzical look.“Why? What are you talking about?”

  “The duel. I came to talk you out of...”

  “Oh, that.” He waved off her concern in a motion the ghost had used many times. “Closed issue. I will not discuss it further.”

  At least that was the response she’d expected.

  “Then what were you...the traps.You were talking about the séances.”

  “Of course.”

  “And for some reason you no longer believe they are a harmless diversion and you want them stopped.”

  “Were you not there when that so-called spirit guide manipulated my mother? Now I’m essentially banned from any future proceedings, so I won’t even know what that...that...”