The Lady and the Earl (36 page)

He’d
met
with investors while here as well.
  Those
had been
his main reason for coming to London.  He probably could have
been
excused from Parliament, but he had
n’t
wanted to postpone his other business acquisitions.  He wanted those taken care of before his wedding, not after.
 
After, he wanted to focus on his new bride. 
He
pictur
ed
her soft skin and tender lips, but most of all he thought of her lovely, green eyes and the sparkle they held when she looked at him.  He was truly looking forward to seeing her again and holding her in his arms. 

After the long
Parliament
meetings, he normally returned to his London home for the evening, declining offers of dinner and drinks from fellow nobles.  He didn’t care to socialize outside of business, but after today’s meetings were adjourned, he finally accepted an invitation to a small social gathering at
Lord
Philip Jefferson’s home.  Declan
hadn’t intended to, but something
Jefferson
said had caught his interest.

“
I hear you are
marr
ying
again and to the
young Lady
Tananguard
.  Were I you, I
might
consider otherwise.  I have heard some things that are
not in her favor.  However, I’
m not one to judge.  Wed her if you would. 
Don’t
allow for foul play.
  Show her you are not a man to be trifled with. 
And above all,
do not allow her to make a fool of you
,” Jefferson had said.

Declan
was
so shocked, he had
n’t
been able to reply.

“I see I have overstepped my bounds.  Forgive me.  C
ome
to my home
for dinner tonight.
  I insist.
 
There will be a small
gathering of people, and I would be delighted if you would join us
.
”

How
had
Lord
Jefferson know
n
Declan
was betrothed to Allana? 
And what had he meant by his comments?  The man knew nothing of Allana—no one in London should—yet something was being said about her that was unfavorable.  It was alarming. 
Declan
had been the center of gossip when he was married before, and he hadn’t liked it.
  Now to find out he might be again, as well as Allana, disturbed him very much.
 
He
had to discover how people knew about the marriage and what rumors were being spread.  

Thus
,
he accepted the invitation and found
himself ascending the stairs to the Jefferson home, feeling
s of apprehension storming within.
  What would he learn tonight from these people? 

Dinner went well.  There were about twenty people
in attendance
, consisting of both
l
adies and
l
ord
s. 
Declan
didn’t
notice anything unusual about the way people behaved around him either.  After dinner, the piano
forte
was playe
d and some danced while others formed small groups
and gossiped.  He s
tood
by a group of men
with an evening drink in hand
,
keeping his distance yet appearing to be part of the group
.  Finally, he was
rewarded
with information.

“Cunningham, I thought you hated these affairs,” a voice said casually from behind.

Declan turned to find
Lord
Michael Thomson, a man he was not
particularly
fond of,
eyeing him curiously.
  Declan had not s
een or sp
oken to the man in over two years.
  “I d
on’t
hate them.  I simply choose not to attend every function
I’
m
invited to.”

“Of course,” the other man said.
  He paused,
“
It wa
s tragic what happened to your l
ady wife all those years ago.”

“It was
two
years ago, Thomson.  Do not pretend you do
n’t
remember that,” Declan said coldly.  The bastard had only claimed Rebecca’s child as his own on one drunken evening.  It was one of the reasons Declan disliked
him
—he
was rash and easily offended.

“Ah.  I see an apology is in order.  I was drunk.  I never actually bedded your wife, but I knew
—as
much as every man here
did—the
child she carried was not yours.  You angered me, and I reacted poorly.  And I apologize for that,” the man said.

Declan was not one to hold a grudge, and the apology sounded sincere. 
Besides,
what
t
he
man
said was truth.  Rebecca’s unborn child had not been
Declan’s
and most everyone knew it.
  How that woman had humiliated him! 
The least she could have done was be discreet in her actions. 
He should have gotten an annulment the moment he found her with another man, but
it would have ruined her family’s name and any good fortune which had come
to them
since
Rebecca’s
marriage to Declan. 
Her family did not deserve that.
 
“Apology accepted.”
 

“Thank you.” 

The men stood in silence for a moment.

“
Is it true
you are to be married again?”
Thomson
asked
casually
.

“Yes, it is,” Declan replied.

“
To
Lady Allana Tananguard
, correct?
  She has never been to London, never entered true society,” Thomson added.

“Correct, but she is as much a l
ady as any here,” Declan said.

Thomson eyed him.  “Are you certain? 
There are rumors she is not a maid.  Hoffman courted her, you know
.
”

Declan’s
eyebrows rose in surprise.  Not a maid? 
She’d
tainted herself unknowingly just by allowing that scum to court her
. 
“Yes, I knew he did, but I
don’t
believe he took her maidenhood,” Declan said in Allana’s defense. 

“I see.” 
It was said without merit.  He did
n’
t believe
Declan’s
words.
 
 

Declan clenched his jaw tightly.
  “
Rumor or not,
I still plan
to marry her
”

“I do
n’t
blame you.  I understand her father offer
ed you quite a dowry to wed her
.
”

Declan laughed lightly.  At least he tried to make it light.  “It was a tempting offer, yes.” 

“It must have been more than tempting for you to
ignore her faults,” Thomson said.

“Her faults?”
Declan asked.
 
“I did
n’t
know you were acquainted with her.”

“I’
m not, but I have heard,” he replied.

“And what is it
you’ve
heard?” Declan asked.

Thomson laughed
quietly.  It seemed he did not want to draw anyone else’s attention
.  “There is no need to
play the fool, Cunningham.  It’
s well known already.  Your lady is in love with
Hoffman
, and you her l
and.  There i
s no shame in that.”

Declan did his best to remain calm.  He refused to show the shock this news caused.  He even chuckled lightly.

“She must be
a beauty
too if Hoffman was willing to settle for her.  It was fortunate Tananguard discovered them when he did.
”

Declan frowned.  “
Discovered them when he did?
  This I have not heard.”

Thomson’s eyebrows rose in
surprise.  “Surely you have.”

“No.  Please, enlighten me,”
Declan said
, trying to remain calm.  Would this be another
piece to the puzzle Declan had been trying to
put
together since the
Tananguards
first proposed
the
marriage to Allana, or would it simply be more hearsay?

Thomson
eyed him
. 
“
Very well.
  H
ow was your lady’s health when last you saw her?”

“Why?  W
hat do you know?” 

“I know she was injured.
”

“And?”
 

Thomson laughed quietly. 
“Not
and
,
Cunningham,
how.
  That is what you really want to know
—the
how and why.”

“And you’
re going to tell me,” Declan stated.
This was going in a different direction than he had anticipated
. 
He’d
expected to hear something about what had occurred
between Allana and Lucas
before
Declan entered her life
, not something that had just recently happened
.

“
Are you certain you wish to he
ar what I’
ve heard
?
  It
is
simply speculation, you know,” Thomson answered.

“I wish to hear.  Now tell me.”

“
Very well.
 
I’
ve heard she does not wish to marry you, but her father is forcing her hand.  She tried
running away
to be
with her lover.  They were meeting
late in t
he night to elope to be more specific.
 
Her brother discovered the plot and intercepted them before they could flee.  She tried to run any
way
and was injured when her horse lost its footing. 
T
hat is what I
’
ve heard.
”
 
 

“And her lover would be Hoffman, of course,” Declan supplied without amusement. 

“Of course,” Thomson said.  He
took a sip of the wine he held.

“Interesting.
”

“Yes it is.  Will you still wed her now
with such a rumor spreading
?” 

“I will.  After all, you said it was merely speculation,” Declan answered.

“Indeed I did.
”

Declan nodded. 
“Very enlightening conversation.
  If you will excuse me, I believe I will be going.”

The other man shook his head and chuckled lightly.  “
You do not like this news.”

“Of course, I do
n’t
.  It causes doubts, and doubts are never beneficial,” Declan answered. 
This news
caused too many doubts and answered too many questions
such as why Allana was out
before the sun had risen
and how she’
d fallen. 
Connor’s story had seemed to be missing elements, and Thomson’s story filled in those elements. 

“Yes, doubts are a burden, especially when one is engaged
to be married
to the one the doubts are focused on,” Thomson agreed.  “I am sorry, Cunningham.  I should
n’
t have told you.”

“
I demanded it,”
Declan said
matter-of-fact.
He
had
demanded it, and now he was suffering from it.

“Perhaps,
but had I realized it may cause
you troubles
, I may not have told you
.
 
I did
n’t
think you actually cared for the
woman
. 
However,
I believe I was wrong on that account.”