He could be a rake if he sees an opportunity to have some time alone with a lady and takes it.
MISS HONORA TRUTH’S WORDS OF WISDOM AND WARNING ABOUT RAKES, SCOUNDRELS, ROGUES, AND LIBERTINES
Spring was inching closer. Temperatures were getting warmer. Today a heavy mist had settled over London. It was early afternoon but the skies were so gray the lamps had just been lit in the card room at White’s when Rath sat down at a table with Hawk and Griffin. He was looking forward to a long afternoon of laughing, winning, drinking, and companionship. He hadn’t seen both his friends together since he’d walked into his house and found them enjoying his brandy—and a fair amount of gossip about him—in front of the fire in his book room.
He knew this afternoon wouldn’t end the way they used to when the three got together. In the past they’d stayed up all night drinking, playing cards, throwing dice, shooting billiards, and reliving stories from their misspent youth. Stories that he was sure had been told so many times they no longer resembled the truth. Their days of debauchery had ended once Griffin and then Hawk had married.
And that was probably for the best.
The crowd at White’s was thin, which was to Rath’s liking. It was that time when most gentlemen were paying calls at the homes of friends or still trying to recover from their overindulgence into a bottle of brandy, port, or wine from the night before. Tankards of ale were placed before Rath, Hawk, and Griffin while they exchanged the usual pleasantries about Esmeralda and Loretta, members of Parliament, and the Lord Mayor’s latest scandal before Griffin asked Rath, “How long has it been since you’ve seen Miss Fast?”
Thirteen days and twenty-three hours, give or take a few minutes either way.
It was madness that he actually knew how long it had been. He knew because he’d had to force himself not to go see her. Every time he looked at her, he wanted her, and she’d left him with no doubt that she wanted him, too. He didn’t pursue innocents. That was one of the few rules he didn’t break.
With her being his ward, under his protection, it wasn’t just the trouble it would cause him, it was a matter of his honor. His father had never really believed he was a gentleman. And in most instances he wasn’t. On this one, he’d always wanted to remain true. So far he had. Though in truth no other young lady had tempted him to the point Marlena had to break that oath. Every time he saw her.
It was best he stay away from her for her own good. His, too. He didn’t want to have to be explaining to anyone why he’d taken advantage of his ward.
Rath shrugged off Griffin’s question, dug into his pocket, pulled out a gold coin, and tossed it on the center of the table. “I’ll go first,” he said. Picking up the deck of cards, he started shuffling them.
“Has it been recently?” Hawk asked.
A sly smile lifted one corner of Rath’s mouth. “Remind me what you consider recent. Two hours ago? Two days? Two weeks? A month?”
Griffin grinned, too. “That means he saw her last night.”
Rath wished that were true. “No. So you’ll leave me alone about her, it’s been a while. Well over a week.”
“All right,” Hawk said, “But why would you think we are going to leave you alone about her?”
“Don’t you think Miss Truth’s damned scandal sheet is enough? Must you two pester me, too?”
“I do believe the gentleman protests too much, Griffin.”
Griffin nodded. “You must have known someone would see you coming out of the shop.”
“And then the owner was likely paid a tidy sum to give up the information on you,” Hawk offered.
If Miss Lola had been given money, Rath was all right with that. Because of him, the woman had most likely lost whatever business Loretta and Esmeralda would have given her over the years. But why did Miss Truth have to write about it two weeks in a row? If he knew who she was he’d tell her it was smelling salts in the package!
“I would have sworn the last time we talked that you had more than a passing interest in Miss Fast,” Griffin said, changing the subject back to Marlena.
I do.
But Rath wasn’t going to tell them that. He cut the deck and fanned the ends together once again.
“So why has it been so long since you’ve seen her? She lives almost a stone’s throw from you.”
“I’ve had many things to attend to,” he said.
Griffin and Hawk laughed and Rath nodded his agreement. It was a cheap answer and not worth the breath he expended to say it. For a moment he thought about telling them about Portington and how the man lived and what Rath was planning to do for the man, his wife, and his sister-in-law to make their lives a little better. But Hawk and Griffin would know in an instant that he was doing it for Marlena more than for her neighbors. Best he get more of the matter settled first. There were things that still needed to be done before Rath told anyone, including Portington and Marlena, about his idea.
“I believe I told you both that Marlena has a friend who faints every time she sees me,” Rath said, changing the direction of the conversation to suit what was on his mind.
“I believe you told us she fainted twice the first time she saw you,” Griffin said with a bit of a grin. “Really, Rath. Has your reputation become so debauched you now make ladies faint at the sight of you?”
“Yes,” Hawk agreed. “That was the reason for the smelling salts, which led to Miss Lacy’s Lace and Fine Fancy Lace or whatever the name is. It didn’t help you in any way for the ton to read about your escapade into that ladies’ shop.”
“Her name is Miss Lola,” Rath corrected.
“And to carry your package down the street to your carriage. Couldn’t you have at least had it delivered? You must have known someone would see you and it would end up in Miss Truth’s Scandal Sheet,” Griffin added with a little censure in his voice.
“Thank you for not leaving anything out, my friends,” Rath grumbled and started dealing the cards. “I’m still perplexed as to why Marlena’s neighbor fainted the second time she saw me with Marlena.”
“Does that make three times?” Hawk asked.
Rath nodded.
“Do you think she has a condition?” Griffin asked, scooping up all his cards in one swoop. “Maybe a weak constitution? Maybe her stays are too tight?”
“Or,” Hawk said, casually picking up his cards one at a time, “Perhaps she saw you kissing Marlena and that made her faint.”
“I didn’t catch that, Hawk,” Griffin said. “I didn’t notice he was calling her by her given name.”
“A man doesn’t usually do that unless he’s shared a few kisses with a young lady,” Hawk said and then took a drink from his ale.
It was so damned hard to hide anything from these two. Rath didn’t even know why he tried.
“She’s your ward. Is that wise?” Griffin asked, spreading his cards between both hands.
No. Which was why Rath hadn’t seen her in almost two weeks.
He ignored their comments about kissing and said, “There has to be a reason Miss Everard faints every time she sees me. It’s not natural. Even her brother-in-law, Mr. Portington, said she never faints. So what is it about me that makes her collapse?”
“Everything,” Hawk quipped with a grin.
“Everard, you say?” Griffin asked, his eyes narrowing as a grimace formed on his lips. “And Portington?”
“Yes,” Rath answered, trying to make a connection before Griffin explained. “They are Marlena’s neighbors. Miss Everard lives with her sister Mrs. Portington and her husband. Why? Do you know them?”
“I can’t say I know them. I know of them. If her sister is Veronica Portington, she is one of the young ladies who received one of our secret admirer letters.”
Rath slid his fanned cards together and cupped them in his hand. “Are you sure? I don’t remember the name.”
“We each sent letters to four ladies, remember? Veronica Everard was one of my four.”
Rath’s hands stilled on his cards as he took in the impact of Griffin’s words.
Hawk added, “Yes, it was two years ago when we were trying to find out who’d started the rumor that someone might want to ruin Griffin’s sisters’ Season, so we checked on the twelve ladies to see how they were doing—if they seemed happy, settled. We did all we could do to make sure we hadn’t caused any one of them lasting harm by what we’d done.”
Rath would never forget that rumor. He still longed to get his hands around the necks of the men who started it and scare the devil out of them.
“Mrs. Portington was one of the ladies on my list and from what I could find out she seemed happily married. Her husband appeared to be in somewhat of a financial bind at the time, but she still attended social functions.”
“Every lady who received a letter from us was checked on and they all seemed to be carrying on with their lives,” Hawk added.
Rath tamped the ends of his cards on the table. Griffin took another drink from his ale, and Hawk leaned his chair back on two legs.
According to Marlena, Mrs. Portington wasn’t happy. It might appear she was to an outsider, but all one had to do was step inside her house to know that neither Mrs. Portington, Miss Everard, nor any lady Rath knew, would be happy living there. What lady wanted to reside where the rooms were filled to the rafters with stuffed birds, elephant tusks, dried bones, and fossils?
Rath could understand—maybe—Miss Everard fainting the first time she heard his name. Especially if she felt he’d wronged her sister. Mrs. Portington had definitely been distressed to see him in her home, yet she hadn’t fainted. Suddenly, what Rath was trying to do for Portington seemed even more important now and it would no longer be just for Marlena.
A few things were beginning to make sense, but not enough, Rath thought, as he fanned his cards again so he could look at them. Griffin and Hawk did likewise and their table quieted as they each decided which card to lay down.
An attendant stopped at their table and said, “Excuse me, Your Graces, I don’t like interrupting your game but I have a message for the Duke of Rathburne.”
“What is it?” Rath asked.
“There’s a young man outside. He says a Mrs. Justine Abernathy asked that you come to her house right away.”
Rath’s hands tightened on his cards. Was something wrong with Marlena?
“Isn’t that Miss Fast’s companion?”
Rath nodded to Griffin. Surely, if anything was wrong, Mrs. Abernathy would have said more. Still, a spiral of concern started in Rath’s chest. He looked up at the attendant. “Did the man make it sound urgent?”
“I can’t say, Your Grace. Only that he said right away.”
“We’ll come with you,” Hawk said, and pushed his chair back from the table.
“No.” Rath rose. “Mrs. Abernathy can make a small matter seem large. I’m thinking this isn’t pressing, but I’ll go and make sure.”
“You’ll send for us if you need our help?” Griffin asked.
“That you can be sure of.” Rath turned away but turned back when Griffin called his name.
Hawk tossed the coin to Rath and he caught it in one hand.
At the front door, the attendant was holding Rath’s hat, cloak, and gloves. “Where is the young man?”
“I don’t know, Your Grace. I don’t see him now. He must have left when I went to tell you about his message. I took the liberty of calling your coach, but perhaps I shouldn’t have.”
“No, thank you. I’m glad you did. I want to go and see what this is about.”
Though it seemed to take longer, less than ten minutes later Rath strode into Marlena’s drawing room. His gaze found her first, standing in front of the fireplace. Relief washed down him at the sight of her. She didn’t seem to be harmed or frightened. He would have sworn to anyone that Marlena was tapping her foot in frustration, though he couldn’t see the toes of her shoes because her skirt swept the floor. Her arms lay folded across her chest and she appeared annoyed, though the corners of her mouth lifted slightly at the sight of him.
Mrs. Abernathy was seated on the settee with her feet up and a blanket covering her legs. His first thought was that she must have fallen and injured herself, but Marlena didn’t seem upset so whatever was wrong with her cousin wasn’t a problem for Marlena.
A young man Rath didn’t recognize, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Portington and Miss Everard were all in the room. He tried not to even look at Miss Everard for fear she’d faint. The gentlemen bowed and the ladies curtsied, but no one smiled. They all looked nervous. Something was going on.
“Please forgive me for not standing, Your Grace,” Mrs. Abernathy said and touched her forehead with a lace-trimmed handkerchief. “I simply can’t put one foot on the floor.”
“And I apologize for Justine sending Mr. Bramwell to look for you,” Marlena said, walking closer to him. “It wasn’t necessary. I tried to keep her from it.”
Keeping his gaze on Marlena’s, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It appears we have a rodent problem,” she answered and then sighed.
Rodents?
He didn’t know what he expected to hear, but it wasn’t that.
“Oh, I do hate that she even has to say such a word,” Mrs. Abernathy complained. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Your Grace. I’ve had to take a tonic to settle my anxieties. You make the introductions and tell him what happened, Marlena, I can’t bear to even say it.”
Marlena hesitated only a moment before presenting Mr. Stephen Bramwell to him and adding that he was her neighbor in the house opposite to the Portingtons’.
“Are you the one who came to the club to get me?”
“Yes, Your Grace,” he said stiffly, holding his head high and his hands behind his back. “I gave the message Mrs. Abernathy asked me to deliver and then came straight back here in case I could be of further assistance.”
Rath turned back to Marlena. He wanted to smile at her, let her know it made him feel good to see her, that he’d wanted to spend time with her. Instead he said, “Perhaps you should tell me more about this.”
“Justine saw a mouse.”
“Mice,” Mrs. Abernathy said from her perch on the settee. “Mice. Please tell it right, Marlena. About half a dozen of them scampering across the floor as if they owned the place.”
“I saw no more than two,” Marlena argued. “Justine was screaming and screeching so loudly.”
“Screeching!” Mrs. Abernathy interjected. “I’ll have you know I don’t screech.”
Marlena cleared her throat and said, “Perhaps I heard wrong. Tut was barking so fiercely, trying to get at the mouse that everyone came rushing over to see what was going on and to offer help. I had to put Tut in the garden and when I came back Justine had already sent Mr. Bramwell to find you. I told her it was completely unnecessary. All her scre—noise had already scared all the mice away and half the neighbors, too. But she’s been on the settee with her feet up ever since, refusing to move.”
Rath frowned. Mrs. Abernathy had taken him away from a card game with friends he seldom spent time with anymore because of a mouse. He’d bet the gold piece that Griffin tossed back to him that every house in London had mice in it. There was only one reason he’d forgive Mrs. Abernathy for disturbing his well-planned afternoon, and it was because it gave him an opportunity to see and talk with Marlena.
Looking at her perturbed expression made him smile. It didn’t surprise him a mouse scampering past her toes wouldn’t scare her.
“You didn’t see all the mice because most of them had scurried away by the time you looked around,” Mrs. Abernathy grumbled.
“No matter the number, I am not afraid of a mouse, Justine. The way you are acting, anyone would have thought the mice had danced up your skirts.”
Mrs. Abernathy harrumphed. Rath and Mr. Portington chuckled. Mr. Bramwell, he noticed, gave no sign of seeing the humor in Marlena’s remark and remained as stiff as a wooden soldier.
“You can come stay with us, Mrs. Abernathy,” Mrs. Portington offered softly.
There wasn’t room for the three of them in that house, let alone two more, Rath thought as he looked at her pale face. Yet Rath was touched by how kind it was of her to offer shelter from what little space she had. He was more determined than ever to make sure that his plan for Portington worked out.
“Thank you, Veronica,” Mrs. Abernathy said. “It’s so dear of you, but we really couldn’t impose on your hospitality. The duke will take care of us.”
“The offer stands,” Mr. Portington said confidently. “We’ll do what we can to help. Now, Your Grace, if you think we can be of further assistance to you, we’ll be happy to stay. If not, we’ll take our leave and allow you to handle this for Mrs. Abernathy and Miss Fast.”
“There’s nothing more you can do. Thank you for coming to her aid, Mr. Portington. And you, Mr. Bramwell.”
“Yes, thank you, gentlemen, Veronica, and Eugenia,” Marlena agreed. “I’ll see you out.”
“What dear neighbors you all are,” Mrs. Abernathy called as they filed out of the room. She then turned to Rath. “I’m so glad you came so quickly, too. I simply didn’t know what to do.”
“Miss Fast is right. A mouse cannot hurt you. They are way too small and are much more frightened of you than you are of them.”
“No. No, that is not true. I cannot possibly get off the settee and put my feet on the floor. We have an infestation here, and I simply can’t abide it. We can’t stay here. I don’t want to live with mice. And worse, what would we do if Marlena had a gentleman caller over? Perhaps a viscount wooing her. What would we do if a mouse ran across his boots? What horror that would be!”
“No man would be horrified over a mouse. They are seen in the finest homes and on every street all over London.”
“He’s right, Justine,” Marlena said, walking back into the room. “It’s not likely anyone will have a mouse near their feet in this house. Give the tonic you drank time to settle you and you’ll be fine.”
“Not in this house, I won’t. I can’t allow Marlena to live here, Your Grace. Whether or not she’s afraid of the little creatures, I am. We will have to move into your Mayfair home after all. Marlena will simply have to adjust and manage without seeing Eugenia every day.”
“Justine, how many times do I have to say no to that?” Marlena exclaimed. “We are not moving.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible anyway, Mrs. Abernathy. My house in Mayfair is no longer available.”
Mrs. Abernathy rose up straighter. “What do you mean? Why not? You offered. Are you rescinding your invitation?”
“When it became clear Miss Fast didn’t want to move there, I allowed the family of one of my cousins to move in for the Season as I usually do.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Justine sounded peeved.
“I don’t feel it necessary to tell you about decisions I make concerning my family or my properties, Mrs. Abernathy.”
“But you’d offered it to us,” Justine argued.
“And the offer was declined,” the duke reminded her firmly. “I doubt I could even find a place to lease for you this late. Everyone has their plans for the Season set.”
“Well, no matter,” she said, lifting her chin. “You can ask your cousin’s family to leave now that you know your ward and I have need of it. It will be perfectly understandable to them.”
“Justine!” Marlena exclaimed. “How can you be so cruel to suggest such a thing? Throw someone out?”
“It’s not cruel. The duke had no way of knowing you’d have need of the place. You are his ward. You should come first.”
“Mrs. Abernathy,” Rath said, moving closer to Marlena. “I won’t ask them to leave. They’re all settled in and that is the end of it.”
Mrs. Abernathy swung her feet off the settee and stood up, lifting her chest high as she did so. “Don’t you have another home in Mayfair we can go to?”
“I’m afraid not,” he said.
“We can’t go to an inn,” Mrs. Abernathy declared. “Heaven only knows what kind of people we’d have living there with us. I don’t want to even think about that. And we simply can’t stay in this house until we’re sure the mice have been dealt with. If you have no other home we can go to, we shall move into your house in St. James with you.”
Marlena glared at her cousin in disbelief. “Justine, you are being impossible. We can’t do such a thing, and you know it. It’s absurd for you to even suggest such madness. An unmarried lady under the same roof as a—a.” She looked at Rath. “A rake.”
Rath smiled at her. He saw her frustration at her cousin’s antics melt away after he did. He liked the fact that he could settle her with a smile. Mrs. Abernathy had no idea what she’d just done, but Rath knew and so did Marlena. Her cousin had given him the perfect gift for a rake. The opportunity for Marlena to live in his home.
With him.
The thought was heady. His breathing kicked up.
“Thunderbolts and lighting, Marlena. He is your guardian. It is his responsibility to see to it that you live in a safe and suitable home, and right now, this one isn’t. It will be quite all right for a few days until this rodent infestation has been dealt with.”
Listening to them, watching Marlena, Rath breathed in deeply and relaxed. The rake inside him wanted to accept Mrs. Abernathy’s plan no matter his honor, no matter the consequences. No matter that his father would have disapproved and challenged him to do what was right and be a gentleman.
But how often had he listened to his father unless it was concerning the dukedom? Mastering the business of their estates, companies, and lands had been easy. Accomplished with his father’s approval before he died. Mastering being a gentlemen had never been easy for Rath, and his father took the failure of trying to teach him to his grave. Being circumspect in all things wasn’t easy for a man who enjoyed indulging in the guilty pleasures life offered, such as spending a week at someone’s house doing nothing other than drinking, playing cards, and making himself available to willing women.
But now his thoughts were only on Marlena.
“Mrs. Abernathy is right. I, more so than others, know the definition of scandal, Miss Fast. I assure you, I’ll make your stay at my house as short-lived as possible.”
Marlena’s surprised gasp pleased him.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Mrs. Abernathy said with a smile. “I knew you would see reason and be kind and hospitable to us during our hour of need. How can Society balk when we have been overrun by mice? Everyone will understand the peril we’re in.”
“I’m sure they would, Mrs. Abernathy, if that were to be the case. I’ll make arrangements for you and Miss Fast to be moved into my home this afternoon. However, as a gentleman and her guardian, I won’t do anything to tarnish Miss Fast’s reputation. Mice or no mice. I’ll stay at one of my clubs until you and Miss Fast are back here in your own home.”
“Oh, the perfect gentleman indeed,” she exclaimed. “I knew you would be. Yes, yes. That would be much more appropriate but, of course, I’d never ask you to leave your own home.”
“And neither would I,” Marlena argued. “Your Grace, this is madness. There is no reason for us to leave our home and certainly no reason for you to leave yours for us. It was a mouse. They are everywhere, including in the walls of your home.”
He smiled. “I know, but I think you need to do this for Mrs. Abernathy’s well-being.”
“Her well-being would be best served by staying here. The first ball of the Season is only a few days away! You can’t imagine what we’d have to pack. I don’t even want to think about it!”
“A minor inconvenience, Marlena. We now have more staff because of the duke and it will take them no time. All will be well.” Justine smiled at the duke. “I’m grateful you, at least, understand my delicate nerves, Your Grace. And as for you,” Mrs. Abernathy said, turning back to Marlena, “don’t look at the duke as if you want to snap him in two for being so kind and humoring me by letting us have his house. He remembers I was the diamond of the Season and appreciates my delicate sensibilities.” Justine lifted her chest even higher. “Besides, I’m sure the duke has a garden that has started to bud. No doubt you will find it fascinating to walk around in and look at all his gardener has planted. Soon you will forget all about your dear friends next door.”
Rath stared at Marlena for a moment or two. She didn’t give in easily to Justine or anything. An admirable trait that pleased him. Suddenly a hunger for her engulfed him. Though at first it had bothered him, he really didn’t mind her being in the garden if it gave her pleasure. He liked gardens, too. He enjoyed the scent of fragrant herbs, rich, freshly plowed soil, and he loved the smell of sunshine on Marlena. Gardens were beautiful places for walks, talks, and most of all, for forbidden kisses and caresses.
Being a gentleman was damned hard.