A Scandalous Secret (3 page)

Well, the duke didn’t generally attend such mundane events, but she’d asked him for favors in the past. “It’s just one night. He can go back to his debauched lifestyle the next day.”

“I don’t mean Kelfield.” Staveley frowned. “I’m sure he’d do anything you asked. But Astwick and Clayworth are another matter altogether.”

That was the most ludicrous thing Caroline had ever heard, and she had heard many ludicrous things in her life. “Don’t be ridiculous. Clayworth is a widower himself, and Astwick lightens the mood of any gathering. Hannah could use a bit of that, I think. Besides, I thought you were fond of both of them.”

Staveley frowned, making him look suddenly serious. “I am fond of them. But James is another matter, entirely.
He
cannot abide Astwick, and if I’m not mistaken, the feeling is mutual. Your usual gatherings are much larger, and in the past they’ve been able to avoid each other.”

Strange. It was unlike James to dislike anyone. Especially someone as gregarious and generous as Chet. But now that Staveley mentioned it, she did seem to remember that Astwick didn’t care for James either; her brother, Robert, had said something to that effect at one time or another. But she had no idea what had caused the animosity, Robert had never said. “Do you know why they dislike each other?”

“Let it be, Caroline.”

She shifted to look in his eyes. “I don’t want to let it be. You have a close group of friends, and so do I. It’s silly that we can’t all sit down together for dinner. So, tell me, David, what is the problem?”

Staveley sighed. He could hedge all he wanted to, but after a dozen years of marriage they both knew he’d relent eventually. The question was, how long would it take for him to give in. “You, my dear, have meddled enough in other people’s lives—”

“David Bertram Benton! I do not meddle. I help. And the only people I’ve
helped
within recent memory are Robert and Lydia and then Lucas and Juliet. And we both know those stories ended happily, thanks to me. Now, tell me what you know about the situation, Staveley, or I’ll simply ask Chet myself.”

He pursed his lips. “You are the most stubborn woman. Do you know that?”

“So Robert tells me. Proceed, please.”

Grudgingly, he began. “Truthfully, Caro, I don’t know all of what transpired. James never spoke of it. God only knows what he’ll take with him to the grave. But Alex and I believe that it actually has something to do with Lady Hannah—which is reason enough for you
not
to invite Astwick.”

“Yes, you always ‘just want to know.’ But this time I don’t have any answers for you. And I’m warning you—don’t go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Caroline thrust out her lip in a pout, but inwardly her mind spun with possibilities…plotting, planning. As soon as she was able, she penned a quick missive to Chet.

***

“What am I doing here, Caro?” Chet asked as he looked out at Lady Pennington’s garden, filled with tables and a throng of young, unmarried women.

Caroline winked at him and took his hand in hers. “Darling, I’ve seen you around ladies my whole life, but I’ve never analyzed your performance. So today I want to sit back and gather information.”

Perfect. Chet sighed. All he needed was Caroline to analyze his performance. Made him sound like a dancing circus bear.

Caroline softly tapped his chest. “Now, tell me, darling, of all these lovely creatures, who
most
catches your eye.”

That was a useless question. Chet already knew the answer… None of them. But he appeased her by looking out among the sea of women with a scrutinizing eye anyway. But it was just as he suspected, no one caught his interest. No one had for more than a decade. He shook his head. “A few are lovely enough, but no one makes me all giddy, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Hmm.” Caroline quietly examined the crowd herself. Then after a moment, she turned her gaze on Chet. “Are you acquainted with Lord Carteret’s sister, Lady Hannah?” she asked bluntly.

Chet choked on a swift intake of air, coughing loudly.
God in Heaven. How did Caroline know about Hannah
? After he finally caught his breath, he turned his questioning gaze on his companion. “I beg your pardon?”

With a haughty air, Caroline raised her brow. “I’ll take that little exhibition as a ‘yes’.”

There was no point in denying it. He could tell from Caroline’s expression that she already knew anyway. Damn the woman. How did she find out? Was she clairvoyant? “I knew her,” he replied tightly.

“Yes, I believe we’ve already established that. Care to tell me about it?”

“Not particularly,” he drawled, knowing it was pointless. Once Caroline set her mind on something, she was relentless. How Staveley lived with the woman, he had no idea. “I’ve never even spoken to Robert about her.”

“Not even to Robert? Interesting.” Caroline’s gaze raked him up and down. “But then, my brother is not as perceptive as I am. Anyway, you may as well tell
me
about her, Chet. Otherwise I’ll just ask Hannah myself.”

Chet almost snorted a reply. What would Hannah say if Caroline asked her about him? Did she ever think of him? Had he meant anything to her all those years ago? “Good luck finding her. She’s somewhere on the continent, I believe.”

“You are ill-informed.” Caroline’s brow rose in a most haughty fashion. “She’s residing at Carteret House with her two sons,” she added cheerfully.

Sons? Chet’s mouth fell open at the revelation. Though why should he be surprised? Why wouldn’t she have children? It was ridiculous to think that after she married another man, she still pined away for Chet after all these years. No, he was the only one who was that foolish. “She’s in London?” he heard himself ask.

“With only Beth for company, poor girl.” Caroline nodded. “So are you going to tell me about Hannah, or will you make me resort to asking her?”

“To what end?”

Caroline shrugged. “I don’t like secrets being kept from me. Drives me a bit mad.”

“Heaven forbid you go mad.” Chet chuckled despite himself. “Honestly, Caro, there’s not much to tell. She was a fresh-faced lass just come to London when I met her. I was at some ball, I don’t even know where. There were hordes of us gathered around Bethany Greywood, all clamoring for her attention. And I said something that compared her to Helen of Troy—”

Caroline rolled her eyes and smirked at that, which caused Chet to grudgingly smile himself. “Go ahead and laugh. Hannah did. That’s when I first noticed her. She’d been standing with Bethany the entire time, I just hadn’t seen her.”

“Other women are always invisible in Bethany’s wake.”

That was probably true, though he hadn’t thought about it before. “Anyway, this pretty blonde informed me in her enchanting brogue that Helen of Troy was not a brunette, and I really should get my facts straight before I threw out compliments that didn’t make any sense.”

Caroline did laugh then. “She didn’t? Did anyone hear?”

Chet snorted. “Only the entire room. I hauled her out on the dance floor just to shut her up. And then she proceeded to tell me that I was wasting my time with Miss Greywood. That any fool could see she only had eyes for James MacFadyn.”

“Captivating.” Chet sat motionless, lost in his memories. He could see Hannah’s twinkling blue eyes looking at him, laughing with him, promising him everything. He remembered how kissing her had always reduced him to mindless idiot. And then the rest came flooding back, holding her gloriously naked body against his…

He shook his head. Those memories were too painful to dwell on.

Caroline stared at him with concern etched in her inquisitive hazel eyes. “What happened?”

Everything
. Though he loved Caroline like a sister, there were some things he wouldn’t ever tell her or anyone else. So the general brushstrokes would have to do. “I fell completely in love with her.”

“Aye, Harold was Astwick. He was wholly unimpressed with Hannah. She was…different. You know how things are. It was the same then, the Town was awash with young girls all trying to say the right thing, do the right thing. Nothing over the top, or they’d never entrap some unsuspecting sap into marriage.”

Caroline smacked his hand. “Hardly, a woman’s view of things.”

He smiled despite himself. “But that was never Hannah. She never pretended to be something she wasn’t. She was honest and open, and Harold hated that. Said she was no better than the unwashed denizens.”

“Not very flattering.”

Chet shook his head. “That was Harold. You never knew him, but Robert could tell you stories, I’m sure.”

Caroline’s frown deepened, as though she was putting pieces of a puzzle together. “Hmm. So you ended things with Hannah because of Harold?”

Hardly. “No, I paid him no attention. Every thought I had was of her. She saw the world in a completely different way than I did. She was like a breath of fresh air…” Chet stared into the past with a heavy heart. “I asked her to marry me.” With a frown, he remembered the rest… How James MacFadyn had discovered him in Hannah’s bed. How Chet had assured him that they planned to marry. How Carteret had insisted on proceeding with great haste and even demanded a special license. How by the time Chet had acquired it, Hannah was gone. “Carteret accepted my offer, but he never had any intention of allowing the two of us to marry.”

Caroline’s eyes were as large as saucers as she listened. “What do you mean?”

Chet heaved a heavy sigh. “The bastard gave his consent, and then whisked her off to Scotland behind my back. The servants at Carteret House said they’d gone to York. I followed, of course, but they weren’t in York. It was suggested that they’d gone to Carteret’s cottage in Cumberland instead, but they weren’t in Cumberland either. And by the time I made it to Briarstrath, the blackguard had already married her off to some neighbor—somebody Campbell. And she was gone.”

Caroline’s mouth hung open and a frown creased her brow. “That doesn’t sound like James at all. He’s very honorable.”

Chet snorted. “I’m afraid our opinions of that man are drastically different.”

She shook her head as though she was trying to make sense of the situation. But there was no making sense out of it. Chet had tried for years to understand what had gone wrong.

“Darling, that is the worst story I’ve ever heard,” Caroline announced matter-of-factly.

A beleaguered laugh escaped his lips. “Come now, Caro, there are much worse stories than that. So I suffered a broken heart. I’m not the first and most certainly won’t be the last.”

***

Except that unless Caroline was mistaken, Chet was still suffering from the ailment. In all the time she’d known him, Chester Peyton had been a gregarious fellow, full of life, though every now and then she detected a sadness that he was covering up. And after this conversation, she was fairly certain his loss of Hannah was responsible.

Chet was and always had been a very dear friend, one she’d never known to be dishonest. However, no man was more honorable or upstanding than James MacFadyn. Which meant something was missing from this story, and Caroline was determined to find out what it was.

“Chet, I’m having a small dinner party next week.” Staveley was going to kill her, but it couldn’t be helped. How was she to find the truth unless she had all the players in the same room?

The old twinkle was suddenly back in Chet’s eyes. “A
small
dinner party? No fire breathers, or acrobats, or inappropriate ice sculptures?”

“You sound just like Staveley.” Caroline pursed her lips. “I am perfectly capable of entertaining on a smaller scale, I’ll have you know.”

“Well, a debt is a debt, and you got yourself into the mess because of Robert. It’s the least I can do. Now, if we’re through with all that… Do you want to see Lady Hannah or not?”

Pain flashed across his strong features, and Chet shook his head. “I don’t know what good that would do me.”

“You can lay old wounds to rest,” she hastened to explain. “Then hopefully the next time I take you to an event flooded with ladies,
one
of them will spark your interest and make this entire ordeal much more manageable for me.” Or perhaps Hannah truly was the love of his life. But Caroline would have to see them together to be sure. The prospect of helping both of them quickened Caroline’s pulse, making her nearly giddy. Of course she’d have to deal with Staveley later. Luckily her husband wasn’t immune to her wiles. “You’ll have to bring Clayworth with you. Even with Kelfield, I’m two men short.”

Chet raised his brow in mild amusement. “So glad we can round out your numbers for you.”

But her mind had moved on. Strategy was absolute necessity with an operation this sensitive. “Stop chattering and listen. If what you’re telling me is true, Carteret won’t be happy to see you. So you’ll have to let them arrive first—that way they can’t leave. Not without causing a scene, and he won’t do that. At least I don’t think he will.” She was warming to the idea and bit her lip as her mind whirled with possibilities. “Oh, darling, you’ll make a grand entrance and—”