Say You Love Me (5 page)

A spark of anger formed, countering it, allowing her to say, “Don’t mind me, gentlemen. Do go on with your conversation as it pleases you.”

Percy blinked at her. Derek’s eyes narrowed. And she realized immediately what she’d done wrong—again. She might not look like a lady in the garish red gown she was wearing, but she’d certainly just sounded like one. Yet this was something she couldn’t help. Pretension was not her forte. Even if she’d tried to sound less cultured, and managed it for a time, she would have slipped at some point and then had even more explaining to do.

So she decided to brave through and lie. The truth, of course, was out of the question.

With an innocent look that she bestowed on
both of them, she asked, “Did I say something untoward?”

“It’s not what you said, m’dear, but how you said it,” Derek replied.

“How I said it? Oh, you refer to my speech? Yes, it does surprise people occasionally. But you see, my mother was a governess, and I was able to benefit from the same tutors assigned to her charges. A very uplifting experience, if I do say so myself.”

She had to smile at the pun, whether they caught it or not. Percy relaxed, taking her word for it. Derek was still frowning, however.

And he didn’t take long to say why. “I find it hard to imagine that being allowed, when most lords are from the old school and believe the lower classes should be kept the lower classes, as to say, ignorant of higher learning.”

“Ah, but there was no lord to say yea or nay, just a lord’s widow my mum worked for who really couldn’t have cared less what the children of her live-in servants were up to. She did, in fact, give her permission. My mum wasn’t one to take such liberties on her own, after all. And I will be forever grateful to the lady—for not caring one way or another.”

Percy coughed at that point, followed by a snicker. “Give it a rest, old man. What you were thinking ain’t possible and you know it.”

Derek snorted at his friend. “As if you didn’t think the same thing.”

“Only for the briefest second.”

“And what, may I ask, are you both refer
ring to?” Kelsey asked, keeping up her pretense at innocence.

“Nothing that matters,” Derek replied in a low grumble, and stuffing his hands in his pockets, he moved to stand in the open doorway, leaning against the frame there, giving his back to the room.

Kelsey looked to Percy for a clearer answer, but he just smiled sheepishly, shrugged, and stuffed his hands in his pockets as well, rocking back on his heels. She almost laughed. Of course they wouldn’t admit they had, however briefly, thought she might be a lady. The very thought of it wasn’t to be borne by men of their class. And that really was her protection. Her family had endured one scandal. She wasn’t going to be the cause of another if she could help it.

5

You sure you don’t want me to be in your debt for
life, Derek?”

“Getting greedy now, are we? I could’ve sworn we’d finished that subject.”

“Well, that was before you ended up with the prize,” Jeremy said with an engaging grin.

Kelsey had no idea what they were talking about and didn’t care. She was getting nervous again now that they were on their way to, she assumed, her new home. Too soon she would have to begin her mistressing and…She shuddered, unable to finish the thought.

They were in a well-appointed, plush carriage that apparently belonged to Derek, and it was moving along at a brisk pace. And there were five of them now. Jeremy had returned to Lonny’s office with his arm around a young blonde girl dressed as gaudily as Kelsey was. She’d been introduced as Florence, and it became apparent within seconds that she fair worshiped Jeremy Malory. She couldn’t keep her hands off him, or her eyes, and even now, in the carriage, she was practically sitting in his lap.

Kelsey felt complete indifference. It wasn’t as if she and Jeremy had started their relationship yet, but even if they had, she knew she had no right to demand fidelity from him. He would be paying her support. Even if their situation wasn’t highly unusual, in that he’d bought her outright, for the support alone he would expect complete faithfulness from her. But in such arrangements, the gentleman wasn’t constrained to behave likewise. Far from it. Most of them had wives, after all.

As the men continued to banter with each other about prices and lifelong debts, Kelsey continued to do her best to ignore them. But it did occur to her to wonder, after Jeremy had spoken of debts, how a young man his age could possibly have afforded the outrageous price he’d paid for her, when most young people had to make do with quarterly allowances from their parents or from estates they were due to inherit.

He must be independently wealthy, which she could only be grateful for. If that weren’t the case she’d be with that other lord right now, rather than with these gentlemen, going…she had no idea where.

When the carriage did stop shortly thereafter, only Jeremy and Florence alighted from it. No explanation was given, and there was no request for Kelsey to follow along. But Jeremy was back in a few minutes, without the clinging Florence, and since neither of the other two men asked him what he’d done with
the girl, Kelsey had to assume they already knew.

The carriage moved along again, and it was a good fifteen minutes before it stopped once more. Kelsey didn’t know London at all, had never been there before Elliott had brought her the day before, but a glance out the window showed a very fine looking neighborhood with stately mansions and carriage houses, the town houses of the upper crust.

She shouldn’t have been surprised, not with the amount of money that had exchanged hands that night. But she was mistaken in thinking that this was where she was being taken, since it was Derek who left the carriage, not Jeremy. So it was Derek who lived there, and she could only surmise that both Derek and Percy were being let off at their respective homes first, before she and Jeremy reached their final destination.

But she was wrong again, because Derek turned back to the carriage and reached his hand inside to help her out. And Kelsey was surprised enough to take his hand without thinking about it, and was led halfway to a pair of imposing double doors before she even thought to ask, “Why are you escorting me rather than Jeremy?”

He looked down at her, clearly puzzled by her question. “You won’t be staying here long. Just the night. Other arrangements will be made tomorrow.”

She nodded and flushed with color, afraid she understood now. Jeremy, as young as he
was, might well still live with his parents, so of course, he couldn’t take her home with him. Derek must have offered to put her up for the night, which was kind of him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have someone here that he would need to explain that to.

“You live here, then?”

“When in London, yes,” he replied. “It’s m’father’s town house, though he’s rarely in residence. Prefers the country and Haverston.”

The door had opened before he finished, and a portly butler was giving a slight bow and a “Welcome home, m’lord,” and was carefully keeping his eyes averted from Kelsey.

“Won’t be staying, Hanly,” Derek informed the servant. “Just dropping off a guest who needs putting up for the night. So if you’ll fetch Mrs. Hershal to take care of the girl, I’d appreciate it.”

“A guest for above stairs—or below?”

Kelsey was amazed to watch Derek blush at that impertinent, though necessary, question. She might have donned her spencer to cover a good portion of the god-awful gown she was wearing, but enough of it was still showing to proclaim what profession she had embraced.

“Below stairs will do,” Derek answered curtly. “I did say I’m
not
staying.”

And now Kelsey was blushing again at what that insinuated. The butler, however, merely nodded and walked off to fetch the housekeeper.

Derek mumbled at his back, “Comes from
keeping servants around so long they knew you when you was in knickers. Gives ’em airs, by God.”

Kelsey might have laughed if she wasn’t so embarrassed. Handsome as he was, Derek looked very funny disgruntled as he was just now. He wouldn’t have appreciated her humor, however, even if she’d managed to find it. So she just stared at the floor and waited for him to depart.

And ready to do just that, he said, “Well, then, get a good night’s sleep. You will be traveling most of the day tomorrow. Can wear a body out if they aren’t rested.”

And before she could ask where she would be traveling to, he’d closed the door behind him and was gone.

Kelsey sighed. And then a new dose of relief set in. She was actually going to be spending the night alone; what she had been avoiding thinking about was to be delayed—for another day at least. Perversely, now that it was put off, she couldn’t get it to retreat back into the recesses of her mind.

For her, starting her mistressing was going to be like a wedding night, though lacking a certificate of marriage and lacking any tender regard between the two participants. She knew that, historically, marriage between strangers was a frequent occurrence. The pairings were arranged by parents or by kingdoms, with mere days for couples to become acquainted—or even less time, depending on circumstances. But such marriages were very,
very rare in this modern age. Today, if the partners didn’t do the choosing themselves, they were at least given an abundance of time before the nuptials.

How much time would Kelsey have? This reprieve had been unexpected. She had assumed she would
not
be spending the night alone. And tomorrow there would be traveling. Might that constitute another delay?

She could hope. But delays weren’t going to do her much good if they didn’t give her an opportunity to get to know Jeremy somewhat better. And so far, come to think of it, she hadn’t said one word to that young man, nor he to her. How the deuce was she supposed to develop a relationship with him if they had no conversations?

She supposed she would find out tomorrow. Right now, she should be setting her mind to deciding how to deal with the housekeeper here. In her usual manner? Or in a manner more suited to her new status?

As it happened, the decision wasn’t hers to make. Mrs. Hershal showed up just then and, taking one long look at Kelsey, humphed and headed back into the recesses of the house, leaving Kelsey to meekly follow or not. So be it. She would have to get used to such treatment henceforth. She just hoped the scalding embarrassment that went hand in hand with it would get easier to bear.

6

Derek should have known his bosom companions
wouldn’t leave it alone. He’d no sooner stepped back into his carriage than Jeremy said, “I bloody well don’t believe it. You’re still going to that ball? Damn me if I would.”

“And why wouldn’t I?” Derek asked, raising a golden brow. “The chit isn’t going anywhere, and our cousin Diana personally requested our appearance tonight at her friend’s coming out. Seeing as how we both agreed to attend, Jeremy, what would you say is more important?”

“Exactly my point,” Jeremy all but snorted. “Least
I
know what’s more important, and it ain’t adding to the numbers of what is rumored to be
the
ball of the season. Diana prob’ly won’t even notice us there in the crush.”

“Whether she does or not, having agreed to attend, we are obligated to do so. Percy, will you endeavor to explain obligations to this irresponsible youngun?”

“Me?” Percy chuckled. “‘Fraid I’m seeing
things from his perspective, old man. Can’t say as I’d have the fortitude to leave a brand-spanking-new mistress to hie off to a
ton
gathering that doesn’t promise to be any different from any other gathering that we’ve attended. Now, if one of your uncles was going to be present, or your lovely cousin Amy, that’d be different. Your uncles know how to put a little spark into the dreary, and Amy ain’t wed to that Yank of hers yet, so in my book she’s still available.”

After that long-winded account from their friend of few words, Derek and Jeremy both were left a bit speechless. Derek recovered first to say, “Amy might not be married yet, but the wedding is scheduled for next week, so
do
cross her out of your book, Percy.”

And then Jeremy added, “And you can’t be naming m’father as entertainment anymore. He’s too thoroughly domesticated now to be starting the gossip mills churning. So’s Uncle Tony, for that matter.”

“Beg to differ, dear boy. Those two particular Malorys will never be so domesticated that they won’t raise a brow or two. Gad, witnessed it m’self not long after your sister Jack was born, your father and uncle dragging the American into a billiards room, and the Yank barely limped out.”

“That was when they had just found out about, and objected to, Anderson’s interest in Amy. And it was to be expected that they’d react like that. But, then, we’ve already explained that to you, Percy, when you were
thinking of courting her yourself. Comes from their each having a hand in raising our cousin Regan after their sister died, and the fact that Amy looks so much like Regan—”

“Reggie,” Derek interrupted, just like his father would have were he there, though with much less heat. “I understand why your father persists in calling her by a different name, just to irritate his brothers, but you don’t have to take the leaf from his book.”

“Ah, but I like his leafs.” Jeremy grinned unrepentantly. “And he don’t do it to irritate them—well, maybe just a tad, but that ain’t why he started calling her Regan. The reason started way back, ’fore I was even born. With three brothers, two of them older than him, he just felt the need to be different in all things.”

“Well, he certainly succeeded there,” Derek said with a knowing wink.

“Didn’t he though.”

The cousins were referring to James Malory’s pirating days, when he’d been known as the Hawk and the family had disowned him. It was during his infamous career as the Hawk that James had discovered he had a nearly full-grown son, and he’d not only acknowledged Jeremy but took him along, which was why the lad had such an unorthodox education, having learned too much about women, fighting, and drinking from James’s motley crew of pirates.