Page 45 of A Lady of Means
“Hey, don’t call him that-”
Calum rolled his eyes at Moria’s interruption.“All to bring her back here, so jest bloody tell her, mate!”
“Tell me what?”Moria looked between the two men.Devyn felt torn between wanting to tell her that he’d fought for her and wanting to protect her from what had been said.
“That man was defending your honor, my lady.”
“Might you give a lad a moment, Lieutenant?”
Calum held up both hands in surrender, and took three steps back, taking Miss Dempsey with him, and turned to face the opposite direction with his hands clasped behind him.
“I promised you a ring on your finger.I said a lot of things, and you know what, I damn well made my intentions clear where you are concerned.So, you can believe that no man, no woman for that matter, is going to say anything that I find deplorable in my earshot about you and walk away.”
She took a step toward him, until they were toe to toe, and reached a hand up to his split brow.He tried to read the emotion in her eyes before she was too close to him to see.
Her lips curled near his ear.“I wish I’d found you a long time ago.”
Devyn pulled back in surprise, and her little fists capitalized on his surprise, hauling him against her for a kiss.His hands, catching on quickly, found her hips and held her.His lips, catching on just as fast, gave her back every bit of the drugging intensity she poured into the kiss.
“This could be ruinous for my career.You aren’t angry with me?”he asked, chest heaving, when she’d released him to come up for air.
“Do you…wantme to be?”She said, closing the inch of space between them.Her fingers dug into his scalp, her hips pressed so tight against his own.
“Do you care that I’m right here?And, och, not in front of the tea and scones, please,” Calum said, looking at them aghast with a teapot in hand.Both Devyn and Moria looked back at each other, an easy laugh coming out of both of them at the image.Even Miss Dempsey, cheeks crimson, covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Their conversation was interrupted by a clamor outside, what sounded like a riot of men.Calum shoved open the kitchen window to peer outside, pulling Miss Dempsey, Moria’s chaperone with him.
“Wha’ are ye fool hearted louts doing on the street outside me rooms?”
“We took care of it.”
“Evenin’, Sergeant.Took care o’ wha’?”Calum asked.
“Captain Winter’s disciplinary hearing.It’s been handled.”
Letting go of Moria with a playful squeeze of her hip, Devyn pushed Calum aside to make room to lean his head out the window.“Hang on, I don’t think I heard you correctly because there’s about three dozen of you standing outside my window like a bunch of gits,” there was a rumble of laughter from the street.“I thought I heard you say you handled my disciplinary hearing.”
“No, right, Cap, that’s definitely what McFee said.”
“Do you mind?”Devyn’s elderly neighbor was leaning out her window, all five-foot nothing wrinkled and frowning.“Some of us don’t care to be privy to your conversation.”
Devyn and Calum were both hanging their heads and elbows out the window, but Moria jutted her hip against Devyn’s saying, “I’ve got this,” and leaned her head out the window, one arm around Devyn.
“Gentlemen, I apologize for the…lukewarm reception,” she gave Devyn a wink.His heart nearly fell right into her pocket as she held onto him leaning toward the window, the men below rapt at her words.“Since you came all this way, and have gone to some trouble to organize yourselves on the Captain’s behalf, why don’t you gentlemen bring yourselves upstairs and deliver your message in person?”
The wind blew a stray piece of hair from where her blonde tresses were intricately pulled back, the cool air was pebbling the skin just above the neckline of her gown, her cheeks were flushed when she smiled up at him so big her blue and gold eyes were a little squinty.Yep, he was all fucking hers.
“Wha are ye doin’?There’s abou’ thirty-seven lads in th’ street, they cannae’ all come up ‘ere.”Devyn cleared his throat, Calum added with an eye roll, “my lady.”
“You heard the lady, come on up, lads!”Devyn leaned further out the window, giving them an encouraging wave.Miss Dempsey groaned, but then Calum gave her a wink.Bloody Scots.
There was a chorus of “Thank You, Captains” and the shuffling of boots as the group reassembled themselves inside.
There was a comically large group of men dwarfing the sitting room and entry of Devyn’s town house.Several of them shoved for precedence or seating.Calum was doing a headcount of them all like some sort of house mother in a dormitory.Moria was offering them tea which Miss Dempsey set to work preparing in Devyn’s kitchen, they were all just staring at her or stumbling over themselves like a bunch of infatuated schoolboys rather than highly trained warriors, cavalrymen, and sharpshooters.Christ, the effect she had on men.
She had that effect on you, too, still does.
“Out with it then,” Devyn said, nodding to the young Welshman who seemed to have elected himself the spokesman of their haphazardly organized group.
