Page 35 of Undercover Duke
“But perhaps not the servants.”
“No doubt the servants have already read the gossip. So you’re being careful for nothing.”
As Sheridan returned to the desk, he gestured to the chair Bonham had vacated. “That might be the case,ifthe article is what I wish to discuss. But it isn’t. Not yet, anyway.”
After a quick, indrawn breath, she dropped into the chair. “So . . . um . . . whatdidyou want to talk about?”
“Your conversations with Vanessa’s uncle last night.”
She stared at him defiantly. “I don’t care what that article says. It was nothing more than a harmless flirtation.”
A vise tightened around his chest. “Are you saying that the article mentioned you and Sir Noah specifically?”
Her defiance faded. “I-I thought you knew. Have you not read it?”
“Of course not.” When did he have time to read gossip these days?
He picked up the paper and scanned the columns until he found the portion Bonham and Mother had mentioned.
The impromptu event, held at the Thornstock town house in Mayfair, included dancing and supper for those select few fortunate enough to be invited. The Duke of Armitage danced first with Miss Pryde, his half brother’s cousin, and then later on managed to engage that same lovely woman for the supper dance. There have been rumors of late that Miss Pryde prefers the talented Mr. Juncker above everyone, but it didn’t appear to be the case last evening—the famous playwright only managedonedance with Miss Pryde to the duke’s two. Your faithful correspondent wagers we will soon hear wedding bells for Miss Pryde and the Duke of Armitage.
Sheridan grimaced. Vanessa was going to kill him. If people were assuming they were nearly engaged, she would have trouble changing that public perception so she could marry someone else. Since he was sure Juncker would never wed her anyway, that could materially damage her prospects for a betrothal with some other fellow who took her fancy.
But he still hadn’t seen anything about his mother, so he read on.
There were hints of other possible future weddings in the offing. The Dowager Duchess of Armitage was seen with Sir Noah Rayner more than once, and they looked most amiable. He, too, was successful in gaining her companionship for supper. Perhaps the fourth time is the charm for the duchess.
Anger welled up in Sheridan. “What is this . . . this arse trying to say?” He pinned his mother with a hard look. “That you were unhappy with all your previous husbands?” Like his father, for example?
It was foolish to be angry over that. His parents had never hidden the fact that their marriage had been one between friends, and romantic love hadn’t entered into the equation. Much as that stuck in his craw, it was something he and his siblings considered a truth of their family.
“So is this writer correct?” he went on. “Are you romantically interested in Sir Noah? Or are you simply using him to make Bonham jealous? Or pretending to be interested in him for other reasons?”
She shot out of the chair. “I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s my concern if you’re attempting to ‘investigate’ the death of Grey’s father by cozying up to Sir Noah.”
The pure shock on her face told him he’d made a false supposition.
Then her expression closed up with all the stubbornness he’d come to expect from his mother. “And what if I was?” She stared him down. “Weren’t you doing the same thing, trying to cozy up to Miss Pryde to get closer to her mother?”
God, but Mother was certainly good at understanding how her sons thought. Despite knowing what she was after, it put him on the defensive. “I told you before, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“No point in you trying to deny it. Before Grey left town yesterday, he told me what he was planning to have you do.”
That didn’t sound like Grey. “Did he really?”
“Are you saying I’m lying?”
Damn. If he wasn’t careful, this would degenerate into Mother making claims that he couldn’t prove or disprove. “You have been known to fudge the truth occasionally. Besides, I got the impression Grey was in a hurry to leave town. So I can’t see why he would visit you first.”
His mother smiled a cat-in-the-cream smile. “I came upon him while I was visiting Gwyn. She was the one who gave Grey the name of a respected accoucheur in London. That’s why he sought her out. Before he came here, that is.”
There was no way he could dispute that. Not without talking to Gwyn. “As I told you before, I was cozying up to Vanessa because she wanted to make Juncker jealous. That’s all.” When she opened her mouth as if to dispute his claims, he held his hand up. “And if you want to confirm that, you’ll have to askher.I’ve already said more than I should have.”
He wasn’t about to admit his mother was right about his ulterior motive for being around Vanessa. It was the sort of thing Mother might blurt out while sharing confidences with the young woman. And on some level, he knew it would hurt Vanessa deeply. He refused to do that to her. It seemed . . . wrong somehow.
As wrong as actually using her to find out what you need to know?
