Page 59 of The Lyon Returns
“How on earth did your mother learn these things, Georgina?”
Georgina and Nancy spoke in tandem. “Servants.”
Amelia laughed softly. “I have some experience with that particular phenomenon.”
Gwen sipped more tea. “Apparently the duke traveled to India before he ascended to the title, where he met Gideon’s mother and the two fell in love.”
Nancy nodded. “The love connection explains much. They say the duke and Mr. Devereux are thick as thieves.”
“All true,” Georgina said. “Theon ditis that the duke gave his wife of little more than two years no choice in the matter of whether she would raise his late mistress’s son. He simply brought him home fromIndia and informed her of the arrangement—as she was giving birth to his heir.”
“Oh, dear,” Gwen said, feeling a degree of sympathy for the woman.
She thought of the occasional journal entries whereby Gideon made mention of interactions between himself and the duchess, something she said to him, or an implication she made concerning him. Inevitably, Lady Ashwood struck Gwen as uncaring to say the least, and belittling at the worst.
What gave her more pause, however, was Gideon’s seeming acceptance of her treatment, as if he viewed it as natural, even his due. Gwen doubted if she could have been as magnanimous under similar circumstances.
Georgina went on. “Gideon lived with the duke and duchess and his younger half-brother, Lord Ashwood, from the start. The boys shared a schoolroom, governesses, and were tutored together in all manners pertaining to the polite world just as one would expect for the offspring of such an esteemed couple.”
“In other words,” Lady Harriet said, “Mr. Devereux was not treated as a second class, beholden relative, but as a full member of the family.”
“Correct. Poor Lord Ashwood. Being younger, and at his full height standing a head shorter than his brother, he tended to trail after Mr. Devereux in all athletic endeavors.”
Gwen had discerned from several entries that Gideon had never felt in competition with the younger brother he clearly adored. If anything, he downplayed his own prowess at times.
“Too, once they reached adolescence, Mr. Devereux…er…” Georgina pressed her lips together. A furious blush stole up her cheeks.
“Spit it out, dear,” Margaret urged.
Georgina looked to Amelia, Nancy, and Charlotte in turn, her expression pleading.
Charlotte shrugged and spread her arms wide. “Don’t look at me. I only moved here recently at the behest of my aunt, Lady Harriet and Margaret’s next-door neighbor, to act as her companion and to experience city life. I have only heard vagaries of the man’s…er…”
Gwen frowned, more confused than ever.
Lady Harriet eyed the plastered ceiling, then gazed at Gwen, a stalwart expression on her face. “Having been an active participant in the social whirl that is the London Season since before Mr. Devereux and young Lord Ashwood’s time, and having witnessed the upheaval created by Mr. Devereux amongst the ladies of thetonwhen he was first out in society, what I think Georgina is trying to say is, Mr. Devereux holds a certainappealfor the ladies.”
“The ladies?” Gwen echoed. But she thought she understood, especially considering Amelia’s hushed query about his allure on their visit to the modiste’s shop.
“Debutantes purportedly grow faint when he deigns to attend a ball. Widows and married women, especially those who prefer to keep the company of mennottheir husbands, seek him out.”
“Seek him out?” she aped again.
Lady Harriet slanted Margaret a beseeching look.
Margaret sighed. “For heaven’s sake, Harriet. You are a widow, Gwen is a widow, Amelia and Nancy are both married, and I am of a certain age. Clearly Georgina and Charlotte already have the gist of what no one wishes to say aloud. It’s time we stop dancing around the mulberry pole. Gwen, Mr. Devereux has some sort of magnetism that draws women to him like flies to honey. He always has. That is not to say he attracts the interest of those on the marriage mart, however. The appeal seems to be more of a lascivious nature.”
An unpleasant feeling invaded her belly. “He has had many conquests, you mean?”
“I think,” Amelia said cautiously, “heis the conquest.”
Georgina nodded, looking hardily relieved. “He tends to be choosywith his paramours, favoring widows.”
“I see.” Gwen said. “Widows.” Apparently, Gwen had nearly been one in a long line. She found the thought vastly deflating.
“You should know one thing more, Gwen,” Georgina said in grave tones. “Mother told me, for the last several years, he has kept a mistress. I only mention it because thetoncan be so catty, and as the polite world believes you a newlywed couple, it would not surprise me if one or two of the women whose advances he rejected might not relish taking you down a notch with a well-placed word.”
Gwen smoothed her skirts while trying to decide how she felt about this news. It was none of her concern, she decided finally. “Thank you. It is of no consequence to me with whom Gideon chooses to pass his time.”
