Page 57 of Bad Luck Bride (Scandal at the Savoy #3)

D evlin woke to the scent of gardenias, and that told him that what he’d experienced wasn’t a dream. Kay had come to his room in the night, shredded all his honorable intentions of proper courtship, and mercilessly seduced him. What a woman.

Eyes closed, he smiled, imagining how she’d looked with her copper hair spread across the pillows, her adorable, freckled face flushed with arousal. Making love to Kay had been the most beautiful, extraordinary experience of his life.

Still smiling, still half asleep, he rolled over, hoping perhaps they could enjoy each other a little longer before she had to sneak back into her room, but when he opened his eyes, he knew it wasn’t to be.

Morning light was streaming in between a gap in the curtains, and the place beside him was empty.

The scent of her still lingered on the bed linens, but she was gone.

He groaned and grabbed her pillow, holding it tight as sudden desolation swamped him.

This, he knew, was how it would be for some time to come.

Waking to nothing but memories of her until he could return.

He thought of those early days in Africa, and he didn’t know if he could endure all that again.

Wretchedly cruel of fate to do this now, just when everything seemed to be coming right for them. But he had to go. He had a duty to his investors and to the people who worked for him and depended on him for their livelihood. And she had to stay.

Unless…

Devlin flung aside the pillow and got out of bed. There just might be a way for history to repeat itself, but with a much better ending.

Kay stared listlessly at the letter she was trying to write. Somehow, telling Baroness Voytevsky that they would be happy to reserve her a suite, but that, alas, they would be unable to accommodate her seven Pekingese dogs just wasn’t holding her attention.

She turned her head, glancing at the clock on her credenza. Nearly ten o’clock already? How could time pass so slowly and yet so quickly at the same time?

Devlin would surely be here any minute to say goodbye, and dread at the prospect was like a stone in the pit of her stomach.

He’ll come back , she thought, plunking her elbows on her desk and burying her face in her hands, willing it to be true. He will come back.

A sound lifted her head, and when she saw Devlin in the doorway, the dread inside her intensified, twisting in her guts. It was time.

She took a deep breath and stood up. “Good morning.”

He took off his hat and bowed. “Sorry I’m late. I know we agreed on nine o’clock, but…” He paused, a faint smile curving his mouth as he came in and shut the door behind him. “Some ripping redheaded siren invaded my rooms last night and seduced me, sapping all my energy.”

She almost smiled back. “You were sleeping like the dead when I left. I’d have stayed, but…”

Now it was her turn to pause, her throat closing up, for she couldn’t tell him that as he’d slept, she had lain beside him as long as she could bear it before tearing herself away. She couldn’t tell him that had she stayed a moment longer than that, she’d have woken him and begged him to stay.

“I understand,” he said. “Hotel staff are always up before dawn. Wouldn’t do for anyone to see you.”

She seized on that with relief. “Exactly. Yes, quite so.”

There was a sudden, awkward silence.

She forced herself to break it. “Are you packed?”

“Yes. The bellboys are loading my trunks into a cab as we speak.”

Already? A sob rose in her throat, and she choked it back. “And when is your train?”

“The train for Dover leaves Victoria Station at one o’clock. Then across to Calais, and the train to Nice.”

That was hours away, but she understood. What was the point of long, drawn-out, agonizing goodbyes?

“The Calais-Méditerranée, I assume?” When he nodded, she went on, “You’ll take a boat from there to Cairo?”

He nodded. “Steamship. It’s the fastest way.”

“Of course.”

There was another silence, then suddenly, he moved, crossing her office and coming around to her side of the desk. “Come with me.”

“What?” She stared, stunned, thrilled, overjoyed. And then she remembered why that was impossible. “I can’t, Devlin,” she whispered, wretched once again.

“Yes, you can.” Tossing aside his hat, he hauled her into his arms. “It’s simple.

You pack your bags and put them in the cab with mine, and we’re off.

There is a Cook’s office at Victoria Station,” he added when she didn’t reply.

“We buy your tickets, and there we are, on our way to Egypt together. We can be married when we get to Cairo.”

“Elope, you mean.”

“Yes.”

She was tempted, oh, so tempted. But it was impossible. “Devlin,” she began.

He stopped her, cupping her face and pressing his thumb to her lips. “I know it’s a scandal, but does that matter now?”

“I’m afraid,” she said softly against his thumb, “that it does matter.”

He slid his hand to the back of her neck, his thumb caressing her cheek. “But why? What can the scandal sheets say about us that they haven’t already said?”

“It’s not that.”

“Is it the opinion of the ton that’s got you worried? Sod them. Our friends will stand by us.”

“I know. It’s not that, either.”

He frowned, still clearly baffled, his hand sliding away. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t care anymore what drivel the scandal sheets print about me, or what the ton thinks of me. But, Devlin, my darling, it isn’t about me at all, or you, or us. It’s about Josephine.”

He blinked. “What does your sister have to do with it? Are you afraid she won’t have a dowry? Of course I’ll provide her with—”

He broke off as she shook her head. “It’s not that, either,” she said.

“I know you will give her a dowry, of course you will. And even if you couldn’t, it wouldn’t matter.

I’ve come to realize that marrying a man you love is far more important than marrying the one your family wants, or the one who can best provide for you.

I’d marry you if you didn’t have a bean. But I can’t elope with you.”

“Because that will hurt her chances.”

“Yes. If she were married already and had a strong social position, I wouldn’t hesitate.

But that’s not the case. She’s barely halfway through her first season.

More important, she hasn’t been presented at court.

And if we elope, she won’t ever be. That alone could wreck her chances of making a good marriage.

I couldn’t bear it if that happened just because I couldn’t wait a few months or even a few years to secure my own happiness.

I ruined things for her once before she was even out of pinafores, Devlin, and it took me years to atone for that and return our family to a halfway decent social position.

I can’t ruin things for her again. I won’t. ”

He didn’t reply, but his face was grim, and she tried to smile. “At least we don’t have to worry about a baby,” she said. “I made sure of that.”

“And I let you.” He lowered his head with a sigh, rubbing four fingers over his forehead. “A decision on my part that in hindsight seems extraordinarily stupid.”

She didn’t reply. She waited, and at last, he looked up.

“So,” he said, squaring his shoulders, “it’s no, then, is it?”

“I’m afraid it is. It must be. I can’t cause Josephine the same pain and humiliation I suffered. I just can’t do that to her. Do you understand?”

He didn’t reply, but the pain in his face tore at her, ripping her heart out.

“Oh, Devlin,” she cried, suddenly fearing the worst. “Please tell me you understand!”

“Of course I understand.” His arms came up, wrapping around her as she sagged with relief.

“I hate it, Kay,” he muttered, his lips brushing her hair.

“I do. I won’t lie. I hate it, and I resent like hell the stupid rules and tight-laced morality that governs all our lives, but I also know the pain you’ve suffered and how much you love your sister and how you want to spare her that same pain.

And as frustrating as it is and how hellish it’s going to make our lives for the next few months, it only makes me love you more. ”

A sob came from her, a sob of wrenching pain and overwhelming love, and also a tiny little speck of disappointment that he hadn’t rejected her reasons, hauled her over his shoulder, and carried her out here by force, taking the decision out of her hands.

He heard it, that sob, and his arms tightened, holding her so strongly, it took her breath away. “I’ll be back,” he promised fiercely.

“Of course you will,” she mumbled against his lapel.

She must not have sounded convincing, for he grabbed her arms and pushed her back to look into her face.

“Listen to me,” he ordered, giving her a little shake.

“I’ll get things straightened out as quickly as I can, but it won’t happen overnight.

It’ll take a few months, maybe a year, before I can come back to England. ”

“I know.” She took his face in her hands and looked into his beautiful eyes, putting the best face on things, for his sake. “At least no one’s going to suppress our letters this time. And even if they do, I won’t lose faith in you or in us.”

“Neither will I.”

“And I won’t be holed away in Wales, thank heaven, with only my mother and little sister for company. I have my work here at the Mayfair, and that will give me something useful to do while you’re away.”

“When I come back, we’ll get married, and it will be the biggest, grandest wedding the ton’s ever seen.”

“Damned right it will.”

He smiled a little. “Just don’t go getting engaged to anyone else while I’m gone, all right?”

Laughter bubbled up inside her, ending in a sob. She choked it back. “I won’t, I promise.”

The clock on her credenza chimed the half hour, and she couldn’t bear it another moment. “You’d better go,” she said, her voice suddenly, surprisingly resolute.