Page 28 of I Never Forget a Duke (The Night Fire Club #1)

“T his, my friends,” said Beresford, “is a cognac Mr. White just got in from France. I should like to share it with you all.”

Fletcher shot Lark a questioning look, and Hugh had the sense that there was something about this situation he knew but could not recall.

He wondered, not for the first time, if Lark and Beresford were lovers, but it seemed rude to ask.

And besides that, Hugh was anxious to hear what Beresford had learned about Adele.

He waited for Beresford to pour five glasses and settle himself into a chair around the table.

Lark and Owen had been eating dinner when Hugh arrived and each man was a good way through a substantial beefsteak.

Hugh had eaten before leaving for the club and hadn’t been hungry at any rate.

He looked around and realized that they were seated a fair distance from all of the other gentlemen in the club, probably by Lark’s design. At least they could speak freely.

Hugh tried the cognac and found it rich and a little sweet with a woody flavor. He liked it. But he felt like Beresford was using this as a delaying tactic. Rather than waiting for Beresford, Hugh said, “Did your discreet inquiries yield any information.”

“Yes,” said Beresford.

Hugh leaned forward in anticipation. Fletcher sent him a questioning look, but Hugh ignored him.

Beresford grinned. “The Earl of Canbury does not own a house in London. When Parliament is in session, he stays at an inn near Carlton House. As such, he does not have room to house his daughter. Lady Adele has an aunt, the earl’s sister, who is not at present in London.

Lady Adele has just been offered a position in the household of the Marquess of Winchester but has not officially accepted yet.

For the time being, she is still at the Earl of Sweeney’s house, but he’s made inquiries about selling his house and intends to decamp back to his estate in the country as soon as possible. ”

“Why the rush?” asked Lark.

Beresford whistled. “He must sell his house to settle his debts.”

“Of course,” said Lark.

“What sort of position?” asked Hugh.

“What?” said Lark.

“With the Marquess of Winchester. What sort of position was Adele offered?”

Beresford frowned. “As governess to Winchester’s youngest child.”

Hugh shook his head. He had no doubt Adele would excel in such a position, but it bothered him all the same.

“There’s something you’re not saying,” said Lark said to Beresford.

“I presented you with the facts. The rest is rumor and innuendo.”

“Let’s have it,” said Lark.

“Well, the inn is just across St. James Park from Westminster, which is only logical. Canbury has only to walk a short distance to be at Lords. He has a more or less permanent room reserved there, but again, it is only a room and does not leave space for Lady Adele.”

“But?” said Hugh, growing impatient.

“But it is also around the corner from a well-known molly house where the members are known to don the clothing of the opposite sex. Now, you know I think the rumors of Canbury being caught in public in ladies’ clothing are all made up by his political enemies, but if he’d been seen near that molly house, that might explain why the rumors have persisted. ”

“Is Canbury a member of this molly house?” Owen asked.

“I have not been able to determine that,” said Beresford.

“There are rumors, but it’s hard to sift through what’s true and what is just nonsense made up by his rivals.

And let me assure you, Canbury has a legion of enemies who likely sit around half the day wondering what nonsense they can make up to destroy him. ”

“Could you not go into the molly house yourself and inquire?” asked Lark.

“I would never ,” said Beresford, though he was grinning. “Anyway, it doesn’t signify. The rumors are what they are.”

Hugh was still stuck on the position Adele had been offered. “She is an earl’s daughter and yet she is being made to work.”

“I know, but her options are few. Canbury has spent the last thirty years spending faster than he earns money and doesn’t have enough left to support his daughter. And so, if the Earl of Sweeney wants her out of the house, he has to find another place to put her.”

“She should stay with me.” The words were out of Hugh’s mouth before he could think it through, but the idea had merit. Why, he’d go down to the Sweeney house tomorrow morning and tell her to pack. If Sweeney wanted Adele out of his hair, Hugh would take her.

“What are you going to do?” asked Lark. “Have her stay with you as a guest?”

“That is a good way to get the scandal mill going,” said Beresford.

“My mother lives with me,” said Hugh. “What scandal?”

“You can’t just keep her in your house indefinitely,” said Lark.

“Then I’ll marry her.”

Everyone groaned. “You don’t know this woman,” said Owen.

“I know her well enough. I know that she is good and caring. I know she wants children even though she has essentially become a spinster. I know she can play chess. I know she reads a great deal and is intellectually curious and we have many things to talk about. This is more than most gents know about their wives when they marry.”

“Just make sure you are thinking through your decision,” said Fletcher.

“Do you fellows object to my marrying Adele or marrying at all. Did we have some kind of pact not to marry before I got hit on the head?”

“It’s really a matter of priorities,” said Beresford. “How much does this sort of thing matter to you?”

“Associating himself with Canbury will harm Hugh’s reputation,” Lark said, “which until now, as you full well know, has been sterling. There’s a reason women are falling over each other to get his attention and that he has until now been so successful in business.

All of that changes if he marries this girl. ”

“All right. How much does that matter to you, Swynford?”

Hugh wasn’t entirely sure. How much had it mattered before he lost his memories?

He didn’t want to disappoint his mother, but he thought the prospect of grandchildren would win her over.

And Adele was still an earl’s daughter, not a commoner, which should have placated her and the rest of society.

The fact that her friends kept talking about Canbury as if Adele were the daughter of a leper was confusing and alarming to Hugh now.

Did society’s approval matter? Would it affect his business?

Hugh couldn’t see how; based on the conversations he’d had with his secretary, Hugh made money from tenants on his various estates and a little bit of real estate speculation.

There was a new real estate deal in the offing, but he couldn’t see how the seller would care about who Hugh’s wife was.

He suspected that his wealth and title would trump whatever reputation loss he suffered from marrying Adele anyway.

Did his mother’s approval matter? That was a more complicated question.

Did he love Adele? He didn’t know. Maybe not.

But he liked her more than any woman he’d met before.

He dreamed about that night they’d spent together sometimes.

He cherished the memories of sitting with her and talking, of walking around that little garden behind the Sweeney house, of the affectionate look on her face as she took care of him, of the feel of her in his arms as they danced.

He couldn’t shake thoughts of her most days. Was that love?

“None of you have ever been in love,” Hugh said.

“So you’re an expert?” Lark asked with a sardonic expression on his face.

“No. I don’t know if I know what love feels like, and none of you do either, so maybe you should not judge me.”

“I was in love once,” said Beresford.

Lark’s eyebrows shot up.

Beresford sighed. “I was young. The details are not important. And it hardly signifies, since the object of my affection is no longer among the living.”

“How did you know it was love?” Hugh asked, genuinely curious, although conscious of the series of emotions playing out over Lark’s face. This reinforced Hugh’s suspicion that Lark and Beresford were lovers.

Beresford shrugged and said, “I just knew.”

“That is not even a little helpful,” said Hugh.

“There was a moment, I suppose. I was nineteen years old, hardly more than a boy, and the two of us were up at Oxford taking a stroll together near the river, and I looked at my love’s face and I love you just popped into my head.

But I knew, deep in my soul I knew, that I loved this person.

I don’t know if it’s like that for everyone, but that is how it was for me. ”

Hugh considered that. He had not experienced a moment like that with Adele, but maybe it was only a matter of time. “That sounds lovely,” Hugh said.

“It was rather. Except, you know, for the death part.”

“I apologize. I did not intend to bring up bad memories.”

“It is all right. I volunteered. But… I think love is not something to be trifled with. And I think also, if you care for this woman? Society be damned. Marry her if you like.”

“That’s not how things work,” said Lark.

“No, Beresford is right, much as it pains me to say so,” said Fletcher. “Is not our main reservation to Hugh’s marrying this woman just that we worry about what society will think? Well, are we not society? Welcome to the nineteenth century, lads. Hugh deserves to marry for love.”

Hugh found that encouraging. “It seems to me that the only obstacle between a powerful man and the woman he wants is whether or not she agrees, no?”

“You’re determined to do this, aren’t you?” asked Owen.

“Yes. I will marry her.”

“Godspeed,” said Lark.

*

Lark lay his sweaty forehead against Anthony’s chest.

Tonight, Lark had invited Anthony back to his own home. He knew from experience that he could count on the discretion of his household staff, but he’d been reluctant to take Anthony home. There was something too intimate about having a man in his house, but something within Lark had finally broken.