The Devil You Know (The Devil DeVere #3)(31)

It was dangerously past dawn when Diana crept stealthily back to her own bedchamber. She quietly opened the door, praying Polly hadn’t already noticed her absence. Upon closing it behind her, she noted the bed curtains were still drawn just the way she had left them, and the fire was still banked. She breathed a sigh of relief that she was undiscovered. Yet, when Diana looked to the chair by her dressing table where she had discarded her night rail, it was gone.

Strange. She searched the room in vain. Mayhap she had left it on the bed? Diana drew back the heavy velvet and gasped.

Reggie lay fully clothed atop the counterpane, reclining back on a mountain of pillows. He raked her with an insolent gaze. “Looking for something, my dear? It must have been an eventful night indeed.

I’ve waited for you for hours.”

“Eventful? Hardly.” She laughed, her mind scrambling for an alibi. “I was reading in the library and fell asleep in the chair.”

“Without your night rail?” He held up the cotton gown with an evil smirk. “Even if I was stupid enough to believe you, your appearance betrays you. Look at yourself, Diana! You look like some Covent Garden whore.”

She stole a glance to the mirror over the mantel and knew that it was true. Her lips were swollen, her hair mussed beyond redemption, and most telling of all was the faint purple shadow of a love bite on her neck. She realized she had no defense, but neither did he have the right to accuse her. Her initial shock turned to fury. “Does it really matter to you, Reggie where I spent my night?” she hissed. “As I certainly know where you have been spending yours.”

His gaze narrowed. He abruptly sat up and seized her arm, squeezing as if it were clamped in a vice. “Do you now?” His eyes glittered dangerously. “And just where might that be?”

“Must I say it aloud?”

He paled at the realization she had discovered his well-guarded secret. “You have no proof of anything,” he spat. “Besides, where I bed and with whom is my own damned business.”

“Your own business? But I am your wife! You made vows to me!”

“As did you, Diana. No man likes to be made a fool. So I ask again—where were you last night?

“I already told you.”

“Don’t bother lying again as I already have all the proof I need of your iniquity. I only marvel that any man could stir you to passion.

Or were you simply moved by desperation? Did you hope to bargain with him by playing his whore? Did you please him well, Diana? I truly hope so, as your tight little quim might be the only way to regain what was lost.”

His words stunned her. She regarded him with a blank stare.

“Bargain? Wh-what are you talking about?”

“That DeVere has the deed to Palmerston Hall. Did you not realize?” Her mind reeled. “How can that be? You lost it in gaming at Clay Hill.”“I do not know precisely how it came about. I can only conclude that DeVere bought my vowels from O’Kelly.”

“You lie! Why would he do such a thing?”

“How the bloody hell would I know? I first thought he intended to ruin me to claim the estate, but what is a meager five hundred acres and run-down manor house to such a man? I can only presume then that he desired the stud, but whatever his motives, all seems now to have miraculously worked to my advantage.”

“How do you mean? How can any of this be to your advantage?”

she asked, her heart racing.

“Simple, my dear heart. You are lawfully my wife, my legal property, whether I choose to use you as such or not. If DeVere desires that which is mine, he must pay for the privilege.”

“You would pimp me like a whoremonger? You bastard!” she screamed.

He smiled. “Needs must when the devil drives and all that rot.

I have needs, and that devil DeVere happens to be an exceedingly wealthy man. Don’t look so put out, my dear. After all, it was you who provided the perfect solution to our little problem.”

“And what is that? Your perfect little solution? Extortion?” she asked between clenched teeth.

“Such an unpalatable word. I would rather call it a discreet and amicable arrangement. But if DeVere does not wish to come to such an agreement, he can pay much more dearly in the courts of law. If I recall correctly, Lord Grosvenor received compensation to the tune of ten thousand pounds when Lady Grosvenor bestowed her favors on the Duke of Cumberland. By my calculation,” Reggie continued non-chalantly, “your betrayal should be worth at least that much, mayhap even twenty thousand.”

“You have no proof of anything.”

“But there you are wrong. I have sworn statements from two witnesses who have seen you alone with DeVere. That is all the proof I need for a court of law. You may as well go back to his bed, Diana, for I swear you will both pay dearly for it either way. As for his possession of the deed, if you still don’t believe me, just ask DeVere yourself.”

He gave her a blithe shrug and pulled out his timepiece. “Although your little tête-a-tête may need to wait until a more opportune time.

The races begin in less than two hours. I must say I am much relieved to know my fate no longer rests on the horserace. Damned unpredictable, those animals can be.”

Reggie rang for the maid. “You really must do something about your appearance, Diana.” His face devoid of expression, he reached a hand to her neck tracing the evidence of DeVere’s passion with his fingertip. “Might I suggest you wear your hair down today?”