The Trouble With Sin (Devilish Vignettes (the Devil DeVere) #2)

The Trouble With Sin (Devilish Vignettes (the Devil DeVere) #2)

Victoria Vane




But when the morning comes at last,

And we must part, our passions cold,

You'll think of some new feather, scarf

To buy with my small piece of gold;



- A Fleeting Passion by William Henry Davies





Chapter One


A private abode on Wigmore Street, City of Westminster – 1764



Simon's bored gaze drifted over the library—his favorite room in the house—lingering on a shelf teeming with his beloved volumes of verse.

"For nigh on twenty years, we have done our best for you with only modest expectations in return. Have we not provided you with every advantage? And this is how you would repay us?"

His father's fist slammed on the desk, rattling ink pots, drawing Simon's attention to the bottles. He wondered idly if they would spill.

Lord Singleton continued his rant, "By pulling foolish and irresponsible pranks? By getting tossed out of school?"

Simon inhaled. "I'm not expelled, only rusticated for the term."

"There's bloody little difference in my book, my boy!" He threw his hands in the air. "Worse, you and your fellow malefactors have enraged the king!"

"That was simply an error of happenstance."

"Happenstance?" Lord Singleton glowered. "How the devil can absconding with a lion be happenstance?"

"It was supposed to have been a bear," Simon clarified with a fleeting smile.

"Bloody hell!" Baron Singleton raged on. "The species makes no difference! You stole the king's property! Have you no shame, Simon?"

Knowing there was nothing he say to appease his father, Simon fixed his gaze in perverse fascination on Lord Singleton's quivering jowls.

"Well!" Lord Singleton demanded. "What have you to say for yourself?"

Simon's need to compose a contrite platitude was, thankfully, forestalled by three sharp raps on the library door. Pausing on the threshold, Lady Singleton's gaze wavered between her husband and son, and then back to Simon with obvious maternal concern. She had always doted on her youngest child. He wondered if she had purposely interrupted to save him further browbeating.

"Have you quite finished, my dear?" she asked her husband.

"Not by half!" Lord Singleton barked. "He has been spoiled and coddled his entire life and now would run wild! This ungovernable behavior shall cease and desist this very day!"

Simon kept his gaze impassive and fixed on his father's waistcoat buttons. He marveled at the strength of the buttons, wondering if a great sneeze would make them pop.

"But, my dear," said Lady Singleton, "you know this is all due to the unholy influence of that…that…that… irredeemable devil DeVere!"

"On that, my dear, we are in total accord," the baron replied. "Bad blood runs in the DeVeres. Morally corrupt, all of them." Lord Singleton's lips thinned and his gaze focused once more on his son. "Henceforth, you are to have no further association with that reprobate."

"But he and Ned are my oldest friends—" Simon protested.

"And a poor choice indeed! A man is often judged by the company he keeps."

"And not just judged by man," Lady Singleton added. "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? You must study the Proverbs, Simon, lest you be damned by your association with such Godless persons."

"If that is so, Mama," Simon replied softly, "how would the sinners ever come to know Grace? Did our own Lord not keep company with tax collectors and known prostitutes?"

Lady Singleton closed her mouth with an almost audible snap.

Baron Singleton glared at his son. He then prompted his wife, "Did you need me, Albinia?"

"I do indeed. I came to remind you the Reverend William Dodd will be addressing the Magdalen Society today. You have not forgotten, I hope?" Simon's mother was an avid supporter of the charity who hoped to cleanse the city of prostitution. "Lord and Lady Hertford will also be in attendance. The marquess has committed to soliciting the patronage of Queen Charlotte to expand the Magdalen House."

Lord Singleton pulled out his timepiece and examined it with a frown. He then rose from his desk tugging at his snug waistcoat. "I'm late for an appointment at my club." It was the stock excuse for avoiding his wife's society meetings. Simon marveled at his father's lack of imagination. "Let Simon sit in my stead. Association with such persons can only benefit his character."

"What a wonderful idea!" Lady Singleton exclaimed. "You must meet the Reverend Dodd, Simon. He is such an eloquent young man and so well versed in the scriptures."

Bloody hell! Simon groaned. He was consigned to perdition indeed—ceaseless hours in the company of religious fanatics and hypocrites.

"But, Mama," he protested. "I had planned to occupy myself with meditation of the Psalms this afternoon."

"Is that so?" Lord Singleton cast Simon a dubious look.

Simon offered his mother a beatific smile. "Yes. After much soul searching, I feel a calling to join the clergy."

"The calling? The clergy?" Lady Singleton repeated. "But you have said nothing about joining the church." She looked to her husband. "Is this really true?"