“Then the rumors are true,” Colin said.
“That depends upon the rumors, Lord Grantham.” Turning her attention back to the marquess, Alyssa added, “His Grace paid the first call in order to present me with a gift to celebrate Lord Abernathy’s and my wedding.”
“What sort of gift did His Grace bestow?” Grantham demanded in a thick Scottish burr that did nothing to conceal his disregard for the duke.
Alyssa concentrated on the viscount, studying him at length. He was very handsome and charming in a rougher sort of way than Griffin or Shepherdston. A fraction shorter than both his friends, Grantham had a stockier build with wide shoulders and heavily muscled thighs. His hair was sandy blond, and he wore it longer than was fashionable, but it was his grayish green eyes and the cleft in his stubborn chin that seemed to define his looks. Looks that were the antithesis of the Marquess of Shepherdston’s. “A pair of mute swans, a peacock and his hen, and an orchid plant his mother named in my honor.”
“The Dowager Duchess of Sussex named a plant in your honor?” Shepherdston shook his head. “As a wedding gift?”
“An early wedding gift.” Alyssa emphasized the word. “In honor of her son’s bride.” She watched as the expression on the marquess’s elegantly handsome face went from confusion to complete understanding.
“Since I married Griffin, the duke could rightfully assume that Mir—the woman he marries—the future Duchess of Sussex—might object to having a rare flower named for some other lady on the premises. So he made me a gift of it.” She couldn’t be certain, but she thought that Griff’s friends were deliberately baiting her—testing her to see how she’d react.
“That was nice of him.” Colin’s reply was laced with sarcasm. “Seeing as how you are married to Abernathy.”
But Alyssa refused to be baited. “I thought so,” she said. “After all, the plant is very rare and very valuable to collectors.”
“People collect plants?” Shepherdston was intrigued despite himself.
Alyssa leveled a look at him. “Does it surprise you, my lord? Surely, you understand that people collect many things, especially rare and valuable things.”
“Including mistresses,” Colin added.
Alyssa glared at him. “I’ve done nothing to encourage His Grace to continue to pay me court.”
Jarrod cocked an eyebrow. “And yet he paid a call here nearly every day he was in residence at Haversham House. And you invited him.” Jarrod didn’t like baiting her, but he wanted to make certain Griff’s wife hadn’t changed her mind about Sussex. After all, he and Colin had sent the duke.
“Only because Miran—” She broke off, then looked up to meet their curious gazes. She took a deep breath. “I invited His Grace to visit because Lady Miranda was here.”
“To act as chaperone for the two of you?” Colin asked.
“No, you…you…” Alyssa did something she almost never did. She lost her temper. “You lackwit!”
Colin blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“You should beg my pardon!” Alyssa snapped. “I not only married your fellow Free Fellows League member, but I was foolish enough to fall in love with him.”
Colin froze, brought up short by her anger and her slip of the tongue. “I can’t believe Griffin confided in you.”
“Griffin didn’t confide in me!” she exclaimed. “Griffin doesn’t know that I know anything about your secret League.”
“Then who?” Colin demanded.
“You,” she answered, meeting Colin’s stare. “And you.” She glanced at Jarrod.
“That’s impossible.” Jarrod shot Colin a warning glance before he narrowed his gaze at Alyssa. “No such organization exists.”
“Yes, it does,” she contradicted him.
“All right,” Jarrod answered in a soothing tone of voice designed to humor her. “Tell us about it. Tell us what you think you know of a league of Free Fellows.”
Alyssa repeated the conversation she’d overheard at Almack’s.
“How?” Jarrod demanded.
“I was standing behind the potted palms,” she answered. “I couldn’t make my presence known without revealing that I’d overheard. And, quite frankly, I was fascinated by your conversation.”
Colin frowned. “You agreed to marry Griff after hearing all of that? Knowing he didn’t want you?”