Hardly a Husband (Free Fellows League 3)

— Oliver Goldsmith, 1128-1114

"Has anyone seen or heard from Daniel?" Jarrod asked without preamble as soon as Griff, Colin, Jonathan, and Alex settled into their customary places in the private room at White's.

"Not a word," Griff answered.

"I made discreet inquiries all day," Alex, Marquess of Courtland, the youngest and newest member of the League, reported, "and no one has seen him since last night."

Jonathan nodded. "He seems to have vanished."

"He couldn't have vanished without someone seeing him." Jarrod drained his coffee cup, set it on a side table, and began to pace. "Someone saw something."

Colin hooked the leg of a leather ottoman with the toe of his boot and pulled it out of Jarrod's path. He pushed the ottoman closer to Griff, allowing more room so Jarrod might wear out the carpet unimpeded. "True," Colin agreed, "but so far, we've been unable to locate anyone who has."

"I even paid a call upon the dowager duchess at Sussex House this afternoon," Jonathan added. "She hasn't seen him since last evening either, but that's not unusual since her apartments are in the opposite wing."

"Did she sound concerned?" Griff shifted his weight on the sofa, then propped his right leg on the ottoman Colin had removed from Jarrod's path. Leaning forward, he reached down to massage his thigh in an effort to relieve the ache from the saber cut he'd taken across his hip and thigh during the battle of Fuentes de Onoro. It had been two years since his injury, but the wound still pained him when he stood for long periods of time or when he danced, and he'd spent a good portion of the previous evening dancing with his wife at the Duchess of Sussex's ball.

"Not at all," Jonathan told them. "If anything, Aunt Lavinia was quite annoyed with him for including Lady St. Germaine on the guest list without informing her."

"Why wasn't Lady St. Germaine's name on the duchess's guest list in the first place?" Jarrod demanded, pacing harder and faster, equally annoyed that Daniel had managed to include the Marchioness of St. Germaine on his mother's guest list, yet neglected to add Colin and Gillian to the list. "When did Sussex add the marchioness's name to the list? And for that matter, why weren't Viscount Grantham and his viscountess's names added?"

Griff made a circling motion in the air with his finger and Jarrod automatically turned and began pacing in the opposite direction. It was Griff's way of attempting to save Jarrod a few pounds, for Shepherdston's notorious tendency to pace the width and breadth of their favorite private

meeting room at White's wore out carpets at an alarming rate and the gentlemen's club billed the marquess every time they replaced the carpet.

"She didn't mention Grantham or his viscountess," Jonathan said. "But Aunt Lavinia was in quite a lather about Lady St. Germaine. Apparently she dislikes the Marchioness of St. Germaine enough to deliberately omit her name from the annual guest list."

Griff ran his fingers through his hair in a show of frustration. "That doesn't bode well for the future," he muttered. Miranda, Lady St. Germaine, was his wife's closest friend and had served as Alyssa's maid of honor at their wedding. Miranda was a frequent guest at Griff and Alyssa's Park Lane house and Abernathy Manor, their country house in Northamptonshire, and Griff was privy to Miranda's aspirations regarding the Duke of Sussex.

"Maybe not." Jonathan grinned. "Because apparently Daniel sends the marchioness an invitation every year and adds her name to the final guest list. I understand that this battle of wills between Aunt Lavinia and Daniel has become so heated that my aunt refuses to tell Daniel when the invitations go out or allow him to see the final guest list. Last night she gave the staff strict orders that Miranda was not to be allowed entrance to Sussex House unless she was accompanied by the prince regent. Aunt Lavinia was furious because Miranda got past the footmen and Weldon, the butler."

"That's outrageous!" Courtland exclaimed. "Lady St. Germaine has never done anything to warrant having the duchess bar her from the house."

"Except threaten her," Griff said softly.

"Miranda threatened Aunt Lavinia?" Jonathan couldn't contain a small satisfied smile. "I would have paid money to see that."

"Then open your eyes, Barclay," Colin said. "Because as long as Miranda St. Germaine remains unattached she's a threat to the duchess."

Jonathan widened his eyes and his smile as understanding dawned. "I assumed Daniel's infatuation with Miranda was over and done with years ago."

"So does everyone else," Jarrod said. "Except Her Grace, the Duchess of Sussex…"

"Who is afraid of losing her influence over society and over her son if she's consigned to the lesser role of dowager duchess," Colin added.

"But Her Grace is already the dowager duchess," Courtland pointed out.

"Her position as mistress of Sussex House and every-thing else Sussex owns is only secure because her son is unmarried," Griff said softly.

"But Aunt Lavinia's been pushing young ladies in Daniel's direction for years," Jonathan pointed out.

"She's been pushing young ladies in Sussex's direction," Colin agreed, "but Sussex hasn't paid an iota of attention to any of them…"

"Except Alyssa," Griff added, reminding them all that he had almost lost his wife to Sussex when Sussex's mother and Alyssa's mother, who were fast friends, had planned to unite their families with a marriage between their offspring. But Griff and Alyssa had ruined the plan when they chose each other. "Not that I can fault the man's taste in the least."

"Be fair," Jarrod reminded him. "You know there were extenuating circumstances to Sussex's pursuit of Alyssa."

"I know that now," Griff agreed. "But I didn't know it or appreciate it at the time." It had taken him a while to get over his jealousy of Sussex and to forgive the man for seeing Alyssa's potential as a duchess, but Griff had finally managed. He genuinely liked Sussex as a man and as a friend and fellow Free Fellow and Griff truly admired the way he carried the burden of his position in society — a position to which Daniel had been born and one that had been thrust upon Griff and to which he was still learning to adjust.