“Indeed? Well, that might prove more difficult than he supposes, with us as your allies. Lucian’s consequence is formidable enough to contest Halford’s, even if mine is not.”
“Brynn…I cannot let you become involved in my difficulties. You have enough to worry about at the moment.”
Lucian’s occupation as a spymaster had recently entangled them both in dangers that had nearly proved fatal. And with one of Britain’s foremost enemies still at large, a brutal traitor named Caliban, their lives were still at risk. Lucian never allowed Brynn to go anywhere without at least two bodyguards in attendance, Raven knew.
But her friend merely arched a delicate eyebrow. “You cannot possibly think we would desert you.”
“No, of course not. But I don’t like to burden you with my troubles. And even your support may not make any significant difference to my situation.”
Brynn shook her head. “Your ordeal must have scattered your wits more than you realized. You don’t sound at all like the Raven I know. Do you truly mean to give up and allow the ton to force you to live as an outcast?”
For a moment Raven stared. Then for the first time in two days she managed a laugh. “You are right, Brynn. Forgive me.” She shook her head. “I was allowing myself to wallow in defeat, wasn’t I?” Her chin rose with renewed resolve. “But the war is not over, and I have not been routed yet.”
Brynn gave a satisfied smile. “No, certainly not.”
“I assure you,” Raven added, a defiant smile claiming her own mouth, “I won’t be forced to live as an outcast. I vowed long ago that the ton would accept me, and I have strived too hard to abandon the fight now.”
Chapter Nine
The scandal was the talk of the
town and showed no signs of abating.
True to her word, however, Brynn did everything in her power to martial her significant resources on Raven’s behalf, proving the point that in times of crisis, one learned who one’s true friends were.
Raven resumed her early morning rides and accompanied Brynn everywhere during daylight hours, paying calls and indulging in shopping expeditions and attending lectures and museum exhibits, merely to be seen in public. But she refrained from attempting anything more ambitious just yet, prepared to bide her time till the moment was right.
It was wiser, for example, to avoid Hyde Park at the fashionable hour of five, when the cream of society congregated to see and be seen. And she delayed braving any glittering evening functions, where the savage horde waited to devour her like a swarm of locusts. She had violated society’s unforgiving rules with a vengeance, and her battle plan had to be carefully executed if she had any hope of winning.
Still optimistic, Brynn was planning a ball to celebrate Raven’s nuptials. Lady Wycliff was determined to bully the haute ton by sheer force of will into overlooking Raven’s fall from grace. Yet all but the most courageous or reckless souls shunned her; they simply weren’t prepared to make an enemy of the illustrious Duke of Halford for the sake of a mere Mrs. Lasseter.
Not surprisingly, Raven found loneliness her chief enemy over the course of the next few days. Her maid, Nan, joined the servant staff at her new home, as did O’Malley. And she had visits by her grandfather and her great-aunt, although Lady Dalrymple came primarily to scold.
But there was little sign of Kell. He returned home very late each night and left for his club each morning while Raven was riding. And although they shared a dressing room, they had separate bedchambers.
Such arrangements were not unusual, of course. Some husbands and wives of the beau monde barely exchanged civilities day to day. And Raven desired nothing more than to pick up the pieces of her life without a notorious husband to send her tenuous future spinning into further disarray.
But there was one obvious drawback in this case. They were supposed to be in love. And if her new husband appeared to be avoiding her, their story would be exposed for the sham it was.
Apparently Kell had not forgotten about her entirely, however. Upon his authorization, his solicitors met with those of her grandfather and drew up a contract that would allow Raven to retain her independence and tie up her modest fortune for any children she might have.
Not that there would be any children…
Raven never discussed that particular subject with her grandfather, but from the comments he let slip, Lord Luttrell was more troubled about her potential offspring than the scandal itself.
“I want my line carried on, my dear,” the earl fretted, “even if I likely won’t live long enough to see it. And I dislike thinking that my great-grandchildren will have the blood of a murderer running through their veins.”
Raven could do little to reassure him.
Her wicked friend Lord Wolverton was the only person who could satisfy any measure of her curiosity about her husband. Raven accompanied the marquess on a drive in his curricle one afternoon so it could be seen that he hadn’t deserted her. Her riding with him in an open carriage fell within the acceptable rules of behavior, as long as they remained constantly in public view.
Dare was every inch a nobleman: tall, lithe, and fair-haired, but a rogue through and through, with a magnetic, sinful smile that could scorch the coldest of female hearts. Yet his usual laughing demeanor was noticeably absent when he explained to Raven what little he knew of Kell Lasseter.
“I encounter him upon occasion. His club is considered the prime hell in London-high stakes but with a sterling reputation for honest play. And I fence with Lasseter regularly at Angelo’s salle. He’s a superb swordsman; I’ve rarely seen anyone better. But I cannot claim to know him well.”
Dare urged his spanking pair of bays past a snarl in traffic before continuing. “He’s a rebel by all reports. Doesn’t appear to give a damn what anyone says about him. He seems deliberately to shun polite company, although I don’t doubt he would have been accepted if he had put any effort into it. His breeding is good enough on his father’s side at least. But he never lets anyone forget his Irish blood.”
“His mother was Irish, I understand.”