Chapter Fifteen #2
She thought of the occasional journal entries whereby Gideon made mention of interactions between himself and the duchess, something she said to him, or an implication she made concerning him. Inevitably, Lady Ashwood struck Gwen as uncaring to say the least, and belittling at the worst.
What gave her more pause, however, was Gideon’s seeming acceptance of her treatment, as if he viewed it as natural, even his due. Gwen doubted if she could have been as magnanimous under similar circumstances.
Georgina went on. “Gideon lived with the duke and duchess and his younger half-brother, Lord Ashwood, from the start. The boys shared a schoolroom, governesses, and were tutored together in all manners pertaining to the polite world just as one would expect for the offspring of such an esteemed couple.”
“In other words,” Lady Harriet said, “Mr. Devereux was not treated as a second class, beholden relative, but as a full member of the family.”
“Correct. Poor Lord Ashwood. Being younger, and at his full height standing a head shorter than his brother, he tended to trail after Mr. Devereux in all athletic endeavors.”
Gwen had discerned from several entries that Gideon had never felt in competition with the younger brother he clearly adored. If anything, he downplayed his own prowess at times.
“Too, once they reached adolescence, Mr. Devereux…er…” Georgina pressed her lips together. A furious blush stole up her cheeks.
“Spit it out, dear,” Margaret urged.
Georgina looked to Amelia, Nancy, and Charlotte in turn, her expression pleading.
Charlotte shrugged and spread her arms wide. “Don’t look at me. I only moved here recently at the behest of my aunt, Lady Harriet and Margaret’s next-door neighbor, to act as her companion and to experience city life. I have only heard vagaries of the man’s…er…”
Gwen frowned, more confused than ever.
Lady Harriet eyed the plastered ceiling, then gazed at Gwen, a stalwart expression on her face.
“Having been an active participant in the social whirl that is the London Season since before Mr. Devereux and young Lord Ashwood’s time, and having witnessed the upheaval created by Mr. Devereux amongst the ladies of the ton when he was first out in society, what I think Georgina is trying to say is, Mr. Devereux holds a certain appeal for the ladies. ”
“The ladies?” Gwen echoed. But she thought she understood, especially considering Amelia’s hushed query about his allure on their visit to the modiste’s shop.
“Debutantes purportedly grow faint when he deigns to attend a ball. Widows and married women, especially those who prefer to keep the company of men not their husbands, seek him out.”
“Seek him out?” she aped again.
Lady Harriet slanted Margaret a beseeching look.
Margaret sighed. “For heaven’s sake, Harriet.
You are a widow, Gwen is a widow, Amelia and Nancy are both married, and I am of a certain age.
Clearly Georgina and Charlotte already have the gist of what no one wishes to say aloud.
It’s time we stop dancing around the mulberry pole.
Gwen, Mr. Devereux has some sort of magnetism that draws women to him like flies to honey.
He always has. That is not to say he attracts the interest of those on the marriage mart, however.
The appeal seems to be more of a lascivious nature. ”
An unpleasant feeling invaded her belly. “He has had many conquests, you mean?”
“I think,” Amelia said cautiously, “he is the conquest.”
Georgina nodded, looking hardily relieved. “He tends to be choosy with his paramours, favoring widows.”
“I see.” Gwen said. “Widows.” Apparently, Gwen had nearly been one in a long line. She found the thought vastly deflating.
“You should know one thing more, Gwen,” Georgina said in grave tones.
“Mother told me, for the last several years, he has kept a mistress. I only mention it because the ton can be so catty, and as the polite world believes you a newlywed couple, it would not surprise me if one or two of the women whose advances he rejected might not relish taking you down a notch with a well-placed word.”
Gwen smoothed her skirts while trying to decide how she felt about this news. It was none of her concern, she decided finally. “Thank you. It is of no consequence to me with whom Gideon chooses to pass his time.”
Georgina studied Gwen with troubled eyes.
Glancing around, she saw everyone wore the same expression. She cleared her throat. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“I’m not sure if the rest of my knowledge will aid you, but it can’t hurt, can it?”
She wasn’t so sure about that. She wasn’t particularly pleased with the information delivered thus far.
“At the age of nineteen, Mr. Devereux set off for Calcutta where, it is assumed, he connected with relatives on his mother’s side. Of a certainty, he founded his shipping company during this juncture.
“He returned to England some three years later, married not long after his return and moved with his wife into the home in which you currently reside.”
At the mention of Gideon’s marriage, a pang went through her. Silly. Why should his having been married bother her?
Still, she heard herself ask, “What of the late Mrs. Devereux? Did any of you know her?”
Amelia, Nancy, Charlotte, and Georgina shook their heads.
Margaret eyed Harriet. “I did not move in her esteemed circles, being no more than a bookseller—unlike Harriet.”
Lady Harriet pursed her lips. “Me? You exaggerate, Margaret. Lady Frances came from the bluest-blood stock, along the lines of the Duchess of Ashwood. In town, at balls and such, she did not mix in the general melee, preferring to limit her circle to those in the upper echelons of society. She was known to have spent a fair amount of time at Averly Abbey, the duke’s Surrey estate.
I will say…” She shook her head. “It does not signify.”
Amelia crossed her arms over her chest and fixed the matriarch with a stern eye. “Lady Harriet, we must fortify Gwen with all the information we can gather.”
Lady Harriet nodded. “You make a fair point. My husband, Lord Oglethorpe, once told me he was surprised by Mr. Devereux’s marriage to Lady Fannie, not only because of her pedigree, which would seem to have ruled him out as a potential husband thanks to his stigma at birth, but because most people assumed Lord Ashwood and she shared a tendre for one another.
They were seen in each other’s company quite a bit during the summer before Mr. Devereux’s return. ”
This was all news to Gwen, despite her having gained insight into Gideon through his personal writings, which covered topics ranging from observations about the duke, the duchess, and his brother, Grayson, to anecdotes about Dirk Kennedy and Brice Tyrell.
From commentaries on the disparity of wealth and rights of men—especially in India—to the idiosyncrasies of sailors and the beauty of a sunrise.
But never did he mention affairs of the heart; leastwise, not in any of the journals Gwen had chanced to read. Not that it was any of her business.
Lady Harriet consulted her watch, an ornate timepiece attached to an equipage at her waist. “Oh, dear. Nearly half-past four.”
Amelia steepled her fingertips beneath her chin. “Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Mr. Devereux glimpses your transformation, Gwen, especially after having seen him…Never mind. Come, ladies, we must make haste to allow our Gwen all the time she needs for her toilette.”
Cups tinkled in their saucers. Used, small plates clattered as the ladies piled them on the tea cart. Reticules were gathered.
“I hardly need two and a half hours to dress,” Gwen insisted. “We’ve had no chance to talk privately until now.”
“No, no, Lady Amelia is correct,” Nancy said. “You don’t want to rush. It will take all the fun out of it.”
“We are due a meeting of the LLS,” Charlotte volunteered, eyes sparkling. “I vote we plan one at the earliest opportunity. Monday evening?”
Amelia clapped, obviously in favor. Nancy nodded with vigor.
“An excellent notion,” Lady Harriet agreed. “What with all the excitement surrounding Mr. Devereux’s return, gathering to discuss our latest reading completely slipped my mind.”
Margaret gave a ladylike snort. “My dear Harriet, I doubt the ladies’ urgency to meet again has anything to do with the plot of a gripping novel.”