But Anthony added, with a baleful look passed on to James, “It’s a longstanding point of disagreement, what we call her, but she’s our favorite niece. The four of us raised her, you know, after our sister died.”
Georgina could not, by any means, picture that. But as long as this Regan-Reggie was merely related to James, she lost interest in her. Still, even if Georgina wasn’t going to be around long, she really ought to make a point of learning a bit more about this large family of his, if just to keep her dander from rising each time she heard a female name in connection with his. It would have been nice if he had bothered to sort it all out for her before they got here, but he had been very closed-mouthed about his family—possibly to make sure she was closed-mouthed about hers. Fair was fair, after all.
Chapter Forty-two
“Mendoget married, you know,” Georgina said reasonably, if a bit sarcastically. “They even do it on a regular basis, same as women do. So would someone mind telling me why the first and so far unanimous reaction to James’s getting married is shock, followed closely by disbelief? For God’s sake, he’s not a monk.”
“You’re absolutely right. No one couldeveraccuse him of being that.” And the speaker went into a round of giggles.
Reggie, or Regan, as the case were, turned out to actually be Regina Eden, viscountess of Montieth. But she was a very young viscountess, only twenty years old, and no bigger than Georgina. And no one could deny that she was a member of the Malory clan, at least Anthony and Jeremy’s side of it, for she had the same black hair and cobalt-blue eyes that they’d been born with. But Georgina was to learn that they were the exceptions, along with Amy, one of Edward’s daughters. All of the other Malorys resembled James, being blond and mostly green-eyed.
Georgina also found, to her relief, that Regina Eden was immensely likable. In quick order she found her to be lively, charming, open, teasing, and quite, quite outspoken. She’d been bubbling with good humor ever since she’d arrived earlier that afternoon, but especially after she’d asked James, “And which mistress did you lend my clothes to?” since she hadn’t been home for the borrowing of them. And while James was mulling over the easiest way to break the news, Anthony simply couldn’t resist answering, “The one he married, puss.” Fortunately, the girl had been sitting down at the time. But Georgina had heard at least nine times, “I don’t believe it”—she was counting—and there’d been a good ten times, “Oh, this is famous!” and that in the space of only a few hours.
Georgina was upstairs now having her hair artfully arranged by Roslynn’s maid, Nettie MacDonald, a feisty Scot of middle years whose soft brogue and softer green eyes had Georgina thinking how Mac would really like this woman. Roslynn and Regina were also present, supposedly to make sure she was turned out just right to meet the elders, James’s older brothers, but actually they were making sure she didn’t get nervous by regaling her with amusing anecdotes about the family and answering all her questions.
“I suppose it does seem a bit strange to someone who isn’t familiar with Uncle James’s history.” Regina had quieted down enough to answer Georgina’s question. “This is a man who swore he would never marry, and no one doubted he was absolutely serious. But to understand why, you have to realize he was a…well, he…”
“Was a connoisseur of women?” Georgina supplied helpfully.
“Why, that’s a splendid way to put it! I’ve said the same myself.”
Georgina only smiled. Roslynn rolled her eyes. She’d heard her Anthony described the same way by this minx, but she preferred to call a rake a rake.
“But Uncle James wasn’t just a connoisseur,” Regina went on to explain. “And if I may be blunt…?”
“By all means,” Georgina replied.
But Roslynn warned first, “Now don’t try to make her jealous, Reggie.”
“Of past peccadilloes?” The girl snorted. “I for one, am eternally grateful for every one of my Nicholas’s past mistresses. Without the experience—”
“I think we get your drift, m’dear,” Roslynn cut in, and couldn’t help grinning. “And we might even agree,” she added, seeing that Georgina was smiling, too.
“Well, as I was saying, Uncle James was a bit more than just a connoisseur of women. For a while after he first embarked on what was to be a very jaded career, you might have called him a glutton. Morning, noon, and night, and never with the same woman.”
“Oh, bosh,” Roslynn scoffed. “Morning, noon,andnight?”
And Georgina nearly choked, holding her breath, waiting to hear that ridiculous “never with the same woman,” questioned, too, but apparently that part wasn’t in doubt.
“It’s perfectly true,” Regina insisted. “Ask Tony if you don’t believe me, or Uncle Jason, whose misfortune it was to try and curb James’s wildness while he was still living at home—unsuccessfully, I might add. Of course, half of what Uncle James ever did was just to rile Jason. But Jameswaswild. From the youngest age, he always went his own way, always had to be different from his brothers. It’s no wonder he had his first duel before he was even twenty. ’Course he won that one. He’s won them all, don’t you know. Jason was a superb marksman, after all, and he taught all his brothers. Anthony and James, though, developed a fondness for fisticuffs, too, and many of their challenges were seen to in the ring rather than the dueling field.”
“At least that’s not so lethal.”
“Oh, he never actually killed anyone on the field of honor, at least not that I recall hearing about. It’s the angry challenger who usually tries to kill his opponent.”
“Anthony used to ask his opponents where they would like to receive their wounds,” Roslynn put in. “A question like that really undermines a chap’s confidence.”
Regina giggled. “But who do you think he picked that habit up from?”
“James?”
“The very one.”
Georgina was beginning to wish she hadn’t started this. “But you still haven’t really answered my question.”
“It’s all part and parcel, m’dear. By the time Uncle James moved to London, he was already a disreputable rakehell. But he no longer chased everything in skirts, because he didn’t have to. By then, they were chasing him. And most of the women throwing themselves at him were married women.”
“I think I’m beginning to understand,” Georgina said.
