Page 29 of Seducing the Marquess (Lords and Ladies in Love 1)

The woman cast her a generous smile. “And we enjoy your company, as well. Things are always so pleasant with you and Devon. Too many couples spend their time together bickering, making it most uncomfortable for those around them.”

An opening! “Yes. I agree, and understand what you mean. I have found that to be so, myself.” Eugenia’s brain was in a whirl. Lady Bedford had given her the opportunity she needed. But how to pry into the couple’s private life without appearing boorish?

“But then not all marriages are the love match you and Bedford enjoy.” Eugenia held her breath, waiting for her companion to gasp at her forwardness.

Lady Bedford smiled and said, “Yes. I’m afraid Bedford and I are quite smitten with each other.”

Eugenia relaxed. No censure in the woman’s voice.

Knowing she did not have a great deal of time until the gentlemen returned, and this might be her only chance to gain insight, she lowered her voice and said, “How, then, do you deal with his mistress?”

Lady Bedford reared back. “What? Who said Bedford had a mistress?”

Confused, Eugenia placed her hand on the woman’s arm. “Please don’t be distressed, I assumed all the gentlemen had mistresses.” Isn’t that what her mother had told her for years? She’d never had close female friends, since Mother had kept her quite supervised and, once she’d entered the Marriage Mart, her reputation had kept her from forming any sort of attachments with the other girls.

The older woman patted her hand. “No, my dear. Not all gentlemen have mistresses, and I’m sorry you believed that. To answer your question, if Bedford took a mistress, I am afraid I would shoot him with his own pistol.”

Lady Bedford sat back and studied Eugenia, a knowing smile on her face. “Now is your chance, my dear. Keep him happy at home.”

She didn’t need any more words to understand what Lady Bedford was telling her. And she agreed. She intended to make Devon so happy at home he would have trouble walking.

Her face flushed, and she covered her mouth as she giggled. Lady Bedford nodded. “Indeed.”

…

Devon settled into the comfortable carriage as the driver closed the door. He looked across the space at his wife, again admiring the beauty and softness that had surrounded her of late. Could this new Eugenia be with child? He couldn’t think of any other explanation for her different—and at times strange—behavior.

It had rattled him so much he’d skipped visiting her bed for more than a week now. Despite what he considered the utmost control he’d always had over his manly urges, he feared lying with her would unleash something inside him he’d always kept in check. And if she were, indeed, with child, it might harm them both in some way.

They were on their way to a ball for Lord and Lady Spencer’s youngest daughter, Genevieve’s, come-out. Lately, he’d been considering how he would prefer to retire to the country. He’d had enough of social life and all the evenings out. On some days, Parliament, itself, was a chore. What he wanted was peace and quiet, a child or two to raise, and his wife by his side.

His work in Parliament had lost some of its draw. After Eugenia had expressed her opinion on the bill he was sponsoring, he found himself second-guessing not only the bill, but a great deal about himself.

He’d always considered himself a compassionate man. Now he realized that his concerns had been for those who were certainly not in need. Why had he never considered the plight of the un

derclass, the poor of London who lived in such dire circumstances? The devil take it, if this kept up, he would have to switch to the Whig party!

All those thoughts left him unsettled. He glanced at Eugenia, his wife. The woman he’d known from the time he had set eyes on her that she would be his. Things had been just as he’d expected until Eugenia had started to behave in an unusual way. Though once he’d gotten past his surprise, he found himself quite pleased.

He’d also discovered his feelings for her had changed. She’d begun to mean more to him than he had expected. He’d never intended to fall in love with his wife. He had wanted, searched for, and secured, the type of woman who would complete his life plans. Not someone who would disrupt those plans by bringing emotions into the mix.

He studied her as he ruminated. Her slim neck with small curls resting against her pale skin. Her eyes were turned toward the window, but he knew them to be crystal blue. If he brought her to passion, would they darken?

“Have you thought more about the bill I am sponsoring in Parliament?” He blurted out the words, seeking to distract his thoughts, but startled Eugenia, who jumped slightly.

“As a matter of fact, I have, my—”

“Please,” he smiled, “no more ‘my lord’.”

The semidarkness of the carriage, with the soft glow of the lamp alongside her head, stirred all the feelings he was attempting to quell. “And what are your thoughts, my dear?”

“I believe that passing laws to cause those in need more difficult times is unkind.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times. “Truly?”

Was that really the best he could come up with? He’d never expected his wife to disagree with him, nor to offer a comment that appeared to be censure. “Do you then believe I am an unkind person?”

She quickly shook her head. “Not at all. I think perhaps you haven’t thought it through?”