A Scandalous Secret Read Free Page B

didn’t expect her so soon.”
    “So, you know her then?”
    “Of course… She must have been twelve, thirteen when I first met her. The four of us had gone up Briarstrath.” Staveley didn’t have to say who the four of them were. He could only mean himself, James MacFadyn, Simon Greywood, and Alexander Everett. “She was such a spitfire. Never let James get away with anything.”
    “What do you know about the Battle at Vitoria?”
    Staveley paused before answering and furrowed his brow in thought. “Just what was in the papers. It was a few months ago. A decisive victory for the Allies. Wellington was in command…And from what James said, that’s where Hannah’s husband was wounded. Cavalry officer with the Scots Greys.”
    Caroline nodded sadly. “Major Campbell died a week later, apparently.” She clutched her husband’s lapel in her hands. “I’m so glad to have you, darling.”
    Staveley softly brushed his lips across hers. “I’m glad to have you too… Am I to take it that Lady Hannah is the reason for your dinner?”
    Her husband knew her very well. Caroline nodded. “She doesn’t know anyone here except for the Carterets, and you know how tiring Beth can be. I can’t very well have a ball or soiree or something. There’d be dancing, and…well, she’s only two months into her mourning. So I think a small dinner would be appropriate, don’t you think so?”
    “You would know best, my dear.”
    “Do you suppose I could coerce Kelfield into attending? With your sisters, I’ll need to round out my numbers. So even after Clayworth and Astwick, I’m still a man short.”
    Staveley’s muscles tensed beneath her. “That’s a very bad idea, Caroline.”
    Well, the duke didn’t generally attend such mundane events, but she’d asked him for favors in the past. “It’s just one night. He can go back to his debauched lifestyle the next day.”
    “I don’t mean Kelfield.” Staveley frowned. “I’m sure he’d do anything you asked. But Astwick and Clayworth are another matter altogether.”
    That was the most ludicrous thing Caroline had ever heard, and she had heard many ludicrous things in her life. “Don’t be ridiculous. Clayworth is a widower himself, and Astwick lightens the mood of any gathering. Hannah could use a bit of that, I think. Besides, I thought you were fond of both of them.”
    Staveley frowned, making him look suddenly serious. “I am fond of them. But James is another matter, entirely. He cannot abide Astwick, and if I’m not mistaken, the feeling is mutual. Your usual gatherings are much larger, and in the past they’ve been able to avoid each other.”
    Strange. It was unlike James to dislike anyone. Especially someone as gregarious and generous as Chet. But now that Staveley mentioned it, she did seem to remember that Astwick didn’t care for James either; her brother, Robert, had said something to that effect at one time or another. But she had no idea what had caused the animosity, Robert had never said. “Do you know why they dislike each other?”
    “Let it be, Caroline.”
    She shifted to look in his eyes. “I don’t want to let it be. You have a close group of friends, and so do I. It’s silly that we can’t all sit down together for dinner. So, tell me, David, what is the problem?”
    Staveley sighed. He could hedge all he wanted to, but after a dozen years of marriage they both knew he’d relent eventually. The question was, how long would it take for him to give in. “You, my dear, have meddled enough in other people’s lives—”
    “David Bertram Benton! I do not meddle. I help. And the only people I’ve helped within recent memory are Robert and Lydia and then Lucas and Juliet. And we both know those stories ended happily, thanks to me. Now, tell me what you know about the situation, Staveley, or I’ll simply ask Chet myself.”
    He pursed his lips. “You are the most stubborn woman. Do you know that?”
    “So Robert tells me. Proceed,