The Aristocrat's Lady. Mary Moore

not have believed such a relationship possible had not his own best friend, Lord Hampton, had such a friendship with the woman he had eventually married. There had been the rub! Peter had been adamant that they were just friends for years. The problem was, it had ended in their marriage. Beth was a wonderful woman, but Devlin found it hard to believe that their relationship as friends had only been the natural incline of deeper feelings. Peter even went so far as to say that having been friends first only increased the satisfaction in their marriage. Devlin felt only doubt.

      But it was no use. He had allowed his curiosity to override his judgment, and he knew he would be unable to dismiss the intriguing Lady Nicole. He told himself he only wished to enjoy the remainder of the Season with a light flirtation. He would feel no remorse, as both of them had clearly dismissed marriage the night they met.

      He felt her forcibly lighten her mood next to him. She apologized and drew his attention back to his earlier request. “My lord, there is no mystery or excitement to my life. I am afraid you shall be terribly disappointed if you have truly been waiting weeks to hear of it!” Her laughter delighted him. He found he enjoyed making her laugh and that, too, was a new feeling to him.

      “I have no reluctance to tell you, my lord, I only fear boring you to tears. I would not be able to face my family should you send me home alone in your curricle.”

      “You are trying to throw me off the scent, my dear, but to no avail. I am inclined to be gregarious this afternoon. Tell me about your home. Or you may talk of your parents, how well you watercolor—whatever interests you.” He paused for a moment. “And as we have agreed that we shall become fast friends, I would be honored if you would call me Jared.”

      “My lord, you cannot be serious?” she asked incredulously. “You know how very improper that would be. Why, the first time anyone heard me call you such, I would be labeled forward and be ostracized from the little of the ton that accepts me now.” She thought he must be teasing her again, so she smiled as she said, “Or is that your diabolical plan?”

      He was perfectly serious in reply, however. “Perhaps you could use my name when we are alone, as now, and my title when others are present?”

      “I am afraid you give me far too much credit! I should not be able to carry it off, my lord,” she said. “I would be standing next to one of the patronesses of the hallowed halls of Almack’s and say, quite without thinking, ‘Jared, pray tell me how your dear grandmother is.’” She smiled wickedly as he burst out laughing. “There would not be enough smelling salts in all of England to revive the matrons!”

      “Minx,” he said, in a mischievous tone. “Very well, I shall forgo your downfall in Society, for now. But I beg a compromise. May we not agree on Devlin? Your address of me in public, as in private, will prevent the censure of the great ladies of Almack’s.”

      “That seems fair, my lord … urn, Devlin. In return, you must know that the ones closest to me do not call me Nicole. My friends call me Nick or Nicky. Should it please you, feel free to address me as such.” She laughed a bit as she continued, “Indeed, you quite remind me of my father when you refer to me as Nicole. He is the only one who ever did so.”

      “Do not fly up into the boughs with me. Despite your strict sense of propriety, you will not deter me from calling you Nicole. You see, I believe I can safely use your Christian name in private yet appear quite formal in public. And I defy anyone to call such a beautiful woman Nick!”

      He lowered his voice to a thoughtful timbre. “If it would not offend the memory you have of your father, I would greatly cherish the honor of calling you Nicole.”

      She underwent another mood change, but it did not appear to be a dark one as before. He leaned closer to hear her softly spoken words and quickly had the thought that he liked the physical closeness communicating with her required.

      “My lord … I mean Devlin, if you are sincere in your wish, you may certainly call me Nicole.” With downcast eyes she continued, “Indeed, I think my father would have liked you very much, and would be glad to know that someone carries on the tradition. And thank you for the wonderful compliment.”

      He thought she was trying to cover embarrassment by teasing him. “Had you ever seen me at home riding astride Solomon, you would have no trouble addressing me as Nick!”

      He determined to keep her thoughts buoyed. “If that was a wonderful compliment, I believe you have been hanging around some very dull dogs. It appears I will not have to pull out all of the stops to impress you. And I think I should give a king’s ransom to see you riding astride!” Her smile satisfied him.

      He teased as well, but he was acutely aware of times she faced an inner struggle and would gently nudge her back to the present with a common question or remark.

      “Very well,” she laughed. “You must forgive my wandering mind. There is so much to enjoy that I hate to spoil it. I would much prefer to hear about the places you have traveled or people you have met.” Nicole paused, chewing on her lower lip. “To own the truth, I should even like to know about your clubs and … Tattersalls! Why do they think a woman should not purchase her own horses?” She seemed to shake herself mentally. “In any event, as those places are closed to women, I have no way to picture them.”

      Devlin laughed wholeheartedly. He thought she might be expecting a set-down and was pleased to see the smile on her face.

      “I hope, Nicole, we shall have many more such outings and I promise to tell you all of the secrets of a man’s world in London. Today, however, we are talking of you.”

      She was embarrassed at first, but she did as he asked. “I am three and twenty years old, so you can see that I am quite on the shelf! I grew up on our estate in Cheltenham. Beaufort Hall is such a beautiful place, and my father was only really happy when he was there. The only time he went to Town was to do his duty as a Member of Parliament.”

      Nicole averted her eyes, a habit he noticed she frequently employed. “He believed the love of God, sincerity and loyalty, friendship, caring for others, and honesty to be the Golden Rule of one’s life and not the exception.” She stopped for a moment, and then added, “I only wish it were possible for us to live up to those standards.” She reddened and finished, “I am afraid I often fall short.”

      Devlin felt the need to reassure her. “I know some of the world do not concern themselves overmuch with honesty and loyalty. However, we cannot assume the guilt of others. You and I have already decided upon candidness, have we not?”

      Nicole’s brows furrowed for an instant, but it was gone so quickly he was not entirely sure it was ever there.

      “If only we could live with complete honesty, what a better world it would be.” She gave a pregnant pause, and then continued, he thought, in a sardonic way. “We would have to tell poor Lady Swathmore her turbans were monstrous and Sir Richard that his famous waistcoats were abominable.”

      He chuckled at the picture she presented, though her words did not convey what she had actually been thinking. He wondered at the kind of problems this lovely woman faced that sometimes seemed to take her somewhere else, while all the time remaining in his presence.

      “What else would you like to know, my lord?”

      “When you spoke of your father, a distant memory came to me about your parents. I believe your mother is the daughter of a viscount, is she not? And she was his only child, I think?”

      “Yes, she was. Her father had been somewhat displeased not to have a male heir, but he did not disdain the distant cousin who would inherit the title. As several of my grandfather’s estates were not entailed, he specifically willed property and a generous dowry to Mama. But when she married Papa, she gave up the glitter of Town life to live with him at Beaufort Hall.”

      “But your father, he was one of … seven, if I remember correctly.”

      “You are correct. Father knew he would inherit the title, but he often lamented being the oldest. Had he not been, I believe he would