Tempted By a Rake (Wicked Widows’ League #21)

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

She had been shocked by the revelations earlier, but they had not changed how Lavinia viewed Demetrius.

To think that he came from such humble beginnings. Not simply humble but destitute. Had Vicar Grant not rescued them, Demetrius could have ended up in Newgate, a thief, cutthroat, executed or transported.

Well, he had been a pickpocket, so Demetrius had already been well on the way to a life of crime, but not without good reason.

And for the girls…

She did not even want to think about what may have become of them.

There was no shame in his family circumstance, though she knew that Society would not agree with her. However, the one person who should be ashamed of himself was the former Marquess of Wingate—to turn his daughter out like that …well, it was quite disconcerting.

Oh, she understood that bastards were often denied, hidden away or rejected, but at least the first five children were legitimate regardless of the fact that their father had been a stable hand.

That was the world that she had been born into and the reason she had never brought shame to her own family, and that she had made certain that her actions were always above reproach, as well as their reputation, all so her family was protected. She also did not want them to be gossiped about as she had witnessed herself what became of a family ruined in the eyes of the ton .

Except, what did such earn her, besides the approval of a Society who would reject Demetrius and his siblings without even attempting to learn their names, based on their parentage and some being born on the wrong side of the blanket?

Did she really wish to be part of a Society that judged all men and women on their title and wealth, and nothing else?

Did she truly have a choice?

She did still have two younger sisters to guide and Lavinia wanted to make certain that they wed for love and not duty and that the gentlemen were not seducing them with words to gain their heart when all they truly wanted was the connection and their dowry. She did not want them to have a marriage such as hers, but what Octavia found the second time.

And, as much as she would hate to return to London, Lavinia would because she had a duty to her sisters. Not in the same sense that she had when she first arrived in Seaford, but a duty to make certain of their happiness, which was something none of her brothers would understand, but Octavia would.

For the first time, Demetrius was not looking forward to having dinner with Lavinia. It had been four hours since he left her side. Four hours for her to think about everything he had told her.

He wanted her—as a lover and a friend—for however long she allowed such, but feared that she would not only reject him, but would likely see him let go as her brother’s solicitor.

It was for the best and he had been a fool to hope that he might be her lover. He should not have even lusted after her to begin with. She was a lady.

And, if it came to be that he could no longer do work for the Duke of Claybrook, then Demetrius might very well move from London and take up residence here where his services were needed.

However, upon being granted entrance to Sea View, Lavinia greeted him with a bright smile and asked if he would like a glass of wine.

Tension immediately fled his body. He had not yet lost her.

“Dinner is served,” the housekeeper announced and Demetrius escorted Lavinia to the table as he had the nights before. There was comfort in doing so, a habit that he wished could continue long after Twelfth Night passed but knew that it would not be possible.

As before, while dining their conversations were general. He shared with her what he had read in the local papers, and general stories from their childhoods.

It was a perfectly normal conversation as if she had not asked him to be her lover earlier and he had not shared the truth of where his family had come from. One would think the conversations had never taken place.

As was their habit, after they’d finished eating, they returned to the parlor and this time Lavinia poured brandy for them both.

He took the same chair he always sat in while Lavinia settled onto the settee. He would like to be closer but feared that instead of talking he would begin kissing her, and he did not want to rush what they were coming to be.

“I think it is time that you shared something with me. You did mention a scandal involving your family.”

“It is truly not so important.”

Likely because it wasn’t as shocking as what he told her earlier. “It is important to me, Lavinia,” he said quietly.

Lavinia let out a sigh, her shoulders rising and then falling as if defeated.

“You knew that my brother, Millard, had died.”

“I am aware of the circumstances, and what came before while he was still in London,” Demetrius answered. “Is that the scandal?” If so, then Demetrius already knew what she would likely wish all of Society to forget.

“I suppose that was the first scandal.” With that, she sipped from the brandy, closed her eyes, then sighed again.

He couldn’t imagine how bad it could be. Her brother, Millard, had attempted murder twice, before he fell from a horse at the family estate and broke his neck.

“My sister and her husband, along with my husband, Cormac, and me, returned home for the funeral and decided to stay for a month. One night both Cormac and Octavia’s husband began drinking and the deeper they got into their cups, the more they argued until apparently Cormac insulted Octavia, her husband took offense and the next thing we knew the two were out in the pasture.”

“Your brother did not try to stop them?”

“By the time we reached them, they had already paced off. Leopold yelled for them to stop just as both turned and fired, striking the other. Octavia and I became widows at the same time.”

All he could do was stare at Lavinia, stunned by her revelation. Not only that, but not a single tear was shed and she explained the situation as if it was a fact that happened to someone else.

“It had been Autumn, which saved Octavia and me from having to go into Society the following spring so we were not forced to listen to the gossip not only involving my brother, but my husband and brother-in-law.”

“Were there whispers this past Season?”

“I did not hear any, but because we had already suffered scandal, I have made certain that nobody in the family stepped out of line and drew attention to us. There were times that Augustus worried me, but as a gentleman of three and twenty, and the brother of a duke, much is forgiven.”

“That was why you were concerned with Octavia taking a lover.”

“I feared that if anyone learned that it would reflect poorly on my sisters. Their futures should not be ruined because of the foolish actions of others.”

“Widows taking a lover is not truly frowned upon.”

“It still draws attention and I would rather that my family did nothing that invited comment, no matter how innocent or acceptable.”

It was becoming more and more clear why the woman he had met in London differed from the Lavinia he was coming to know at the cottage.

She had said that her life had been duty, and one that she had not shirked and it saddened him that she would likely close herself off again once the Season began.

This cottage, here and now, was likely the only time that she would ever ask for something for herself.

Yes, she had explained that to him before, but Demetrius had not truly understood it until now.

“Tell me about your husband, or your marriage.” He was most curious about the now deceased Marquess of Teviot. If that man had only kissed his wife once, what else had he failed to do? Though, Demetrius already had a very good idea.

“My marriage, I suppose, was no different than many marriages of duty.”

She shrugged.

“Even those marriages share more than one kiss.”

“My husband did not like to be touched, nor did he like touching others,” she answered.

“It saddens me that there was no tenderness and affection between you and your husband.”

“It was not necessary.”

“Yes, but to endure his attention, which is how I assume you approached the matter, so often, could not have been pleasant.”

She chuckled. “It was not so often. Maybe four or six times a year.”

“A year? Not a month, but a year?”

“Yes.”

Bloody hell! What had been wrong with Teviot. Whether he liked being touched or not, a man should want to visit his wife’s bed more than that. “Did he not require an heir?”

“He did.”

For the longest time she said nothing and he assumed she had nothing further to add, or perhaps it was too personal to be voiced.

“You do not need to tell me anything if you don’t wish to.”

“My husband did not want me.”

He nearly choked on his brandy. Had the Marquess of Teviot been blind or dead already?

“Not only did my husband forget that he had a wife, but he also had to be reminded that he needed an heir and to visit my bed. His mother would inquire if I was increasing yet. When I said that I was not, she’d practically glare at her son.”

“Good God!”

“My husband would then drink more whisky then normal, visit my bed and I think tried to give me pleasure, which I certainly never experienced, gave up, did what was necessary then let me be.”

All he could do was stare at her.

“He would then be locked away in his sleeping chamber for at least a few days because of the anxiety he suffered from having to be in physical contact with me. Such was my marriage.”

Lavinia lifted her glass of brandy and took a deep drink. “The next morning, his mother would always ask if he had done his duty.”

“I should hope that these conversations at least took place privately.”

She snorted. “They took place at the breakfast table, or the dinner table, with his family seated with us. My humiliation was on view for all.”

Demetrius could not understand why her husband had not visited her bed more often, or why he had such an aversion to touching. Further, whether he liked her or not, a marquess needs an heir.

But the most baffling was that Lavinia was beautiful and enticing, and Demetrius had wanted her since the moment he first saw her, yet her husband…He did not know what to think.