The Devil's Match by Victoria Vane Read Free Book Online Page A

it a beginning of something more. But he had broken it
off with callous indifference, incinerating her unspoken hopes to
ashes.
    “Wedlock should be founded on mutual respect and
genuine affection. It is also helpful if you share one another’s
likes and dislikes or at the least understand them.” All of which
had been lacking with DeVere. She neither liked, trusted,
understood, nor respected him, but still he had charmed and seduced
her, body and soul.
    “I respect and admire Hew immensely,” Vesta
said. “And we have a surprising number of likes in common. There is
much we will enjoy together—horses, hunting, hounds, and
especially, you-know-what.” Vesta giggled.
    “But do you respect him enough to obey
him, Vesta? For when a woman weds, she is no longer a person in her
own right. As Hew’s wife, you must permit him to guide you in all
things. By law and nature, you will belong to him.”
    “Hew would never be unreasonable,” Vesta
said.
    “How can you know that? You may have quite
different opinions on what is reasonable—your manner of courtship,
for example. I wonder, did Hew think drugging and kidnapping him
perfectly reasonable?”
    Vesta pouted. “The circumstances required
drastic measures. He has since agreed that the ends justified the
means.”
    “How surprisingly conciliatory,” Diana
remarked with a dry smile. “I’m simply pointing out that if you wed, you must allow him to
govern you, or you will both be miserable.”
    “But surely you did not always agree with Lord
Reggie.”
    “In over ten years of marriage, I deferred to
him in all things...until his actions brought us to the brink of
ruin. It was only then, when I knew all was lost, that I chose to
make my own decisions. My dear, are you certain this is what you
want?”
    “Yes, Aunt Di. Above all things. Papa has agreed
as long as we call the banns, and he even promised not to mortally
harm Hew when he departed.” Vesta knelt beside Diana and clasped
both of her godmother’s hands in a plaintive gesture. “Please,
won’t you give your blessing, as well? Don’t you think Mama would
have done so?”
    “Yes, Vesta,” Diana reluctantly agreed. “Your
mother was inordinately fond of Hew, and I am certain she would
have been the most delighted of all. Of course, you both have my
blessing.”
    “Oh, Aunt Di!” Vesta threw her arms around
Diana’s neck. “Then you must be my matron of honor! Uncle Vic will,
of course, be Hew’s best man. To have both my godparents stand up
with us will be a dream come true.”
    Diana’s heart sank. The prospect of reuniting
with DeVere in such intimate circumstances might be Vesta’s dream,
but it was Diana’s worst nightmare.
    ***
    “There is a female creature wishing to see you, my lady.” Polly
gave a sniff of disdain.
    “Oh?” Diana raised a finely arched brow. “Have
you a name or a calling card for this so-called creature?”
    “She says she’s a salmon, an acquaintance of
Lord DeVere. I say she looks right fishy, indeed.”
    “You say Lord DeVere has sent her?”
    “She ain’t the least respectable, my lady—paint
on her eyes and lips and wearing some outlandish, heathenish dress.
Shall I turn her away?”
    “Is she alone?”
    “Nay, but her footman’s equally queer—a behemoth
beturbaned blackamoor!”
    Diana frowned. “That’s peculiar indeed. No,
Polly. Tell her I am at home, and please show her to the drawing
room.”
    A few minutes later, Diana paused on the
threshold to study her unexpected caller. The woman was, indeed, as
exotic and incongruous as Polly had described her. She was garbed
in diaphanous Turkish trousers and a silk tunic in jewel tones with
an exquisitely embroidered girdle about her waist. Rings covered
her fingers, and gold bracelets jangled on both arms. Her hair was
black as sable and coiled in a braid atop her head with a cap and
scarf secured by a jeweled clip draping from her coronet of hair to
partially conceal the left side of her face.