Never a Gentleman Read Online Free PDF Page A

explain much.”
    He shook his head, a bit disconcerted by her poise. “Kate,” he said, turning to seat his cousin. “Who sent you the message
     to meet me?”
    She sat down. “I thought you did. I assume I was wrong.”
    “You were. Where did you receive it?”
    “We were at a country weekend at Marcus Drake’s. We got as far as Canterbury last night.”
    That brought Diccan’s head around sharply. “Drake? Who knew you were there?”
    Kate gave him a grin. “Everyone, I imagine. The notice was in the society pages.”
    Even so. Marcus Belden, Earl of Drake, was the one who had asked Diccan to meet with Evenham. Could hesomehow be involved in this latest debacle? Diccan didn’t want to think so.
    “The note did look to be in your hand, Diccan,” Kate said, bringing his attention back. “Do you know why?”
    “I have been involved in some delicate negotiations. The postwar map of Europe and all.” He shrugged, hoping he looked convincing.
     “Someone might have wanted me to stumble.”
    Kate raised her head. “They finally gave you a real job?”
    Diccan flashed her a smile. “Purely by attrition, my dear. The usual suspects are too busy.”
    She gave him a brisk nod. “Well, then, I believe an apology is due.”
    Diccan flinched from the thought. He tried one last time to believe that Grace Fairchild had orchestrated her own runaway
     marriage. One look at the high color on her ashen cheeks put paid to that. She was, just as he’d suspected, a pawn. So he
     stood, and he gave Miss Fairchild a credible bow.
    “I had no right to cast aspersions on your character,” he said. “I apologize.”
    And oddly, he got a smile in return. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself. I can’t imagine your having any other
     reaction to finding a woman you didn’t expect in your bed. I would be happy to help any way I can to find out how. And why.”
    Diccan nodded, already focused on the quickest way to settle the business. “Of course,” he said. “Now then, my schedule is
     tight, so we must get on with making plans. Propitiously we’re in Canterbury, and the good archbishop is one of those ubiquitous
     cousins. I should be able to obtain a special license by the afternoon. Do you wish to stay here, or repair to London for
     the ceremony?”
    Kate looked toward Miss Fairchild, who sat suddenly silent. “Oh, London,” Kate said. “It will make it look less like a hole-in-the-wall
     event.”
    Diccan nodded absently, beginning to pace. “Good. I have to get there as quickly as possible anyway. I can send someone ahead
     to reserve rooms at the Pulteney. When Biddle finds us, he can begin to move my things from the Albany.” A sudden dread had
     him eying his cousin with disfavor. “You don’t expect the pater to preside over the nuptials, do you?”
    Kate sighed. “It would look odd if your father were excluded, Diccan. He is a bishop, after all.”
    That was the last straw. All he needed to complete this farce was to see his father in one of his bouts of self-righteous
     indignation. When the maid came, Diccan would ask for hemlock in his coffee.
    “Excuse me,” Grace spoke up.
    Diccan stopped. The deuce. He’d all but forgotten her sitting there. “Yes?”
    “Am I involved in these plans?”
    He blinked. Surely she wasn’t that dense. “Of course you are. What did you think?”
    “I thought you might have consulted me.”
    The expression on her face was serene, but Diccan could see the pulse in her neck quicken. “What? You’d rather be married
     in Canterbury? Don’t blame you. The pater’s a regular tartar.”
    “I’d rather not be married at all.”
    It took a second for that to sink in. “You have no choice,” he snapped, thinking of Thornton.
    “Of course I do,” she said with a slight smile. “And my choice is that you go on about your business, and I’ll go home to
     mine.”
    Diccan wasn’t certain just why he was so furious. She had just given him a way out.