Read Angel's Devil for Free Online Page B

intelligence to the
list."
    She nodded
again. "Very well, my lord." Angel gave a slow smile she was unable
to suppress. "I may have someone in mind for you." A brief, guilty
thought crossed by her, but she ignored it. James Faring might truly wish for a
wife, but she would show him that he couldn't simply pick a few choice
ingredients and be happy with the results.
    "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Simon
asked.
     
    Before the
conversation could continue, James's grandmother returned and Miss Graham had
to take her leave. Elizabeth invited both of her grandsons to supper, then left
them. With Angelique gone, the drawing room seemed quieter and darker, and
James rose to go find something with which to occupy himself.
    "James,
may I speak to you for a moment?" Simon returned from the doorway' where
be had parted from his betrothed.
    "That
sounds rather formal," the marquis commented, nodding and sitting back
again.
    "You seem
to . . . get along rather well with Angel." That didn't sound promising.
James raised an eyebrow.
    "That was
an argument we were having, Simon."
    "You like
to argue," his cousin pointed out. "You always have."
    "Well,
excuse me for enjoying a spirited conversation. I thought you'd be happy that
Lady Angelique and I are dealing well."
    "I am. And
stop being so hostile," Simon scowled, walking over to pour himself a
brandy. He raised the decanter in James' direction. "Thirsty?"
    The marquis
shook his head. "No. And I'm not being hostile."
    "You
shouldn't be harassing Angel. It's bad enough that her parents are half ready
to call off the wedding simply because the Devil's returned to London."
    A muscle in the
marquis' lean cheek twitched. "My apologies, cousin," he murmured,
"if my having survived Waterloo is upsetting your wedding plans."
    Simon flushed.
"That's not what I meant."
    "Well
then, please, explain exactly what it is you did mean."
    "James, I
wanted . . . to ask your assistance."
    "You've a
funny way of going about it." He gestured in Simon's direction.
"Continue."
    "You know
Angel and I don't want to wait until next April to marry," his cousin said
slowly, and the marquis nodded.
    "So I
gathered."
    Simon leaned
back against the window sill. "Last night I happened to notice her
mother's reaction to seeing the two of you waltzing."
    "So you
want me to stay away from her." The marquis stood, turning away so Simon
wouldn't see how much that hurt. "Very well."     .
    "No,
James, I don't want you to stay away from Angel. Just the opposite, in
fact."
    Thinking he
must have heard wrong, Abbonley stopped halfway to the door and turned to stare
at Simon. "What?"
    "Her
parents are concerned that perhaps we've rushed our decision to marry. What if
they're right?"
    James frowned,
wondering why he hoped that what he was hearing was true. "Simon, it's
certainly no concern of mine if you and Lady Angelique have changed—"
    Shaking his
head, Simon took a step forward. "What I mean is, what if the Marquis of
Abbonley began showing interest in Angel? If they realized that, her parents
would surely—"
    James shook his
head. "Absolutely not, Simon. I won't step between you and a woman. Ever. If
I've learned one damned lesson, it's that one."
    Simon paled.
"It wouldn't be like . . . Desiree," he muttered. James turned again
for the door, and Simon strode after him. "James, I'm sorry. I meant it
would only be for show. It would only be to convince her parents that delaying
the wedding would be a mistake." He lowered his hand. "That they'd be
better off if they allowed us to wed immediately.”
    "No,
Simon."
    His cousin
paused. "You owe me, James:'
    James turned to
look at him. "l owe you?" he repeated slowly.
    "I've
spent most of my adult life helping you make your escape, literally and
figuratively, out of women's bedchambers, making certain you returned home
safely when you were too foxed to see straight and had just gambled some lord
or other out of half his birthright, and," Simon hesitated for a