is no longer with us to be envious of you.”
“You think perhaps we ought to leave, so we might not miss dinner?”
Adam realized that he had been staring at her for quite some time now. “What? Oh yes.” He escorted her to their coach.
As Carlton House came into view, their coach joined a line of other conveyances that waited to drop their passengers off in front of the large palace doors. Carlton House was quite the sight when the king chose to entertain. The dozens of windows that faced the south side of Pall Mall were lit, illuminating the area like daylight. The vast structure was indeed a palace in all but name.
Having been here once before, Adam was accustomed to its extravagant opulence, starting with the hexastyle portico of Corinthian columns that led to a foyer. Some of the world’s finest works of art hung upon the walls, already drawing admiring looks from other guests who had never been here before.
Letty kept close to him; she linked her arm through his as they followed the stream of guests inside. They entered a suite of rooms with its enfilade opened to allow for a long banquet table. Adam nodded at those he recognized. But when he glimpsed Avery Russell at the far edge of the dining room amongst a cluster of other guests, they barely shared a glance. They dared not acknowledge each other more than that.
“Adam, you devil,” a familiar voice broke in. “How are you?”
Adam turned to see the Duke of Essex with his wife, Emily, at his side. Godric was a towering wall of muscle with dark hair and flashing green eyes that often sparked with a dangerous temper toward fools. It was said the violet-eyed beauty at his side was the only creature in the world who could tame him.
“Godric,” Adam greeted. “We missed you at the wedding.”
“I know. Damned pity to miss it. We were in the country when we heard that you were getting leg-shackled. I offer my belated congratulations.”
Godric bowed his head to Letty. “Lady Morrey, it is a pleasure to see you again.”
“Your Grace,” she answered with a blush. Her gaze then turned to Emily, and the two women separated themselves from the men to speak.
“So, married. Never imagined you would do it,” Godric said. “Pembroke said you weren’t the sort to settle down.”
How thoughtful James was to try to hide the real reason in conversation with others—not that it mattered. A number of titled men remained bachelors all their lives, with no concern as to who would be their heirs. He had not exactly cultivated that reputation, but James apparently thought he needed to, likely in order to protect his cover.
“Yes, well, when the right woman is thrust upon you, it is hard to say no.” He watched his wife and the pretty young duchess, wishing they would stay safely away from the windows and dark corners of the room. Damnation, he was going to see assassins in the wings at every turn until he could end the threat to Letty’s life.
“I agree with that. Marriage was an unexpected surprise for me as well. My little hellion thought she could refuse me too, until I finally convinced her otherwise. Damned curious thing to meet a woman who wanted me for me and not my title when she finally agreed to marry me.”
“It’s lucky you kidnapped her when you did, or else Pembroke may have married her rather than you.”
“Do not remind me,” Godric grumbled. “I was never so glad as when he married. The man is a bloody saint, and all the women adore him. If only they knew he was a member of your wicked club. They would not think him so saintly then.”
Adam laughed. “Even then, he is still a better man than the rest of us. Imagine how I feel having him as a brother-in-law.”
Godric laughed. “Isn’t that a sobering thought?”
The dinner gong sounded, and everyone began to pair up for dinner. Adam and Godric rejoined their wives and proceeded to the banquet table.
“You are up here.” Adam led Letty toward the head of the table. A tall man in the finest clothes money could buy stood at the head of the table, and Letty gasped at the sight of the king.
King George IV was no longer in his prime at sixty years of age, but he still struck a dashing figure, if a bit rounder at the edges. The king had been raised a handsome, high-spirited boy,