Prologue
London, July 1814
Beau Bellham, the Marquess of Bellingham, was on alert. He was always on alert when he went out drinking with friends. As the only one not imbibing, he took the responsibility of ensuring nothing untoward happened. Beau didn’t drink. But he also didn’t fault his friends for doing so. He merely wanted to ensure they all made it home safely.
They were sitting at a four-person table in an alcove near a window at The Curious Goat Inn, and Beau was waiting for the perfect opportunity to introduce an idea to his friends that they might just find…ludicrous. He’d been mulling over the various ways one might introduce a ludicrous subject to one’s closest friends when Kendall sat down his mug on the rough-hewn tabletop and said, “I think it’s time I find a wife.”
Beau’s head snapped to face him. Apparently, Kendall would be the first to introduce a ludicrous notion tonight.
Worth and Clayton were also staring at Kendall as if the man had lost his mind. Now, this stood to be an interesting conversation. An interesting conversation, indeed.
As usual, Rhys Sheffield, the Duke of Worthington, was the first to speak. Despite his late father’s influence, Worth was a good man. A bit of rogue when it came to ladies and a dedicated gambler, Worth enjoyed a good competition, and while he did his best to pretend as if he was devil-may-care, Beau knew that Worth would sacrifice his life for his country if it came to it. He nearly had once.
Shaking his head vigorously in response to Kendall’s statement, Worth winced and sucked in his breath. “A wife? Good God, man! There’s no need to rush into anything so…permanent.”
“We’re not getting any younger,” Kendall replied.
“On the contrary,” Worth continued, “at nine and twenty, we’re pups. My father was over fifty when I was born.”
Kendall was dedicated to his role as a new earl after the death of his brother from consumption. He took the title and its responsibilities quite seriously. Specifically, he’d taken up the cause of the Employment Bill his brother had been so dedicated to getting passed in Parliament before his death. But with this talk of marriage, Kendall was clearly forgetting what had happened the last time he’d been betrothed.
Beau decided it was time to speak. He narrowed his eyes on Kendall. “Are you certain you’re ready? It’s only been two years since…” He allowed his sentence to trail off. No need to open the scab that had healed over the man’s heart. Unlike himself and Worth, who’d both always been far more aloof when it came to dedicating oneself to a member of the opposite sex, Kendall felt things deeply. He’d been devastated when Lady Emily Foswell had tossed him over—just before they were set to marry—for a man with a title.
Worth was dedicated to a bachelor lifestyle, while Beau considered himself married to his position at the Home Office. He’d even attempted to renounce his bloody title to serve in the Army, but the idea of him traipsing across Europe being shot at hadn’t pleased the Crown. Instead, they’d allowed him to use his talents in another way. As a spy for the Home Office, his specialty was scouting out traitors, and there was honestly nothing he enjoyed more.
“Thank heavens,” Clayton exclaimed, jolting Beau from his thoughts. “I cannot wait until I’m no longer the only one of us with the parson’s noose around his neck.”
Ewan Fairchild, Viscount Clayton, had recently married and was just back from his honeymoon. The viscount loved his wife, politics, and science (in that order). Wealthy, friendly, and loyal, Clayton clearly adored his wife Theodora, and married life appeared to agree with him.
Beau pushed his mug full of questionable-looking water around the tabletop as he contemplated each of his friends. The four of them had met as lads at Eton and remained dedicated to each other through the years. Each of them played a unique role in their group.
Kendall was preoccupied with duty. A loyal Navy man, he’d promised his brother on his death bed that he would ensure the Employment Bill was passed by Parliament, and he’d promised his mother the same day that he would see to the business of begetting an heir. The man carried heavy burdens. But Kendall didn’t relish the idea of having to find a wife, not after the Lady Emily debacle.
Worth served as the comic of the group, making astute comments with the type of sarcastic humor he was known for. He