The Duke's Forgotten Wife

Chapter Twenty-four

The Marquess of Dryden's house.

"Tony, thank you again for allowing us to meet here," Amanda said as he escorted her to his drawing room with Devlyn following close behind them.

"My pleasure," he replied. "I am glad to see you up and around and looking so lovely."

"Thank you," she replied as he showed her to the sofa in a beautifully decorated blue and gold drawing room. "You can thank Madame Benoit for how I'm dressed. She was kind enough to rush this gown for me and sent it to the house today. I see her again on Friday for more."

"She did a very good job of disguising the fact you have a cast on your arm."

"I was the one that sent her to Fleurette, I'll have you know," Devlyn interjected into the conversation. "I should get the credit for how beautiful my wife looks tonight."

"Amanda's parents and Madame Benoit get all the credit," Tony teased him back as he went to pour them each a drink.

Amanda was enjoying the light banter between the three of them before the other guests would arrive and things would become much more serious. Devlyn sent a coach earlier as a ruse with one of the maids dressed in her clothes and a footman dressed in his to throw off anyone that might be watching the house. They went out through the back garden to another waiting coach and then drove around for a while to be sure that no one followed them to Tony's house, which was only a few blocks from theirs.

"Amanda what would you care to drink? Sherry? Brandy?" Tony asked her.

"Brandy would be fine," she replied.

"Brandy for me too," Devlyn told him as he took the first glass and handed it to his wife.

"I have been out and about hearing all the rumors floating around town about you and Amanda," Tony told them. "Everyone believes the story of the coach accident, but the story is going around once more, about how she hit Lady Farrell and my kissing her, too. They all want to meet you and find out how the two of you got back together again and of course, the gossip includes Jamie. Everyone wonders why you never told anyone about your son."

"Bloody hell," burst forth from Devlyn's mouth. "We are trying to keep it from Jamie that I knew nothing about him. I do not want the boy upset with his mother that she kept me from knowing all these years since it was my fault Amanda left England in the first place."

"I still think we should set him down and tell him the truth," Amanda said. "Sooner or later he will learn of the past and I would rather he did from us not from some stranger," Amanda said and took a sip from her brandy. "If we explain it to him the right way he may not be upset but if he has to come to us to find out if what he heard was the truth it could take him longer to forgive both of us."

"I think she's right," Tony said just as his butler knocked then opened the door to announce Lady Morton and Sir Crofton.

They had been included in the meeting since Amanda's Aunt needed to be aware of what was happening and Sir Alex wanted to hear what Lord Oliver had to say and garner any new ideas from him.

"Amanda, Alex told me tonight what happened yesterday after you left the book shop," her aunt said coming to sit near her on the sofa. "I wish you would have sent word yesterday and I would have come immediately to the house."

"I was fine," Amanda answered. "I just needed to rest after all the excitement."

"You are sure you and the baby are fine?"

"Yes we are, so stop worrying," Amanda told her. "This baby is as tuff as his older brother is."

"You know it's a girl we are having," Devlyn cut in and Amanda smiled at him.