Free The Unscrupulous Uncle by Allison Lane Page B

the slightest knowledge of the subject, his ridiculous assertions making it difficult to keep a straight face. Only Damon’s long absence on the Peninsula allowed him to credibly pretend to take the baron’s words to heart. He managed to stretch the conversation for over an hour despite Braxton’s growing irritation. But finally they had to join the ladies.
    “Will you be staying at Devlin, my lord?” the baron asked with patent disinterest as they approached the door.
    “Eventually,” admitted Damon. “This trip was in response to the Connors fire, but I will be returning to London in another day or two.”
    “So soon?”
    “I must be there when my betrothal is announced. My fiancée would be upset if I missed the ball.”
    Braxton nearly choked. “I had not heard that you were betrothed.”
    “Naturally not. The public announcement will be made on Friday and will appear in Saturday’s papers.”
    Lord Braxton dropped the subject, unable to miss the steel that underlay Damon’s statement.
    He had not meant to declare his intentions so openly, though it was nought but the truth. But claiming the betrothal as fact might depress the pretensions of this very vulgar family. Poor Peter would turn in his grave if he could see how low the barony had sunk.
    “Lord Devlin is betrothed to a London miss,” stated Lord Braxton when they entered the drawing room.
    “What?” Lady Braxton paled alarmingly.
    “Who is she?” demanded Hortense.
    “Why did you not mention her earlier?” asked Drucilla with a pout.
    Damon spent several minutes fending off questions. “You will learn all when we make the announcement public,” he repeated for at least the tenth time, anger clear in his voice. He recovered his address and continued. “But I know that you will like her. Such charming ladies cannot help but become her closest friends. I count on you to introduce her around the neighborhood.”
    Though pique lingered in all eyes, the girls replied with unexpected grace and Lady Braxton offered congratulations. Damon breathed a sigh of relief. His words were blatantly false, of course, for he could not imagine Hermione in the same room with these two, but with such a scheming mother they would not remain problems for long. It was only a matter of time before Lady Braxton settled on a new victim.
    He kept a pleasant expression pasted on his face through the purgatory of another musical evening, wishing he could dispense with manners long enough to leave. But at least he had successfully diverted whatever plot Lady Braxton had devised.
    While these congratulatory thoughts occupied one corner of his mind, the remainder was pondering Catherine’s absence. Wiggins was always very precise in his choice of words. She is no longer at Ridgway could only mean that she had been packed off elsewhere. Why? If Lady Braxton feared competition for her daughters, Cat would have left years ago. Likewise, if she feared Cat might interfere with a plot to compromise him, why would the lady wait for a week after he arrived before sending her away? It was only after their meeting that anything had happened despite his asking after her during both visits. The Braxtons must fear that she might reveal a secret – something beyond their apparent poverty. What were they hiding? It must be serious if it justified the expense of banishing her.
    The insidious idea grew, seeming impossible at first but refusing to go away. Suppose Lord Braxton wished to harm Catherine. It appeared ludicrous on the surface, but there were too many oddities to ignore the possibility. The first was Braxton’s lie that Catherine was betrothed. She had denied the story, though the baron had sworn that her father had approved it. When sorting conflicting statements, Damon would believe Catherine over her uncle any day. She had a sense of honor worthy of a gentleman.
    Then there was the poverty at Ridgway House. Everyone agreed that they lived in straitened circumstances. Yet the