“What are you talking about?”
Caroline poured a second cup for herself, taking her time in answering. “I know all about Reggie’s plans to end his pecuniary difficulties. He would surely have won a pretty penny too. DeVere’s immense wealth and dissolute reputation would only have worked against him in the court of law.” She took a sip.
“You conspired with Reggie?”
Caroline set her cup down with a derisive laugh. “It was the loosest of alliances, I assure you. He was a most despicable creature. But I was in position to provide the proof he needed and piqued enough to follow through. DeVere is a magnificent lover, is he not? I find his skills in bed far outweigh his myriad character defects.”
“I would have no knowledge of such things,” Diana said. “And I marvel at your own want of discretion in sharing such intimacies with a stranger.”
“On the contrary, my dear. I saw his hands on your person, his lips on your neck, and the all-too-familiar lascivious gleam in his eye. It is a look I know very well.”
“I explained once before. I had trouble with the clasp on my pearls. Regardless of what you think you saw, there is nothing between us!”
“Yet your husband also had grounds to believe otherwise. I received a missive from him this very morning stating that you did not sleep in your bed last night. It was a very enlightening bit of information that shall remain in my safekeeping…for now. So you see, your husband had within his grasp lawful means to recover his losses, so I wonder why would he have taken his own life? Indeed, I see no reason at all for him to have done so.”
“What are you suggesting?” Diana demanded.
“That matters have taken an unanticipated and highly suspicious turn,” Caroline said. “One need only examine the facts. Your husband’s horse failed to run when there was no sign of injury, and the poor groom appears to have been beaten near to death. Although Sir John would most readily attribute that to your husband’s wrath, do you really suppose Lord Reggie would have done his lover such a violence?”
Diana gasped and felt the blood leeching from her face. “You know nothing of what you speak!”
“How salacious!” The duchess laughed, a shrill and grating sound. “It was pure speculation on my part, but your priceless reaction tells me everything I need to know. Poor darling, I understand what a humiliating secret it is to bear, as my own Duke of Beauclerc had unusually diverse sexual proclivities. He enjoyed both men and women, you see, but his preference was for the former. He and my brother were once lovers.”
Diana felt herself soften infinitesimally toward the duchess. “Is that what drove you to DeVere’s bed?”
“Perhaps,” Caroline answered. “But I would have desired him regardless. And I desire him still. You shall not take him from me.”
“I already told you I have no designs on Lord DeVere.”
“I don’t believe you. He has a voracious sexual appetite and never would have dismissed me unless he had already acquired a replacement mistress. DeVere would never lower himself to tupping chambermaids. Even if I hadn’t seen the way he devours you with his eyes, I would feel it safe to assume he would not cuckold his best friend. Moreover, Annalee’s present condition makes her a less than suitable candidate. So that leaves only you.”
Diana’s hackles rose. “Be good enough to leave now, duchess. You have said quite enough.”
Caroline displayed her small, white teeth in a mockery of a smile. “I am going nowhere, my dear, for I have only just begun. Whether you choose to believe it or not, your liaison with DeVere has a most significant bearing on your husband’s death.”
“If you will not leave on your own, I will have you removed.” Diana crossed the room to the bell pull to summon a footman. “I refuse to listen to another word of your poison.”
“Are you aware that DeVere holds the title to your estate? He so dislikes to lose anything unless by his own choice. And then the threat of suit? That would surely have enraged him.
Diana’s hand froze. She had known, but she had given so little thought to the matter with everything else, but now with Reggie’s death, her thoughts reeled. Could DeVere have killed Reggie?
“DeVere is an utterly unpredictable and dangerous man who lets nothing stands in his way when he wants something. Poor dear,” the duchess said smugly. “I see the pieces are finally falling into place. There are a number of things your lover has kept from you. Although unparalleled in bed, he is not to be trusted at all.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN