CHAPTER TEN
Dev watched Lilly's carriage drive from his street, and then made his way to his aunt and uncle's house.
“The Duke and Duchess of Raven have called, Lord Sinclair.”
“Thank you, Pennyroll,” Dev said, heading for the stairs. “Are my aunt and uncle also returned?”
“No, my lord. Not for another week is my understanding.”
He climbed the stairs two at a time, eager to see his sister—and James. The man had grown on him, but he would admit that to no one.
He wasn't sure why he insisted on living next door with Cam when he spent so much of his time, and sat down to most of his meals, here. Perhaps it was the peace, or perhaps it was that he had no wish for his family to know what he did and when he did it.
“Eden missed you all so much that she begged me to return to London early.”
Hearing his brother-in-law’s deep voice made some of the tension inside him ease. His family were all here, and they, like nothing else, could calm him when his head was in turmoil.
“Do not believe him. Yes, I missed you all.” Eden laughed. “However, he also missed his sisters and badgered me to return to London.”
Pushing the door open, Dev was greeted with noise and laughter. The twins were standing on Cam's feet while he attempted to walk around the room. Warwick was sprawled on the floor reading a book Dev guessed Eden had brought him. His family, he thought; God how he loved them one and all.
“Dev!”
He caught Eden as she launched at him. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tight.
“I missed you, brother!”
“And I you, sister.”
Moving back a few steps when he released her, she looked up at him. Unlike the other Sinclairs, who all had green eyes, Eden's were gray, and like Lilly's they saw too much.
“What is wrong, brother?”
“I am well, don't fuss.” He kissed her cheek.
“You don't look happy.”
“And yet I am, because you have returned. Unfortunately you brought your husband with you.”
“You love him as do I, admit it.” Eden tapped his arm.
“You could not pull a confession like that from me under any form of torture.”
“We had a wonderful time at Raven Castle, Dev.” Eden looked at her husband. “Truly wonderful.”
“If you don't stop throwing smoldering glances Raven's way, I shall be ill.”
She always had a way of looking at Dev and really seeing what he felt.
“I wish you would tell me what has you out of sorts. Although perhaps I can guess, as Essie told me you've changed your opinion of Lilliana Braithwaite and that in fact you seem rather enamored with her.”
Dev glared at Essie, who shrugged back at him, her eyes twinkling and unrepentant.
“How can a man be enamored with a woman who looks like she pulled her clothes from her deceased great-grandmother's trunks and speaks like a brainless twit?”
“Yes, that's true. However, Essie informed me that she saw her dressed normally this morning, and she is rather lovely. And that she had none of those traits today. Which is odd, don't you think?”
She was stunning.
“Yes, it seems odd, and she certainly looked different. I'm sure Miss Braithwaite has her reasons as to why she behaves as she does, but it is not for us to ask why.”
But he wanted to know why.
“What are you not telling me?”
Dev felt cornered. His sister would pick and pick until she had all the answers she wanted, and he was not ready to talk about his feelings for Lilly yet. Hell, he had no idea what they were, other than the fact that they were fierce.
“Essie said you and she had an incident a few days ago, but did not elaborate. Perhaps now you can?”
That would have to stop, Dev thought. He wouldn't have Lilly gadding about in dangerous places with only a servant at her back. He just wasn't sure how to go about achieving that. He'd only been on speaking terms with her for a few days, so he really had no right to feel as he did. Was it so brief? Lord, it felt longer. The woman seemed to have turned his emotions upside down in such a short time.
“Perhaps James would like to be in on this discussion also?”
Dev looked at the Duke of Raven, who was talking with Cam.
“I doubt he's interested in Miss Braithwaite, Eden.”
“Normally you would be right, but Lilliana is his cousin, and furthermore, after what I found at Raven Castle, it seems she is also related to us. Although that tie dates back several hundred years.”
“What!” Dev roared over the buzzing in his ears.
“Pardon, I believe you meant to say,” Eden rebuked. “Did you not know?”
“Of course I didn't know, because no one has told me!” Dev felt like his head was about to explode. Christ, was it possible? Lilly, a Raven and a Sinclair?
“Hello, Sinclair. Care to tell me why you are roaring at my wife?”
The Duke of Raven now stood at Eden's side, one arm around her middle. Where there had once been a cool, aloof expression that hid a wealth of pain, there was now happiness. The man was transformed from the Duke they had first met. Eden had done that, Dev thought. She had brought him into the light.
“He wasn't roaring at me, darling.” Eden patted her husband's hand. “He was just surprised that Lilliana Braithwaite is your cousin, and that she is related to us. It seems he is quite taken with her.”
“I never mentioned I was taken with her.” Dev felt he needed to clarify that point quickly for his sister.
Even if I am.
Raven was one of the few men who rivaled him for size. Dev tried to scowl, but the Duke merely smiled back.
“You never mentioned she was your cousin before, Raven.”
The Duke shrugged. “I hadn't realized you needed a detailed account of all my relatives. Believe it or not, there are quite a few, and the list is growing. Furthermore, I thought I remembered you saying that Lilliana was a brainless twit with no fashion sense.”
Dear God, say it isn't so. Dev couldn't take it in.
“Is she from your mother’s or father's side of the family?” Dev grappled with the knowledge.
“Father's. What does that signify?”
She was of Raven blood. “But you have very little to do with her—”
“We were close as small children. Her father was my father's brother. Nice man, as was my aunt. But eventually, as with everything good in my life, my father decided to cut all ties, so now we are strangers.”
“We shall reforge that bond, my love.”
Dev watched the Duke smile down at Eden then kiss her briefly on the lips.
“I have no doubts, love.” James looked at Dev once more.
“But what is the business about her being a Sinclair also?” Dev asked his sister, still grappling with what he had learned.
“I found this.” Eden picked up a fat tome from the table beside where they stood. It was bound in black leather, and Dev could see it was old by the condition. “It is an accounting of some of the Raven history. I found it when we looked for the scroll, which as yet we have not found.”
“There are many places to hide things in Raven Castle,” James added.
“Miss Braithwaite?” Dev said in a terse tone. “Tell me of her connection to us.”
“Don't use that tone with me, brother.”
“Sorry,” Dev said. “Now speak.”
“In 1608, the third son of the then Baron Sinclair saved Lilly's great-great, I'm not sure how many greats, but quite a few, grandmother from a certain death by fire. She was married, but she and the Sinclair fell in love and they had a liaison. The result was an illegitimate child, but her husband was never told, so believed the babe was his. It was then raised a Raven.”
“Christ.” Dev ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't sure he could take much more of this.
“You've gone pale, Sinclair. Need I catch you when you faint?”
Dev cursed at the Duke.
“What appears to be the problem here? To the best of my knowledge you and Lilliana... oh, no, no, no.” The Duke of Raven suddenly looked fierce. “Please tell me you have not saved her from some life-threatening event, Sinclair? I have no wish for another member of my family to be beholden to you.”
Dev knew his siblings were listening, as the room had gone quiet. A rarity for the Sinclairs.
Something must have shown in Dev's face, as the Duke clapped a hand over his eyes.
“For Christ's sake. Will this bloody curse never end!”
“Pardon me, James, but were it not for this bloody curse, then some of your ancestors would be dead, along with you.”
“Thank you, Dorrie, for enlightening the Duke,” Dev said, placing a hand on his little sister's head as she leaned into him. “I am sure for one brief moment he forgot about our family's history. However, I would ask you to refrain from quoting him verbatim, especially when he curses. “
“As if that would ever be a possibility,” the Duke groaned, then grunted as his wife elbowed him in the ribs. “Please accept my apologies, Dorrie. I should not have spoken thus in your presence.”
Luckily, the children's tutor, Mr. Linues, arrived at that moment to take them away for their afternoon lessons. After being promised a game of hide-and-seek later, they left the room.
“You saved Miss Braithwaite, Dev? What happened?” Cam said after the door had closed.
“She narrowly missed being hit by a carriage.”
“Good God, is she all right?” The Duke looked worried.
“Yes, shaken but all right.”
“Does this mean we have all your relatives to watch over now?” Cam sounded disgusted. “I mean, if we are talking about cousins, then how far removed will this get? Second cousins, nephews?”
“I am sure it happened simply because Dev was with Lilly,” Eden soothed her brother.
“Would certainly keep you busy,” the Duke drawled. “Perhaps I should put you all on a full-time retainer, just in case your services are required.”
Cam snorted. “I never say no to money. However, I object to being pulled from bed to rescue a foolish Raven who should have a care where he or she walks.”
“Did the driver stop, Dev?” James asked him.
“No, he just kept galloping past. It was odd because I remember when she walked across the road, I looked left and right and saw that carriage. I thought it was going too fast, and the driver's face is clear in my head. He seemed determined, and then I turned away. When I looked back, he had changed course and was heading directly for Lilly.”
“Lilly?” James said. “Since when is she Lilly to you?”
“Be quiet, darling, Dev is now about to tell us of another incident, and if my hunch is correct, I am sure this is where everything started.” Eden patted her husband's chest, and the scowl left his face.
“I need to sit,” Dev said. He felt as if he'd been standing out in a storm being battered for hours.
“Would you like, tea, Dev?” Essie asked him.
“A brandy is what he needs, I think.” Cam smiled at his sister. “Come, you hold the glasses while I pour.”
Soon they all sat, some with brandy, others with tea. Dev swallowed a mouthful and enjoyed the burn as it slid down his throat. He then told James and Eden about Lilly chasing the man who had attempted to abduct the child.
“Good Lord, for the years I had believed that Lilliana had become something of a simpleton, with disastrous fashion sense. It seems I was wrong,” James said.
“I'm sure she will not be pleased that we all know what is going on with her, and yet someone needs to watch over her,” Essie said.
Amen to that.
“Do you believe what happened today was deliberate, Dev?” James asked him.
“The more I think on it the more I believe so.”
“I wonder if it could be connected to those missing children in some way?”
“There are plenty of women helping children around London,” Dev said, “but yes, I wondered at the connection also.”
“Perhaps Lilly has been getting in the way of whoever is trying to abduct those children. She has the boy Toby out there poking his nose about, and she has been to the Watch House several times,” Essie said. “She also foiled that abduction attempt.”
“Someone would have had to know you were going to the Watch House to attempt to run Lilly down,” James said. “And if that is the case, then someone would need to be watching her.”
“You have a suspicious nature, husband,” Eden said.
“After what we have just endured, my love, are you surprised?”
Dev wasn't. The Duke had received several attempts on his life before they had found the culprit, a half-brother he did not know he had.
Around him conversations broke out while he sat silently contemplating what they had discussed. Lilly was a long-distant relation, and a Raven. It was enough to turn a man to drink.
“Pensive is not a word one usually associates with Sinclairs, although perhaps you can carry it off better than the rest of them.”
Dev watched James as he cradled his cup in one hand and bit into a large square of cake that he held in the other. He now stood beside Dev's chair, leaning on the windowsill. The Duke was a man who had lived with the burden of a cruel father, a man who knew his share of both physical and mental pain; he was also someone Dev would trust with his life and that of his family. He needed to talk about Lilly with someone who knew her, even if it had only been for a few years.
“I was wrong about your cousin, Raven.”
The Duke nodded. “I think she had most of us fooled, from what you have all told me.”
“Tell me what you know about her brother, James. I do not like the man, but surely he has not always been a wastrel?”
“No, he was a friend when they visited. But that all changed when his father died. He started drinking and gambling. He kept company with the wrong people, and soon he had become the man you see today.”
“I wonder at his relationship with his sister,” Dev said. “Surely he can know nothing of what she does?”
“I doubt he'd care anymore. From what I gather, his life is spent in gambling hells and with prostitutes.”
Dev had grown up with love. Yes, his father was not a nice man, but he had found that out later in his life. It always made him feel sad when James spoke of his childhood, but to hear that Lilly's brother did not love her as a big brother should made him angry.
“It might pay for you to become reacquainted with your cousin, Raven. It appears she could do with a relative she trusts.”
Dev held the Duke's gaze as the man studied him.
“You really are worried for her, aren't you, Sinclair, which suggests to me you also care?”
“Would it do me any good to deny it?”
“Not a bit,” the Duke said with a snort of laughter that fell from his lips as quickly as it had come. “I have not thought about Lilliana much over the years, as my own problems were enough to occupy me and because my father seemed hell-bent on keeping us apart, but if she is suffering in any way I would like to know.”
“I wonder why anyone would go to such lengths to disguise who they truly are.”
“I know that her grandmother left her money, but don't know the details of the entitlement. Perhaps in some way that is the reason? Something to do with reaching a certain age unmarried before receiving it?”
“You need to find out, Raven.”
“I shall try, Sinclair.” He smiled at Dev. “I can imagine how pleased you are she is related to me.”
“An understatement, I assure you,” Dev said. “Had it been anyone but Lilly, I would have walked the other way at a rapid pace.”
“But you can't,” the Duke said softly with his eyes on Eden. “Because something about her has settled inside you and nothing will dislodge it.”
“I can dislodge it anytime I wish,” Dev said quickly. Surely he wasn't that enamored with the woman yet? Surely what he felt for her was a mild affection based on the simple fact that he wanted to ravish her on the nearest available surface.... Dear God, he was in trouble.
“There is nowhere to run, Sinclair,” the Duke said to his back as Dev rose suddenly from the chair and headed for the door as if Satan himself dogged his footsteps.