Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Alec, thank you so much for coming and so quickly, too.” Sophie rushed up to the entrance door and hugged her friend. “The two imbeciles are in there.” She inclined her head toward the drawing room and stepped back from his arms.
Dr. Alec McGuiness handed his hat and coat to Stokes. “Of course I would come immediately.”
She smiled at him. “I am lucky to have such a good friend.”
“As am I. Now, are either of them hurt a great deal?”
“No, not really.” She placed her hand on his elbow and guided him toward the drawing room. “Thankfully, I do not think either of them will need stitches, though they have a few gashes, and both of their ribs are fairly sore.”
“I shall be sure to give them a thorough examination.”
“Thank you, Alec,” she said. “I am so glad that you are here. It feels like I have not seen you in ages.”
“It has been a few weeks.” He stopped just before the drawing room doorway. “I got your note, by the way, asking about the colored glass lenses I have been working on.”
“Yes, there is a young boy who mentioned that the words seem all jumbled when he looks at them, and I immediately thought of your success with others who claim the same problem.”
“Yes, the lenses do seem to assist to some degree, though not always,” Alec replied as he pulled out a rectangular leather pouch. “I brought with me a pair that you could try with the boy. They are a small frame, so hopefully they will not be too large for him.”
She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. “Alec, you are marvelous! Thank you so very much.”
“It is quite all right,” he replied. “I gather you have been very busy of late.”
Sophie stopped walking, happy to impart the news to her friend. “You have read the Times this morning then?”
“I have.” For some odd reason, he had a rather sad expression on his face. Perhaps he was preoccupied with a previous patient. “You are to marry the Duke of Huntington?”
“I am,” she acknowledged.
“And you are happy with this arrangement? Particularly considering you repeatedly said that you never planned to marry.”
She didn’t wish to ponder too much on the question. “We shall do very well together, the Duke and I.” A twinge of melancholy gripped her at the thought that love would not be part of their equation, but she suppressed it before it could grow into something unmanageable.
“Well, then, I suppose congratulations are in order. I do hope he knows the treasure that he has obtained.” His brown eyes seemed dimmer than usual. She had to wonder what preoccupied him so. “And that he will treat you with the utmost respect and care that you deserve.”
“I shall,” Devlin’s voice rang out from the now-open doorway of the drawing room. “You have no need to worry on that score.”
“Devlin,” she gasped. “You should be sitting down.”
He ignored her and walked forward.
The two men sized each other up. Did all of the men in her life think to throttle her fiancé? And for that matter, Devlin looked as if he, too, wished to pummel Alec. The whole series of events would be amusing if it was not so tiring.
“Devlin, let me introduce you to Dr. Alec McGuiness, a dear childhood friend of mine, who has also very kindly rushed over here to see to your own and my brother’s injuries.”
Devlin merely grunted.
Good Lord, the man needed a lesson in manners. She elbowed him in the ribs.
He swore and reluctantly extended his hand. Alec reached out and grasped it.
“And this, Alec, as you might have guessed,” she continued on, “is my fiancé, the Duke of Huntington.”
She watched as both men vigorously shook the other’s hand, the knuckles of their respective fingers whitening from the hard grip each inflicted.
“Pleased to meet you,” Alec offered.
“I have no need of your services,” Devlin ground out, finally releasing the other man.
“Oh, for goodness sakes, Devlin. You are injured, and Alec is going to examine you, end of story.” Sophie emphasized her comment by poking him in the chest. “Come, let us proceed to the drawing room. And not another word from you, sir!”
…
“He is in love with her,” Devlin stated in a monotone voice as he watched Sophie walk the Doctor out through the entrance hall toward the front door. He didn’t know why, but the thought sent a shard of burning rage deep into the pit of his stomach.
“That might be putting too strong a word on it,” Daniel remarked. “He admires her a great deal is all.”
“You know such a thing, and yet you still allow him to see her?” Devlin whipped his head around from his position at the door of the drawing room and pinned Daniel with his glare. The man seemed far too cavalier about such a situation.
“We have all known each other since childhood. Alec is like a distant family member.” Daniel gave a careless shrug. “Plus, his skills as a surgeon have come in handy a great many times too. Just take today; he has patched both of us remarkably well.”
Devlin glowered at him. “Does it not concern you that the man is besotted with her?”
“No,” Daniel answered. “I trust him to behave as a gentleman. Besides, Sophie thinks of him as a brother, nothing more.”
“Well, he certainly does not think of her as a sister,” Devlin snapped. “God, is every bloody man in London in love with your sister?”
Daniel grinned. “Careful, old chap, you are sounding decidedly jealous.”
Narrowing his eyes, Devlin stalked across to the doorway. He wasn’t jealous. He simply didn’t appreciate how the man was looking at his future wife. He watched as Sophie gave the doctor a hug and saw him out the door. “He is a dead man.”
Sophie’s brother had the audacity to laugh as he, too, saw them embrace. “I told you she thinks of him as a brother.”
“Well, he is not! They should not be hugging each other, particularly when the man is infatuated with her.” It just wasn’t proper. Behavior such as that could jeopardize her reputation. That had to be the sole reason he was so infuriated.
“Would appear he is not the only one,” Daniel mumbled.
“What did you say?” Devlin snarled as he spun around toward Daniel.
Pointedly ignoring the question, Daniel sat back down on the sofa. “My sister is completely oblivious to his feelings toward her.”
Devlin glanced back toward Sophie, who looked far too comfortable with the man by far. He would have to put a stop to such actions immediately. Surely, once he pointed out the perils of her behavior, Sophie would see the wisdom in his edict.
“Alec knows he has no chance with her,” Daniel said as he put his feet up on the coffee table and reclined back against the sofa.
“Damn right he does not,” Devlin declared.
Folding his arms across his chest, Daniel laughed. “The mighty Duke of Huntington jealous of a humble doctor. How amusing.”
With something almost akin to panic swirling in his stomach, Devlin realized the truth in Daniel’s words. He was jealous. Good God, how had that happened? And more to the point, how did he deal with feeling such a foreign emotion?
Particularly as the Crowleys’ house party was tomorrow and he’d have to spend the entire weekend with Sophie. Suddenly, his cravat felt entirely too restrictive.
Sophie wandered back into the room, an odd light of speculation in her gaze as she eyed him up and down. “You look ill. Perhaps I should fetch Alec back?”
Devlin shook his head. He did feel ill, but not physically. How could he be jealous? That would suggest he’d let his emotions become involved. “I’m late for an appointment,” he mumbled, the excuse sounding feeble even to his own ears. But he needed air, and he needed it now. Without a backward glance, Devlin strode for the front door. Distance would provide the space he needed to get these unruly emotions of his in check. He was counting on it.