Deverell's Obsession: A Risqué Regency Romance by Sahara Kelly Page A

many friends?”
    “A few.” Léonie thought for a moment or two. “Several who spoke Russian, although I mixed more with the French families, it seemed. I know that at the time French had become the official language of the court, so I had to learn to speak it proficiently. Oh…” She smiled as a memory flashed before her eyes. “I remember being taught by an English tutor, along with several Russian children, a lot of French children and even a few Spanish speaking ones. The poor man had a dreadful time switching from one to another. But he was very good at it.”
    “Do you recall his name? He must have been quite extraordinary at languages…”
    “Let me think…yes, yes I remember. His name was Aubrey Wellstone.”
    She stopped as soon as she spoke the words and her gaze turned to the woman sitting beside her bed. “Julia.” She whispered as she sat up.
    “What?”
    “Do you think that Mr. Wellstone became Aubrey Elwyn ?”
    “Good God.” Julia straightened too. “It could be just a coincidence…”
    “It could, I suppose…”
    “Wait. Dev must have a Debrett’s in his library.”
    Léonie looked confused. “A what?”
    “It’s a book detailing all the names, inheritances, titles, estates and so on that make up the British aristocracy. It’s quite comprehensive.” She tossed the blanket aside. “I’m going to go and see if I can find it. I’ll be back in short order.”
    Léonie watched her hurry from the room and leaned back again on her pillow.
    There was so much of her childhood that she had either forgotten or allowed to slip from her mind, but this conversation with Julia had brought it back as clearly as if it were yesterday.
    Her Mama’s jewels. Pearls and diamonds hanging heavily from the elegant neck. What had happened to them? And all the other beautiful pieces she could remember seeing in her Mama’s room.
    She looked at her bare finger and remembered that Dev had her only precious piece in safekeeping. All she had was that ring and it wasn’t one she could recall her Mama ever wearing.
    Then she remembered.
    Her engagement . Her Papa had given it to her when she and Hugo had announced their intention to wed at a small affair, held in one of Hugo’s family’s Consulates. It was politics. Everyone in her life seemed to have an affiliation to one or another area of international diplomacy.
    Yes, her Papa had taken her aside and given her the ring, telling her it was a family heirloom and that she must take very good care to never lose it. Now that she was to wed, she could take ownership of that little piece of the Girard name and carry it with her into her new life. He said she must cherish it and never lose it because it was the key to happiness. She wasn’t sure she believed that, but in her world, outrageous statements were the norm.
    And here she was, a Girard again, and with the ring in the secure hands of an English gentleman who cared nothing for diplomacy at all.
    How her Mama would have stared at the twists of fate befalling her daughter.
    Julia popped back into the room, breathless but holding aloft a large book and smiling at her success.
    “I knew he’d have one. Every house in this part of London has one. It’s obligatory. So that they never forget who they are, where they came from and what they own.”
    “Not Dev.” Léonie felt, for some reason, that such a description didn’t fit the Dev she knew.
    “No,“ agreed Julia. “Not Dev.” She plopped back into her chair, pulled the blanket over her knees and rested the book on them, opening it and thumbing through the pages. “Now let’s see what we have here for Elwyn. Hmmm. Elfinney, Eltham…here we are. Elwyn.”
    Léonie held her breath as Julia’s finger traced the entry for the Elwyn family tree.
    “Elwyn, Michael Archibald, created a Viscount…married Jane Franchot…children…deceased, deceased…” Julia looked up. “Oh dear. They were unfortunate parents. No surviving children.”
    “So