Duke of Chance: Lords of Scandal Page 10

  Edge doubled over, an oof whooshing from his mouth in the most satisfying way. Chance pulled his fist back, intent on hitting him again, harder.

  As Chance jabbed forward, his clenched fingers stopped well short of its target.

  A giant hand covered his fist.

  Lockton.

  The Scot stood next to him, and giving him a slight push backward that sent Chance skidding to the side, he reached over and shoved Hart too, who’d been about to launch a second attack.

  “Settle down,” Lockton’s deep voice rang over the assembly. “We don’t fight in here, and that includes all of you.”

  Yes. Security was definitely this man’s specialty.

  Chance straightened, pulling his jacket straight. “He deserved it.”

  Edgemere curled his lip. “I’ve yet to give you what you deserve.”

  Chance snorted, stepping up close to his face. “Since we’re talking about what everyone deserves, if you think you deserved Daisy, then you should have started by treating her like any lady of her station should be treated. And, if I’m being honest, better than that because she is a rare woman deserving of the very best. Had you properly courted her instead of attempting to steal her like a thief in the night, she might be yours now.”

  Edgemere had the decency to look guilty. He frowned as he looked away, his brows drawing together.

  But it was Hart who spoke next. “What happened to your first wife?”

  Edgemere’s head whipped around, his gaze narrowing. “Is that what this is all about? Why you denied my suit?”

  Hart shrugged. “I denied your suit because you were attempting to use my sister for her dowry.”

  Edgemere’s eyes closed. “I know that she is marrying the duke. I saw it at the picnic. The way she looked at him. Even if you agreed now, I realize Daisy doesn’t want me anymore. So believe me when I tell you, my affection was always genuine. I would have done everything in my power to make her happy.”

  Hart’s mouth opened and then closed as he struggled for words.

  Edgemere raked a hand through his hair. “But you’re right. I went about it all wrong. I should have been more patient.”

  “Why weren’t you? Are your debts that bad?”

  Edgemere shook his head. “I’ve been able to stave off the worst of the earldom’s debts with my gambling.” He swept his hand across the room. “But I don’t ever have enough capital to win big, and it’s about more than just me.”

  “What does that mean?” Chance asked, stepping closer.

  Edgemere looked at Hart. “I too have a sister. One who needs to participate in society. Only I don’t have an aunt willing to do it for me.”

  Chance shook his head. This was far more information than he’d bargained for. Edgemere seemed to care for Daisy a great deal after all. She’d been right.

  And he’d…well…Chance had actually done less saving and more stealing than he’d imagined.

  But could he set her free now?

  His heart twisted in his chest.

  It wasn’t that he was in love. He wasn’t capable. But somehow, the idea of being without her filled him with absolute dread.

  Daisy rushed to Arabella as the woman entered the room. “You got my note!”

  “I did,” Arabella said with a grim expression that stopped Daisy before she hugged the other woman.

  “What’s wrong?” Daisy asked, taking the woman’s hands in her own.

  Arabella shrugged and then shook her head. “You first.”

  Daisy’s stomach sank as she looked at Arabella. “Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I just…” She took a deep breath. “I’m tired of feeling like I’m on the outside. I want to know how to become part of Chance’s world. And Hart’s too. At least when I’m done being furious with him.”

  Arabella gave her a soft smile. “Daisy.” She reached up and touched Daisy’s cheek. “Don’t be silly.”

  “Silly?” It was another one of those words exactly like little. “I’m not silly.”

  Arabella shook her head. “Sorry. That’s not what I meant. I’m not very good at talking to other women. I never have been. But you…” Arabella sighed. “You’re soft and warm, and you…” She grasped Daisy’s hand. “You’re going to make Chance whole again in a way a woman like me never could.”

  Daisy narrowed her gaze. “Arabella?”

  The other woman shook her head. “Don’t try to be more like me. Be you. Because you are about to become Chance’s entire world.”

  Daisy shook her head. “That’s not true. If I were his whole world, I’d have his heart, and he’s already told me he can’t give it.”

  Arabella shook her head. “If you ask me, he’s lying to you and maybe himself.”

  Daisy pondered those words. “It’s a risk.”

  Arabella raised her brows. “Fair enough. Then be more like me after all. Make a plan, one that will surely capture his heart.”

  She loved that idea. “How do I do that?”

  “Well, as I said before, make him beg. But when he’s on his knees, give him love, a lot of it.”

  Daisy took a step back. She liked Arabella’s ideas a great deal, but she had one worry that still plagued her. “But Marissa.”

  “Have you asked him about her? At all?”

  Daisy shook her head. “No.”

  “Well, you should.”

  Daisy’s brows lifted. “You would, wouldn’t you?”

  Arabella smiled. “Demand answers, Daisy. Don’t accept no.”

  Daisy nodded, knowing that Arabella was correct. Not only would his answers help her fears, but in the asking, she’d be taking charge of her life—or at least her relationship with Chance. “Good advice.”

  “And as for Hart.” Arabella gave her a wink. “Continue giving him the cold shoulder. If I’m not mistaken, it’s working wonders.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Well…” Arabella grimaced again. “Hart has this plan to find out what’s happening with the missing money.”

  “All right?”

  “And it involves Edgemere.”

  Daisy gasped and covered her mouth. “What?”

  Arabella nodded. “That’s right.”

  “But why?” Pain throbbed in her chest, and she clenched her hands together in front of her. “Why would he wish for help from the man he accused of…” Daisy’s voice trailed off. It was as though her brother was simply attempting to make her miserable. He didn’t dislike Edgemere, it was only her he wished to torture.

  She shook her head. “How is Edge helping?”

  Arabella shifted. “He’s at the club now, gambling and watching the other gamblers to see if he can discover something the rest of us are missing.”

  Daisy blinked several times as she considered that. Her brother, Chance, and Edge were all just merrily spending time in each other’s company.

  It was too much.

  Her head swam even as her heart hardened. “I think I need to see this whole thing for myself.”

  Arabella’s lips tightened, pressing into a line but she gave a nod of assent. “Let’s go, shall we?”

  “Indeed.” Daisy drew in a fortifying breath as she squared her shoulders. “It’s best to get this over with.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chance gritted his teeth, watching Edgemere work the tables.

  Even knowing the plan, he had trouble determining if Edgemere was actually checking out the club for a potential thief. He looked completely engrossed in the games.

  What was more, he was winning.

  Hart had fronted the money for him to play. He’d return that sum at the end of the night, but any profits he made were his to keep.

  Chance personally wished to take another crack at him, but Lockton had Chance in his sights.

  And Lockton was right. Unfortunately. The club was not a place to work out his personal vendettas.

  The night was still young, but Chance had little appetite to watch the evening unfold. Hart was here as
was Clubs. And Lockton would surely keep all the men in line.

  Sir Thomas entered as well, his dark gaze sweeping over the room. He’d been absent earlier, but as he made his way from the back of the club, his eyes flicked over the tables.

  He was the one man that Chance hadn’t really gotten to know over the past few weeks, and he grimaced to see his tall, dark façade now.

  The man stopped at a table, bending over the dealer before he moved on, pausing at the table that Edgemere played at, his hand resting on the back of another gambler’s chair.

  The man looked at him, and Chance could have sworn the gambler said something to Sir Thomas. Edge’s eyes flicked to the two of them and then back at the game, but Chance saw Edge’s lips press into a grim line.

  His heart gave a quick jolt. What had just happened?

  But Arabella came in through the back as well, her strawberry-blonde locks bouncing softly as she walked, surveying the room.

  Several men turned to stare, a whisper moving through the crowd.

  Arabella turned her head and that was when Chance noticed…

  Daisy.

  Standing next to the taller Arabella, her brown eyes piercing into his.

  And then her gaze swept to Edgemere.

  For Edgemere’s part, he seemed to ignore Daisy entirely, his gaze trained down, but Hart let out a yell from Chance’s right, beginning to charge across the room toward his sister.

  Chance followed, not sure what to expect, but his hands tightened as he anticipated any action. He’d pummel any man who attempted to hurt her, including Hart.

  Daisy should not be here, nor did she have a reason to glare at him so.

  He saw the tension in Hart’s shoulders as he tugged at his jacket and then made his way toward his sister, his voice rising over the now quiet crowd. “What do you think you’re doing coming here like this?”

  Chance was a step behind Hart when he reached Daisy. But rather than explain, she lifted her hand, and Chance heard the crack as her palm came across Hart’s cheek.

  “What the hell was that for?” Hart asked, his hand coming up to his face.

  But Daisy’s gaze had already gone over Hart’s shoulder, meeting Chance’s. “What is he doing here?”

  Chance didn’t need to ask to know the he Daisy referred to was Edgemere. “Hiring Edgemere was Hart’s idea.”

  Her gaze whipped back to her brother. “I’m aware.” Then her gaze came back to his. “But why did you agree?”

  He didn’t really want to have this conversation here, and so, slipping around Hart, he placed himself between the siblings. “Let’s talk in the back.”

  She gave a curt nod as he slid an arm about her waist, pulling her toward the back room.

  Hart and Arabella followed. The moment they were alone, Hart tossed himself into a chair. “I can’t believe you just hit me in front of everyone.”

  “I can’t believe you made nice with him after what you did to both of us.”

  Chance winced to hear Daisy even refer to herself and Edgemere as us.

  But he forgot all about his jealous irritation with Hart’s next words. “I’d thought you’d be happy.”

  Daisy blinked several times, and when her gaze met Chance’s, it was confusion that seemed to cloud them as she crinkled her brow. “Happy? That you invited the very man who ruined me to be part of your club before you asked me?”

  Hart stood again. “Daisy, you will never be part of this club.”

  Her eyes widened, and then pink flooded her cheeks. “Why not?”

  “Because,” Hart rasped out. “You’re much better than us.”

  “What does that even mean?” Daisy asked, her voice high and tight.

  Hart shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “I hate this place. You know that?”

  Chance shifted, surprised by the words. “Why?”

  Hart let out a long sigh. “The reality of living a life like this can harden you. The drinking. The club. We’ve become so…cynical. I need you to understand that I prefer that you’re not as jaded and ugly as we are.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Arabella said, crossing her arms, but her voice held no real malice as she shifted.

  Daisy shook her head. “You’re trying to protect me. From you?”

  Hart shrugged. “I’m not very good, Daisy. I never have been.” He looked down. “You know that better than anyone.”

  Daisy stepped closer to her brother. “I don’t. Now tell me why Edge is here.”

  Hart shrugged. “After what Chance did at the park today, I thought you’d want me to make amends.”

  Daisy blinked. “You brought him here for me?”

  “And because he’s a good gambler. But mostly for you.” Hart’s chin dropped with every word.

  Chance cringed, understanding Hart’s actions a little better and feeling a bit sorry he’d been so hard on Edgemere when he’d first arrived. Clearly, Hart had meant well.

  “Oh, Hart,” Daisy said with a shake of her head. “I felt better thinking that you hated him. If you don’t, why deny his suit and humiliate me?”

  “I do hate him,” Hart whispered. “I’m not even certain I want you to marry Chance.”

  Daisy blinked as Chance’s head snapped up. “Why not?”

  “Because,” Hart shook his head. “We’re all of us a bit tainted, aren’t we?”

  Chance’s chest tightened. He was. Tainted.

  Daisy had hardly looked at Chance.

  Hart, she expected him to act like a thoughtless cad.

  But Chance had been her rock through most of this ordeal following Edgemere’s scandalous actions with her in the garden. He’d understood when she’d needed support.

  He’d literally carried her out of Edgemere’s house that night.

  She didn’t understand how Chance could just be here with Edgemere now.

  She likely had no right to question it. Hadn’t she asked Chance to be nice to the man earlier today?

  But somehow, seeing them all together, made her feel even more certain that Chance would never love her. He’d been her champion, bolstering her, when she’d needed it. He was a gentleman, and she was his best friend’s sister.

  But he didn’t have feelings for her one way or the other, and so he really didn’t care about Edgemere either.

  What other explanation was there?

  She’d come here to ask him about Marissa. And she supposed she still could. But the truth was in his actions.

  Whatever he still felt about his first wife, Daisy did not have his heart.

  Was Arabella right? Was there a possibility that she could capture it given time? Make him beg?

  “If not Chance, then who?” The question was out before she fully thought it through. A reaction to the hurt and a way to see if he flinched.

  But as the words left her mouth, she caught sight of Chance’s face. His features grew granite hard.

  “What do you mean who?” Chance growled out. “There is no question here.”

  She looked at him, then, the pain she held in her chest surely shining in her eyes. But she kept her spine straight, watching his face. “You’re right. It’s been well established. After what I did, it’s you or spinsterhood.”

  She pressed her hands to her stomach as his lip curled. Was he upset at the idea of losing her, or was he invested in his plan to have an heir as quickly as possible?

  Chance was her only chance. He always had been.

  The very idea of giving up a family forever stole the breath from her lungs. If she were honest, the thought of losing him had a similar effect. But was she strong enough to make him her own?

  Would she marry him, knowing it was a risk? Did she have the strength to try, or was she the weak person Hart thought her to be?

  “It’s me,” he rumbled out, and then heedless of Hart or Arabella, he slipped an arm about her waist, pulling her close. “It was always me.”

  Her head gave a tiny shake. So small, she wasn’t even certain he saw
it. “I don’t know.”

  His arm tightened. “Still?” His fingers splayed out on her back. “Why?”

  “I think we need to speak more privately,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Hart gave his head a sharp shake. “If there is no engagement, there will be no private conversations. And not here.”

  Daisy blinked, looking at her brother. “This ends with one of two outcomes. Chance and I get married or I become a spinster. Either way, my reputation is officially a past concern.”

  Hart shook his head. “I’ll not allow—”

  Arabella nudged her back.

  “I’m not asking, Hart.” And then Daisy turned, giving Chance a quick jerk with her chin to ask him to follow.

  He whispered something quick to Hart before he fell in step beside her, his hand settling possessively on her waist.

  Daisy didn’t lean into him as she normally might, though his hand still sent shivers racing all through her.

  Her eyes cast down as he escorted her out of the club. After climbing into his carriage, she settled on the forward-facing seat, and Chance sat next to her.

  She looked at him. “You’re not going to sit across from me, Your Grace?”

  With a speed and strength that stole her breath, he lifted her into his lap. “No.”

  She clasped his shoulders, bracing herself against his hard muscles. “Chance.”

  “You’re angry with me.”

  She looked to the side of the carriage. “That’s not the word I would use.”

  In answer, he leaned closer, nuzzling her ear. “Daisy?”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell me.”

  She let out a small sigh. “How could you just spend time with Edgemere after what he did to me?” She couldn’t quite ask about his feelings or his past. She was afraid of the answers. “Work with him?”

  “Would it help you to know I had to punch him a few times first?”

  The smile that tugged at her lips said that yes, in fact, that did help. “Really?”

  “I thought you loved him. You’re glad that I punched him?”

  Her head snapped up, her gaze meeting his. “I don’t love him, Chance. Hart might have been right. I’m not sure I ever did. I just needed…” She sighed. “I was ready to grow up, I think.”