Queen of Hearts: Lords of Scandal Page 3
“Funny.” Her gaze swept the dark walls of the club. “I’d never been into one of these places until I bought one. I just assumed they were all dark caves of mystery.”
His brows quirked. “How did you obtain a gaming hell?”
She shrugged, averting her gaze so that he couldn’t see the wince in her features. She wasn’t ready to talk about that with anyone. She hadn’t even told Chance, East, or Hart how exactly the offer had come to her. They knew she was a bastard, and they knew she’d purchased the deed from the Earl of Baxter, but to tell them about he was a newfound brother…it rankled. They considered her strong and independent—and she was. But more often of late, she’d felt that confidence slipping.
Perhaps that was the wrong phrase. The strength she’d always relied on had grown hollow and thin. A veneer that might crack open at any moment. “How did you end up an earl?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I was the second cousin of the earl, and through some odd twist of fate. The only male heir.”
Simple enough. And gave her a foundation for her answer. “I knew a few lords looking to sell.”
His brows lifted. “I feel there is a great deal more to that story.”
“And yours,” she replied quickly. “But today isn’t really about swapping pasts, is it?”
He gave her a small grin. “I suppose it isn’t.”
The grin did funny things to her insides, and she pressed a hand to her stomach at the unwelcome sensation. “I didn’t expect you quite this early. The others won’t be here for hours.”
Edge shrugged. “I wasn’t sure anyone would be here, but I couldn’t sleep…”
Her brows lifted. “With as much as you had to drink, I’m surprised you weren’t in bed until late into the evening.”
He dropped his chin as he spoke but he wasn’t quick enough to hide his grimace of shame. “I didn’t drink near as much as you might think. My tolerance isn’t what it used to be.”
She had no idea what he meant by that, but she supposed it didn’t matter. They had a proposition to discuss and, in some ways, it was better Chance or East weren’t here to create more hostility. Still, she’d better move this meeting to her office where she could access her gun…just in case.
Not that she considered the earl a threat, but it was a general policy she had when meeting with any man alone.
There were reasons debutantes had so many rules in place. Many of them were for their protection. And because Arabella chose to ignore those rules, she had to create others to ensure her own safety. “Follow me. We’ll get started.”
She strode into her office, gesturing for him to sit as she moved around the desk and took her place.
A stilted silence fell as Edge cleared his throat. “To summarize after last night, Hart has offered his share of the club to me, but you and the others who own it won’t actually allow me to take possession. Is that correct?”
“More or less,” she said folding her hands on the desk.
“May I ask why? I’ve proven that I know the business well enough to be an asset.”
She lifted her brows as she swallowed down a sharper retort. Taking a breath, she answered as evenly as she could. “You nearly ruined Daisy’s life. I don’t work with men like you. Ever.”
He had the decency to wince.
Good.
She’d like to say far worse.
Edge had to confess as he looked at Arabella’s stony face, they were not off to great start. For his part, he was having trouble keeping his thoughts ordered. Partially from the brandy the night before, but mostly because the sight of Arabella was just…distracting. Even angry, she was beautiful.
And worse, she was right. He hadn’t been appropriate with Daisy. Whether he’d had his reasons or not, he could have ruined her. He’d be mad as hell if a man dared to do the same thing he’d done to Daisy to his sister.
“I deserve your lack of trust in me,” he said quietly, scrubbing his face with his hands. “I deserve worse.”
“Then why did you do it?”
He shook his head, his shoulders drooping. He should have known this conversation was coming. “Lizzie,” he answered simply.
At Arabella’s silence he looked up to see her eyes a bit wider than normal. Her lips parted. Had he caught her by surprise?
“Your sister?”
A wave of embarrassment washed over him. “I can barely keep food on the table. She needs dresses, finishing school, a maid.”
Arabella sat back in chair, still not speaking as he leaned forward. “Truth be told, we were better off before I inherited the title shackled with a mountain of debt. She could have married some doctor or lawyer or—” He waved his hand. “I could have financed that dowry. But now…”
Arabella swiped a hand over her brow as she continued to stare. “Damn you,” she finally mumbled.
“Excuse me?” he asked, his brow crinkling.
“I do not wish to hear very sensible answers. You trifled with my friend’s heart and nearly ruined her life.”
He nodded, actually wanting Arabella to understand. “I’m glad I didn’t, though I’d still like to beat the duke senseless.”
Arabella’s mouth formed an O of surprise. “You actually cared about Daisy?”
“Of course, I did.” He slapped the desk. “Marrying her wouldn’t have been a sacrifice. She’s an easy woman to care for.”
Arabella’s brows notched up a bit more at that. “I suppose she is,” she said, then folded her hands. “But understand that I can’t have you here at the club. Chance and Daisy are my family. Understand?”
He did. Which was most unfortunate. “So what then?”
“I’m asking you to help me catch Sir Thomas. Once he’s apprehended, I’ll buy out your shares along with a larger sum for your lost income. Let’s say ten thousand pounds. It’s the number I quoted last night and should help with your problems and mine.”
His brows lifted. “You’re going to pay me ten thousand to leave?”
“After you catch Sir Thomas. It’s obvious to me you have skills the rest of us don’t as you managed to so easily root him out for us.”
Edge gave her a sidelong glance as he considered her offer. It was a great deal of money. He’d used his own gambling winnings to pay off what he could of the earldom’s debts. He hadn’t succeeded entirely but he had kept the so-called wolves at bay. With that sum, he could chip away at the debt and give Lizzie a modest dowry.
Perhaps if he also found a wife?
But courting a lady meant splitting his time between the search and the club and he already left Lizzie alone far too often. Which meant his sister hardly left the house. “I was clear. My motives have been and continue to be my sister.”
Arabella shrugged. “With the money you can surely finance a season.”
He shook his head. “True, but that would leave debt. Though I’d be fine with that, there are other problems. She needs a lady to sponsor her, introduce her, and vouch for her. And she needs lessons. Pianoforte. Dancing. The list goes on.”
Arabella looked up at the ceiling as though she were considering his words. When she looked back down at him, her features had hardened again. “Your sister is not my concern. You are free to spend the entirety of the sum on her for all I care.”
He shook his head. “I’d take less money and more aid for Lizzie. She is my priority and money will not buy her the help she needs quickly enough. She is eighteen and the window is closing for her to be ready for a season.”
“What is it you want?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Daisy could have helped me launch her. I don’t know enough to do it myself.”
“Chance would never allow Daisy to help you.”
That wasn’t exactly what he’d been asking but once she’d said it…he looked up at her, hope blooming in his chest. “If Daisy and Chance could just escort her to ball or two. Help her to get a feel for such events, tell her how to behave, what to look for.”
 
; Arabella stared at him. “You want Chance’s help?”
He lifted his hands in denial. “I see your point. But try to understand, I’d take half the money if I thought that Lizzie could make a decent match. Then I can repair the earldom in my own time with my own resources. It’s her that I’m worried for.”
He gripped the edge of the desk, leaning forward as he watched Arabella. Did she understand how badly he needed help?
CHAPTER FOUR
Arabella hated the sympathy tightening her chest.
It was there because she understood several facts about Edge that she hadn’t before and all of them made him more likable.
She let out a soft curse under her breath. Damn him. She didn’t want to know that he’d rushed his engagement with Daisy because he was worried about Lizzie. Nor did she wish to understand that he’d not been born under the banner of entitlement. Rather, he’d been like her. An outsider that happened to be thrust into this world.
And struggling under its weight at that.
She’d felt that struggle more keenly than ever before.
He didn’t have the friends she had. The allies that smoothed her way. From Chance, Hart, and East to the mysterious half-brothers that arrived at her door and offered her a boon, she’d been as blessed as a bastard could possibly be.
And she also knew what it felt like to want to marry into the elite but fall short. She too had been nearly engaged to a baron. One who’d swore he didn’t care about her past or her lack of social ties.
But despite all his pretty words, he’d married another. A lady with impeccable breeding and a dowry to match.
After his betrayal, she’d decided that she’d not open herself up to a man like that again. A choice she stood by. But between the arrival of her actual brothers and her friends finding wives, she began to wonder. Would she always be alone? How much strength would she need to heave herself through this life? Buying out the club would secure her financial future. Would it be enough? It had to be.
For the first time, she realized that she and Edge had a bit in common. More than a bit. Quite a lot actually.
“What you’re asking…” she swallowed. “I already told you, Chance would never allow it.”
He gave her another smile. This one sending a shockwave running through her. “You’re telling me that you can’t convince him? I saw it last night. They all do your bidding.”
Her lips parted in surprise. He was clever. Appealing to her abilities like that. And the truth was, she might be able to convince Chance. But was she being conned by this man just as Daisy had been?
Despite her moment of sympathy, she had to remember, that Edge had been the aggressor and Daisy the naïve girl who’d fallen for his charms.
Edge and Arabella were not the same and her softer feelings could go to the devil.
“And if I do this, you will take five thousand pounds, hand me a thief, and disappear from my life?”
He gave a tentative nod. “But I need Chance’s assurances first.”
Arabella stood and Edge did the same. “Let’s go ask him then, shall we?”
He looked momentarily surprised, his mouth falling open but then he snapped it shut with a nod.
Leading the way once again, she brought him through the back and out to the alley that led to the barn. Chance was going to resent this interruption, but she was eager to see this business done. And if she were honest, she’d likely need Daisy as an ally in this conversation.
A surprise visit to Chance’s home was essential.
Her carriage was readied, the driver snapped open the door for her and Edge offered his hand. She lifted her skirts with one gloved hand as she fit the other into his so that he might help her up the step.
But that was a mistake.
Because the moment they touched, a jolt of awareness pulsed through her, stealing her breath with its force.
Never had she responded to a man like that and the shock of it weakened her knees.
Arabella considered herself, if not intelligent, then a cunning woman. She knew how to hold power for herself and, despite her unconventional life, she’d never given herself to a man.
A woman, especially a single one, gave too much to a man when she allowed him to have her body, and the risk was too great. The last thing she needed was to bring another bastard into the world.
And despite some of her weaker thoughts of late, she’d never allow herself to be used by a man in this regard.
But at Edge’s touch, she finally understood why some women succumbed.
A touch like that was torturous divinity.
And an overwhelming cry rose up in her for more.
In response, she snatched her hand from his and made her way into the carriage, taking the forward-facing seat.
She made a mental note, never to allow Edge to touch her again.
As if she needed more proof that he was dangerous, she was all too aware of what she might lose if allowed him such a liberty again.
The ride passed in an uncomfortable silence, but her thoughts were too jumbled to talk and she needed to order them before they spoke with Chance.
Chance expected Arabella to be calm, confident, and convincing. How would he react if she wasn’t?
She wasn’t certain. Of course, her friends cared for her no matter what, but at some point, she’d put up a façade to remain relevant in their lives and that face had become one she never took off.
But in this moment, it was slipping.
Closing her eyes, she reminded herself why she acted so tough all the time, so in control. She was weaker than them; to remind them of that might be to make herself irrelevant. She wasn’t like Daisy or Lizzie.
She had no real family to bolster her all these years.
Which made her think of her brothers again.
They’d come, she supposed, when it was far too late.
But then she shook her head again. It wasn’t too late. She had her dress shop. And her brothers had given her the deed to the club, and that was her future. She didn’t even want a future like Daisy’s or Lizzie’s. Marriage, children…that wasn’t for her.
She was tough and she’d spend her life living for herself. No one else. And of equal importance, she didn’t need anyone else to care for her either.
All straight, she looked at Edge, drawing in a deep breath. “Please do as little talking as possible. It will go better if you’re quiet.”
“Fine,” he agreed as he looked at her with an unwavering stare.
“And Daisy? You’ll be civil?”
“Yes,” he answered, still holding her gaze. “I hold no ill will toward Daisy. The fault was mine, not hers.”
There he went again, owning up to his own behavior in a way that made him more likable. But she looked away, staring out the window for the remainder of the ride. She needed to make certain that this visit was a success.
Her club and her plan for its future depended on it.
Edge looked up at the stately mansion before him, clenching his jaw tightly to bite back a series of bitter words.
The stone façade was perfectly maintained with the exact right amount of ivy growing up the sides to complement the perfectly manicured landscape surrounding the home.
Chance had clearly not inherited a failing dukedom.
Not that he was jealous Daisy had chosen the other man exactly. But Chance seemed to have enough of everything. Looks. Charm. Money.
And Edge…
He sighed as he stepped out of the carriage and offered his hand to Arabella. One that she ignored, stepping down without his aid.
Apparently, he lacked all three.
Well, that wasn’t completely true.
He’d been told often enough that he was handsome. After his wife’s death, he’d had his fair share of women, casual relationships meant to satisfy a need, nothing more. None of them had been serious.
And he’d been unable to close the marriage deal when it had really counted.
He’d ma
rried his childhood sweetheart at the age of eighteen when they were still young and fresh. A man didn’t need to be so polished. He’d had a profession as an accountant, trained in the trade, and Mary was the daughter of his master.
And they’d been happy.
Until he’d inherited the earldom.
Well, at first Mary had been elated to become a countess, but then they’d had to sell their cottage, their carriage, and most of their possessions all to hold off the worst of the creditors.
Then he’d moved them into a crumbling London townhouse, where the full weight of their debt had settled over them like a mourning cloak.
He shook off the memories. He’d not been able to keep his bride happy then, and he likely wouldn’t be able to keep a woman satisfied now.
Not that he wouldn’t marry, especially if Lizzie needed him to. But that would be a match of convenience, the sort he expected to create stability, not happiness. Would Daisy have been content as his bride? He doubted it. But here…Daisy would surely thrive.
He was glad for her. Glad she’d escaped the noose he offered, not that it helped him.
Following Arabella, he walked up the sparkling clean steps as she raised the knocker and was immediately ushered inside.
Edge followed, feeling the tension building inside his stomach like a stone weight.
The marble floors of the two-story entry glistened in the sunlight as the chandelier sparkled above. He stared at it, hating the perfection it represented.
“I’ve never seen someone glare at a chandelier quite like that before.”
He shook his head. “I never stood a chance.”
Arabella was quiet for several seconds next to him. “It wasn’t about money, Edge, and you know it.”
He supposed it wasn’t. “Money is only part of it. When you’re not desperate, not struggling, it’s so much easier to see the correct moves. To act with assured confidence.”
He felt Arabella move a bit closer. “I see,” she said softly, not just the volume of her voice but the tone, it was gentler. “And I understand. I didn’t grow up with the same advantages either. Though, I believe, I’ve had a few more than you.”