Perhaps he had more serious plans for her after all. Or, if he was the cad everyone had led her to believe he was, perhaps it was that her plan was working. She was making the heartless scoundrel fall in love.
But that was yet to be seen. Loraine conceded to meeting his friends after much deliberation and he took her to Lord Bradley Stenson’s estate the following evening.
The house was grand, but he appeared to live in it all alone. And she took one look at him and could see why. He was a bachelor. And so was Lord Theodore Brand, who was also in attendance.
After greeting his friends, Loraine looked between the three of them, taking each of them in one by one. And though they all had different faces and different builds, they shared one striking thing in common.
They were single, independent men who were full of mischief. Something she loved, but that also worried her. Because mischief could so easily tip into recklessness when it was pushed too far. As Philip had proven in the past.
“So this is the woman you’ve been talking about non-stop,” Lord Stenson remarked, with a wide smile. “I may have to steal her from you, Philip. She’s quite remarkable.”
Before Philip could scoff or huff out a witty reply, Loraine quirked a brow at Bradley and said, “I’m afraid I can’t be stolen, my Lord. You see, I don’t belong to him.” She said it with a smile.
Lord Brand laughed loudly. “No wonder he likes you,” he remarked. “He’s always loved a challenge.”
Loraine knew that this was meant as a compliment and inclined her head at Lord Brand. She knew this all too well about Philip. In fact, his love of a challenge was the foundation to her entire plan.
A plan that she’d put aside for this evening, so that she could learn the truth and make an unbiased decision. A decision that wasn’t influenced by her aunt’s bitterness.
Of course, Loraine had always been suspicious of men. She thought them inferior in many ways, because they seemed to be so ruled by base instincts. So she’d always avoided them as best she could.
But as the evening progressed, she found herself enjoying the company of these gentlemen far more than she’d enjoyed the company of the ladies at the tea party.
They laughed at each other, without feeling the need to hide playfulness behind politeness. They joked, without any regard for etiquette. There was such play between them that she couldn’t help but enjoy every instant.
And when they said something that might have hurt a lady’s feelings, the subject of the joke would just laugh right along with them. In fact, Philip allowed himself to be teased about his infatuation with Loraine for the entire evening. He even seemed to enjoy it.
There was a warmth in his cheeks that she hadn’t seen before. And she realized that he rather loved these men. They were his dearest friends.
“Now tell us, Miss Beauchamp. How have you been putting up with this gentleman?” Lord Stenson asked, gesturing to Philip.
Philip rolled his eyes and said, “Because I’m a delight and she’s wise enough to recognize that.”
“May I speak on my own behalf Philip?” Loraine asked, which made Lord Stenson and Lord Brand look at each with amused smiled.
“Certainly,” Philip answered, with a gesture of his hand.
She looked back at his friends and said, “I quite enjoy a challenge too, my Lords. And I find him extremely challenging.”
This was a double-edged sword that made all three gentlemen burst out into unified laughter. Even Loraine laughed.
***
Lord Philip Everton, Marquess of Blackhill
When Theodore had suggested that Philip invite Loraine to meet him and Bradley, he’d been hesitant at first. He’d asked their friends to promise to play fair. Particularly Theodore, who would benefit immensely from Philip’s relationship with Loraine falling apart.
They agreed that they would be on their best behavior. They only wanted to see if the plan was truly going as well as Philip insisted it was. When he asked them to believe him at face value, they’d laughed and said that they’d believe it when they saw it.
He half-wished that Loraine would refuse but, after a little deliberation, she agreed to come. They went for dinner in the evening and agreed to play some cards afterwards, though Philip assured her that he wouldn’t gamble heavily.
Once they arrived, his nervousness fell away entirely. Because as he watched his friends interact with Loraine, he realized how pleasing a sight it was. And with every word out of Loraine’s mouth, he felt more at ease. Thrilled, in fact, that his friends would see what a woman she was.
Philip knew that his mind was straying off the course of his plan, but he couldn’t make himself care. He’d brought her here to prove that she was falling in love with him. To display it like a trophy. But all he could think as he watched her was how wonderful she was.
And he was proud to be courting her.
The one thing he hated about being at Bradley’s was that he wasn’t afforded those precious opportunities to kiss her that he was at her estate.
They had to conduct themselves with at least some propriety, though he kept looking at her lips as though he was a hungry animal.
During dinner, having exhausted their jokes at Philip’s expense, his friends got onto the subject of politics. Bradley’s father was a prominent figure, so it was a subject of much interest to him.
It was clear that nobody expected Loraine to participate in this conversation, but she played an active role nevertheless. “I wonder,” she interjected, while Bradley was rambling about his father’s policies. “What is your father’s policy on the homelessness issue in England?”
Bradley blinked at this and looked at Philip.
“I find Mr Grey’s position on the subject rather refreshing. Given that he’s broken with a stance that seems to date back to the birth of British politics. What are your thoughts?”
Bradley shook off his astonishment soon enough and leaned forwards in his seat, clearly intrigued. They debated the subject for half an hour while Theodore and Philip looked on, speechless.
Bradley had always been a formidable debater, but Loraine certainly held her own. In fact, if he had to make an unbiased judgement, he might even say that she had won the debate.
By the end of it, Bradley leaned back in his seat and huffed out a breath. “I had not thought of it like that,” he admitted.
“Will you pass it on to your father?” Loraine wondered, as she took a sip of wine.
“I most certainly will.”
Bored of politics, Theodore stood and said, “Shall we go into the drawing room for a game?”
Philip knew that he was itching for it. Theodore had as much of a penchant for gambling as Philip did. When he wasn’t off traveling and womanizing, he practically lived for it.
The thrill of it.
“I hope you won’t be too bored,” Philip murmured into Loraine’s ear as they followed Bradley and Theodore into the drawing room.
They took their seats and Theodore dealt them in. “On the contrary,” she said. “I’m rather looking forward to it.”
“Have you played before?”
She looked down at her cards and smiled. “A little.”
He decided to go easy on her. Though he was sure that she wasn’t the sort to be embarrassed by losing, he didn’t want to risk it. After all, he and his friends were extremely experienced gamblers. Any novice was bound to feel out of their depth when playing with them.
“I’ll explain the rules,” Theodore said. And Loraine let him. She nodded from time to time, before concluding that she was ready to play.
None of them had any idea what they were getting into.
By the end of the third round, the men looked at each other. Realizing, at the very same moment, that they’d all been hustled.
She called every single one of their bluffs. She knew when to hold, when to raise, when to fold. At first, Philip wondered if it was pure luck when she revealed a full house. But as the game went on, he couldn
’t deny the truth any longer.
“You’ve played this before,” he said, as she won another round.
“A little, as I said,” she answered, with an cunning little smile.
“More than a little,” he replied. “How much?”
“Yes, how much?” Bradley asked.
None of them felt especially sore at having lost so much money to her. They were just… fascinated by her. All of them.
As Philip looked around at his friends’ awed faces, he couldn’t even be jealous. Because he couldn’t blame them. He’d think them blind idiots if they weren’t intrigued by her.
“My aunt and I played every evening since I went to live with her,” she admitted at last.
Philip grinned and shook his head. “You tricked us.”
“On the contrary,” she remarked. “You assumed.”
As she said this, she picked up Philip’s glass of whiskey and finished the last of it. His jaw went slack and he just stared at her, half-smiling.
She was unlike anyone he’d ever known.
He could feel Bradley and Theodore staring at him, but he didn’t give a damn. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “You really are quite something,” he said.
“Is that a compliment?” She asked, smiling as she leaned on the armrest between them so that they were closer.
“You know it is.”
Loraine announced her intention to leave not long after that. She had a carriage waiting for her outside. Philip didn’t go with her, because he wanted to stay the night at Bradley’s. As she left, she thanked the gentlemen for having her.
They bid her a goodnight. But before she left, Philip stepped out onto the doorstep with her so that they could have a moment alone.
“You were remarkable tonight,” he murmured. “Did you have a good time?”
“I did actually,” she admitted, sounding pleasantly surprised.
“Did you not expect to?”
“Truthfully, no,” she confessed. “I am not used to enjoying the company of men.”
“But you enjoy my company, don’t you?”
She leaned up onto her tiptoes and kissed him softly, but didn’t answer. “Goodnight, Philip,” she murmured.
When she left, Philip went back into the house. Theodore was waiting for him in the foyer. “Well?” Philip said. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“The only thing you’ve proven,” Theodore began, in a low voice. “Is that you’ve lost sight of why you’re doing this, Philip.”
Shaking his head, Theodore disappeared into the drawing room and left Philip standing there, speechless. It was a hard knock to his pride.
But beyond that, it made him feel this sharp pang in his chest. He felt as if Theodore’s words had manifested Edgar between them. Philip could practically feel him staring at him. It made the hairs on his arms lift.
Chapter 20
Miss Loraine Beauchamp
Loraine had avoided her aunt since their disagreement about Philip. And, having taken Mrs. Barrow’s advice, she thought that she was beginning to see Philip more clearly. Perhaps he wasn’t the scoundrel she’d thought him to be.
She sat in the library with The Aeneid in her lap, thinking about him. She’d expected arrogance from him, but what she saw instead was a charm and charisma that caught her off guard almost every day.
And beneath that layer of wit and humor, there was something else about him. Some mystery that she felt compelled to discover. A goodness.
Loraine smiled to herself and wrapped her arms around the book, holding it against her chest. She put her lips against the top of it and peered over the top, at the shelves.
She imagined that he was here with her. Pictured him standing by the shelves, fingering the spines of books with an intent look in his eye.
Yes, there was something about him. And when she thought of his kisses, a shiver went through her. After so many years spent loathing his sex, she felt a keen affection for him warming her belly and her heart.
Loraine couldn’t stop thinking about him. To the point of distraction. Every time she tried to read or study, her mind would wander back to him and she’d have to put her books away.
She’d wind up staring out the window, touching her own lips and thinking about the way he’d kissed her.
“You’ve lost your senses.”
Loraine looked up, blinking out of a daze, to see Aunt Esther stood in the doorway. She cleared her throat, because she knew her voice would be husky, and said, “Pardon?”
“I thought I’d raised you better than this,” her aunt said, with a sour countenance. She walked quickly into the room and tossed a pile of letters down onto the reading bench Loraine was sat on.
Loraine was still reeling from what her aunt had said. Still trying to process it. Her brow puckered and she picked up the letters. “Who are these from? They’re addressed to you,” Loraine said.
But her aunt didn’t answer her question. She wasn’t done berating her. “Are you proud of yourself? Simpering like a foolish child after a gentleman who couldn’t give a damn about you.”
Loraine looked up at her aunt, feeling her words like a lash on her face. “I am not simpering,” she said, in a hard voice.
“Are you a liar now too?”
“I just don’t think he deserves this, auntie. I have gotten to know him.”
“Have you? Oh he must be very clever indeed to have convinced you. Or perhaps I overestimated you and you’re no better than other girls your age.”
“You mean no better than you were,” Loraine corrected her.
Aunt Esther’s jaw fell open and her face started to redden. She looked like she was about to scream. Loraine saw the anger growing like fire in a forest. Then she snapped her jaw shut and closed her hands into fists.
“Read the letters,” she hissed, then turned and quickly left the room. Loraine heard her scream outside the door for a servant to bring her some brandy.
Loraine looked down at the letters, with a queasy feeling. She thought about not reading them, but when had she ever shied away from the truth? Whatever it might be.
Besides, her aunt might think these letters helped her cause, but Loraine knew that her aunt could be irrational. These letters didn’t have to mean anything at all.
Then why was she so afraid to open them?
She shuffled through the envelopes. So many different styles of handwriting. So they couldn’t be from the same person.
She swallowed and opened the first letter.
Then the second. Then the third.
The contents became a mosaic of words around her and the more she read, the more she had to read.
An abominable gentleman.
What he did to his family was diabolical.
His mother was the gentlest creature I ever knew. What he did broke her heart.
He abandoned them.
They sent word that she was sick, but he didn’t come. He left England the day after her funeral, gallivanting as if tragedy hadn’t just struck.
Womanizer. Scoundrel. Cad.
Charlatan. Gambler. Drunkard.
Cruel and heartless.
She read that last phrase in almost every single letter. Cruel and heartless. By the time Loraine had read the last of them, she was sitting on the floor with the ripped envelopes and the letters surrounding her.
She put the final one down and saw that her hands were trembling. She turned them over and looked at her palms, trying to discern what it was she was feeling. Anger? Sadness?
She felt something wet on her cheek and touched it with her fingertip. Just one tear. But if she felt any sadness at all, it was shrouded in a feeling that was far uglier.
Loraine stood and clenched her hands together by her side, then opened them, then clenched them again. She wanted to ruin something. To tear those letters up. And she thought about it. But as she looked down at them, she realized that they were far too important to be torn to pieces.
They were ammunition.
&n
bsp; And with that thought, she suddenly felt very calm. She stopped shaking and gathered the letters up into a neat pile. She tucked them away between two books, which was where she often hid things, because no one else came to the library.
Then Loraine went to her aunt’s room and knocked.
“Come in, dear,” her aunt called.
Title Sinful Tales of Desirable Ladies Page 15