Our plan? She had no scheme with him.
As the music ended, he escorted her off the dance floor, but not before she noticed Harry glaring at her as he sipped his drink. Her mother rushed to her side.
“Lord Ainsley? Oh my, Louisa! An earl!”
“A rake, Mamma.”
“A rake whose uncle is worth a fortune and won’t release the money until either he dies, or the earl marries.”
What plan had Ainsley conceived that would help her with Harry? Perhaps her sister had an idea. She found Emma speaking with Bolton. Once again, the man’s mother stood next to her son as if terrified to leave her with a Daring Drake sister. But Emma smiled at her viscount as if he was the only man in the room. Louisa’s belly clenched. She could not ruin her sister’s chance with Bolton.
“Good evening, Lord Bolton,” she said with a smile. “Lady Bolton,” she added a nod and quick curtsy.
“Good evening, Miss Drake,” the viscount replied.
“Miss Drake.” His mother gave a disapproving nod before strolling away.
“Have you two danced yet?”
Emma tilted her head and stared at her as if she had horns on her head. “Not yet.”
“Perhaps we should dance now,” Bolton replied, smiling down at Emma.
“May I have this dance?”
Louisa turned to find Harry staring down at her with a scowl lining his face. “I thought you were going to wait a few minutes more?”
“There was a line for the privacy of Lord Huntley’s study.” He held out his arm for her before leaning in closer. “What the bloody hell were you doing with Ainsley?”
“Harry,” she admonished him in whispered tones. “He knows about me visiting you and using his name as an excuse for the Gringhams.”
“Ainsley is a rogue.”
“He is in town to find a wife.” She decided not to tell him much about her conversation with his friend until after she listened to Ainsley’s idea.
“Well, it won’t be you.” He pulled her a bit too close as the waltz was about to begin.
“Why not?” Harry seemed not to mind if she married Collingwood. At least Ainsley would be a far more interesting husband. “Is an earl too high for me to reach?”
“Not Ainsley.”
“You are irrational.”
“Yes, I am,” he whispered. “Dear God, Louisa, you touched me...intimately. Completely inappropriately.”
“I was there.”
“And I loved it,” he said, leaning far too close to her ear.
“Stop this nonsense!” Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment.
“I want to pleasure you, Louisa.”
She felt as if her knees were about to give out. How she kept dancing without stumbling, she had no idea. “You must stop, Your Grace. People might hear you.”
“As long as you hear me, I don’t care.”
“I do believe you are completely and utterly foxed,” she added, praying this dance would end quickly.
“Just drunk on you.”
Oh, dear God, she might faint. “You must stop, Your Grace. People are starting to stare.”
“Let them.”
Not even logic was working on him tonight. As soon as this dance ended, Louisa would deliver him directly to his sister. Lady Radley could take care of him. But this had to be the longest set ever. At one point, he pulled her up against his body, and she could feel his manhood hardening again. If she was not careful, she would end up in bed with him.
A part of her wanted that most desperately.
Finally, the dance ended, and Lady Radley approached. “Lady Radley, thank God,” she said softly. “I do believe your brother is feeling a tad under the weather.”
“Yes, Miss Drake,” Lady Radley said with a disapproving frown. “I think you are correct.”
“Daphne, have you met Miss Drake?” Harry said with a slight slur to his words.
“Come along, Harry. You need to go home now.” Lady Radley led him away as Louisa watched, half-wishing she could be the one to escort him home.
“Miss Drake, may I have the next dance?”
She sighed and turned to find Collingwood behind her. “Of course, but I do believe the musicians are on break right now.”
“That is all right. We can talk for a few minutes. We get so little time to speak with each other. I feel I must confess something.”
“Oh?” How had she become so popular tonight? Usually, she might dance once or twice but rarely three times.
He looked chagrined as he said, “I only danced with you at Lady Leicester’s ball because Worthington requested it.”
“I assumed as much, my lord.”
“But after that dance, I found myself enchanted,” he said softly with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I could not get enough of you or your spirit.”
“I see.”
Collingwood laughed. “I don’t think you do. While I did as Worthington requested, I found myself intrigued by you, Miss Drake.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I believe that Worthington’s request was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“How so, my lord?”
He smiled down at her. “Because I found you.”
“Oh.” Oh, dear God. After what happened in the study, she could never accept Collingwood as a husband. She couldn’t imagine doing to him what she’d done to Harry. It felt natural with Harry. The idea of touching Collingwood’s shaft was rather abhorrent to her.
And she wasn’t ready to give up on Harry yet. He seemed too close to the edge tonight. Jealous. Not of Collingwood but of her dancing with Ainsley.
“This is our dance, Miss Drake.” Collingwood held out his hand for her as the musicians took their seats.
She chose to ignore her feelings for now and focus on Collingwood. She couldn’t help but wonder why he would be courting her when the subject of her meager dowry was well known in Society. “How do you manage with your estates, my lord?”
“Quite well, but I only have the one in Hertfordshire. My late father had a thought to breed racehorses. After some careful consideration, I’ve decided it is not a worthwhile endeavor.”
“Oh?” Well, that coincided with what Harry had told her. Except, she had been certain Collingwood had an estate in Suffolk as well as Hertfordshire. Perhaps it had not been entailed, allowing him to sell it and pay off his father’s debts. “What will you focus on now?”
“Back to farming. It has always kept the estate with a steady income. I’ve already increased the number of sheep and plan to bring in a few more tenants. I need to build houses for them first.”
Louisa nodded. “I see. It sounds like you have everything in order.”
“Almost.”
Except for the most crucial aspect of wealth...diversification. The large estates needed vast amounts of income to sustain them. Farming alone might not be enough to keep the estate solvent, but Louisa doubted Collingwood would like to hear her opinion on the matter.
Once the musicians ended, Collingwood led her toward her mother. “I just need to focus on a wife now.” He bowed over her hand. “Good evening, Miss Drake.”
“Good evening, my lord.” The man had directly hinted that he needed a wife.
“Well done, Louisa,” her mother said with a smile. “You now have an earl and a viscount interested.”
And a duke she wanted the most, who her mother would deem completely unacceptable.
Chapter 17
HARRY LEFT THE BALL while his sister said her goodbyes. He had no intention of sharing the carriage with her only to be forced to listen to her convey her displeasure with his behavior tonight. After hailing a hackney, he headed to an area of town he rarely frequented any longer.
Once the hackney slowed to a stop, he jumped out and paid the man. Harry walked to the door of the gaming hell and knocked on the door of the old church. He slid his card into the slot and waited to be ushered inside. A large man with a long scar across his cheek opened th
e door.
“Your Grace,” the man said. “Welcome to Hell.”
He did love the simplicity of the name of Simon’s gaming hell. “I’m here to see Kingsley.”
The scar-faced man scowled. “Why would a gent like you want to see King?”
“Does it matter? I have asked to see Kingsley.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I apologize.” He started walking down the hall. “This way, Your Grace.”
The man knocked on the door and then slowly opened it enough to say, “King, the Duke of Worthington wants a word.”
A low chuckle sounded from behind the door. “Let my brother in, Hood.”
Hood opened the door. “Excuse me, Your Grace. I had no idea you were a relation.”
Harry entered the large office filled with books and papers. Simon sat behind the large oak desk, leaning back with his hands behind his head.
“Well, well. Isn’t this a surprise. I thought if you ever needed to speak with me, I would be summoned to the grand ducal home.”
Harry shook his head. “Indeed? I will remember that the next time. Pour me a brandy.”
“Not even a please,” Simon said with a low chuckle. “If I were to guess, I’d say you’ve already had a few.”
Harry sat down with a sigh. “Simon, just pour me a goddamn drink.”
“As you wish.” His brother poured brandy into two crystal snifters before handing one to Harry. “What is wrong?”
“I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve made such a mess of things.” Harry sipped his brandy surprised by the excellent quality. Then again, nothing about this place seemed in line with some of the gaming hells he’d been in before. His brother had turned an abandoned church into a gaming hell and then bought the rectory for his office and living quarters. Simon made his fortune by catering to the upper crust reprobates who wanted only the best, and the idea of gambling in a church appealed to their sordid tastes.
“Miss Drake again, I presume.” Simon sat down behind the desk and studied him. “How have you made a mess of things now?”
“Tonight, she happened to notice my rather large desire for her.”
Simon chortled. “Did she go running off afraid of the big bad cock?”
“I wish she had.”
“You didn’t—”
“No,” Harry interrupted. “She took matters into her own hand.”
“Her own hand as in...?”
“Exactly.”
Simon sipped his brandy, but Harry could see the laughter in his sapphire eyes. Harry knew this was a bad idea. Why would one of London’s most infamous rogues take his problem seriously?
“I should go,” Harry said as he stood and then placed his brandy down on the desk.
“Sit down, Harry. I’m sorry if I found this rather humorous, but honestly, I don’t see what the trouble is. So she discovered you lust for her.”
“She is supposed to be my friend, Simon.”
“Maybe she wants to be more than friends.”
“She has never wanted to be anything more than friends.” Throughout several drinks, he finally told his brother everything about his relationship with Louisa.
“A friend does not do what she did tonight, Harry.”
Harry wasn’t sure what to think about her actions tonight. Each kiss they shared in the past fortnight had only become more passionate. When he almost made love to her on the desk in his study, he’d thought she must be too innocent to know what he was doing. But tonight, she had been more seductress than a friend.
This was not the time for her to finally see him as more than a confidante. And yet, the thought of her fingers wrapped around him wouldn’t leave his mind. Perhaps he was going as mad as his father, for all he wanted was Louisa Drake.
“Harry?”
He blinked and focused on their conversation again. “Now Ainsley has come to town. He danced with her tonight.”
“Well, isn’t Ainsley a better candidate than Collingwood? He is an earl.”
“He’s a rake!”
“Rakes can change, Harry. You did.”
“I was never as bad as Ainsley. Father wouldn’t allow it.”
Simon chuckled. “Yes, our dear sainted father who never strayed from the moral path. Of course, that doesn’t explain my existence, now does it?”
“Shut up, Simon. Collingwood is a good man. I should be encouraging her to marry him.”
Simon shook his head before taking another sip of brandy. “You mean he’s a safe man. While Ainsley might have enough charm to make her fall in love with him.”
“That is not it at all.” How had Simon figured that out before he had? Harry closed his eyes and saw her dancing with Ainsley again. He saw how his friend looked at her with longing. How she smiled up at him and appeared to like the attention he gave her.
“Marry her, Harry. She may not have the best family, but you love her, and that’s more than most men get in life.” Simon sighed. “Or women for that matter.”
“She doesn’t wish to marry me.”
“What’s the real reason you won’t marry her? Because I am quite sure you can damn well convince her to marry you.”
“I couldn’t.” Harry stared down into his snifter of brandy. “I shouldn’t.”
“Whyever not?” Simon asked.
“After what Father did by murdering her sister’s husbands, I cannot. The gossip would be dreadful for everyone involved, especially her youngest sister.”
“And?”
“And I won’t do anything to hurt Louisa...or her family.” He added that last bit as more of an afterthought.
“How was any of that mess your fault?” Simon pressed before pouring them both more brandy.
Harry looked down into the dark recesses of his brandy, half-wishing the liquid would swallow him. “I should have been there. I might have seen the changes in him, Simon.”
Simon stared at him for a long moment. “But there’s more, isn’t there?”
Harry banged the snifter on the desk with such force the twisted stem broke. “Yes. After what I did to my wife, I don’t deserve a woman as sweet as Louisa. I don’t deserve anyone. And when I thought I could make it up to Sabita by bringing her here, a fortnight after we arrived, she was poisoned by my father.”
“What did you do, Harry?” Simon asked in a low tone.
Harry closed his eyes, trying to forget those days. Instead, he pictured the hurt in Sabita’s brown eyes. “I cannot talk about it.”
Simon released a long breath. “What happened here was your father’s fault, not yours. You could not have known how he would react.”
“I should have known,” he shouted as he rose from his seat and paced the room. “I knew how he treated his workers over there. I did my best to improve their conditions without causing Father to notice the expenditures. He hated them just because they were different. Their skin a shade darker than ours. That is why I convinced him to sell the damned place.”
“But you kept your daughter safe, Harry,” Simon said softly. “You did that by not telling your father about her. You kept her safe and gave her a new life.”
“A new life where people ridicule her because her skin isn’t pale enough. I must get out of town for a few days,” he said. “I need to think things through.”
“Are you certain now is the best time with both Collingwood and Ainsley chasing the woman you love?”
“Louisa is not a fool. She will see past Ainsley’s charm. Besides, he knows better than to cross me.”
“Perhaps, but she might not see past Collingwood’s safety,” Simon muttered in a low tone as Harry reached the door.
“WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF to last night?” Daphne asked Harry as he entered the salon the next morning. “I needed to speak with you.”
“I went to see Simon,” he said, sitting in the chair next to her. “And I do not want to hear one word about my behavior last night.”
“Very well, but why would you go to see him?” Disdain dripped from her voice. “H
e’s a bastard.”
“He is our brother, Daphne. He could not help being born on the wrong side of the blanket.”
“I don’t have to like it,” she said with a huff. “Father should have had better taste than an opera singer.”
“I need to go to Worth Hall for a few days, maybe a week. Would you mind if I left Charlotte here?”
“Of course, you can leave Charlotte with me. But what do you need to go out there for?” she asked. “And you cannot go until after my party.”
“I need to speak with the steward. Some numbers are not adding up.” Harry rubbed his face. “What party?”
“On Friday, I thought we would host a small soiree here. Just fifty or so people. We’ll have some musicians for dancing, and maybe a room set up for gaming. Invite Kingsley if you wish. I will try to be a better person and accept Father’s bastard.”
“Why are you holding it here and not at your home?”
“Radley was delayed another week. Besides this house is larger and accommodates more people.”
“You just said it would be a small party.” Harry waved a hand at her. “Do as you like, but I will be leaving Saturday morning then.”
“Excellent.” She rose with a smile on her face. “I must go prepare the guest list.”
LOUISA SAT IN THE SALON, reading a book on architecture. If only she’d been born a man. She could have done such great things. Although, perhaps not architecture since her drawing abilities were feeble at best. Instead, she was a woman with no clear path in front of her. As a woman, the possibilities were limited, indeed. Marriage was the most sought-after profession for a lady. But what other choices did she have? A governess position, perhaps?
She almost laughed aloud. If she ever applied for a position, her mother would have an apoplexy.
“Lord Ainsley,” Davis announced before letting the earl in the room.
Ainsley swept into the room and bowed. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Drake, Miss Drake, Miss Emma.”
“Lord Ainsley, how lovely to see you,” Mamma twittered. “And you came to call on such a dreadful day. The rain hasn’t stopped all day.” She stood and walked to the door. “I will make certain there is tea for you.”
A Deal with a Duke (The Daring Drake Sisters, #2) Page 20