Page 522 of From Rakes to Riches

But that wasn’t the main thing.

She was a liar.

And that couldn’t be tolerated.

Sudden anger flashed through him, and he pounded a frustrated fist against the checkered mahogany of his escritoire. The fact was he wouldn’t be able to run Hannibal if Gem didn’t ride the foul-tempered beast. It was too late to try someone else.

Blast.

Very rarely did things not go his way, and he found it intolerable when they didn’t. He’d always—always—been able to squeeze a gain out of a loss.

Not always, a little voice reminded him.Not with Felicity.

He expelled a blustery sigh. “Women.”

“Well, hello to you, too, brother,” laughed a feminine voice.

Rake pulled himself from thoughts that could surely reach no satisfactory end and found Artemis already halfway across the room.

“You’re too deep in thought,” she said, propping a hip against a chaise longue and crossing her arms over her chest. A light smile played about her mouth. “That’s never a good thing.”

A dry laugh erupted from Rake. That was Artemis—ever in good spirits and ever honest, which could lead to interesting consequences. Like her telling an unfortunate truth with a smile on her lips. She had a way of brightening any situation.

“Come,” she said, pushing off the sofa, “let me trounce you at billiards.”

Rake snorted and followed his sister into the gaming room adjacent to his study. With the efficiency of experience, they each chose their preferred cue and set the two white balls and one red ball onto green felt.

Artemis propped a shoulder against the wall. “You can go first,” she said with a smirk. “You look as if you need the leg up.”

Rake didn’t bother rising to her jibe. Instead, he leaned over the table, cue in hand. With a single precise strike, he sent her cue ball to one corner and the red ball to the other, potting both. “That’ll be five points,” he said.

It wasn’t his early lead in the game that put a smile on his face, but rather, the quick explosion of controlled violence. It proved to be the release he needed.

But Artemis was no dull hand at billiards, and after a few rounds, she had them tied in points. She struck her cue and pocketed his before meeting his gaze across the wide expanse of the table. “What’s troubling you, brother?”

He’d known the question wouldn’t be long coming. “I have to get rid of Gem.”

It only took an instant for Artemis’s face to go from light and playful to dark and thunderous. “What’s this?” she demanded. “First, you don’t let me have him. Then you go and decide to sack him?”

“I’m not exactly happy about it,” he groused. As a duke, his sister was the only person in the world to whom he could vent.

She nodded slowly. “Let me have him.”

Rake shook his head. On this point, he was adamant. “He has to go. He can no longer be employed in our stables.”

Artemis leaned over the table and struck a ball with more force than necessary, sending a ball flying.

“It wasn’t your turn,” Rake pointed out.

Artemis blew a gusty raspberry and pointed her cue directly at the center of his chest, possibly considering running him through. “You are a damned frustrating man, brother. Why can’t I have him for Dido?”

“Because he isn’t who he says he is.”

Artemis leaned over and struck her cue ball again. She’d clearly lost all care for the game. Now, she was the one who needed the release of controlled violence.

Of a sudden, she went stone still. Her brow furrowed, and when she straightened, a little smile played about her mouth. “Ah,” she said. “I understand now.”

“Understand what?” he asked slowly. He wasn’t sure he wanted Artemis’s understanding.

---