Page 50 of Every Rake Has A Silver Lining

They glanced up, and Weatherby’s eyes widened. “Beckham. Fancy meeting you here. Didn’t you get married this morning?”

Simon hadn’t thought about that. “Um. Yes?”

Montgomery laughed. “You’re not sure?”

“Don’t laugh, Montgomery,” Weatherby said. “I found you at White’s the day after your wedding.”

Red colored the tips of Montgomery’s ears.

Interesting.

Montgomery straightened. “That was different.”

“And how would you know? Beckham could be having the same trouble with women you did.”

Very interesting. Although . . . he had to defend himself. “I don’t have any trouble with women.”

Both men stared at him, apparently forgetting Simon was the reason they’d begun arguing in the first place.

A hand clapped Simon on the shoulder—hard. “Well, well. Trouble in paradise already, Beckham?”

Turning, Simon was confronted with none other than The Worm himself, Lord Felix Davies. Had the entiretondecided to descend upon the new gaming hell? The torture of the music room at Pendrake House suddenly seemed preferable.

“His and Her Grace are expecting their first child,” Simon said, hoping the explanation would appease them and stop their probing questions.

Montgomery and Weatherby exchanged a look, and Davies simply chortled.

“So?” The snide question had come from Davies.

“It’s coming. Now,” Simon clarified.

Davies gave an insouciant shrug. “I suppose it doesn’t matter that tonight is your wedding night, considering you’ve already had Lady Charlotte. But I didn’t quite expect you to be bored with her so soon.” He studied his well-manicured nails. “Or maybe I did. I’ve had a taste myself and found it quite lacking.”

Simon lunged at him. If he could just get his hands around the man’s neck, he’d . . .

Hands gripped Simon’s arms, restraining him. Expecting to see either Montgomery or Weatherby, Simon prepared to tell them to go to the devil and let him tearThe Worm limb from limb.

A tower of a man with serious amber eyes met his gaze. Not as large as the giant at the front door, the man still had Simon by a good four inches. “Easy, friend. He’s not worth it.” He peered over Simon’s head. “Hartley Two!” he yelled over the din of the room.

The giant appeared from the side of the room.

“Weren’t you just at the door?” Simon pointed toward the entrance.

“That was my brother,” the man answered.

“They’re twins. Identical,” the man with the amber eyes said. He was well-dressed like everyone else, but he had an air of command about him. “Hartley, show Lord Felix the door. I warned you, Davies. If you continue to make trouble in here, I will ban you for good.”

Grumbling and throwing the giant’s hands off him, Davies strode to the door, leaving a trail of obscenities in his wake.

“Shame,” the amber-eyed man said. “His money is good.” A dimple broke through his cheek when he grinned. “And he tends to leave a lot of it when he comes here.” He cocked his head. “Don’t think I’ve seen you in here before. Am I going to have trouble with you, too?”

Simon stuck out his hand. “Simon Beckham. And no, I try to avoid trouble as much as possible. However, he disparaged my wife.”

The man’s large hand engulfed Simon’s in a hearty shake. “Everyone calls me Captain. And unfortunately, that doesn’t surprise me about Davies. The man is trouble on two legs.”

“Are you the owner of this fine establishment?”

“I am. And if your money is good and you don’t cause trouble, I’m happy to make your acquaintance.”

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