Page 25 of To Tempt a Troubled Earl
When he opened them again, Angel stood before him, an amused smile playing at his lips.
“I don’t know whether to be awestruck or terrified, my lord,” he murmured. “But I sincerely hope Lord Cobham didn’t drink your port supplies totally dry. I’m in dire need of some to quell my nerves.”
Lando huffed a laugh. “Help yourself.”
Angel divested himself of his coat, and Lando watched while the other man unstopped the decanter and poured two generous inches. The satin of his tight-fitting waistcoat moved with him, closely enough to show the contours of his broad back. White linen billowed from his shoulders, and a few locks of his spirally dark curls had escaped the ribbon. His breeches fit snugly across his thighs.
Lando’s thirsty eyes drank him in.
“This land,” said Angel when he returned to where Lando hadn’t budged from the desk. “It doesn’t exist, does it?” He swirled the tawny liquid around his glass before taking a swallow. “I have to confess, my lord. I haven’t quite grasped what you’re up to.”
“You hid it well.” A smile pulled at Lando’s lips. “And on the contrary, the land does exist. Though I have no intention of constructing mills on it. Rather, I’m of a mind to build myself a hunting lodge. It isn’t quite as close to the mill as I led you all to believe. There is a thick copse protecting it from busybodies in every direction, and the views over the moors at sunrise are truly breathtaking.”
Angel’s hazel eyes crinkled at the corners. “Does His Majesty’s most senior Custodian of the River, the North, and the Holy Grail approve of this wholesome plan?”
Lando chuckled softly and, unable to hold back any longer, stroked the tips of his fingers along Angel’s pristine white sleeve. Plucking the fine linen between a finger and thumb, he tugged him a little closer.
“I might have to offer him a lure.” Lando gave a peculiar smile. “One should never underestimate the power of simple enticements. Especially if they hint at the possibility of great fortune.”
Angel studied him. “You’re talking of something else, aren’t you? The plan to hook Gartside.”
Lando inclined his head a fraction. “Keep going.” Again, he ran his fingers along the length of the white sleeve, grazing over the angle of Angel’s elbow and up to the smooth swell of his bicep. “Engage that keen mind of yours.”
“I’m trying to, but it’s damned difficult when you’re doing that.” Angel’s lips pressed into a thin line as he frowned. “You’re promising them great riches in exchange for investing money up front. In land that exists but isn’t for sale.”
“I am,” Lando breathed. His hand curled around Angel’s bicep. He revelled in the firm heft of it.
“You’re dangling untold wealth under the nose of Lord Cobham, a…an ageing baron with a hatred for Ambrose Gartside.”
“Go on,” Lando encouraged.
“And tempting Sir Richard, another wealthy baronet and of high social standing. Reeling in Gartside himself, a spendthrift and a rake, desperate to hold on to his fortunes.”
Lando gave a low amused laugh. “Don’t forget that dreadful American fellow.”
“Most dreadful,” agreed Angel. He chewed his lip thoughtfully.
“You want Gartside to bid for the project and outbid the others, don’t you?”
Lando inclined his head graciously. “He needs to be ruined somehow,” he agreed. “Which means he needs to be persuaded to part with what money he has left. And soon, before he spends it all.”
“Yes,” said Angel urgently. “That’s it.” Excitedly, he ran a hand through his thick dark locks. Lando could almost see the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Lando’s far-reaching proposal, the light in sensible Sir Richard’s eyes. Cobham spotting it too. Tommy, playing that awful American perfectly, barely holding back his amusement. Purse-pinched Gartside’s naked greed. And Angel in the middle, supposedly a government intermediary, an unknown, but trustworthy by virtue of his position.I might have to offer him a lure.
“So, Gartside will bid for a project that isn’t for sale,” Angel continued. “That’s it, isn’t it? To build mills that will never exist and expand a trade route not open for expansion.”
Lando smoothed a path along Angel’s collar bone with his fingers. “You’re getting warmer.”
“But he doesn’t have the funds. Or he does, perhaps, but using them will take everything he has. And yet, by taking this chance, he can restore his fortunes. So he needs the deal desperately, far more than the others. At all costs, Gartside needs to win.”
“Very warm,” purred Lando.
Angel’s chest was very warm, too, the heat of his skin a delicious distraction Lando planned to deal with very shortly if only Angel could join the dots…I might have to offer him a lure…
“You want him to bribe me, don’t you?” Angel finished triumphantly. “You want Gartside to grease me in the fist. To break the law by offering money to an entrusted senior government official, a great deal of money in exchange for ensuring he wins the bid.”
“Bravo.” Lando smiled at the younger man’s eager excitement. “And then?”
“And then, when he’s won, he will need to sell his unentailed estate next to yours to fund the investment.”
