Page 20 of Five Nights with a Rakish Duke
“They were inherited by my mother and then passed to my father. Under the terms of his will, the estates were to be held by the current Earl until I married, then they would become mine, and by extension…” she paused, swallowing as though the next words were difficult to utter, “they would be my husband’s too.”
“Wait…” Asher stepped forward, aware that being closer to her made his blood heat, but at this moment he couldn’t think about that. “Are you saying, Lord Larson gambled away your dowry?”
“He did.” The words might as well have struck him across the cheek in a slap. He reared away, tripping over a nearby rug until he fell backward. Fortunately, the piano stool was close by, and he fell onto it, sitting with a heavy thud.
What man would risk his cousin’s livelihood so?Asher was struggling to think quickly enough to understand what had passed. He had thought the Earl a good man, though perhaps a little misguided; this now suggested a complete recklessness and a disregard for his cousin.
“What kind of man would do that?” he said, shaking his head and muttering to himself.
“My cousin is a good man,” Lady Penelope said, walking forward until she stood adjacent to him by the piano.
“You think that? Even after he has lost your livelihood?”
“I never said he did not have his faults. So does every man. You included. I too,” she said sharply, looking away, down at the deeds on the piano. She adjusted the papers, bringing them forward. “Though I suspect your faults have more to do with the number of beds you share.”
“Believe me, My Lady, in that department, I am told I am quite good. Not many faults at all.” His flirtation worked as she lifted her head, blushing almost as red as a tomato. He smiled at the sight. “Are you unused to having a man flirt with you?”
“I am here to discuss the loss of my dowry, Your Grace.”
Asher clenched his hands, watching as Lady Penelope read the deeds. It was easy to see the pain etched on her face at reading those words, for she bit her lip, and her cheeks quivered, apparently holding back tears. Asher felt a kind of fury take hold of him, all directed at Lord Larson for being so foolish as to risk this lady’s dowry.
“Your cousin is still a fool, My Lady,” he said, watching as Lady Penelope rearranged the deeds on the piano again. She lifted her eyes up to him, returning that pleading stare. “Wait… oh no,” he said, lifting a warning finger in the air. “He made the bet; I cannot undo it.”
“Please, Your Grace,” she said, moving toward him. He should have been thrilled at her coming so close, but she was asking him to undo his word. It would be going against the honesty of a card game. Dorian and the other man at the table would be treated unfairly for any single gamble made that night to be returned.
“The gamble was made in good faith.”
“On your part but not on my cousin’s part. I beg of you.” She dropped down to her knees in front of him by the piano stool.
“My Lady, if my butler or any staff walk in now, what will they think of you on your knees before me?” he said quietly, encouraging her to stand again. She glanced toward the door with anxiety but stayed where she was. “I certainly do not mind it and would encourage you into other positions as well, but something tells me you would not like to be seen in such a way.”
“I am already seeing you without a chaperone. If anyone knows I am here, I am ruined regardless.”
“I promise you, no one will find out,” he assured her, needing her to know it. He liked her; he was hardly going to cause her that cruelty, especially when she had been served so much cruelty already. “I may be a rake, but I have discretion.”
“I beg you, Your Grace,” she said, looking up at him. “Return my estates to my cousin. When I marry, they will then become mine.”
“I cannot do it,” he said, though his words made his stomach clench. He ruffled his hair with both hands, tipping his head back in frustration. “It would be going back on my word, and I do not do that.”
“I would be in your debt, Your Grace. I will do anything to have them back.”
“Do they really mean so much to you?” he asked, lowering his gaze to hers.
“I cannot describe what they mean,” she whispered. “We are not merely speaking of our finances here. My childhood was spent between these two estates with my mother and father. Do not take those memories away from me. Please.”
Asher reared back on the piano stool again, struggling with her pleas. He wanted to help her, truly he did, especially when she was looking at him with such desperation, speaking of the love of her parents and these estates.
“Lady Penelope, please listen,” he said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. The move brought them close together. He could see it made her eyes flick down to his lips. The simple thing reminded him of what they had shared at the ball and the thrill of it.
What I would do to have such a kiss again!Yet, that was out of bounds. She had not come to see him because of desire, only because of a gamble. His own desire seemed to be shackled now. He pictured himself being one of those tigers held up in the Tower of London menagerie, chained away from release.
“The deal is done,” he said, his voice so quiet it was a whisper. “The only way I could give you the estates now is if a new deal was to be struck, so the estates were in payment for something else.”
“I see,” she said miserably and hung her head forward, dropping her gaze away from his lips. Silence descended between them for a minute. The whole time he gazed at her, thinking of the wit she had shown the other night and how awfully it contrasted to her current sadness. He was desperate to see some of that spirit back and worked hard to think of a way to get it.
“You do not know how much I have thought of what passed between us the other night,” he said quietly. She lifted her eyes to him, frowning in suspicion.
“That sounds like words you have said before, perhaps to ladies you have managed to persuade into your bed.”
