Page 45 of From Duke Till Dawn
Rose smiled without warmth. “Keeping rarified company these days, Cassandra. But you’re still a thieving harlot.”
“I’ll tell you what I tell everyone,” Cassandra said, careful to keep her tone mild. “Martin Hughes ran off with the money, not me.”
“Withmymoney,” Rose corrected her. “And George Lacey’s. And a dozen others.”
“He took my blunt, too,” Cassandra answered.
“I don’t care.” Rose picked at embroidery on her cuff. “You’re the one here now. And I want my money back.”
“When I find it, you will have it,” Cassandra answered.
“I want itnow.” Rose’s eyes were sharp as tacks.
“What if Cassandra can’t come up with the cash?” Alex asked.
“Her life will become extremely unpleasant.” Rose’s smile grew into something truly brutal, her gaze flicking to Dabbs. “Trust me on that.”
Chapter 9
Alex loosened his stance, preparing for more violence. He gazed warily at the matronly looking woman lying back on the chaise. She appeared more like a doting grandmother than a criminal mastermind, but the cold, hard glitter of her eyes and the cruel set of her mouth left no doubt that she would make good on the threats she leveled at Cassandra.
He’d had no idea that this world existed. It was a city that lived beneath the surface of the London he knew, one where lawlessness and brutality ruled. To think that he and his fellow aristocrats danced and dined and laughed without realizing that less than a mile away, swindlers gathered to plan their next scheme, thieves organized like armies, and women and men like Mrs. Donavan could easily destroy lives on a whim.
He felt oddly young and green here, entirely out of his element.
But he’d be damned if anyone threatened Cassandra, not when he’d sworn to protect her. That need grew stronger each moment he spent in her presence, confusing him and obscuring his anger.
He opened his mouth to speak, but caught Cassandra’s unspoken warning. This topsy-turvy realm wasn’t the place to wave around his ducal authority. He smoothed his ruffled feathers. There were times for discretion—like now.
“I’ll pay everyone back,” Cassandra said to Mrs. Donovan. “All I want to do is find Martin and get everyone their money. But he’s disappeared. Gone underground.”
Briefly, he considered paying Mrs. Donavan and all the other investors what was owed. But he rejected that idea almost the same moment it formed in his mind. If he did offer financial recompense, Cassandra would owe him so much more. Thousands of pounds, instead of hundreds. She was far more motivated to find Martin Hughes with the thieves and swindlers of London breathing down her neck. If they were paid with his money, she could flee without their pursuit.
He wouldn’t be played for a fool again. Yet he wondered... Would she do that to himnow?
“So you aren’t here to pay me back,” Mrs. Donovan said in a bored voice. “Whatareyou doing at the Union Hall?”
“Unless we find Hughes,” Alex noted, “no one gets a ha’penny.”
“Surely you or someone here has seen him within the past two days,” Cassandra continued.
Mrs. Donovan was obstinately silent, appearing conspicuously disinterested as she traced patterns on the cushions.
Cassandra took a step toward her. “I’m trying to start over, Mrs. Donovan. No more swindles. No more schemes. Just a clean life, free of tricking and cheating people.”
Alex glanced sharply at Cassandra. This was the first he’d heard of this plan. Was she being sincere, or was it more of her fraudulence? From the urgency of her expression, it seemed she meant what she said.
He didn’t know what to make of that. The path of his anger grew more and more disordered.
The older woman scoured her with a knowing look. “Sounds dull,” she drawled.
“I don’t want to have to hurt people to survive anymore,” Cassandra insisted.
His thoughts clashed against each other like rocks, tumbling in jagged confusion around him. Was she truly repentant? Did she regret what she had done to him, or to others? That didn’t take away from the harm she’d already caused.
A corner of the older woman’s mouth lifted as she eyed Alex, then Cassandra. “That’s where this fancy piece comes in, I’d wager.”
“I’m nobody’spiece,” Alex growled, his attention snapping back into place.
