Page 27 of A Little Bit Dangerous
Mr Gibbs would intervene at any moment, and then her father would learn she worked for Mr Daventry and know of her connection to Mr Chance.
She bent to retrieve the papers off the pavement, but her father stamped on them and cried, “Look at me, girl! You know I despise insolence.”
There was only one thing left to do.
What she’d done the night Mr Griffin attacked her in the seminary’s chapel. What she’d done the night the Conte di Barasian tried to force her into bed.
She took to her heels and ran.
* * *
Fortune’s Den
Aldgate Street
“They say Kingsley’s vowels aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.” Christian found the reprobate’s name in the ledger. “He lost a substantial sum to Lord Brookhurst last night. We should bar him from the club until he settles his debts.”
From his seat behind his mahogany desk, Aaron stared over his steepled fingers. “When punters cannot pay, it’s bad for business. I’ll tell Sigmund to turn Kingsley away tonight. We’ll allow him back once his finances are in order.”
Christian nodded before moving to the next item on an ever-growing list. The quicker this meeting was over with, the better. It took immense effort not to drag his brother over the desk and throttle him with his cravat. “Profits increased five per cent last month despite losing the revenue from renting the upstairs rooms.”
Aaron remained silent, the tension in the air thick. He leant forward and narrowed his gaze. “How long do you mean to punish me for ruining your friendship with Miss Lawton?”
As long as I’ve breath in my lungs.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Christian said, but the thought of never seeing Miss Lawton again brought the sting of bile to his throat.
“You know damn well what I mean. You’ve been glum for days. Dragging your chin on the floor. Barely saying a word to anyone.”
A veil of melancholy had fallen over him, darkening his mood. “That has nothing to do with Miss Lawton and everything to do with your lack of faith in me. I’m quite capable of managing my own affairs.”
“Yet I find your judgement flawed.”
Said the man who’d based his opinion on nothing more than the woman’s name. “Miss Lawton is nothing like her father and despises the man. But rest assured, I shall fulfil my obligations to this family.”
Aaron’s brow quirked. “I suppose those large brown eyes and sumptuous lips helped to convince you of her good character.”
Christian inwardly groaned. Damn his brother for noticing. “I can bed any woman of my choosing. It takes more than a pretty face to entice me.”
It took a kind gesture, a selfless act, the brush of dainty fingers through his hair, gratitude for a pokey room above a bookshop.
“You’d be a fool to trust her.”
“That’s no longer of any concern.”
Was he a fool to believe a stranger’s word?
Was the timing anything but a coincidence?
“There are other intelligent women in the world,” Aaron said.
“Yet you sit here night after night, refusing female company.”
Aaron sneered. “I’ve seen what a vindictive woman can do. I’d rather cut out my heart with a rusty blade than place my faith in one again.”
One day, a lady might force Aaron to question his beliefs. Until then, Christian had to live with his brother’s cynical attitude.
“Can we hurry things along?” Christian said, tiring of the conversation. He planned to return to the shipping office and harass theclerkfor a better description of Quigley. “I have somewhere else I need to be. We should discuss the next item on the list.”
