Page 60 of The Pleasures of Passion
“Some men are like that,” Raines said. “And the ones who aren’t assume that other men are all like that.”
And some women assume the same.
No, that wasn’t fair. Given the gossip, was it any wonder that Bree believed that Niall had betrayed her? Hehadfought a duel over a woman. Just not the kind of woman she’d been told.
Sir Kenneth scowled. “But my sister was only fifteen at the time. What was the man thinking?” He arranged his cards. “Good God, who wants to dally with a schoolgirl, anyway? I personally prefer a woman with more experience. A Cyprian, a bored wife, a merry widow.” He flashed his partner a conspiratorial look. “And I’m not the only one with such a preference, am I, Raines?”
Raines tensed up. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Right,” Sir Kenneth said with a sly smile. “So it’s just me, then.”
“Are we going to play or not?” Sir Oswald broke in. “It’s your lead, Sir Kenneth.”
“Of course.” The baronet laid down his card, and the game was on.
As they went around the table, Niall turned to Raines. “How long have you been coming here?”
“Two years or more,” Raines said. “I enjoy the game. It takes my mind off my . . . troubles.”
Niall couldn’t help wondering what those troubles might be. “I confess I have a weakness for card games,” he said, to establish his pretend character. “I can’t seem to stay away.”
“Exactly!” Sir Oswald cried. “They’re quite entertaining. And they can be lucrative.”
Sir Kenneth took the trick. “Only when one wins. I don’t care for losing, myself.”
Hmm. Perhaps Sir Kenneth was willing to win at any cost. And the sort who’d cheat would also be the sort who’d pay his debts with counterfeit money.
Niall would have to keep an eye on the baronet’s playing. “I understand that you only recently came to town, Sir Kenneth. What brought you here in summer, other than this latest, uncharacteristic sitting of Parliament?”
Sir Kenneth shrugged. “My youngest sister’s debut will be next season, so I figured I’d take my seat and also squire her and my mother around while they shopped for her coming-out.”
“That sounds costly,” Niall said.
“It is, though I don’t mind. She’s the last of three to need a husband, so I’ll spare no expense to make sure she finds one. It won’t take much, I daresay. She’s the sort of girl every man wants for a wife.”
“Oh?” Niall asked. “What sort is that?”
“Pretty. Eager to please. Malleable.”
Odd, but that didn’t sound as appealing to Niall as it once had. Now that he’d been dealing with a more prickly sort of female, he realized he liked the challenge of a woman with her own opinions.
“So,” Niall said, “are you in the market for that kind of wife yourself?”
“I’m not in the market for any kind of wife at the moment—at least not until I get my sister settled.” Sir Kenneth grinned. “Although if I hadyoursituation, I might be.”
Niall tensed. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you have the best of both worlds. A pretty young woman who’s also an experienced widow with a fortune. Cream of the crop, as far as I’m concerned.” He smirked at Niall over his cards. “First time I saw Mrs. Trevor, I thought about throwing my hat into that ring myself. Then you beat me to it. If I were you, I’d guard that woman jealously. There’s a line of bachelors stretching from here to Almack’s just waiting to have a go at your little filly if you should choose to discard her.”
Only with an effort did Niall resist the impulse to tell the man to rein in his comments about the “little filly”—that she was now off-limits to any other bachelor. Instead he forced himself to focus on what Sir Kenneth’s comment said about his character.
And how curious that the man would speak of her that way in front of her father. Did Sir Kenneth have some idea of marrying her so he could feed Sir Oswald more counterfeits?
“Watch your tongue,” Sir Oswald snapped. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about in such a rude manner.”
“You have a daughter?” Sir Kenneth said, clearly shocked.
Ah,thatwas why the fellow hadn’t governed his tongue. Which also meant that the baronet wasn’t angling for a closer connection to Sir Oswald. It didn’t stop him from being a counterfeiter, but it gave him one less reason to be so.
