Page 4 of The Gentleman's Seduction
“I’ll pay you for your half of this man’s vowels,” Martin said to his partner as they rose from the table. The man glanced at Hartwell’s ashen face and nodded. Hartwell’s partner sighed and paid his dues, while Martin reimbursed his own partner for his portion of Hartwell’s debt outright.
“Thank you, Mr.…” Hartwell tilted his head at Martin.
“Martin Banks.”
“Banks? Have we met before?” The older man’s eyes searched his, seeking a memory, but unable to find it.
Martin fixed him with a chilly gaze. “Yes. We have. I will pay a call upon you tomorrow evening, and we will discuss your debt then.”
“Banks?” It was clear Edwin was still struggling to make the connection. Martin would let him worry about it overnight.
His blood was pounding against his eardrums as he fought to control himself.
“You should be worried about how I shall collect your debt.”
I have him where I want him. Killing him now wouldn’t do any good.
Hartwell staggered, knocking his chair over. “Please, I can find a way to pay you…”
“Please!” Hartwell grabbed his sleeve.
Martin stared at his hand, and Hartwell hastily released him. “As I said, I will call upon you tomorrow evening,” he repeated. “We will discuss the payment terms then.” Martin walked away, his hands shaking as he tried to calm himself.
Soon he would have his revenge.
LAVINIAHARTWELL WAS PERCHEDon a window seat facing Duke Street with a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. She was lost in the pages of a sensational Gothic novel,Lady Leticia and the Dark Dukeby L. R. Gloucester.
Lavinia, or Livvy as she preferred to be called, found these two characters particularly compelling. There was something delightful about a darkly handsome man who played a reluctant hero and a young lady who fought bravely to save herself from a dastardly villain. Her life was not so interesting as what happened between the pages of the novel she held.
At eighteen, she’d only just experienced her first season and hadn’t met a gentleman who reminded her of the dark duke in her book. There were plenty of pleasant men, of course, and far too many rakes. There was also the occasional rogue, but none had turned her head. It was a bit foolish, she knew, but she was hoping to fall madly in love with a man the way Leticia had. Her mother had cautioned her that most of the matches made in England wouldn’t be love matches. It was the way of things.
Still, I wish for one.
She looked up from her book and peered out through the heavy old curtains of the window seat she sat in. The darkened streets outside the window were now illuminated with a few flickering gas lamps, lending an eerie feel to the streetscape. Livvy closed her book and finished her tea. Just as she left her seat, she heard her father’s shout in the hall.
“Elizabeth! He’s here!” Edwin’s voice boomed loudly enough that the library door rattled.
Livvy rushed from the library and paused at the top of the stairs. Her father was having a heated discussion with her mother near the foyer. Livvy strained to listen.
“Edwin, how could you let him come here?” Elizabeth snapped. “Last night you promised you would do well at the Argyll Rooms, but you lost everything we have. I don’t want that man in my home!” Her mother’s face was pale, and she was twisting a handkerchief wildly in her hands, wrecking the fragile lace.
Lost everything?The words didn’t have any meaning at first. Livvy tried to make them fit into her mind in a way that made sense.
“He ownseverything, Elizabeth. He must be allowed in. I will beg him for clemency.” Her father nodded at the butler. “Show him into the drawing room, Howell.”
Howell, their butler, hastily opened the door to allow entry to this harbinger of doom.
Livvy ducked down behind the banister, struck with the sudden need to hide. Her father and mother’s conversation still haunted her. Her father had gambled away all their possessions at the Argyll Rooms last night? Icy dread gripped her, squeezing the breath from her lungs.
Everything was to be taken away.My home, my clothes…my books?
Any chance she had of making a good match this season was ruined. Her father was a mere gentleman, though her mother was the daughter of a duke, which made Livvy granddaughter to a duke and therefore most attractive. Though her grandfather’s title could not pass through her, the family’s connections to members of the peerage were always welcome. But the scandal around becoming destitute would tarnish even that.
Her grandfather, the Duke of Sussex, was a wonderful and well-liked man. Why hadn’t her parents gone to him for help? He’d let her mother marry for love. Surely he would not refuse to help her if she faced money troubles? Livvy bit her lip hard. Perhaps her mother’s pride might be the problem.
Howell opened the door, and Livvy peered from her hiding place in the shadows as a man entered her house. His gold-blond hair was striking, and his features were those of a fallen angel or a Byronic hero.
“This way, Mr. Banks. My master will see you shortly.” Howell escorted the man into the drawing room. Livvy looked for her parents, but they had stepped into her father’s study.
