Tenacious Trents 03 - A Reluctant Rake (16 page)

“Thank you for telling me.”

“The others agreed not to let Creighton
in. I knew Mac wouldn’t.”

“Mac?” Jordan had never heard of the
man.

“He owns Jesters.”

Jordan nodded in
understanding.

“The rest will not refuse him for long
however.”

“I know. It is bad for
business.”

Stanwick settled in a chair behind his
desk and Jordan took one on the opposite side.

“There is little you can do to stop a
man who has an addiction for the cards, or is waiting for a change
in fortune on the roll of the dice.”

Jordan knew Stanwick was speaking from
experience. His father suffered from the sickness and how many
others have crossed the threshold of Dagger’s Haven with the same
hunger? “I know. I am working on what I can do to break his
guardianship.”

Stanwick nodded and reached into a desk
drawer and withdrew a purse before tossing it to Jordan. “I went
over my calculations and I believe this is close to what Creighton
lost the other night.”

Jordan weighed it in his hand. “Why are
you giving me this?”

“See that Lady Rothsbury receives it.
It may be all her son has left by the time Creighton is
done.”

“Thank you.” Jordan shoved the purse
into a pocket.

Stanwick led him back to the smoky
gaming room but Jordan didn’t get far before Dalton stepped into
his path. “She is mine and you will leave her alone.”

Jordan stepped back and studied the
young buck. “Who?”

“Millicent, Lady Lydell.”

“You are welcome to her.” Jordan moved
to go around the man, who by the way he was swaying was already
deep into his cups.

“Not good enough.” He grabbed Jordan’s
jacket and pushed him up against the wall. “She says you will not
leave her alone. Always wanting under her skirts and that is why
you followed her into the garden.”

Jordan opened his mouth to argue that
was the last place he wished to be but Dalton’s fist slammed into
his jaw.

“If you don’t stop bothering her I will
make you wish you had never met the lady.”

Jordan bit back a laugh because his jaw
hurt too badly at the moment. Did Dalton really think he was
pursing Lady Lydell? Had he forgotten that it was Lady Lydell who
called after him as he walked away from them in the garden? Had he
behaved as if he were jealous? “I promise never to look at Lady
Lydell again.” That should pacify the man.

He attempted to push Dalton away from
his person but the man would not budge. Where were Stanwick’s burly
guards when they were needed? Several of the patrons were watching.
As most of the gentlemen were also of Society, no doubt this would
be gossiped about come tomorrow. Not that it mattered to him. He
simply wished Lady Lydell would forget he existed.

“You are to stop calling on her and
making advances.”

“Your meaning is clear,” Jordan bit
out. That woman has caused him more trouble. He would need to speak
with Lydell about telling his wife the truth so she could stop
interfering in his life.

This time when he shoved the man off of
him Dalton stumbled back, falling onto a table. The patrons moved
quickly enough, salvaging their glasses of ale before the table
splintered underneath Dalton’s weight. Jordan itched to punch the
man in the face now that he had the advantage, but instead glared
at him and walked away. It was late and he wanted to be home in his
bed.

His footman was waiting for him outside
when he emerged. Now what?

“Lady Rothsbury needs to see you
immediately.”

Had Creighton come for the children
already? At least the man could have had the decency not to wake
the boys in the middle of the night before he moved
them.

Jordan vaulted into his carriage as the
footman jumped on the back. Thankfully the streets were not overly
crowded as most of society had returned home. It didn’t take him
long to reach Lady Rothsbury’s home and as he alit from the
carriage he sent it back home. The walk was not far and just
because he needed to be awake at all hours of the night and morning
didn’t mean his staff had to as well.

The butler was waiting and opened the
door before Jordan reached the last step. “Mrs. Bell will show you
to Lady Rothsbury’s chamber.”

Jordan didn’t need to be shown the way
as he had visited it often in the past but why was he meeting her
there and not the library or parlor.

The woman moved quickly and Jordan
hurried to keep up with her. Was Lady Rothsbury so distraught over
her sons being taken that she couldn’t leave her bed?

The woman entered the chamber and
Jordan followed, stopping just inside the door. Mr. Bridges, the
lady’s brother, was pacing before the fire while Dr. Radley washed
blood away from Lady Rothsbury’s face. There was a horrible gash
that ran from the outside corner of her eye, around the cheek and
almost to the corner to her mouth. Her gown was covered in blood as
were the bedclothes. Lady Rothsbury lay against the pillows, her
eyes closed, breathing even.

“What happened?”

Bridges turned to look at him. “Someone
broke into the house and attacked Gilda.”

“The boys?”

Bridges shook his head. “Asleep in the
nursery. They are unaware of what happened.”

Jordan glanced back at the bed. Dr.
Radley had begun stitching the wound closed. Lady Rothsbury didn’t
even flinch. “Why isn’t she awake?”

“I gave her something for her nerves
and the pain,” the doctor answered. “I thought it best that she not
be awake for this and I need to be able to concentrate. I want to
keep the scar at a minimum.”

Jordan didn’t say anything but simply
stared. He hoped there wasn’t much of a scar, if any, but given how
deep the wound was he was afraid Lady Rothsbury would carry the
reminder of this night for the rest of her life.

“Who would do this?” Bridges
asked.

Jordan focused on him. “Did you get a
chance to speak with her?”

Bridges visibly swallowed. “She said a
cloaked man woke her. She couldn’t see his face because of the
darkness but he said she was not to take what was not hers to
have.”

“Creighton!”

Bridges shrugged. “That would be my
first assumption as well, but he was, and probably still is, at
Jesters.”

“How do you know where he
went?”

“I’ve had a man following him. I knew
he wouldn’t leave town.”

Jordan glanced back toward the bed. If
not Creighton then who else would do such a thing? “He could have
hired someone?”

“Given the company he keeps and the
gaming hells he frequents, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“But how do we prove it?” Jordan asked,
knowing neither of them had an answer to that question until Lady
Rothsbury was awake and prepared to answer more
questions.

Jordan and Bridges remained until after
the doctor had left. Lady Rothsbury’s face had been bandaged and
the maid instructed on proper care to minimize scarring. As there
was nothing left for him to do, Jordan finally exited the home as
the sun was rising.

Audrey kicked back the covers and rose
from the bed. “Will I ever be on London schedule?” Despite the time
she fell asleep she still woke with the sun, as she had done for
most of her life. Morning was the time she spent with her father,
seeing to the horses, riding and racing, before her mother awakened
to curtail Audrey’s unladylike activities.

One would think that after being in
Town for a few weeks she would be able to sleep later, but such was
not the case. Perhaps if she was to forego the morning nap she
always found herself in need of she would be able to sleep
later.

Audrey shrugged on her robe and vowed
to not succumb to sleep after she broke her fast, which would be
hours from now.

As she did every morning she wandered
to the window to anticipate the weather for the day. There were
clouds, like most days and the streets were wet with rain. She
dearly hoped it didn’t rain most of the day. But, they were in
London; it was spring, so it was expected.

Though it wasn’t any of her concern,
nor her business, Audrey found herself looking across the square to
the Rothsbury’s townhouse. Lights were lit in the lower rooms,
which wasn’t unusual. She had never seen the home completely dark,
as if someone was always awake. The upper floors, which held the
chambers, if the home was designed as this one, were
dark.

A moment later the door opened and
closed. Audrey closed her eyes and hoped it wasn’t Jordan Trent.
When she opened them again, the man had moved toward the center of
the square, toward her house, as Mr. Trent had done the other
morning. This time he did not look up, but he did glance in each
direction before crossing to her side of the square.

There was no denying that it was indeed
Jordan Trent. He wore the same clothing he had at the ball the
night before. His hair stood on end and his cravat was askew.
Perhaps she should suggest he keep a clean set of clothing and
brush at the lady’s home so he didn’t look so disheveled upon
leaving in the morning.

Tears sprang to Audrey’s eyes but she
blinked them away and yanked the curtains closed before Trent knew
she had seen him. It was bad enough he noted her the other day, she
did not want him to think she watched for him at every turn or
spied on him. In fact, she wanted him to think she had lost
interest completely. Any further courtship with Jordan Trent was
doomed and no matter how much it pained her heart, Audrey knew that
there could be nothing between them. If he wished to court her he
would not be visiting the widow. Or, he saw nothing improper about
carrying on an affair with one woman while he courted a respectable
one during the day.

If that were the case, such a man would
not hesitate to carry on affairs after marriage and Audrey would
not be the type of lady who shared her husband with any woman. With
a huff she threw herself back onto her bed and pulled the covers up
to her chin. It was the perfect day to remain in bed.

“What did you wish to tell me about
Millicent?” Grace asked as she handed Audrey a cup of
tea.

Audrey glanced at Mr. Trent. She
couldn’t tell Grace everything. Not in front of a gentleman and
certainly not in earshot of her former vicar. She would simply need
to choose her words carefully so as not to make any of them
uncomfortable. “She has developed a strong attachment for your
brother-in-law.”

Mr. Trent leaned forward. “I assume you
mean Jordan?”

“Yes.”

“That is not unusual.” Mr. Trent
relaxed back against the settee and placed an arm over the back,
behind Grace’s shoulders. They were not touching but the
possessiveness was there in his movements. Would anyone feel
possessive of her one day?

“It has gone beyond a mere attraction.
I even question if she isn’t a bit mad.”

Mr. Trent chuckled. “My brother has
enjoyed a certain reputation and many ladies over the years have
thought themselves in love.”

Audrey counted herself among them but
that was neither here nor there. Unless they knew everything, they
would not understand. “Do all these ladies believe he fathered
their children?”