Wicked Wager (25 page)

As he left the library, he fought against his doubts. Maybe she wasn’t in love with him yet, but there was still hope. He’d simply have to try harder to convince her. With that thought in mind, he started up the stairs.

When he reached the bedchamber, Penny appeared to be soundly asleep. Although a little disappointed—he’d hoped to hold her and cuddle her for a while—he could see the wisdom of getting some rest. There would be time for more lovemaking in the morning.

****

Penny grasped Marcus’s arm and gently moved it off her hip. When his breathing remained deep and even, she slid to the side of the bed and stood up. The first hints of dawn showed in the window as she tiptoed across the room, ducked into the dressing room and put on her clothing. When she was dressed except for her shoes, she tiptoed to the door, and carrying her slippers and reticule, slipped out.

She felt a twinge of guilt as she made her way downstairs, through the house and down the additional flight of stairs to the servants’ quarters. She hated leaving him like this, but it was nothing compared to the fear that gripped her whenever she thought about Adrian’s threat. Somehow she had to work out an arrangement with her cousin. She couldn’t live like this worrying Marcus’s life might be in danger every time he went out.

She found Jeremy and the new cook having a quick breakfast before they started their day. After telling Jeremy what she wanted, she waited nervously outside the door to the townhouse for him to bring the carriage around. Thankfully, she hadn’t encountered Bowes. If she had, she wasn’t certain what she’d tell him. It was too early for shopping and she wasn’t dressed to go riding.

Jeremy finally came around with the carriage. “Where to, miss?” the footman asked as he helped her in to the vehicle.

She gave him the address she’d always used when corresponding with Adrian, and they set out. Penny had worried her cousin might live in some disreputable area of town, but the part Jeremy took her to was quite near where James lived. No wonder Adrian had been able to follow her so easily.

But when she inquired at the townhouse where he was supposed to reside, the servant who answered the door told her that Adrian Withersby no longer lived here.

“You do know of him, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yes, miss. He did reside here for a time. But he was unable to pay the rent and had to move out.”

“When was this?”

“About two weeks ago.”

Two weeks. About the time he lost Horngate to Revington. “Do you have any idea where I might find him?”

“You might check the various gambling hells near St. James and Pall Mall. He spends a lot of time in that area.”

“But surely he doesn’t sleep in a gambling establishment,” she pointed out.

“No, miss. But he might have met someone who offered him a place to stay.”

Penny returned to the carriage, deep in thought. Finding Adrian was more difficult than she’d thought. And once she found him, it would be even more challenging to arrange a financial settlement that would satisfy him. Adrian was clearly having money problems. Indeed, he was probably “deep in dun territory” as Marcus referred to it.

Not knowing where else to go, she told Jeremy to take her to Pall Mall Street.

The footman raised his eyebrows at this. “Are you certain, miss? Begging your pardon, but that’s not a part of the city appropriate for a young woman to be visiting.”

“Is it a dangerous neighborhood?” From listening to Marcus and James, she knew there were areas of London even they would be uneasy visiting.

“Not exactly,” answered Jeremy. “But unmarried ladies don’t usually frequent such locales. I’m certain Mr. Revington wouldn’t approve.”

“I’ve already done a number of things of which Mr. Revington doesn’t approve. I doubt one more will matter. I have no intention of staying long. I merely want to make a few inquiries.”

“What sort of inquiries, miss?”

“I’m looking for someone. A man named Adrian Withersby, my cousin and guardian. I was told I might find him at an establishment in the Pall Mall area.”

Jeremy nodded. “I’ll take you there…if you’ll let me make the inquiries. I suspect people will be more likely to talk to me than you, anyway.”

“That’s probably true.”

Jeremy drove the carriage to Pall Mall, then came around. “Wait here. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Penny leaned back on the squabs and let out a sigh. This errand was taking much longer than expected. By the time she got back to the townhouse, Marcus would almost certainly be up and looking for her. If she’d been in the bed when he woke, he’d probably have made love to her again. At the thought, her body throbbed with regret. She told herself there’d be plenty of mornings for that. It was more important that she find a way to work things out with Adrian.

As a new wave of anxiety assaulted her, she scooted to the window of the carriage and peered out. The street was quiet, and there wasn’t much to see. With no one around, it shouldn’t matter if she got out to stretch her legs and ease the tension in her shoulders.

Opening the door, she climbed out. She paced back and forth, then went to the front of the vehicle to stroke the horses. All at once, someone came out of one the buildings.
Brakestoke!
Her breath caught. What was that villain doing here?

Not wanting him to see her, she hastily climbed into the carriage and sat there, heart pounding. What if Brakestoke was meeting with Adrian? What a dreadful alliance that would be.

She told herself it was unlikely the two men even knew each other. But she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind. Adrian had warned her there were plenty of men who had grudges against Marcus. Brakestoke might be one of them. And she’d already seen what he was capable of.

Jeremy came out a little later. His expression was grim. “I found out where Mr. Withersby is staying.”

“You must take me there.”

“I don’t think so, miss. I’ve heard some things about Withersby. Apparently he’s not very trustworthy or honest.”

“That’s true, but he would never hurt me, I’m certain. If anything happens to me, he loses all claim to the estate.” Jeremy still looked dubious. “Please. We’ve come this far. I simply have to speak to him.” She thought of insisting it was a matter of life and death. But if Jeremy knew about Adrian’s threats, he would be even more disinclined to take her to see him.

“Very well, miss. But I’m going to insist Withersby come out to the carriage to speak to you. There’s no way I’m letting you meet with him alone, even if he is your kin.”

They set off again. They hadn’t traveled far when Jeremy stopped the carriage. He came around to the carriage door. “Wait here.”

Penny let out a sigh. Her stomach was full of butterflies. What if she couldn’t convince Adrian to accept some sort of financial settlement? Even if he did, how could she ever get Marcus to agree to it? Perhaps she could have James convince Marcus that this was the best course of action. James was a sensible man. Surely he would be her ally in this.

She shifted restlessly on the carriage squabs.
What is taking so long?

Finally, Jeremy appeared with Adrian. Penny was shocked by her cousin’s appearance. His clothes were disheveled and he badly needed to shave and comb his hair.

He approached the carriage door and peered in at her, his blue eyes bloodshot and wary. “Why are you here, Penny? I told you what you had to do.”

“Please get in.” Although she dreaded being close to her cousin, she didn’t want Jeremy to listen to their conversation.

Adrian climbed in and sat sullenly across from her. He reeked of spirits, as if he’d been drinking all night. She wondered if he’d even been to bed.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said. “While there’s no way Revington will give up Horngate, that doesn’t mean you have to come out of it with nothing. What if I got Marc—Revington to agree to give you an income from the estate? I can tell him you helped build up the horse business. That you found the buyers and arranged the sales, so it’s only reasonable you should be compensated in some way.”

“An income? A pittance, you mean.” Adrian practically spat out the words, and Penny experienced the full force of his gin-soaked breath. He grabbed her arm, squeezing so hard she gasped. “I’m not giving up Horngate! I won’t do it!”

Penny’s stomach twisted. She’d been worried this would happen. Adrian could be so stubborn. But she had to remain calm and figure out a solution. “When you first told me about this, you said if I refused to marry Revington, you feared for your life at his hands. Now you say that if I marry him, you’ll do something to him. I don’t understand what’s changed. Once you were afraid of Revington. Now you’re threatening him.”

“I wanted you to go along with him in the beginning, but I never thought you’d be so stupid and womanish as to fall in love with him!”

Penny thought about protesting that she wasn’t in love, but she didn’t think Adrian would believe her, especially since she didn’t believe it herself. She said, “My attitude toward him may have changed, but that doesn’t explain your ultimatum.”

Adrian’s expression turned sulky. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

Penny faced him squarely. “Yes, you do! Tell me what’s going on, Adrian. I insist!”

He regarded her warily. She glared back at him, determined. Finally, the sneering arrogance left his face and he looked defeated and miserable. “I’m in trouble, Penny. This time I’ve tangled with someone who means it when he says I must pay up or face the consequences.”

“Go on.”

He looked away, and for once Penny had the sense he was being absolutely truthful. “I was trying to win enough to buy back Horngate. I was so close…so very close…” He sighed heavily.

“What were you wagering with?” asked Penny, although she had a horrible thought she already knew.

He gave her a stricken look, then glanced away again. “Horngate. I was wagering with Horngate.”

Penny stared at him, aghast. “How could you? How could you be so foolish?”

Adrian grimaced. “I was desperate. I’d lost everything to Revington, the cheating bastard. I had to win Horngate back. I had to.”

Penny took a deep breath. “Instead, you lost it a second time.” She shook her head. “Oh, Adrian, you are hopeless!”

He shot her a bitter look. “I’m more than hopeless. I’m
dead
. If I don’t make good on this wager, this fellow will kill me.” He grabbed her arm again and brought his face close to hers. “But before you think you’ve found an easy way to get rid of me, rest assured that before he comes after me, he’ll take care of Revington.” He sat back. “So, you see, if you care for Revington at all, you’ll have to break things off with him.”

She stared at him disbelievingly. “You want me to marry this other man, the one you’ve lost Horngate to…a second time?”

Adrian nodded. “It’s the same as before. You have to marry this fellow so he can take possession of Horngate.”

“What fellow?” Penny demanded. “Who is this murderous devil who’s willing to kill two people to get his hands on Horngate?”

Adrian crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going to tell you. I’m not going to bungle things this time by letting you meet him until the wedding is all set to take place.”

“You can’t think I’ll consent to marry a man I’ve never met!”

“Very well. I’ll let you meet him. But not until you’ve broken things off with Revington.”

“What about Revington? I thought you said if I didn’t marry him, Revington would kill you.”

Adrian smiled smugly. “We both know Revington wouldn’t do that. He’d never do anything so harsh as to murder his future wife’s cousin. Apparently, he’s not the hardened gamester I thought he was. Otherwise, he’d have married you immediately and not let things drag out like this.” Adrian made a disgusted face. “For that matter, I doubt you’d have come to fancy him if he was a cold-blooded killer. You always were the squeamish sort, the kind to waste your time nursing the runt of the litter.”

Penny felt her anger growing. She’d never realized what an awful person her cousin was. The world would probably be better without him. But worrying about his wellbeing was no longer the issue. It was Revington she had to protect. But how?

What if she told him about Adrian’s threats? Perhaps they could think up some plan where she pretended to break things off with him, and then when Adrian introduced the man he now wanted her to marry, Marcus could work out some arrangement with
him
. After all, Adrian was the villain in this. He’d foolishly lost property he didn’t even own, not once but twice, and then proceeded to blackmail and scheme and plot to save his own neck while ruining her life!

Her fury must be showing on her face, for Adrian grabbed her chin and jerked her head around so she faced him. “Quit your scheming, you little minx! I’m not letting you undermine me this time. If you go to Revington and get him all riled up, you’ll be signing his death warrant!”

Penny pulled away and glared at him defiantly. “Is that so? How can I be certain there is another man? This could all be a bluff. Obviously, you were bluffing last time. How do I know you’re not making up this story?”

“Oh, there’s another fellow, all right. And he’s not as honorable as your precious Marcus. He won’t think twice about killing to get what he wants.”

“You never know. You may be underestimating Marcus. I hear he’s a crack shot. In a duel, he might just come out the victor.”

Adrian let out a cold, sinister laugh. “Who said anything about a duel? Some men don’t like to leave things to chance. No, what Revington has to watch out for is something unexpected: a carriage accident perhaps, or tainted food. Or some ruffians might attack him one night when he’s out gambling. London is full of danger.”

Penny’s blood ran cold. There was no way to protect Marcus from a truly determined murderer.

“I see you’re finally catching on to my meaning. ’Bout time, Pen. You need to understand that I’ve got nothing to lose if Revington dies. Nothing. While you…” He leaned near again, his gin-soaked breath hot on her face. “If you play along nicely, you can always take Revington as a lover after you’ve wed. I doubt your new intended will care what you do once he takes control of Horngate.”