Chapter 6

Alex screwed up the report he had just received and dashed it across his office. Anger flooding his system, he yelled in fury as he swiped the contents of his desk onto the floor.

Books, papers, ink pot and quill and all manner of other things went. The lighter papers fluttered down while heavy ledgers crashed and thudded, causing an awful racket.

In the open doorway, Sean appeared. "Your Grace, what is the matter?"

"Leave me!" Alex snarled back at his friend. He was in no mood to talk or even explain. The substantial loss of income from the lost India shipment had all but buckled his plans to get out of the darker businesses of the club.

He would need to throw more club parties now, encourage his girls to work twice as hard, and have the pickpockets step up their game. It was a vile enterprise but one that had its uses. The people that depended upon him and his late father's debts made it impossible for him to be otherwise, no matter how he wished it.

"Your grace, I—"

"I said, get out!" Alex snarled, grabbing the only thing still left on the table, his whisky bottle. He was about to dash it at the wall beside the door, hoping to frighten his friend away from his tirade for fear of what he might do when Sean finally managed to get his words out.

"There is a lady here to see you, Your Grace."

Alex"s hand stilled, the bottle rested on the table with his fingers still wrapped around the neck. "I beg your pardon?"

"There is a lady here to see you, Your Grace," Sean repeated. Alex gritted his teeth.

"I heard you well enough," he ground out, "What I do not understand is what you mean. Ladies are not permitted within these walls."

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but she was giving the boys at the door quite the earful," Sean said, dipping his head. The half-smirk on his face suggested the lady"s determination was admirable.

Nausea rose in Alex"s throat. There was a reason he did not permit ladies within his walls. Even gentlewomen were discouraged. They were not safe within the walls of the devil"s lair.

"Is the floor quiet?" Alex asked, dropping down in his seat, perhaps in shock.

He couldn"t remember the last time he had seen a woman within his walls who was not a whore or some gentleman"s mistress.

"Yes, Your Grace, it is still early," Sean said, "There"s only a couple of the regulars in for now."

"And the girls?" Alex asked.

"Most are still eating breakfast but there"s a couple on the floor," Sean explained. Alex"s chest tightened.

"Has she given her name?"

"Yes, Your Grace, Lady Moreau."

Alex"s heart near beat out his chest. It couldn"t be. He had hoped never to lay eyes on her again.

"This is no place for ladies," Alex snarled, waving Sean away, "Take her home, Sean."

With that, he picked himself up off his chair and started to clear up the mess he had made. The anger was quite gone from him, extinguished by confusion. The mere mention of the lady he had danced with at the Beaufort Ball did things to his insides he would rather not experience. Not because they were painful or discomforting but because they were quite the opposite and anything that caused him to feel like that was always short-lived.

"I will try, Your Grace, but I fear she will not go," Sean said, dipping his head. Leaving the door, he disappeared down the hall and not a minute later Alex heard the sound of raised voices.

"Please, My Lady, you are instructed to come with me," Sean said loudly, "I am to escort you home."

"You do not understand, sir, I must speak with your master on a very important matter!"

That voice was like music to Alex's ears.

Against his better judgment, he stood with his things in hand and yelled, "Sean, bring her in!"

He could hear the determination even in the clicking of her shoes on the hardwood floor as she was guided down the hall to his office.

When Sean silently gestured her into the room, she dipped her head quite aggressively and said in a most terse manner, "Thank you, sir."

She then stepped into the room, curtseyed and said, "I thank you wholeheartedly for seeing me, my lord."

When she raised her head to look at him, Alex watched the color drain from her beautiful face.

"You!" she exclaimed, her striking green eyes sparking with the shock of seeing him.

"You," he said back much quieter, placing his things on his desk without taking his gaze off hers.

"You… you know the devil lord?" the lady asked, blinking away the surprise in her eyes. She straightened up and added, "I must speak with him."

Alex"s stomach twisted. How was he to tell this beautiful firecracker of a woman that he was the monster she was looking for?

"Sean, leave us," Alex instructed. "Leave the door ajar and stand outside."

"Of course, Your Grace."

Once Sean had done just that, Alex took a step toward Lady Moreau.

"My Lady, what were you thinking coming to a place like this entirely unchaperoned? Hasn"t your mother ever taught you better?"

He saw the way she swallowed hard. Her face mirrored just how he was feeling, and he suspected there was a lump in her windpipe as there was his.

"I… I came on a whim, Your Grace," she admitted, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. "And I did not wish for a servant to hear of my father"s personal matters."

Alex"s raised a brow. "You came to the devil's lair on a whim to discuss your father"s personal matters?"

The lady was either very brave or very stupid. Looking at her, he suspected the former. And he had to admit, it was most admirable indeed. Sean"s expression earlier had been correct.

The lady gave a small, agitated moan and produced a piece of paper from her reticle. "I come regarding this. I must speak with your devil lord."

Alex took the paper from her. The moment he laid eyes on the contents, he knew what it was. It was an overdue notice for the money he had loaned Lord Monrith for his investment in the India shipment. They had both lost a significant amount in that shipment going down but Alex most of all.

He had not only lost his own investment but also the loan he had given Richard in order to make his own investment too. It was not moral nor right, but it was the devil in him, the one who needed overpaid loans and blackmail and extortion in order to keep his reputation and his business afloat.

How could he treat Lord Monrith with the same heartlessness and contempt he showed the other men who owed him money knowing he was the sire of the radiant creature standing before him?

In an attempt to look disinterested, Alex handed the paper back to the lady, keeping his distance. "I am afraid the devil lord is not in residence at this time."

He hated lying though it wasn"t entirely untrue. The devil lord was a character, one he most definitely didn"t have the energy to play right now.

"Is there perhaps a way you might send him a message that I must speak with him?" Lady Moreau asked, and Alex raised a brow.

"What do you know of the devil lord, My Lady?"

Finally, she dipped her head, ringing her hands together until the paper she held was crumpled. When she looked at him again, her eyes were once more filled with determination. "Enough."

"Then you know that he is not the kind of man to simply be summoned… on a whim," the final words came as little more than a breathless whisper and Alex closed the distance between them again.

Lady Moreau was forced to tilt her head up to continue to look him in the eye.

"I am afraid my situation is dire, Your Grace," the lady said, "My father has fallen gravely ill upon receiving word of a lost investment. He cannot pay the debt he owes."

"Is that not your father"s problem?" Alex asked, his chest tightening at the words. He did not wish to appear heartless but what kind of man allowed his daughter to do his bidding?

Lady Moreau dipped her head again. "He is being hounded around by physicians as we speak, Your Grace. I have come to offer myself to the devil lord."

Alex"s insides twisted. He furrowed his brow. "To offer yourself in what means, My Lady?"

"I… I… it was my research and interest which led to my father"s investing in the latest India voyage," she explained, blinking as if she were struggling to meet his gaze. She did, however, and Alex could not look away. "His loss is my loss. I am here to find a way to repay it. I am a smart woman, Your Grace. You may not think a woman capable of such things, but my father has taught me all he knows, and I am quite, quite capable, I assure you."

Alex stepped close then and raised his hand, brushing a stray golden-brown curl from the lady"s face behind her ear. There was the smell of orange blossom again, wafting into his nostrils in an intoxicating manner that left him unable to move away again.

"Forgive me, My Lady, but as you have admitted you are at fault for your father"s failed investment, why should the devil lord take you up on your offer of service?"

The lady looked up at him with her lips pursed. Her curl still clamped between his fingers, Alex paused, breathless.

The green fire that burned in her gaze threatened to burn him to an unrecognizable husk.

"Nobody could have known the shipment would be lost to a storm," she said through a clenched jaw and again, Alex admired her bravery.

"I do believe you are the bravest, most outspoken young lady I have ever had the pleasure of meeting," Alex said, as he watched the way she quivered beneath his gaze. "Perhaps, I might talk to him on your behalf as I do know the man?"

He stepped away swiftly then and Lady Moreau stumbled forward as if his sudden departure had dragged her with him.

She lowered her chin and cleared her throat. Alex felt the urge to step close again, to touch her face just to see if her skin was as soft as it looked, but he refrained and shoved his hands into the pockets of his breeches instead.

"I would appreciate a word with him myself, Your Grace," Lady Moreau said, defiant to the last.

Alex"s throat constricted. Were she a man, he would have threatened her, made her leave cowering with her tail between her legs.

But she was most definitely no man and if she was smart enough to have seen such an investment in the India shipment then she was certainly one to get to know better, even if that small voice in the back of his mind continued to whisper that it was a terrible thing to mix business with pleasure.

When he said nothing, only regarding her silently, she continued, "I can keep my ears to the ground for future investments. I am good at accounting and organization. My father truly has taught me everything, Your Grace. But we have fallen on hard times and if I do not do something, I fear for my family"s survival."

It was one thing to have a nobleman on his knees groveling at his feet but to see this beautiful woman stooped so low, Alex could hardly bear it.

He looked away and through gritted teeth, he said, "My Lady, I fear that would not be enough to sway the devil."

"Your grace?" she asked questioningly.

Biting the inside of his lip, Alex breathed deep into his nose and dared to look at her. "I will speak to him for you and see if we can come to some arrangement."

"With all due respect, Your Grace, I do not know you and I would appreciate the chance to conduct my own business with the lord himself," she said, her gaze darkening.

Heavens, she was even more breathtaking when growing frustrated. How would she look after a little sexual teasing? He wondered, his loins burning to find out. He imagined all too easily the other frustrations he might cause her to endure with his words, his tongue, his manhood. Oh, how he longed to hear her breathless, begging, screaming his name.

If it had been possible, he might have struck himself for the thought but instead, he tried hard to push it away. "As I have said, My Lady, he is only in residence in the late evening, and I fear it is not the kind of place that—"

She cut him off firmly, "Then I shall return this evening to speak with him myself."

With that, she dipped a curtsy and half-turned to leave.

"Wait!" Alex acted without thinking, gripping hold of the lady"s arm.

She looked at his hand on her forearm before turning her gaze to his. "Yes?"

"The club is not safe after dark, My Lady," Alex stated, "It would be wise not to come unaccompanied."

"If this devil lord is only in residence in the evenings, then I see no other way. Good day, Your Grace."

With that, she dismissed herself with another curt dip of her head.

"Sean, see Lady Moreau safely home!" Alex called through the open doorway, unable to move.

This was a most dangerous game of cat and mouse. The evening of the Beaufort Ball, Lady Moreau had been elegant, witty and attractive. Today she had been all of those things and more.

Her bravery, determination and vibrancy spoke volumes to her character and Alex wasn"t sure he had ever met another woman like her.

She was entirely too attractive in mind and body for him to ignore. And that frightened him more than anything ever had in his life.

He would face the ruining of his flesh one hundred times over before he dared to find out where the sensation in his chest might lead.

She is to return tonight, Alex thought, both terrified and excited. The lair truly was no place for a lady and nor was the company of the devil lord, even if it was only him in disguise.

His entire reputation, the reputation and success of his club rested upon the devil lord and all the character had accomplished over its two masters. He couldn"t let it slip for the sake of one girl, no matter how lovely she might be.

Yet, when Sean returned almost an hour later, Alex instructed him, "If Lady Moreau returns this evening, ensure she is safe and well cared for. I shall not have her put in harm"s way by her father"s personal matters."

"Yes, Your Grace," Sean dipped his head, standing in the doorway. "Might I dare to say, Alex, Lady Moreau"s presence has quite overcome you."

"Excuse me?" Alex demanded, sitting at his desk once more.

"Not seconds before her arrival you had taken that whisky bottle in hand and now look at you!" Sean pointed out as Alex"s blood ran cold.

His hand raised, he stroked his fingers contemplatively over the whisky bottle on his desk.

"She is a remarkable woman indeed," he whispered, shivering.

"Pardon?"

For a second, Alex had been lost in thoughts of the lady. He could still smell her orange blossom perfume.

Clearing his throat, he turned to Sean and said, "See that the club is prepared for the evening. We must make a small fortune this evening if we are to have a chance of making it through the month."

Sean made no argument, only dipped his head and disappeared again down the hall.

How am I even to make it through the evening? Alex asked himself. If she turned up, he feared the devil lord would be lost for good.