Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Damn that outrageous woman! And damn Colin for saddling me with this impossible task!

Daniel inwardly cursed as he stomped towards the exclusive gentlemen’s club. The poor man who had been tasked with opening the doors for its elite clientèle wisely kept his head down as he led him to his usual seat—one that afforded him a greater view of the rest of the room while keeping him mostly out of sight of the other patrons.

“Will you be having your usual, Your Grace?”

His response was only a slight nod, but it was already enough to send the waiter scurrying to get his order posthaste. As soon as the man left, he assumed a more relaxed position, his body settling into his seat, while his senses remained on high alert.

Evie was proving to be so much more trouble than he initially thought. The mere recollection of her hand sleepily trailing down his body to lightly rest on his manhood was enough to make him hard again and bring to mind images he had absolutely no business visualizing.

Images of her luscious body bent over the sofa as he pounded into her from behind.

Or her sweet lips wrapped around his rigid length.

Fortunately, the waiter chose that time to bring him a bottle of his favorite whiskey. Daniel wasted no time in pouring himself a full glass and tossing it back, relishing the burn the alcohol left on its way down his throat—a far better, saner alternative to the near-perpetual state of arousal that plagued him ever since he woke up to find Evie in his bed.

He frowned darkly at that. He had always prided himself on his self-control, and it absolutely boggled the mind how an innocent young lady threatened to unravel all of that with just a few light touches.

I must be losing my mind. This is Colin’s sister I am fantasizing about. A more troublesome woman could not be found on this earth.

An entanglement with Evie—no matter how tempting it sounded at the moment—would only bring more trouble than he cared for.

A sudden burst of raucous laughter finally managed to pierce through the dark thoughts swirling in his head. His eyebrows snapped together as his keen hearing began picking up the conversation of some of the club’s more disreputable members.

“I heard Miss Wilmington will be bringing in the rubies from Lord Wilmington’s mines!” a nasal voice declared. “I daresay that none of you fools can top that!”

The small gathering let out a collective gasp of astonishment, and Daniel could not help the slight smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips.

The pompous nobleman who had made such an announcement was none other than The Honorable Humphrey Clifton, the second son of Baron Clifton and a known profligate with nary the resources to sustain his ambitious extravagance. Indeed, it would have been far more astonishing if Lord Wilmington actually consented to a match between him and his daughter.

Fools, every single one of them,Daniel scoffed inwardly.

But then again, he had heard of far more ludicrous wagers in his three decades of existence. Many members of the beau monde had the same tendency towards the excessive and outrageous.

That day, however, he had lost all tolerance for such inanity.

With a slight raise of his eyebrow, the waiter who served him rushed immediately to his side. Daniel merely had to glance slightly at the rowdy group for the man to grasp his intention.

“I shall take care of it, Your Grace,” the man promised him with a deferential bow. With measured steps, he hastened over to the group.

Daniel saw the brief flash of hesitation on his face before he approached who appeared to be the leader of the group. The so-called gentleman’s face scrunched up in obvious displeasure, and he glanced over in Daniel’s direction.

“The Duke of Ashton, eh?” he sneered. “Well, we have paid our dues to this club fairly. Surely, His Grace would not be so impolite as to kick us out.”

Daniel did not even bother to look in his direction. The rabble always made a lot of noise when they were about to be tossed out. Even the thin veneer of sophistication could not hide a man’s true nature.

“Come now. Surely His Grace is not at all as you make it seem, Darnley,” a more congenial voice appealed. “Perhaps His Grace would care to join us in a friendly wager?”

I would rather be tormented by seven devils.

The one who tried to at least make an attempt at civility was none other than Thomas Salsbury, the Earl of Sidmouth. Tall and charming with warm brown eyes and golden hair, he was a favorite of ambitious mamas and their daughters. Their adoring gazes would follow him even when he walked into the most crowded ballrooms.

A pity, really, that he did not have much to stand on.

Daniel gazed idly at him, his eyes frosty with disdain. For a moment, he saw the Earl’s smile falter slightly, which only made him smile even more.

Truly a wolf in sheepskin, nothing more.

Lord Sidmouth’s lips curled into a wider grin, arrogance oozing from his every pore, as if it would make up for the silent blow that Daniel dealt him.

“In fact, I wager that I shall secure Lady Evelyn Fitzroy’s hand in marriage!” he announced confidently. He glanced slyly at Daniel. “What do you say to that, Your Grace?”

The rest of the club fell silent, and all gazes swiveled back to the silent man sitting at the corner table.

His words had the very effect of taking a bludgeon to Daniel’s skull. In his eyes, the Earl of Sidmouth had suddenly changed from merely an annoying blight upon God’s creation to a man who appeared to have grown tired of living.

It was no secret that Evie was under Daniel’s protection, entrusted to his care by Colin himself before his departure. To declare such a thing was not merely throwing the gauntlet at his feet—the fool was slapping him with it.

“I would say that some men indeed still fail to comprehend the enormity of the earth and their insignificance in the greater scheme of things,” Daniel replied scathingly.

He stood up and glared at Lord Sidmouth, who subconsciously took a step back when he so much as looked at him.

He has nothing but this false bravado to show, and he dares to challenge me?

Daniel put his hat on and eyed every single one of them. Some of them visibly shrank back, but he found no joy in their obvious defeat. These idiots would only rise again the moment he turned his back to them.

“I suggest you put an end to this nonsense,” he warned them. “You would all do well to keep your distance from Lady Evelyn Fitzroy, or you will have me to deal with, and believe me”—he smiled coldly—“it will not go well for you.”

For a moment, he saw fear flash in the Earl’s eyes. Some of the younger, weaker men in attendance gulped visibly.

These were men who grew up in the lap of luxury, living privileged lives. What did they know of pain?

Only enough to fear it.

The Earl of Sidmouth pressed his lips into a grim line and stood up. “I find the company in this establishment lacking,” he announced stiffly, his hands clenched into fists.

He promptly picked up his hat and whirled around, heading for the door with large, angry strides. Seeing as their ringleader had left, the rest of the circus immediately scrambled for their hats and sticks as well and headed out en masse.

Beside Daniel, the poor waiter heaved a sigh of relief.

Daniel turned to the man with a raised eyebrow. “You have just lost some customers for the night, and yet you are pleased?”

The man let out a grateful smile. “His Lordship, the Earl of Sidmouth, is not exactly known for his generosity.”

“One would think that a gentleman of his stature would be more willing to part with his coin,” Daniel remarked softly.

“If he had coin to part with…”

Daniel shot the man a knowing look, and the waiter immediately ducked his head, although his expression was largely unrepentant as he went about cleaning up the mess the group had left behind.

The Earl of Sidmouth might have found favor amongst the womenfolk, but there were those who saw him for what he truly was.

A joke.

Daniel, however, did not find his latest repertoire the least bit amusing.

“Where do you think they will be headed for tonight?” he asked the waiter.

The man did not even look up from his task. “I heard that Lady Horton is hosting a great ball tonight, Your Grace.”

Daniel smiled grimly. Whatever schemes that pathetic coward had, he was going to make sure they were not going to succeed.

Just the thought of that bastard putting his hands on Evie was enough to inspire the ungentlemanly side of him.

It would seem that everything about her simply unleashed his darker side—and not always for the better.

Ever since she was young, Evie had the most disconcerting feeling that her emotions could be read from her face alone. It certainly did not help that for the past few years, the Dowager Countess of Wellington had taken over her upbringing. Her grandmother simply had a way of ferreting out the truth from anyone with but a single glance.

She could not possibly have known what transpired this morning, could she? Evie fretted as she smiled wanly at the gentleman who had offered to fetch her some lemonade.

Her grandmother had made no mention of it, and besides, she had made sure that she was not seen tiptoeing back to her rooms earlier that morning. If Daniel did not mention the incident to anyone, then no one would ever know, and she knew that he would never breathe a word of it to anyone.

Not if it would jeopardize his friendship with Colin.

He might be largely antagonistic towards Evie, but the man valued his friendship with her brother greatly, so she can rest assured that no one else would know of how she had managed to find herself in his room, in his bed, in the dark of the night.

How she had draped herself over him most scandalously, her hands wandering where they should not…

“There you are, Evie!”

Evie was jolted out of the quagmire of her thoughts by that soft, cheerful voice. She looked up to find Phoebe, Alice’s younger sister, smiling most charmingly at her.

“Is something amiss? Are you coming down with a fever?” her friend asked her anxiously, reaching out to feel her forehead. “You look rather flushed, my dear.”

Evie shook her head a little too frantically. “It is nothing. I merely felt a little hot, that is all.”

“Are you sure?”

She managed an overly large smile and nodded. “Absolutely.”

Phoebe did not look too convinced, but she decided not to press the issue, and Evie was grateful that her closest friend in all of London was tactful enough to sense when a conversation had become largely uncomfortable.

“Have you been dancing with Lord Percy?” she asked her friend instead.

“Yes, I have!” Phoebe nodded. “How can you tell?”

“Because there was a slight limp to your gait,” Evie replied wryly.

Both young ladies shared a knowing look before they burst into laughter.

Lord Percy was a nice enough gentleman with a decent income, but his dancing skills left a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, he also seemed largely unaware of this fact and would take to dancing with nearly every young lady in attendance.

“I would have liked to be able to dance tonight,” she said woefully, showing Phoebe her empty dance card. “I might have even danced with Lord Percy if he was kind enough to offer.”

Her friend frowned as she scrutinized the card. “Well, that is a rather strange occurrence.”

It was strange indeed, for not only was Evie well-liked amongst the ton, but one might also even go so far as to say she was the Season’s Incomparable.

From the moment she made her bow and gained the Queen’s favor, it had seemed she was destined to sweep the rest of London off its feet. Combined with her extremely generous dowry, gentlemen had been queuing up to her parlor to call on her. Her dance cards had never been empty.

Except for tonight.

Evie had a sinking feeling that somebody was responsible for the distance her suitors had taken to putting between her and themselves, but she could not be so sure. After all, the goal of the Season was for her to find a suitable match.

Daniel could not possibly have been sabotaging her success, could he?

At that moment, the butler announced the arrival of the Duke of Ashton, and as one, all eyes swiveled to the door, where a tall man with eyes as green as emeralds strode in with a self-assured air.

Speak of the devil and he appears!

Evie groaned inwardly.

“Evie, you do not perhaps think that His Grace⁠—”

“I do not care what His Grace thinks,” she quipped rather quickly.

I do not even want to see him tonight!

Seeing him only dredged up that feverish recollection of his hard body pressing against hers, his hands pinning her wrists over her head.

Evie had never been so close to a man as she had been to Daniel that morning.

And she most certainly had never felt that keen sense of awareness, that fragile vulnerability juxtaposed with a strange, dark, feminine power. It was a most contradictory feeling and one that thrilled her to no end.

Looking at him now, she only wished that he would not notice her. That he would leave her to enjoy the rest of the night without his interference.

However, when he shifted that intense green gaze in her direction, she knew that such fancies were not meant to be.

Why oh why had she been cursed with such ill luck ever since Colin left her care in his hands?