Page 93 of A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl

The young man’s face blanched. ‘Thank you. A day or two?’ He sounded breathless. ‘Yes. Yes of course.’

‘The day of my ball will do. You are coming, of course.’

He looked frozen, but managed to speak. ‘Yes. Miss Frome is looking forward to it immensely.

‘Wonderful. I shall look forward to meeting her again.’

Long hurried off.

No doubt he would be scurrying around town, trying to find someone to loan him the money to pay Damian off.

A gentleman’s debts of honour must be paid before any others. If they were not, a man could not hold up his head. He would becomepersona non grata.

The way his father had.

But there wasn’t a money lender in London who would give Long the amount of money he needed. Damian had seen to it personally.

Damian, frowned. Why didn’t seeing the culmination of all his plans gradually unfold make him feel good?

Nonsense. He was delighted. This was exactly what he wanted.

On her way downstairs, Pamela was surprised to see Mr Long in the hall by the front door putting on his coat.

‘Good day,’ she said. ‘What brings you here so early?’

‘Mrs Clark.’ He bowed. ‘I am here about some business with His Lordship,’ he choked out. His expression was distraught, almost tearful.

‘Is something wrong?’

‘I owe His Lordship a great deal of money and I do not know how I am going to pay.’

Puzzled, she frowned. She had thought Damian had resolved all of those issues at the club. ‘Oh, I see.’

He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. ‘I was a fool to allow myself to fall into debt. I have very little time to come up with the money. Excuse me.’ He grabbed his hat, bowed and left.

Determined to get to the bottom of his obvious upset, Pamela made her way to Dart’s study and entered without knocking.

The dog lying beside the hearth wagged its tail in greeting.

Damian withdrew his gaze from the view from the window into the street and it settled on her face. ‘Good morning.’

‘Good morning. I just met Mr Long on his way out. Apparently he owes a great deal of money.’

‘Indeed he does.’ He seemed completely unperturbed. ‘He was absolutely sure his luck would change, despite my assurance it would not.’

‘He is little more than a boy.’

Damian’s face hardened. ‘I doubt he would thank you for that descriptor.’

‘Can you not come to some sort of arrangement? As the club did with some of the others?’

‘My dealings with Mr Long are really none of your business.’

She recoiled, shocked at his harsh tone of voice.

‘As a part-owner in the club—’

‘You have no say in the matter. The club refused to accept any more of his vowels. As you yourself requested, I might add. He borrowed my money. Begged me to lend it to him. It is a debt of honour.’