Page 17 of A Gamble on the Duke (The Gambling Dukes #4)

Oh, yes, I suppose Alfred would greatly like to meet an earl’s daughter. Meet her, and marry her, and give her the sorts of kisses that until today had been reserved for?—

What the hell?

Where on earth had that come from?

Clearly the Earl of Tuxford had thought along the same lines, for he had perked up most considerably. “Indeed! I would greatly appreciate introducing you to Amelia, and?—”

“I am not in the market for a wife myself, of course, but I know of a pair of young viscounts in great need of wives,” Alfred said smoothly, his suaveness preventing his guest from taking any offence.

Indeed, the Earl of Tuxford looked remarkably cheerful. “Viscounts? Good, good—and tell me more about how the wagers precisely work in this Gambling Club of yours.”

I only saw it because I was looking for it, but of course I was looking for it.

The flash of triumph. The delight that he had managed to move the conversation one step farther. The certainty that he would be successful.

All three emotions and more rushed across Alfred’s face before he smiled briefly and said, “Of course, my lord. Wagers at the Gambling Dukes are layered into one of three tiers…”

Though I should probably have paid more attention, I found I could not. The details of the Gambling Dukes was not something I had a particular interest in.

No, my interest was very much focused on the man in question.

Alfred, Duke of Kineallen.

Just when I thought I had entirely understood him, he managed to do something utterly unexpected. Something I could not have predicted .

He was charming. Very charming, and collected, and suave. To talk to him was to feel the center of any room.

But there was so much more than mere charm. Any rake could be charming.

Alfred was more than that, better than that. As the conversation between Markham, his wife, and Georgiana’s husband became more animated, and the laughter between the Lady Kirekwall and Lilah’s husband tinkled through the room, I could not help but stare at Alfred.

“—indeed, the delight of the wagers is secondary only to the potential in earnings?—”

He was so…clever.

He was. The man’s intellect was far higher than I had ever expected. Oh, you would hope a duke was handsome, and by God he was. You’d hope a duke was charming, and he was.

But a duke had no need to be clever. He’d have people for that, servants for that.

But Alfred was far too clever for his own good.

“—at three and a half percent,” Alfred said with a grin.

“Three and a half percent? Truly?” the Earl of Tuxford breathed. “My goodness. And guarantees?”

“All members money are speculated at their own risk—including my own,” said Alfred lightly. “But that is one of the many benefits of joining the club. My founds and I…we know when to take the risk. When to gamble.”

His gaze met mine, just for a moment, and I was forced to cross my legs to press together the warmth that tingled in desperate need for his touch.

Oh, he was so much more than I had expected. So much more than I thought.

Alfred, Duke of Kineallen, was not merely a rich, landed lout who had come to town to find a mistress.

He was so much more than a rich fool.

He had worked for his money. He had not fallen on his feet but stumbled through a difficult situation and managed to make something of himself—and he had pulled his friends along with him.

Blast. It was becoming more and more difficult not to be impressed by this man.

Kineallen

It was becoming more and more difficult not to be impressed by this woman.

Seriously. Did Catherine Shenton have any idea what she was doing to me? What she was doing to the room?

I couldn’t work out how she did it. It had started the moment our guests—my guests had started arriving for dinner, and it had never ceased.

Her warmth. Her smiles. The way she managed to bring everyone into a conversation at the dining table. Her genuine interest in others. The way she listened, truly listened, and then responded to others demonstrating her curiosity in their lives.

It was the stance of a lady—more than a countess, a duchess.

She put the rest of the women to shame.

Not that I had noticed most of the other women, of course.

“I will say, the entire thing sounds rather wonderful,” said the Earl of Tuxford with a broad smile. “You explain yourself well, Your Grace.”

“Kineallen, please,” I said lightly, trying not to notice just how closely Catherine was observing me.

Why was she doing that? Did I not have enough to think about, with the Earl of Tuxford right on the verge of joining our club?

“But I want to know what you think of it all, my dear.”

My chest froze, my lungs suddenly unable to draw air.

The Earl of Tuxford was beaming at…Catherine.

He wanted her opinion. Her opinion about the Gambling Dukes.

Blast it all to hell—I knew I should have given her greater instruction on the club itself. Any instruction would have been better than what I had given her, which was a vague understanding of how the damned thing had come about, and some insight int my own financial history.

None of which was going to help her now.

Panic was flaring in my chest as I realized there was only one outcome to this conversation. The Earl of Tuxford was going to decline membership, or at the very least, put off the decision for another day.

Ther was surely nothing that Catherine could say that?—

“I think you are a gentleman who knows your own mind, my lord,” Catherine said with a winning smile. “Surely you do not wish for my opinion.”

“Ah, but you know His Grace the Duke of Kineallen far better than I,” the Earl of Tuxford countered, his smile fatherly as he beamed at his companion on the sofa.

Which was all to the good. I wasn’t quite sure what I would do if I saw something of a higher temperature in that look.

Which was ridiculous. The man was old enough to be her father…though of course, Georgiana had sufficient evidence to suggest that it was not always a barrier to such things. Besides, the Earl of Tuxford was more than happy with his wife who was a delightful creature .

Yet all that knowledge did not do much to lull the fierce protectiveness that sparked up around my heart whenever I looked at Catherine.

Hell’s bells.

“You know what, I am not so sure of that,” she said with a wicked smile directed at the Earl of Tuxford.

My head jerked to the gentleman, then back to the lady.

Sure? Sure of what?

“But you are the lady with whom he is courting,” the Earl of Tuxford said, clearly a little bewildered. “Who truly knows the Duke of Kineallen, other than you?”

Try as I might, I could not keep my gaze from turning, slowly and inexorably, to that of…

Catherine Shenton.

The fact that she was attempting not to smile should have reassured me, I suppose, but then as she was doing such a terrible job of it, I was not best pleased.

“You know, the man is right, Kineallen,” she said lightly, far too much mirth dancing about her lips. “As the lady who is being courted by you, I suppose I am the person who knows you best.”

The minx.

That was the trouble with this woman. She seemed to know precisely how to get under my skin.

She knew me far better than I would have liked. And yet not enough.

Do not think about it.

Do not think about your lips teasing her clit.

Do not think about her breathing, her quivering whimpers.

Do not think about how you made her come?—

“So tell me, young lady,” the Earl of Tuxford said briskly, pulling me from thoughts I should absolutely not be having. “Tell me about this duke of yours.”

I crossed my legs. Damn my traitorous manhood.

Catherine looked delighted. “Oh, well, my lord?—”

“Please, call me Tuxford. Everyone does,” said the Earl of Tuxford, earning my ire forever. “Even my daughters.”

Oh. Well. That was less offensive to me.

Which was ridiculous. I did not own Miss Catherine Shenton. I may have taken a gamble on her and hoped that she could charm the man into the Gambling Dukes, but I did not possess her.

Not that I didn’t particularly want to…

“Well, Tuxford,” said Catherine, flashing a grin at me that was entirely calculated to tease, and did a rather good job of it. “The Duke of Kineallen. Where does one start?”

One started by not saying anything scandalous. That was what I wanted to say, but there did not appear to be any way of communicating with the woman without the Earl of Tuxford taking in every word.

Which was a shame, because the next words out of her lips were, “You know, it is a great scandal.”

“It is?” the Earl of Tuxford said with wide eyes, glancing at me in astonishment. “What is?”

“That the Prince Regent has not made him a Companion, of course,” Catherine said airily, as though she frequently wished to dictate to our Regent precisely what he did with his honors. “Did you know that the Duke of Kineallen?—”

“Catherine,” I said warningly.

Or not quite warningly enough, as it seemed. Catherine flashed me a smile, but turned back to the Earl of Tuxford and said quietly, “What His Grace does not wish many people to know is just how often he has helped others. ”

“Catherine!”

“No, let the woman speak,” the Earl of Tuxford said delightedly. “This is most interesting, my dear, please continue.”

My gaze met Catherine’s and I willed her to be silent. Whatever she was going to come out with, it was going to be the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. And it would be a lie.

And I did not lie.

Honestly, what could she say? I was not a bad man, at least I did not think so, but I was not the sort who went out of his way to?—

“There is a housemaid here with toothache,” Catherine said promptly, lowering her voice as though she were sharing great secrets. “And instead of insisting that the poor girl has to work, he has ordered her to bed and sent for the doctor.”

“The doctor?” The Earl of Tuxford looked most scandalized. “For a housemaid?”