Page 25 of For a Scandalous Wager (Breaking the Rules of the Beau Monde #3)

CHAPTER 24

T he visit with his brother made the trip to Heavenly House worth every minute, even if Rochester felt like a kitchen dog on a wheel, going nowhere fast. Never had he been so happy to see his own bed. He half expected to see Evelyn in it and had hoped the room still smelled like her. But they had both been away too long. For the first time in two days, he wondered how she was doing. He wondered if her father was still at Winn’s. And he wondered if Mr. Hartley’s good word had helped.

“Where the bloody hell have you been? And what the devil is that?” Hudson caught Rochester as he shed his jacket on the way to his dressing room.

“I’ve been everywhere. And that is a baby goose.” As he entered his wardrobe, he pointed to a large crate by the window with slats spread far enough apart to see the goose.

“A gosling? Why is it caged like a canary, and more importantly, why is it here?”

“The cage was originally for a canary until I saw the goose. Or gosling, as it were,” Rochester called from inside the dressing room. “And it’s here because I purchased it for Evelyn.”

“Does she raise geese?” Hudson was at the cage poking his fingers through the bars when Rochester emerged.

“Lord, I was never so happy to see the inside of my wardrobe. I hadn’t planned on being away so long.” He pointed at the gosling. “What do you think of her?”

“I think you’re daft. You, of all people. A goose. You must really love this woman,” Hudson said but continued to test the gosling’s patience with his curiosity.

“I couldn’t help it. It reminded me of her.”

Hudson turned an arched brow on him. “And you’re under the impression she’ll find that complimentary?”

“You believe she won’t?”

“You know her better than I.” Hudson turned an appraising eye back to the gosling.

“I couldn’t resist when I saw her. One of the cottagers raises canaries, and I thought to bring home one for Evelyn until I heard the geese honking and saw the babies. Then the choice was obvious.”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Obvious. Anyone would think so.” Hudson stepped back from the cage and rubbed his forehead, staring with a dumbfounded look of unconscious confusion while the gosling settled into a mock nest of hay. Hudson seemed to have a difficult time breaking his gaze from the spectacle. He sighed. “I didn’t know where to find you, so I canceled most of your tournaments, and then I noticed you’d drawn on most of your liquid assets. I hate to tell you that your spending has left you quite flat, Cousin.”

“I know. I paid Mr. Markham.”

“And he took it?” Hudson followed him from the bedroom.

“Not sure. I drew the funds, but I’m unsure whether he’s deposited them. Regardless, they’re unavailable.”

“Well, I hope you told your father that you expect the return of your stipend.”

Rochester stopped at the foot of the grand stairs and turned about. “There’s nothing left, Hud.”

His cousin’s face dropped. “What do you mean? How many cottagers are left?”

“Only three. And my father has seen fit to sack everyone with any business savvy.” Rochester continued down the staircase.

“And what’s Noah doing about it?” Hudson stopped after three steps, looking down at Rochester from the top of the stairs.

“He’s swimming in debt and guilt.” Rochester continued to the drawing room. Realizing it would be a good year before he could start working on his home again, he longed to sit in a fully finished and fully furnished room.

Hudson pursued on his heels. “Good. Guilt is the least he should feel.”

“Don’t be too hard. We had a rather eye-opening discussion about our parents. And when I say our, I mean all of ours. Yours, mine, Noah’s.”

Hudson’s forehead creased, and he squinted his eyes with confusion.

Rochester pointed to a chair. “We all need a drink for this, I assure you.”

For the next hour, he shared with Hudson the entire excursion minus the night he spent with Evelyn. Although his trip had turned out well, old childhood trauma had a way of imposing itself into Rochester’s adult world because he still came away with a lingering feeling of failure. He supposed it was why he played billiards. It was a game he could win. The hard work of practicing excellence had paid off well when challenging opponents in a way that his work at the family homestead had never done. At home, he was constantly reminded of what a disappointment he’d been, and now he fought against that very thing with Evelyn’s father, too. He’d always fought the fear of being brought low due to emotional exhaustion by avoiding emotions altogether. But he could do that no longer.

In answer to the overwhelming odds against him, he got busy. Failure was not an option.

Strong’s Boxing Club was relatively quiet in the late afternoon. The front lobby served as a gentlemen’s club where comfortable chairs surrounding low tables invited sparring conversation. Whereas the back room gymnasium offered physical sparring in the form of fists and jarring banter. Rochester found both equally entertaining.

“The last I saw you, you were being pummeled in the ring,” Rochester said, slapping a surprised Hugo Darrington on the shoulder. “Don’t get up,” he continued as he walked around the club table in the main foyer and took a seat opposite Darrington.

With a friendly smile, Darrington held up two fingers, signaling the footman to bring drinks. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere hustling unsuspecting strangers with that ridiculous game you play?”

“No, my friend. These days, I’m playing a far more challenging game where the odds are stacked against me.”

“Finally,” Darrington teased and then added when Rochester was slow to answer. “Ah, yes. Marriage.”

Rochester shook himself, a half smile creeping up his cheek as he took the drink offered by the footman.

“We have mutual friends.” Darrington smiled indulgently, clearly enjoying his winning position. “Markham suggested that if you showed up in the city, I should keep an eye on you.”

“You mean spy on me? And please don’t refer to Winn as Markham anymore. I’ve had quite a time speaking with Mr. Henry Markham, and the name alone makes me want to hit something.”

“I’d say you’re in the right place.”

“Why did Winn contact you?”

“Because we’re friends?” Darrington lifted his eyebrows as if Rochester was a nodcock.

“Are we? And whose side are you on, Darrington? Winn’s or mine? Because the bastard cuffed me the last time I saw him.”

“If you were trying to ruin my sister, I might have done the same. You forget how well we know you.”

“I’ve forgotten nothing, and I didn’t come here for your blessing. Who else knows?”

Darrington managed to look comically offended. “Are we gossiping women? No. We are not. Rein in your temper, good man. No one else knows. And I’m on the side of love, let’s just say.”

“How diplomatic of you. I didn’t peg you for a romantic.”

“I’m a saint. Now, what’s your plan? I assume you need one since you’re here and not courting your beloved.” Darrington gestured toward the club as a whole.

Rochester straightened his waistcoat and sat back, his hands clasped at his middle. “You’re so well-informed I would have thought you knew about the betrothal.”

“You’re betrothed?” his friend dared to ask.

“Don’t be a bore, Darrington.”

Darrington propped his chin on his fist. “Winn did mention something about a wedding and a Lord Cumberland, whoever that is. I can’t imagine he’s a threat to you. Why don’t you just challenge the banns?”

“You don’t think I haven’t tried? What grounds would you suggest because love, apparently, isn’t enough. Besides, the banns and the wedding are the least of my current concerns.”

Darrington’s countenance changed from ribbing to serious. “I know Mr. Markham doesn’t care for you much.”

“Us. He doesn’t care for us ,” Rochester corrected.

“With all due respect, I don’t need him to like me in the same way you do. But even so, I would have assumed he cared more for his daughter than to marry her to someone she did not wish to wed. There must be more. What haven’t you told me?”

“He betrothed her without her knowledge. How discerning can he be?”

“Yes. I gather that, but surely he knows differently now.”

“One would think, but as I said, that’s not what has me worried. The point is, I paid him back. I made him take a banknote on promise, and I’m flat on funds.”

“How flat?”

“Paper thin. My father isn’t well, and he’s made a muck of things at Heavenly House.”

“God, how I hate that name.” Darrington rolled his eyes.

“Focus, Darrington. I need your help.”

“You’re not kidding?”

“I’m dead serious. Why do you think I’m here and not eloping? Because God knows I won’t allow her to marry that man. Unfortunately, even a scandalous elopement may not be possible any longer.” He motioned for another drink. “I had a plan until I paid my father a visit. He’s destroyed everything.”

Darrington waited for another round of drinks. “But you’ve taken so little income from there for years.”

“And still, he’s managed to make a mockery of my inheritance. Which as well you know, I don’t give a damn about except I’m responsible for the place, and someday it will belong to my son, God willing. I make a nice bit playing billiards, and my few investments with you are lucrative, but it isn’t enough to support two households. The viscount sacked the steward, and he’s lost all but three cottagers. It’s failing badly. With a leaking roof ruining the furniture and causing structural damage, the house is in shambles.”

“And Noah? What about him?”

Rochester sighed heavily and clamped his jaw tight. “Noah and I had a good talk. I’ll fill you in later on how deeply that went, but suffice to say, he needs and deserves my help.”

Darrington bit his cheek and nodded, clearly a question in his eyes, but thankfully, they were good enough friends for him not to ask them now. “What can I do?”

“I met Mr. Torrent and Lord Bastion as a guest of the Duke of Kingsley. I need another audience with them. You say Belgravia is on the verge of booming, and these two are knee-deep in it.”

“Yes, of course it is. I plan to be filthy rich by the time it’s finished. But Rochester, it’s a long investment. You know that. You’re talking of a family. A home. A future.”

“Obviously.” A family. Oh, how he wanted a family with Evelyn. Whether he deserved it or not was another matter. She would be a wonderful mother, and with any luck, he’d do better than he’d been given by his father. He might not know exactly what to do, but he sure as hell knew what not to do.

“Belgravia is going to be big, but the turnaround is like any other grossly lucrative adventure. It takes time, which you don’t seem to have. If wishes were fishes, my friend. I can get the audience, yes, but to what end?”

“You’re looking at this all wrong. The future success of a venture is as important as current capital.”

“You speak of debt? Do you want to go into debt for a decade? I wouldn’t be a friend if I allowed that or encouraged it.”

“A good name goes far, and risk is the investment. A man’s word.”

“Don’t we all know that.”

“Besides, you’re in debt. It’s your investment sense that people believe in. If I’m not mistaken, you’re flourishing because of it unless I’m missing something. You don’t look worse for the wear, except perhaps a purple eye every now and again.” He smiled smugly. Darrington might have made his money investing, but he also made a penny boxing in the same way that Rochester wagered on billiards.

“Me, yes. You? I don’t know.” The comment wasn’t meant to be condescending.

“What are you saying? That I’m not worth the risk?”

“My risk, yes. But you’re talking about a family.”

“And you’re saying what?” Rochester asked sternly. He felt his face tighten with the gravity of the situation and couldn’t believe that Darrington would question his wisdom on the matter.

“I’m saying that I don’t have a family, so I can afford to take chances. I rent my town house, and if my income goes to hell for a Season, I move back home with my siblings, as awful as that sounds. That option would be detrimental with a family, even for me.”

“Which means?” Anger bled from the words, and Rochester was on the verge of inviting Darrington for a brawl, only he wasn’t keen on a broken lip.

“Oh, please,” Darrington said while aggravation crept around a long sigh.

“All right. I know you mean well, and Lord knows I don’t want to live at Heavenly—despite the ridiculous name.”

Darrington put his elbows to his knees and steepled his fingers against his bent head. “Listen, I’ll set up a meeting, but the minimum buy-in is five thousand pounds. If you must borrow to do it, then borrow from me.”

“No.”

Darrington looked up under his brow.

“We’re friends. I’d like it to stay that way.”

“That’s what friends do. They help one another. If not, then what was that trip we took with Winn to Bath? I understand he took the house’s money, but he did it because of our inebriated stupidity. And why? Because we are friends.”

“Such good friends that he dug a fist into my cheek.”

“If I thought you were serious.”

“—I am serious,” Rochester interrupted.

“No, no. I believe he hit you, but I’m also certain he had reason to.” He paused to study Rochester. “Do you seriously think he didn’t have a reason? And save me the daggers, I’m not prying into your private affairs; I’m simply asking what you would have done under the same circumstances.”

Rochester grunted. “The same. I don’t blame him, and I wouldn’t have blamed you. I’m just angry because money should not stand in the way of happiness.”

“So don’t allow it. If you’re going to spend an entire life with her, then ask what she wants.”

“She wants to be taken care of.”

“You’re an idiot, Rochester.”

“And you sound like a godforsaken woman, Darrington.”

“Huh. Well, we’re fighting like women. What do you expect?”

An involuntary chuckle leaped from Rochester’s throat. “Just get me an audience, will you?”

By the following afternoon, Darrington had sent a message that Mr. Torrent would be happy to meet with him in a week. In the meantime, Rochester played several matches of billiards arranged by Hudson and instructed Lovie on how to care for the goose since leaving the bird with Hudson meant death. He even had a modest pen built in the back courtyard before he left. Amid the chaos, he prepared to tackle the last banns for a wedding that would only happen over his dead lifeless body.