Page 10

Chapter Ten

Et tu, Brute?

J acob sipped brandy in the billiard room, content to watch others play. The evening was winding down. He was far more concerned with continued consumption of the quality libations on offer than playing a silly game or seeking the loneliness of his own quarters.

“Mr. Danvers?”

Looking up, Jacob took note of the well-dressed gentleman before him. He was not known to him, but clearly that did not matter. “Are we acquainted, sir?”

“Not as of yet, but we shall be. I am Stanford Williams… and I have acquired your markers.”

Jacob squelched the panic welling inside him. “I see. And you are here to demand payment?”

“We are gentlemen. I need not demand anything,” Williams said. “It is a debt of honor, after all.”

Jacob didn’t quite relax. How could he when the man he was speaking with had the power to utterly ruin him? But he did feel some of the tightness dissipate from his chest. “It is a debt of honor, and you are remarkably laissez-faire about such a large debt.”

“I have money, Danvers. I’ve no need of yours.”

“Most excellent… for I have none,” Jacob admitted. He was being intentionally goading.

Williams smiled, but it was a cool expression, filled with disdain. “There are things more valuable than mere money. Your acquaintance with the Earl of St. Aiden for starters.”

“Caleb?”

“Indeed. Were you aware of the scandal your compatriot has embroiled himself in this fine evening?”

Jacob laughed. “Did he get caught with our rapacious hostess?”

“After a fashion… it seems he was caught by her in a most compromising position with a young lady by the name of Miss Marina Ashton. Dark hair, blue eyes, quite lovely if terribly common,” Williams said.

“The chit from the ballroom… I warned him about her. Trapped him, has she?”

“Something to that effect,” Williams said, leaning back in his seat. “I have a rather unfortunate history with Miss Ashton. She has embarrassed me publicly in a way that I am loath to forgive. And I would spare any truly worthy gentleman from her machinations.”

“Is she really that bad?” Jacob asked.

“I suppose it depends on one’s perspective. It is certainly to your benefit to see things my way… A bit of retribution with your aid could result in the forgiveness of a significant amount of your debt, Mr. Danvers. And you wouldn’t really be disloyal to your friend. After all, it is in his best interests not to be saddled with her for life.”

“He needs to marry. Contingencies in the will,” Jacob explained.

“Then he should look elsewhere for a bride, Mr. Danvers. For both your sakes,” Williams rose. “Consider it, sir. You may reach me at Brown’s. I’ll be there for the Season. Do enjoy your evening, Mr. Danvers.”

“Mr. Williams,” Jacob acknowledged. “We both know I’ll not enjoy a damned thing about this dull affair save for the brandy, of course. It’s most excellent… and I’ll consider all that you’ve said. That is all I can promise.”

The other man smiled tightly. “Naturally. One would expect no less than excellent brandy from the Crowdens. I should advise you, Mr. Danvers, that while your significant debt may be forgiven if you comply with my wishes, it will be pursued to the full extent of the law if you do not.

“I’m aware,” Jacob acknowledged, taking a deep draw from the glass. “I didn’t think you were offering only out of generosity. I will get the funds. Soon.”

“From St. Aiden, I presume?” the man asked, his eyes alight with speculation.

Jacob laughed bitterly. “Unless I suddenly develop the ability to produce it from thin air, it will have to come from him.”

Williams was quiet for a moment. “There is an easier way. Think about it.”

Jacob’s heartbeat pounded loudly, the sound echoing in his ears. Even as he hated himself for it, he heard the words coming from his mouth. “How? Precisely, please.”

“You must simply dissuade him. Convince him that she is not the one, that she is flawed, fast, of loose morals—whatever is necessary for him to abandon her at the altar,” Williams said, waving his hand dismissively, rather like he was declining supper than trying to destroy a young woman’s life.

“He’d never do that,” Jacob said. “It’s not in his nature.”

“Leave that to me.”

Jacob wanted to protest, to deny the other man’s request on principle alone. But he couldn’t. Because desperation won out. And along with his desperation was something else. Something dark and ugly growing within him. Resentment. Anger. Covetousness. They all mixed together in a poisonous stew that fueled the whispers in his mind. Why did he get to have everything? Why did Caleb deserve it all while he had nothing?

“I’ll do what you’ve asked. But you’ll forgive the debt in its entirety, not simply a portion,” Jacob insisted.

“Fine. As you wish… but make it worth it, Danvers.”

*

Leaving the card room, Stanford moved through the ballroom as unobtrusively as possible. He was far from persona non grata, but that didn’t mean his presence would go unremarked upon. And given that his former betrothed’s name was on nearly everyone’s lips, there was little doubt that he would become a topic of conversation, as well.

When he reached the doorway that led to the orangery, he opened the door and slipped inside, securing it behind him. It was a popular spot for trysts, hence the impressive latching mechanism that could be engaged from inside the room.

Stepping deeper into the dense foliage, he found his quarry seated on a bench, her pretty face pinched with worry. She glanced up at him. “This was not what I had envisioned, Stanford, when you suggested I challenge her to that ridiculous wager! She’ll be a countess now.”

“It will never happen, Elizabeth,” he promised her. “Betrothed is not married. Whatever it takes, I will keep them from actually being wed. Whether that is to Nutter or to the earl, she will never be any man’s wife… She need only be betrothed so that she too can feel the sting of abandonment in front of the entirety of the ton .”

Elizabeth’s frown deepened as she accusingly uttered, “You loved her.”

“No. I did not. But I was forced to toady to her and her ridiculous uncle so that I could get my hands on her sizable fortune… I resent the embarrassment and wasted efforts, Elizabeth. I do not pine for her nor am I avenging a broken heart.”

“Do you love me?” she asked, sounding like a petulant child.

Stanford smiled and held his hands out to her. Then he lied. “Of course, I love you. I should never have even looked twice at Marina Ashton, but I was blinded by that obscene marriage portion her uncle had settled on her. Had I even a whit of sense, my darling, I would have pursued you—choosing happiness and love over wealth.”

“I’m not a pauper, Stanford. I have a sizable fortune, too, you know. We could marry!” She smiled. “Think how utterly miserable she’d be having to apologize to me in front of everyone when I married you !”

It was a tempting thought. It, along with Elizabeth’s very useful long-standing feud with Marina, was the primary reason he’d cultivated a secret courtship with her. “I will marry you, darling, and you may lord it over her as you please. But first, she must stand in utter disgrace. That will restore my reputation to a degree that no one would ever dare besmirch either of our names. I could not, in good conscience, marry you when it might make you an object of gossip and ridicule. That’s why we must keep our romance secret a bit longer. I vow to make it all worth it,” he said, sounding sincere even to his own ears. She was a dupe, but an important one. Best to keep her happy until he had no further use for her.