Page 10 of Lady Isla and the Lord of Rogue (Merry Spinsters, Charming Rogues #6)
Chapter Six
It took Isla nearly an entire week to convince Teddy of her plan.
She badgered, wheedled, and nudged, but he remained resolute.
Only when she threatened to go with Catherine instead, both of them dressed as men and accompanied by a single footman for protection, did he finally relent.
By appealing to his protective instincts, she managed to get exactly what she wanted.
Isla squealed with delight.
“I shall regret this,” he grumbled. “Of that, I am certain. But what am I to do when I have not yet learned how to say no to your harebrained adventures?”
“It is splendid of you to indulge in my whims. Truly.” She grabbed his arm and shook it enthusiastically.
He went pink but made no movement to pull away. He said gruffly, as if to play over his embarrassment, “We’ll stay for half an hour and not a moment longer. Just so we are clear, if anyone so much as looks at you in the wrong way, I shall challenge them to a duel.”
“Fear not.” Isla dropped his arm. “I shall make myself as inconspicuous as possible and tread only in your shadow. I only want a brief glimpse of that world, and then we can go.”
Lucian Night’s infamous gaming hell in Covent Garden masqueraded as a respectable establishment near Drury Lane.
However, it attracted all manner of people, catering to both gentlemen and scoundrels alike.
Actors, officers, noblemen, and wealthy tradesmen mingled freely with a more dubious clientele, whose backgrounds were unmistakably disreputable.
To Isla’s great surprise, there were also women present.
Many were clearly companions to the gentlemen, either wives or mistresses; however, the demimondaines were present as well: actresses, courtesans, and widows willing to risk their reputations.
They clung to the arms of their men, watching them play, or they themselves threw the dice at the hazard table.
“If I had known that women are admitted here, I’d have foregone this disguise,” she said more to herself than to her companion, who appeared clearly agitated.
Yet the disguise was necessary, for it would not do to be recognised as Lord Wynthorpe’s sister.
The excitement of being there prickled under her skin, and she surveyed the room eagerly.
“Are you certain you want to step into this den of iniquity?” Teddy’s gaze flickered anxiously around the room, sweeping over the tightly packed bodies crowding about the hazard table in the middle of the room, and the thick haze of smoke, perfume, and sweat that clung to the air.
He seemed more concerned about her safety than her being dressed up as a man.
Earlier, when she’d emerged smartly dressed in breeches and an evening coat, which gave her the appearance of a young, slender man, he’d blinked at her bemusedly.
“Permit me to present myself: your nephew, Ian Roth.” She made a crooked half-bow.
Teddy shook his head. “I don’t know what is more scandalous: that you’re dressed up as a man, or that you look more dashing in that evening suit than I do. Your cravat is crooked.” He reached out to tug at it. “Remind me again why we’re doing this?”
“To satisfy my curiosity.” She gave him an impish smile.
“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like, to visit a real gaming hell.
” Isla peeked down to watch his hands deftly retie her neck cloth.
“Remember, I’m your nephew whom you’ve decided to introduce to the world of gambling.
And it is true, it is an entirely new world to me, one which I take great delight in exploring.
” She wanted to leave Teddy in the belief that she was merely adventurous, wanting to learn more about the life of gambling, and that she had no other ulterior motive for being there. So far, it appeared to be working.
As they surveyed the room from the entrance, where they stood, a thrill coursed through her body. She felt with every fibre of her being that tonight she would find the answer to her quest.
“Shall we, then?”
Teddy gave a curt nod. “Follow me.”
When a raucous eruption of cheers and groans exploded in the room, Teddy stepped instinctively closer to Isla, as if to protect her.
Isla concluded that when it came to her person, Teddy’s sense of safety and protectiveness was stronger than that of propriety.
He didn’t seem to mind that she dressed up as a boy and visited disreputable places; in fact, she was surprised that so far, he’d gone along with every madcap scheme she’d come up with, and she was curious how far he’d go.
There were not many men like that. The average man would have bristled with righteous indignation and rigid propriety, and would have prevented her, if not forbidden her, from going on the grounds that it was scandalous for women.
Such men would not be wrong. Isla was well aware that what she was doing was folly; if she was discovered, her reputation would be in tatters, and it would tarnish her brother’s as well.
Yet Teddy hadn’t breathed a word about propriety and reputation.
His only concern was that of safety.
A strange, warm feeling flooded through her.
Yes, it had been the right decision to accept Teddy’s suit. If he continued to be as lenient towards her in the future as well, she would be quite glad to marry him.
He stayed close to her, taking her by the elbow, as he guided her through the room, muttering, “In the centre of the room is the hazard table. It is fast-paced and high-risk, and the main attraction of this club. I don’t advise to play it because it is so unpredictable.
” They remained by the side, watching how the dice were cast. Isla gasped at the enormous amount of money that was wagered.
Fortunes were won and lost with the casting of the dice.
“The card tables are in the next room, where they play faro and basset. They are more to my taste.” They moved on to the adjoining room.
As soon as they entered, Teddy was promptly hailed by a half-drunk gentleman sitting at one of the tables.
“Woody! Fancy seeing you here.”
Teddy swore under his breath. “Edgefair. It has been a while.” He nodded at the man, then gestured at Isla. “My nephew, Ian Roth.”
Edgefair gave her a cursory glance and a nod. Then he tossed his cards on the table. “Lost this round. Come, join us for another?”
Isla nodded at Teddy, who took a seat while she remained standing behind him. “I prefer to watch,” she said in a low, gruff voice.
It was instructive watching Teddy play. He played with utter concentration; his gaze never strayed from his cards. To her astonishment, she saw that he was right about never losing. He was winning every single round.
Isla watched, intrigued. Teddy’s attention was taken up entirely by the game and it seemed he had entirely forgotten that she was there.
Good.
She took a step back from his chair.
Then another one. And another.
She reached the door, turned, and melted into the crowd in the main playing room.
She scanned the room. If the owner of the club was present, within these walls, it was impossible to ascertain who he was.
He could be anyone, really, Isla mused. Her eyes fell on the footmen who wove themselves between the people, carrying trays.
They came and went through a door in the wall that, no doubt, led to further rooms behind the main ones.
Isla watched one footman open the door and disappear behind it. He’d left the door slightly ajar.
This was her chance. With a quick look over her shoulder, Isla went after the footman.
Chances were that it would lead to the servants’ staircase, and she would end up in the servants’ premises below stairs.
Truly, that appeared to be the case. There was the kitchen, the servants’ hall, and a series of rooms that were intended for the domestics.
It looked entirely normal, like in every other household.
Maybe she was na?ve thinking that Lucian Night would be found within these premises, Isla thought. Just because this was his club did not mean that he lived here. Who knew how many houses he owned, who knew in what other houses he spent the night?
Quite possibly, and with increasing likelihood, not here.
Isla’s shoulders sagged. She had no idea why she’d thought this was going to be so much easier than it was.
Why had she thought that she could accomplish something that her brother couldn’t?
Why had she thought she could find him by simply walking into his club and looking for him?
Isla rubbed her forehead with a sigh, uncertain what to do.
A footman came towards her, bearing a tray with glasses. He looked at her sharply. “May I help you, sir? ”
“I—I got lost,” Isla said in her deeper, gruff voice.
“The way back to the main room is here,” he indicated with his free hand to the door through which she’d just come.
“Yes.” She hesitated. “But I wanted to talk to the owner of this club. Is he here?”
The footman shifted his tray from one hand to the other. “Regarding which matter, sir?”
Isla’s jaw nearly dropped to the ground. He hadn’t denied that Night was here. Did that mean that he was in truth? Her mind worked furiously.
“Regarding an urgent business matter that only concerns him and me. You know.” She cleared her throat. “It is confidential.”
The footman gave a penetrating look. “Wait here, if you please, sir.”
Isla nearly collapsed against the wall when he left. Her heart was hammering, and her mouth had become dry. She should have picked up one of those champagne glasses the footman had been carrying.
After a while, a large, burly man appeared. Isla stared at him with wide eyes. Surely that couldn’t be him?
“How may I help you?”
“Are you Lucian Night?” she blurted out. Maybe that had been a mistake, but the man didn’t even blink when she uttered his name.
“No, sir. My name is Holborn, the manager of this place. Do you have an appointment with Night?”