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“You give me much credit for my ability at cards, which honors me,” Albion said.

“And I shall partake of the gaming tables at Lord Mandeville’s.

Do you plan to do so as well, Prin? One never knows.

We may find ourselves at the same table.

And while I try to stay sharp on those occasions, I have imbibed occasionally.

It muddles the mind, you know. I might not always be so fortunate at night’s end. ”

“Lord Albion!” The Regent exclaimed before lowering his voice. “Are you telling me you will throw a game or two?”

Albion shrugged. He’d already thrown one wager when he made his bet with Duncan regarding Iris Gabbert, knowing full well Dunc would make a great success of it.

He had even added a commitment to host their mother’s 60th birthday celebration to sweeten the flutter, though that had been more a favor as his taciturn brother was ill-suited to the task.

“It may wound my pride, but it would be an honor, Prinny. Thanks to my brother’s vigilance over our family finances, I can’t provide a loan directly. But I’ve plenty of pin money.”

“I don’t know when I shall find myself in a position to repay you.”

Albion dismissed the notion with a wave. “Take all the time you need. It is a favor, as you mentioned before.”

“You really are an upright chap. I am officially in your debt.”

Albion took a long swallow of wine from the large glass before him and met the Prince Regent’s amicable gaze.

The English had an unquenchable taste for the exquisite jewels mined in the Hidden Realm; the ethereal qualities of the gems held a mystery and allure they couldn’t resist. So there would always be more money. Eventually.

But the gratitude of the heir to the English throne? Now, that wasn’t easy to come by.

“As it happens, there is a matter or two to which I might direct your attention, Prin. If you are keen to repay me, we should discuss a means that would not require so much as a ha’penny from the treasury.”

“Name it, Lord Albion. What do you desire?”

“It is less so for me and more for my wife. Though of course her happiness is a necessary prerequisite for my own. She and her sister were involved in some bad business last season, and your consideration would go a long way to healing those wounds.”

A cunning smile spread across the Regent’s face. “How so?”

“Might you join our company for Lord Mandeville’s ball? In an official capacity, that is. If we were announced together, I think it will help restore my Daisy’s place in Society.”

“Deep down, you are a soft-hearted fool for love. Is that it, Albie?”

He dipped his head, pretending great interest in the dessert menu. He could not yet bear to allow anyone, let alone the gossip-prone Prince Regent, to learn how desperately and helplessly he had fallen in love.

“I am happy to help your lady wife.”

Albion nodded in gratitude. Seeing as how Prinny was in such a generous mood, he supposed he might also ask for him to keep an eye out for Lillian Stewart in Chamberly.

But the Regent was hardly renowned for depth of attention and his eyes had already started wandering the room.

No matter. Albion would broach the topic at the ball.

Before they repaired for the gaming tables so that he still held the upper hand, as it were.

“There it is, then,” he said. “We shall look forward to keeping your company at Lord Mandeville’s ball.”

Lounging in a comfortable winged chair before her rosewood writing table, Diana took another sip of Riesling. She wondered how long it would be until Albie returned home. And visited her bedchamber.

She set aside her current reading material, a biography of the late Empress Catherine of Russia, to continue a letter to Lillian.

Since Lil had been away, Diana had taken to writing random reflections in her notebook before bed.

She enjoyed dipping her quill in ink before organizing those ideas into coherent thoughts on the parchment paper for her sister.

While flames crackled in the stone fireplace, she wrote:

I daresay Albie supports my ambition to be a woman of politics. It is more even than I might have imagined in Philadelphia.

With a sudden drop of her heart, she realized that the life she had once envisioned in America included Albion in name only, the distant husband married to her so that she could live respectably on her own. Now, such an arrangement did not hold the slightest appeal.

She needed to broach the subject of their future. A topic that made her heart pulsate curiously. While she did not doubt her husband’s desire for her, she could not bear it should he not respond in kind to her wish to spend their lives together.

At last, the elegantly carved oak door creaked open. When she turned, Albie smiled indulgently. His horns nearly skimmed the low ceiling. The light emanating from her oil lantern rendered his elegant cheekbones even finer.

“You are hard at work, madam.” He lowered into a dramatic bow. “I should leave you to your thoughts, then?”

“I sense an ironical tone,” she told him, setting her writing implements back on the table next to her wine.

“Mere jealousy over whoever has captured your attention.”

“Only my sister, I assure you. And how did you spend your afternoon, husband?”

“Not as pleasant as time spent with you, wife, but well enough. I ran into His Royal Highness at the club.”

“How is our fair Regent?”

“Jolly as ever. I daresay he is someone who can help with your aspirations.”

Diana laughed nervously. She’d once thought Nigel Halman could do that. “I like to think I can tend to them on my own. By way of competence.”

“Then you are a singular person in both London and the Hidden Realm. Knowing the right individual is key to success, is it not?”

“How jaded.”

“How realistic.”

“Well, I shall try not to feel overly jealous of the Regent for stealing your time from me.”

“Time that was well spent. Do you want to meet Prinny? I hope so, for he has agreed to attend Lord Mandeville’s ball in our company. If you wish to wield influence, why not start with the Prince Regent?”

“I thought you found his understanding of politics lacking.”

“Surely you could set him right.”

“A tempting prospect. I shall be honored to do so. But I am glad now to have you all to myself.”

With a sly smile, he turned the coverlet down and beckoned her. “Might I join you in your quarters this evening, wife?”

She moved to the bed, crawling on top of him so that her robe fell open, exposing her breasts.

Albie sighed, his hand moving first lightly over her nipples, granting her time enough to pull away if she so pleased.

Even at this slight touch, her heart raced, and her lips tingled, and what she desired more than anything in this world was Albion Higgins. Her Albie.