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Baron Moreland

T he three balls were spread across the billiard table as though I’d strategically placed them. I leaned over the table, took a moment to center myself, and drew back my cue with practiced ease.

With a soft clunk, my ball struck the first ball, then the second one. I grinned and straightened as they sailed smoothly across the table’s surface and dropped into the corner pockets.

Before I could bask in my win, a broadsheet landed in the middle of the billiard table.

The Mayfair Chronicle . It had become something of a ritual with that paper.

Not a week passed of late without an article penned by the anonymous Lady X about one of our exploits.

Viscount Kendrick leaned against the table and waited for me to pick it up.

“Who is it today?” I scanned the article, searching for my name. When I didn’t see it, I returned to the beginning and started reading.

This author has it on good authority that one of the Legends may be considering a change in marital status.

Not that anyone expects Viscount K to remain faithful to the woman in question (someone from the demimonde, no less!), but it is an interesting development. Will he be the first Legend to fall?

I didn’t even try hiding my amusement. “Mirabelle?”

Viscount Fairfax handed me my winnings, then took the periodical from me.

Kendrick cursed. “She’s become nothing but a nuisance. But this?” He waved a hand at the Chronicle . “It’s definitely time for her to find another protector.”

Fairfax clapped him on the shoulder, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “I’m sure you two would have beautiful babies.”

Kendrick snatched the broadsheet from him and swore. His annoyance only served to amuse Fairfax more.

“I’ve been thinking of finding a mistress myself— not Mirabelle.” I didn’t know how Kendrick had found the patience to deal with her for so long. “Someone who knows her place.”

Kendrick laughed. “You? You’re the king of variety. Why would you give that up?”

I thought about the bruise I currently sported on my backside after last night’s activities. “Climbing out of windows in the middle of the night gets tiresome. And truth be told, one body is much the same as another in the dark. It would be a nice change of pace to leave through the front door.”

Fairfax straightened, his expression wiped clean of emotion, but I knew him too well. He was trying to mask his amusement. “I would die a happy man if you’d allow me to witness you climbing out a conquest’s window. We can forego all this billiard nonsense—I’ll give you my money directly.”

I glared at him.

Kendrick chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that myself.”

I was tempted to knock their heads together.

In no world would I allow them to wait outside the bedroom window of some wench I swived.

I could concede that the previous night’s scene would have given them at least a month of enjoyment as they retold the story to all and sundry, but I was too annoyed to find amusement in having barely escaped the woman’s attempt to force me into marriage.

Even if her brother had managed to break into the bedroom in time to catch us, I wasn’t that honorable.

She would have to look elsewhere for a fool to entrap.

Fairfax gave a low whistle, distracting me from my thoughts.

He made that sound when he spotted a woman he wanted to get to know better.

I raised a brow, and he jerked his head toward the other end of the room.

My skin was already prickling with unease when I turned to see who’d caught his attention.

Unsure what I expected to see, it wasn’t Mr. Clarence guiding a young woman to the stairs that led up to Rexford’s private rooms.As club secretary of King’s, Clarence was always somewhere around the club, ensuring everything ran smoothly and averting disasters before they could happen.

But I’d never seen him escort a woman to the inner sanctum before.

I could see why she’d captured Fairfax’s attention, though she was walking away from us.

She had dark, almost black hair styled in one of those elaborate displays of curls.

She was petite, probably five feet tall, if that, but something about the way she carried herself told me she was a woman of breeding.

On those rare occasions when the club was open to the fairer sex, the women who stepped through the front doors were from the demimonde.

But I could feel in my bones that this woman wasn’t from that world.

“Who do you think she is?” Fairfax’s voice was low, interested.

For some reason I couldn’t fathom, I wanted to punch him.

The woman chose that moment to glance over her shoulder. Our eyes met, and time stood still. Even from a distance, I saw the almost unnatural deep blue of her eyes, and I couldn’t look away.

Fairfax’s voice was an unwelcome intrusion. “Why do you think Clarence is taking her upstairs? Do you think Rexford would share?”

Kendrick elbowed him, saving me the trouble. “That’s Rexford’s sister.”

Fairfax gave a disappointed grunt. I was still incapable of speech, caught within the web of the woman’s gaze.

For some reason, I felt as though she was sizing me up.

If she were anyone else, I would have crossed the distance that separated us and introduced myself.

Then I would have done everything in my power to ensure she was in my bed that night.

She turned away, and Clarence ushered her upstairs.

“Do you know why she’s here?” Thankfully, my voice sounded somewhat normal.

Kendrick shrugged. “No idea. But it must be something important for her to come here. Sherbourne usually keeps his daughter locked away at home.”

Of course he did. The Duke of Sherbourne had lost any measure of control over his eldest son and heir. He wouldn’t want his daughter to be corrupted by her brother’s influence.

“If Rexford’s sister is visiting him here, it must concern something serious.”

Fairfax’s words echoed my curiosity, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Rexford’s sister was untouchable. I needed to put thoughts of her from my mind.

I forced a casual tone I was far from feeling. “She’s beyond our reach.” I moved to the billiard table and began racking the balls. “Another game?”

Fairfax grinned. “I’d much rather pay to watch you climb out a small bedroom window. If you can arrange for a husband or father to chase you out, I’ll pay double. No, make that triple. It would be worth it.”

I walked to the head of the table and lined up my first shot—and missed. Fuck. I never missed.

Fairfax whistled. “It appears today is finally my lucky day.”