The Gentleman Who Loved Me (Heart of Enquiry Book 6)(61)

While Black commanded respect, Todd deserved nothing but contempt. A small, bald man with a round face and a vicious nature, Todd would stoop to any means to gain more power.

“Corbett,” Todd said in his sneering manner.

Andrew calibrated his bow to his degree of respect. “Todd.”

“Hah.” Black let out a bark of laughter, turning to his son-in-law. “Made a leg for me, didn’t he, and a fine one, too. But you? Not as much as a bob o’ the ’ead.”

Todd’s face reddened. “I don’t give a rat’s arse what the bugger—”

“And there’s your problem. You don’t care about doin’ the pretty, but Corbett ’ere,”—Black jabbed a blunt finger in Andrew’s direction—“’e does. Understands class, don’t ’e, and that’s the difference between ’im and you. Why ’is club draws all ’em fine coves with the fat purses while yours attracts the common riffraff.”

“His blighted club is not better than mine—”

“God Almighty, shut your gob.” Black aimed a squinty-eyed look at Todd, and the latter shut up. He turned his gaze to Andrew and gestured regally to the seat on his left. “Sit.”

Andrew complied, and a serving boy rushed forward to place a dish of coffee in front of him. As he took a sip of the thick, fortifying brew, Black waved a hand, and the guards pulled a velvet curtain across the alcove, sealing them in privacy.

“Let’s get down to business. Corbett,”—Black pinned him with a hard black stare—“Todd says you’re violating the terms o’ the accord and poaching on ’is territory. Is this true?”

“No, sir,” Andrew said.

“That’s a lie,” Todd snarled at him from across the table. “You’ve opened a place, brazen as can be, a stone’s throw away from my club.”

“The Accord specifies that no one shall operate a competing business within another’s territorial lines. As I’ve explained to you, I indeed own a property close to your club, but it is not a competing business. It’s not a business at all.”

“You got a ’ouse full ’o whores. What’s that, if not a brothel?” Todd retorted.

“E’s got you there.” Black stirred his coffee. “Where there’s smoke, there’s usually a fire.”

“All the wenches living in the Nursery House are with child,” Andrew began.

“That so?” Black’s bushy brows inched toward his wig. “No telling what gents fancy these days, eh?”

“The Nursery House is not a brothel,” Andrew said with emphasis. “It’s a place for my pregnant employees to have their babes and recover before returning to work.”

“You expect us to believe that? That you’re running some sort o’ charity?” Todd jeered.

“I don’t think of it as charity but innovation. A sound business practice.” How many times do I have to explain the facts to this idiot? “If I look after my workers, I’ll attract and retain the best. If I give them a safe place to go during pregnancy, they’ll come back afterward, healthy and ready to work. In the end, it saves me time and money—and improves the lives of those who work for me.”

“That’s bloody preposterous!” Todd sprang up—not that he had far to go. Standing, the little tyrant was not much taller than Andrew was sitting. “Wench ’as a bun in the oven, you find a new one. Wench expires having a brat, you find a new one. Way o’ the world. What you’re doing is setting a bad example. Giving the whores ideas.” He spat the word like an epithet. “Next thing you know they’ll be wanting ’igher wages, a decent place to live, time off to spend with their brats. Your buggering Nursery is going to cause a mutiny—and I won’t stand for it!”

Andrew decided now was not the time to disclose the second phase of his plan: to partner with a school to educate the whores’ bastards.

Instead, he said levelly, “I don’t tell you how to run your business, and you don’t tell me how to run mine. That, Todd, is the way of our world.”

“You uppity whoreson—”

“I am the son of a whore,” Andrew acknowledged, “which explains why I view whores as human beings. Try that perspective, and you might find your business improves. What won’t improve your business, however, is trying to intimidate me. Three nights ago, I was attacked.”

He slid in the last fact—and watched for Todd’s reaction.

He saw surprise… followed quickly by glee.

“Can’t lay that at my door,” Todd said smugly. “Can’t say I’m shocked, though. Bastard like you is bound to ’ave more enemies than a dog ’as fleas.”

“My enemies better know that I fight back. And when I do, I go for the throat.”

“Is that a damned threat?”

“Enough. Both of you.” Black’s command cut through the tension. “Todd, sit your arse down.”

Todd sat, his beady eyes aglitter.

“Way I see it, Corbett ’asn’t violated the Accord,” the King of the Underworld pronounced. “’E ain’t operating a business that interferes with yours, Todd, so you got no bone to pick with ’im. Understand?”