Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(10)

“Really,” Lily said with surprise. “Not a pigeon. Coming from you, that’s quite a compliment.”

“Raiford plays wise—follows runs but never goes deep.” Derek turned a smile on her. “Even you wouldn’t be able to rook ’im.”

Lily ignored the taunt. “Is he as wealthy as the rumors claim?”

That produced an emphatic nod. “More.”

“Any family scandals? Secrets, trouble, past affairs, any misdeeds that would reflect badly on his character? Does he seem like a cold, cruel sort of fellow?”

Derek folded his long, well-tended hands over the balustrade, looking down at his small kingdom. “ ’E’s quiet. Private. Especially since the woman ’e loved was knocked off a year or two ago.”

“Knocked off?” Lily interrupted, both amused and appalled. “Must you be so vulgar?”

Derek ignored the reprimand. “Miss Caroline Whit-more, Whitfield, somefing o’ the sort. Broke ’er neck on an ’unt, so they say. Damn little fool, I say.”

“Hunt,” Lily said, irritated by his meaningful glance. She loved to ride to the hounds, but even Derek didn’t approve of such a dangerous activity for a woman. “And I’m not like other women. I can ride as well as any man. Better than most.”

“ ’Tis your neck,” he replied casually.

“Precisely. Now, that can’t be all you know about Raiford. I know you. You’re keeping something from me.”

“No.” Lily was caught by Derek’s steady gaze, transfixed by the cool depths of green. His eyes contained a spark of humor, but also a warning. Once again she was reminded that despite their friendship, Derek would not be there to help her if she landed herself in trouble. His voice was shaded with a quiet force that was as troubling as it was rare. “Listen to me, gypsy. Let it be—the marriage, ewerything. Raiford’s not a cruel sort, but ’e’s no rum cull. Stay clear ow ’im. You ’as problems enow to ’andle.” His lips twisted wryly, and he corrected himself. “H andle.”

Lily considered his advice. Derek was right, of course. She should be preserving her strength, thinking of nothing but getting Nicole back. But for some reason, this question of Raiford’s character had taken root inside her, nagging until she would not have peace without seeing him. She thought of how docile Penny had always been, never misbehaving or questioning their parents’ decisions. God knew Penny had no one to help her. The image of Zachary’s pleading face came before her. She owed this to him. Lily sighed. “I must meet Raiford and see for myself,” she said stubbornly.

“Then go to the Middleton h unt this week,” Derek said, taking special care with his vowels and consonants. Suddenly he almost sounded like a gentleman. “Most likely h e’ll be there.”

Assembling at the stables with the others, Alex waited while a small army of grooms brought the horses out to their masters. There was excitement in the air, for all participants knew it would be an exceptional day. It was cool and dry, the course would be challenging, and the Middleton pack was renowned for its quality, reputedly worth more than three thousand guineas.

Alex glanced at the brightening sky, his mouth twisting with impatience. The hunt had been scheduled for six o’clock. They would be late getting started. More than half the hunting party hadn’t mounted their horses yet. He considered walking over to someone and striking up a conversation. Most of the men here were familiar to him, some of them old classmates. But he wasn’t in a sociable mood. He wanted to ride, lose himself in the chase until he was too tired to think or feel.

He looked across the field at the cool mist that hung over the yellow grasses and edged the dark, gray-green woods. The nearby covert was thick with spiny, gold-flowered gorse. All at once a flash of memory assailed him…

“Caro, you’re not going on the hunt.”

His fiancée, Caroline Whit-more, laughed and pouted playfully. She was a lovely girl, with peach-colored skin and bright hazel eyes, and hair the dark amber of clover honey. “Darling, you wouldn’t deprive me of such fun, would you? There’s no chance of danger. I’m a superb rider, a clipping one, as you British would say.”

“You don’t know what it’s like, riding to a leap in company. There are collisions, refusals, or you could be thrown or ridden down—”

“I’ll ride with the utmost discretion. What do you suppose, that I’ll ride neck-or-nothing across every hurdle? I’ll have you know, dearest, that common sense is one of my strongest virtues. Besides, you know it’s impossible to change my mind once I’m set on something.” Caroline sighed melodramatically. “Why must you be so difficult?”

“Because I love you.”

“Then don’t love me. At least not tomorrow morning…”

Alex shook his head roughly, trying to clear away the haunting memories. God, would it always be like this? It had been two years since her death, and still he was tormented by it.

The past engulfed Alex in an invisible shroud. He had tried to move beyond it, but after a few futile attempts, he had realized he would never be free of Caroline. Of course there were others like her, women of spirit, passion, and beauty, but he did not want that kind of woman anymore. Caroline had told him once that she thought no one would ever be able to love him quite enough. There had been too many years in which he had been bereft of a woman’s nurturing care.