Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(39)

Alex was sprawled in a chair, his thighs spread wide. A half-drained liquor bottle was balanced on his knee. The golden copper of his skin was pallid. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. Hard, bitter lines were etched on his face. The smell of whiskey was rank in the air, as was the acrid odor of tobacco. He was smoking heavily, and had been for some time, if the thick haze in the room was anything to judge by. His fingers were curled loosely around a cigar. Zachary doubted that many people had ever seen Raiford in such a condition. Some terrible misfortune must have befallen him.

“I-is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Alex said brusquely. “Why do you ask?”

Hastily Zachary shook his head and cleared his throat a few times. “Ahem. No reason. I thought perhaps…ahem…you look a little tired.”

“I’m fine. As always.”

“Yes, of course. Ahem. I’m here to see Lily, so perhaps I’ll just—”

“Sit.” Drunkenly Alex waved a hand toward a leather chair.

Zachary complied nervously. A shaft of morning sunlight came through the window and brightened his ash brown hair.

“Have a drink,” Alex said, blowing out a stream of smoke.

Zachary squirmed. “Actually, I make a habit of avoiding strong drink until late afternoon—”

“So do I.” Alex lifted the glass to his lips and took a sloshing swallow. He studied his companion with a calculating stare. They were contemporaries, Alex thought, and yet Zachary hardly looked older than his brother Henry. The telling daylight illuminated Zachary’s boyish face—the clear skin and the brown eyes filled with youthful dreams and idealism. He was so damned suitable for Penelope. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence could see it.

Alex scowled. Caroline was gone. If the fates wouldn’t allow him to have the woman he loved, he’d be damned if he’d let Zachary have Penelope. Alex’s alcohol-soaked brain acknowledged that his attitude was selfish, cruel, pointlessly vengeful…but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything.

Except maybe one thing. One little thing that had been bothering him for some reason. “Who was Miss Lawson engaged to?” he demanded gruffly.

Zachary appeared to be confused by his abruptness. “You’re referring to the…er, episode ten years ago? When Lily was engaged to Hindon?”

“Hindon who? Lord Hindon’s son Harry?”

“Yes, Harry.”

“That cocky little dandy who stares into every looking glass he passes by?” Alex gave a scornful laugh. “That was her great love? I should have guessed she’d pick someone with more vanity than intelligence. And he was a friend of yours?”

“At the time, yes,” Zachary admitted. “Hindon had a certain charm—”

“What did she do to make him jilt her?”

Zachary lifted his shoulders in a defensive shrug. “It wasn’t anything in particular.”

“Oh, come,” Alex sneered. “She must have deceived him in some way, or publicly humiliated him, or—”

“Actually, she did deceive him. Though it wasn’t intentional. Lily was quite young back then, very eager and trusting. And naive. She fell in love with Hindon for his handsomeness, without realizing that he was a man of exceedingly shallow character. In order to attract Hindon, Lily concealed her intelligence and her strong will, charming him by acting like a featherbrain. I don’t believe it was a conscious plan to deceive him. She just naturally adopted the qualities that she sensed he would admire.”

“But eventually Hindon discovered what she was really like.”

“Yes, he began to realize it in the months after he had proposed to her. Hindon behaved with utter dishonor. He jilted her not long before the wedding. Lily was devastated. I offered for her instead, but she refused me. She said she was destined never to marry. Her aunt took her abroad for a number of years. They lived in Italy for a time.”

Alex concentrated on his cigar, his golden lashes lowered, concealing his thoughts. When he spoke, his voice was quieter than before. “She must have cut quite a swath across the continent.”

“No, she disappeared, actually. Years passed, and no one heard from her. Something happened to her in Italy, but she’s never told a soul about it. All I’m certain of is that Lily came to some sort of grief there. When she reappeared in England two years ago, I could see how she had changed.” Zachary frowned thoughtfully. “There’s a sadness in her eyes that never leaves. She’s a worldly, unique woman, with courage that few men could match.”

Zachary said something else, but Alex didn’t hear. He stared at the wholesome young man sitting across from him and remembered the sight of Lily kissing Zachary in the library. A blatant attempt to convince him they were lovers. Instead, the scene had demonstrated beyond a doubt that they shared nothing more than platonic friendship. While Lily had cuddled on Zachary’s lap and kissed him, he had sat there passively, his arms held stiffly at his sides. Hardly the behavior of a man embracing the woman he loved. If he had been in Zachary’s place…

Alex dismissed the forbidden thought and pinned Zachary with a brooding stare. “Lily’s a cunning little actress. But not good enough.”

“I say, you’re quite off the mark! Lily is genuine in everything she says and does. It’s clear you have no understanding of her.”