Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(4)

“Has she arrived?” Zachary asked eagerly, jumping to his feet.

Burton regarded him implacably. “Miss Lawson will see you upstairs. If you will allow me to show you the way, Lord Stamford…”

Zachary followed him up the curving staircase, with its intricately turned balusters and highly polished banister. He entered the sitting room, where a lively blaze cast its light from a small marble fireplace, and illuminated the green, bronze, and blue silk wall hangings. After a minute or two, Lily appeared at the doorway that connected to her bedchamber.

“Zachary!” she exclaimed, rushing forward and seizing his hands. Zachary smiled as he bent to brush her soft cheek with a perfunctory kiss. His smile froze as he realized that she was clad in a robe, her bare feet peeking out from beneath the floor-length hem. It was a circumspect robe, heavy and thick, the neck trimmed in swansdown, but it was still a garment in the category of “unmentionable.” He stepped back in a startled reflex, but not before he noticed that her hair was drying in spiky clumps, and she smelled rather…peculiar.

In spite of that, Lily was still strikingly beautiful. Her eyes were as dark as the center of a sunflower, shadowed by a thick sweep of lashes. Her skin had a pale, polished glow, and the line of her throat was delicate and pure. When she smiled as she did now, her lips had a singularly sweet curve, as if she were an angelic little girl. Her innocent appearance was deceptive. Zachary had seen her trade the subtlest of insults with rarefied dandies, then shout vulgarities at a pickpocket who had attempted to rob her.

“Lily?” he asked tentatively, and he couldn’t help wrinkling his nose as he got another whiff.

She laughed at his expression and waved at the air in front of her. “I would have bathed first, but you said your concern was urgent. Pardon me for reeking of eau de poisson—the Thames was rather fishy today.” At his uncomprehending stare, she added, “My hat was blown into the river by a gust of wind.”

“While you were still wearing it?” Zachary asked in confusion.

Lily grinned. “Not precisely. But let’s not talk about it—I’d rather hear about the matter that brought you to town.”

He gestured to her attire, or rather her lack of it, uncomfortably. “Shouldn’t you like to dress first?”

Lily gave him a fond smile. There were some things about Zachary that would never change. His soft brown eyes, his sensitive face, the neatly groomed hair, all of it reminded her of a little boy dressed for church. “Oh, don’t blush and carry on. I’m perfectly well covered. I wouldn’t have expected such modesty of you, Zachary. After all, you did ask me to marry you once.”

“Oh, yes, well…” Zachary frowned. The proposal had been made and rejected so quickly that he had almost forgotten about it. “Until that day Harry was my best friend. When he jilted you in that dastardly manner, I felt the only gentlemanly thing to do was to act as his second.”

That provoked a snort of laughter. “His second? Good Gad, Zachary, it was an engagement, not a duel!”

“And you turned down my proposal,” he remembered.

“Dear boy, I would have made you miserable, the same way I made Harry miserable. That was why he left me.”

“That is no excuse for him to have behaved so dishonorably,” Zachary said stiffly.

“But I’m glad he did. If he hadn’t, I never would have traveled ’round the world with my eccentric Aunt Sally, and she never would have left me her fortune, and I would be…” Lily paused and gave a delicate shudder, “married.” She smiled and seated herself before the fire, gesturing for him to do the same. “At the time, all I could think about was my broken heart. But I do remember your proposal as one of the nicest things that ever happened to me. One of the few times a man has acted unselfishly on my behalf. The only time, actually. You were prepared to sacrifice your own happiness and marry me, just to save my wounded pride.”

“Is that why you’ve remained friends with me over the years?” Zachary asked with surprise. “With all the elegant, accomplished people you know, I’ve always wondered why you bother with me.”

“Oh, yes,” she said dryly. “Spendthrifts, wastrels, and thieves. Quite an assortment of friends I have. Obviously I don’t exclude royalty and politicians.” She smiled at him. “You’re the only decent man I’ve ever known.”

“Decency’s gotten me far, hasn’t it?” he said glumly.

Lily looked at him in surprise, wondering what had made Zachary, a perennial idealist, look so woebegone. Something must be very wrong indeed. “Zach, you have many wonderful qualities. You’re attractive—”

“But not handsome,” he said.

“Intelligent—”

“But not clever. Not a wit.”

“Cleverness is usually born of malice, which I’m glad to say you don’t have. Now stop obligating me to praise you, and tell me why you’ve come.” Her gaze sharpened. “It’s Penelope, isn’t it?”

Zachary stared into her fire-lit eyes. He frowned and gave a long sigh. “Your sister and your parents are staying with Raiford at Raiford Park, making preparations for the wedding.”

“It’s only a few weeks away,” Lily mused, warming her bare toes before the crackling blaze. “I wasn’t invited. Mother is terrified that I would make some sort of scene.” The sound of her laughter was tinged with melancholy. “Where would she get such an idea?”