Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(40)

“No, it’s clear you don’t. And you’re similarly mistaken about me, Stamford, if you think I’ve been fooled by the infantile charade you and Miss Lawson have been putting on for my benefit.”

“What? I don’t understand—”

“You’re not in love with Lily,” Alex said sardonically. “How could you be? Oh, I’ll grant you have some sort of liking for her. But you’re also afraid of her.”

“Afraid?” Zachary turned purple. “Of a woman not half my size?”

“Let’s be frank, Stamford. You’re a gentleman of the first water. You’re incapable of hurting anyone, save to defend your principles. Lily, on the other hand, would do anything to get what she wants. Anything. She doesn’t have principles, and doesn’t respect them in others. You’d be a fool not to fear her. You’re her friend one moment, her pawn the next. Don’t think I intend any insult to you. I feel a certain sympathy for you.”

“Damn y-your sympathy!” Zachary spluttered.

“Penelope, on the other hand, is what every man dreams of. A girl with an appearance and bearing that are nothing short of angelic. You freely admit you were once in love with her…”

“Once, but no longer!”

“You don’t lie well. Stamford.” Alex crushed out his cigar and smiled cruelly. “Forget Penelope. Nothing is going to stop this marriage. I advise you to attend the first few balls of the season—there you can choose from dozens of girls just like her. Pretty, innocent girls, all eager to learn of the world and its temptations. For what you want, any one of them will suffice.”

Zachary shot up from his chair. He looked as if he were torn between pleading with Alex or calling him out. “Lily once said much the same thing to me. Apparently neither of you are able to see what I do in Penelope. It’s true she doesn’t have much courage, but she is hardly some empty-headed doll! You’re a selfish blackguard, Raiford! For what you’ve just said, I should—”

“Zachary,” Lily’s voice interrupted. She was standing in the doorway, looking calm and determined. Her face was drawn, her eyes just as weary and smudged as Alex’s. “No more,” she said to Zachary with a faint smile. “It’s time for you to leave. I’ll take care of this.”

“I’ll fight my own battles—”

“Not this one, my dear.” Lily indicated the door with a jerk of her head. “Listen to me, Zach. You must leave. Now.”

Zachary strode to her and grasped her hands, turning his back on Alex. He looked down at her small face. “The plan has failed,” he muttered. “I have to face him, Lily. I must finish this.”

“No.” She stood on her toes to put her arms around his shoulders. One dainty hand came to rest on the back of his neck. “Trust me,” she whispered into his ear. “I swear on my life you’ll have Penelope. But you must do as I say, darling. Go home. I’ll take care of everything.”

“How can you say that?” he whispered back in amazement. “How can you pretend such confidence? We’ve lost, Lily, we’ve utterly—”

“Trust me,” she repeated, and stepped back from him.

Zachary turned to look at Raiford who was sprawled in the library chair like a debauched king on a throne. “How can you stand yourself?” he burst out. “Doesn’t it matter to you that the woman you’re about to marry is in love with someone else?”

Alex smiled mockingly. “You talk as if I held a gun to her head. Penelope accepted my suit of her own free will.”

“There was nothing free about it! She had no choice in this marriage. It was all arranged without her—”

“Zachary,” Lily interrupted.

With a mumbled curse, Zachary looked from her to Alex. Turning on his booted heel he strode from the room. Soon afterward there was the sound of his horse’s hooves as he rode along the graveled drive.

They were left alone. Alex’s gaze flickered over Lily. With grim satisfaction he observed that she looked as exhausted as he did. The soft lavender gown with its frilly lace collar seemed to emphasize the pallor of her skin and the shadows under her eyes. Her lips were red and swollen, a testament to his roughness the night before.

“You look like hell,” he commented rudely, fumbling to light another cigar.

“No worse than you. A man in his cups is always so disgusting.” Lily wandered to the velvet-festooned window and opened it, letting some fresh air into the stale room. She frowned as she saw the cigar burns on the leather-lined table, an exquisite piece that was used to display rare folio books. Ruined. She turned and discovered that Alex was staring at her, his cold eyes daring her to rebuke him. “What caused this?” she asked.

He showed her a used cigar butt.

She smiled sourly. “Actually, I was asking what caused you to swill your liquor like a pig at the trough. Pining after long-lost Saint Caroline? Or is it that you’re jealous because Zachary’s a better man than you’ll ever be? Or could it be—”

“It’s you,” Alex snarled, tossing the brandy bottle aside, not seeming to notice the resulting shatter. “It’s because I want you out of my home, out of my life, away from me. You’re leaving within the hour. Go back to London. Go anywhere.”