Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(59)

“I understand ewerything. ’E won’t ’urt you. All ’e wants is a little knock with you, darlin’, that’s all.” He astonished her by bending to kiss her forehead. “Go on. Go pour a drink in yer guts, an’ wait for the jack.” He tried to shake her hands from his sleeves, but she clutched tighter.

“What do I do?” she choked, staring at him with huge eyes.

Derek’s black brows knitted together. Abruptly his gentleness disappeared, replaced by an insolent smile. “Get into bed, an’ lay flat as a flounder. Simple. Now go, an’ don’t ask me which side to turn up.” His derisive laughter was the only thing that would have dislodged her.

Lily let go of his sleeves. “I’ll never forgive you!”

Derek responded by pointing down the hall toward the stairs that led to the private rooms. She gathered the tattered remains of her dignity and squared her shoulders, striding away without looking back. As soon as she was gone, Derek’s smile vanished. He plunged into the hazard room. Catching Worthy’s eye, he mouthed the question Where is he? Worthy motioned to the edge of the mob, where Raiford was shoving a few unruly patrons aside in an effort to reach one of the exits.

Ignoring the raucous congratulations being thrown at him, Alex fought his way through the crowd to the hall. He hesitated as he glanced in the direction of the coffee rooms and libraries, wondering where Lily had gone.

“Lord Raiford?”

Alex turned to see Worthy emerge from the riot in the gaming room.

Derek Craven appeared at the same time. There was something coarse and hard in his expression that made him look more than ever like “flash-gentry,” a thief who had flourished but could never escape his sordid past. Green eyes locked with gray in a challenging stare. There had been no contest between them, and yet there was a definite feeling of violent discord, masculine uneasiness.

“Milord,” Derek said calmly. “I just told Miss Lawson she brung it on ’erself. Worvy dealt straight, ’e did, an’ no one can say—”

“Where is she?” Alex interrupted.

“First I ’as somefing to say.”

“What?”

An odd look crossed Derek’s face. He seemed to search for words, as if he wanted to say a great deal but was afraid of betraying himself. “Ride ’er easy,” he finally said, his voice laced with cool menace. “Nice an’ easy, or I makes you pay for it but good.” He made a gesture to his factotum, who waited silently nearby. “Worvy will show you to the upstairs room, milord. Lily is…” He paused and his mouth twisted impatiently “She’s waiting there.”

“Convenient,” Alex said curtly. “Not only will you share your woman, you’ll provide the bed as well.”

Derek gave him a humorless smile. “I don’t share nofing what’s mine. Understand? Yes, I see you does.”

Alex stared at him in bewilderment. “Then you and she aren’t—”

“Narrow a once,” Derek said in guttural cockney, with a shake of his head.

“But before you must have—”

“I only takes whores to bed.” Derek smiled humorlessly at Alex’s blank expression. “Lily’s rum goods. I wouldn’t touch ’er with these ’ands. She’s too fine for that.”

Frustration and amazement collided in Alex’s chest. Was it possible that the rumors were false and there had been no affair between them? God help him if he allowed himself to believe something so implausible. But what purpose would they have for lying? It made no sense. Dammit, was he ever going to find out who or what Lily Lawson was?

Craven snapped his fingers at the factotum. “Worvy,” he muttered, and walked away quickly.

Stunned, Alex watched Craven’s hasty departure. “What’s going on between those two?”

Worthy regarded him impassively. “Nothing, exactly as Mr. Craven told you. Mr. Craven has always felt it would be prudent to keep his friendship with Miss Lawson platonic.” With that, he gestured for Alex to follow him along the twists and turns of the hall.

“Why?” Alex demanded. “What’s wrong with her? Or is it him?” He stopped and grabbed the factotum’s lapels, spinning him around. “Tell me, or I’ll wring it out of you!”

Gently Worthy disengaged the fine worsted cloth of his coat from Alex’s fists. “My personal opinion on the matter,” he said quietly, “is that he’s afraid of falling in love with her.”

Alex’s hands dropped. He felt as if he were hovering on the brink of some momentous disaster. “Oh, hell.”

Worthy looked at him inquiringly. “Shall we continue, my lord?”

Alex nodded without a word. Worthy brought him to an unpretentious door that looked as though it might lead to some cellar storerooms. Instead it opened to reveal a narrow staircase that spiraled upward. Worthy ascended the remaining steps and indicated another door. He looked up at Alex with the same expression Derek had earlier, yearning to make a speech but struggling to suppress it. “Let me assure you, my lord, you will not be disturbed. If you require anything, ring for the staff. They have been chosen for their efficiency and discretion.” He slipped past Alex and vanished like a shadow.

Alex found himself staring at the closed door with a grimace. He remembered Lily’s face in the gaming room as she realized she had lost. She’d been devastated. No doubt she expected the worst from him, especially after what she’d done to him. But he wasn’t going to hurt her. Suddenly he was impatient to make her understand that revenge had no part of this. Grasping the doorknob, he turned and pushed.