Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(69)

Any ball would be an occasion for excess and exuberance, but the addition of masks gave the affair an exciting, even dangerous edge. People used the masks to do things they would never dream of in their everyday guises…and Craven’s was ideally designed for uninhibited behavior. With the multitude of dark nooks and small, private rooms, with the mingling of house wenches, society women, rakes, scoundrels, and gentlemen…nothing was safe or predictable.

Lily stepped from her carriage and walked carefully to the entrance of Craven’s. Her bare feet tingled from the friction of the pavement. She wore a dark cloak that extended from her neck to her ankles, hiding her costume—or lack thereof. She was tense with excitement and determination. It wouldn’t be difficult to win five thousand tonight, not with the amount of drinking and merrymaking going on. Not with the amount of skin she planned to expose. She would pluck the guests like pigeons ready for roasting.

Slipping past the crowd of guests awaiting admittance, Lily nodded a greeting to the butler. He seemed to recognize her despite the green velvet mask and long, dark wig that came to her hips, for he made no protest as she stepped inside.

Derek had been awaiting her arrival. As soon as Lily went into the entrance hall, she heard his voice behind her.

“You’re awright, then.”

Quickly she turned to face him. Derek was dressed as Bacchus, the god of debauchery. He was clad in a white toga and sandals, his head encircled in a wreath of grapes and leaves.

He gave her a searching, perceptive stare, and Lily was chagrined to feel a blush rising beneath her mask. “Of course I’m all right,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She smiled coolly. “Excuse me, I’m in search of a game. I have five thousand pounds to win.”

“Wait.” He touched her shoulder and regarded her in his old friendly, beguiling way. “Come ’ave a walk with me.”

She gave an incredulous laugh. “Do you expect me to resume our friendship as usual?”

“Why not?”

Lily spoke patiently, as if explaining a situation to an obtuse child. “Because last night I gambled with my body in a card game out of sheer desperation. And not only did you let it happen, you egged the whole thing on and used it to amuse and entertain the members of your club. That’s not the behavior of a friend, Derek. It’s the behavior of a pimp.”

He made a scoffing sound. “If you wants a little tail-tickle with someone, I don’t gives a damn. I beds women all the time—it changes nofing between you an’ me.”

“Last night was different,” Lily said quietly. “I asked you to intervene for me. I wanted you to stop it. But you didn’t care enough. You gave me away, Derek.”

Some dark emotion stirred beneath his calm, composed surface. Suddenly there was an uneasy gleam in his eyes, a betraying twitch of his cheek. “I care,” he said evenly. “But you was newer mine to keep. What ’appens in a bed—that’s nofing to do with us.”

“Whatever I do, it’s no bread and butter of yours. Is that what you think?”

“That’s right,” he muttered. “It has to be.”

“Oh, Derek,” Lily whispered, looking at him as she never had before. She was beginning to understand things that had puzzled her for two years. Derek had known for a long time about her desperate struggle for money, and yet he had never offered to help her, though it was easily within his power. All this time she had thought it was miserly greed. It wasn’t greed, but fear. He preferred a mock friendship to anything real. The brutal deprivation of his youth had crippled his heart in some terrible way. “You let us all do what we wish, don’t you?” she asked softly. “All you want is to sit back and observe, as if you were watching some endless puppet show. So much safer than becoming involved. Much safer than assuming risks and taking responsibility. How unchivalrous of you.” She deliberately used words he couldn’t understand, knowing he hated that. “Well, I won’t ask for your help again. I don’t need it anymore. It’s strange, but after last night I feel as if I’ve shed all my…scruples.” Gracefully she slipped off her cloak and stared at his face, enjoying his reaction.

The guests just arriving in the entrance hall abruptly fell silent, all gazes arrowing to her.

At first Lily’s costume gave the impression of nakedness. Monique had created a gown of diaphanous, flesh-colored gauze that wrapped loosely around her. Artfully they had added large, green velvet “leaves” that in truth covered a good deal. Those patches of green velvet and the long locks of the dark wig were somewhat concealing. But there were tantalizing flashes of soft skin through the transparent fabric, and the outline of her slender, finely toned body was clearly visible. Most startling of all was the painted design of a serpent that wound around her body, starting from one tiny ankle and twisting its way up to her shoulder. It had taken three hours for a friend of Monique’s, a female artist, to paint the serpent.

With a taunting smile, Lily lifted a shiny red apple in her hand and held it under Derek’s nose. “Care for a bite?” she asked silkily.

Chapter 9

After his initial astonishment, there was no expression on Derek’s face. But Lily’s sense of perception seemed to be newly sharpened. She knew there was some well-governed corner of his mind that wanted to prevent her from wearing the revealing costume in front of so many people. He would make no move to stop her, however.