Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom(95)

“You’d be wrong. I might be intimately acquainted with both the purses and the vices of many of the men in the ton, but that doesn’t mean I socialize with them, much less have any kind of friendship with them. Men came to my establishments to gamble, drink, and to whore. I never cheated them, and I served the best of everything, including the women. That’s why I know them, Justine, not because they are my friends. In fact, I’m sure most of them can’t stand the sight of me. I remind them too much of their own stupidities and failings.”


She still refused to meet his eye, but her head tilted in his direction and her fingers finally relaxed in his grip.

“But everyone seemed . . . I don’t know . . . in awe of you. Almost as if they were frightened of you,” she responded softly.

“Some of them probably are,” he said drily, “precisely because they do owe me money.”

“Oh.”

She gave his hand a brief squeeze then she pulled her fingers away. He was content to let her do so—for now.

“Aden did say you were acting that way because you were uncomfortable.”

He frowned. “Acting which way?”

“Flirting with Serena, of course.”

“I was not flirting with Serena.”

She waved an impatient hand. “Well, whatever it was you were doing with her, Aden said you probably wished you could run screaming out into the street.”

Griffin didn’t much relish that image. “My cousin should mind his own business. Besides, I would never scream. Run, perhaps, if the circumstances called for it, but never scream.”

One corner of her mouth briefly quirked up in a smile. He wanted to flick his tongue against the plump, tempting edges of those pretty lips, and then slip inside.

“I’m vastly relieved to hear that,” she said. “I doubt it would fit your image as an unrepentant villain.”

“Indeed.”

He thought about repeating that he wasn’t truly a villain, but her comment suggested she already realized that. Disconcerted by the relief he felt, he abruptly switched tack. “Justine, why do you dislike Serena? You spent quite a lot of time with her growing up, didn’t you?”

She twisted a bit, half facing him. “You mean, besides the fact that she’s vain, selfish, and disloyal?”

He flashed a quick smile. “Yes, besides that.”

She sighed, slumping a bit in her seat. “It’s true that I spent most summers and some holidays at my grandfather’s estate. Uncle William and my aunt lived there, too, so I more or less grew up with my cousins.”

“How many of them were there?”

“Two girls and three boys. Everyone else I like very much, especially the boys. I didn’t make a fuss like other girls and I loved spending time outdoors, so the boys accepted me. Rebecca was my junior by eight years, which meant I didn’t know her very well. But I did enjoy playing with her in the nursery when she was a baby. She was very sweet.”

She fell silent, obviously brooding a little.

“But Serena?” he prompted.

She startled a bit and then grimaced. “Serena is two years older than me, and my uncle’s favorite child. But instead of feeling secure in that, she seemed to resent any affection Uncle William ever showed me. And I was Grandpapa’s favorite too, which Serena truly hated. They didn’t get along at all, you see. Their personalities were too different,” she said, earnestly. “Of course, she can be as sweet as honey when she puts her mind to it, so she can always twist my uncle around her finger, partly because she resembles her mother. My uncle was devastated when Aunt Sarah died, and Serena reminds him of her and what a wonderful person his wife was.”