Page 6 of Her Seven Nights with the Duke

“Lord Silvermere, how do you do?” Samuel asked as he surveyed the crowd. The woman he had seen earlier remained on his mind still.

“Splendid, Your Grace. It has been quite some time since we saw you at the gentlemen’s club. We understand that you are a very busy man, but perhaps you could spare us an afternoon someday. Our conversations have been quite dull without you. We haven’t been able to talk about important things since you stayed away,” Lord Silvermere said.

Samuel

He watched the Viscount shrink when he frowned. He truly had been away for quite some time.

“Oh? I do apologize for my prolonged absence. I have been focused on some things involving my estate, but I am mostly done with the work and should be able to attend the next meeting.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful. I have a new deal I am quite excited to present, and I would love it if you were present. I believe it will be the next big venture for anyone who chooses to invest in it,” another man eagerly spoke from beside him.

Samuel stared at the Earl as he spoke.

Lord Malachi was known to be money-hungry, and Samuel never cared to do business with men like that. It only made them desperate, and desperate men were careless men. Still, he would listen to what the man was so excited to share during the meeting.

“Certainly, Lord Malachi. We will listen to your presentation when we attend the meeting,” Samuel said, offering the man a smile that showed that he was ready to end the discussion.

“Perhaps I could just give you a small idea of what it is about so that you would have something to look forward to before we have to be there,” Lord Malachi said, completely undeterred.

Lord Silvermere stared at the Earl with an annoyed look and opened his mouth to speak, when Samuel interrupted.

“Lord Malachi, I am sure your business venture is ingenious. However, we are at a ball. What kind of guests would we be if we spat on the hosts’ generosity and discussed business instead of having fun like we are meant to? What kind of gentlemen would we be?”

He laughed, although his eyes held a warning, and the others laughed with him, albeit nervously. He was shrewd enough to know that none of them wished to offend him, and that included Lord Malachi, no matter how desperate he was to present his venture and garner investors.

He placed his hand on Lord Malachi’s shoulder, feeling a little amusement when the man flinched. Samuel did not much mind the fear. If anything, it worked in his favor. No one wanted to cross him. It also helped to maintain the solitary lifestyle that he loved, without the prying eyes of the members of the ton.

The men dispersed, each going their own way with promises of being at the next meeting.

Samuel scanned the crowd, sighing in relief when he saw a familiar face.

Benedict Pratt, the Duke of Ravenwood, was Samuel’s best friend. The two of them were a sight when they stood together. Benedict, with his blond hair and blue eyes, stood almost as tall as Samuel. They were an unlikely pair if there had ever been one.

Benedict was charismatic, and his looks always served to make women swoon. He was quick to flash a charming smile in their direction no matter who they were, and he often had a lot of ladies vying for his attention.

Unfortunately, his rakish tendencies warred with his romantic heart, making it difficult for him to settle.

“Ah, there’s my favorite cad,” he said slowly with a smile as he approached Samuel, two drinks in hand. He handed a glass to him as he stood by his side.

Samuel smiled as he accepted the glass from his friend. Benedict was the only one who could get him to relax and simply be himself. He was free to show him the man he truly was and not the version of him that people feared and respected so much.

“You should be careful with your words, my friend. Lest your tongue end up cut out permanently from your mouth,” he warned in jest.

Benedict laughed. “You know you don’t scare me like you do with the others. I know you better than they do. Besides, I can take you on in a fight.”

Samuel shook his head at his friend. Benedict was well trained in sword fighting, much like he was. They often sparred together in their free time, and their matches never had a constant winner.

“I suppose we shall have to see about that, won’t we?” he asked, grinning at Samuel.

“So, how did this week’s lover take it? Did she go graciously, or did she try to fight?”

Samuel raised an eyebrow. Benedict was the only one who knew anything about his crazy rule for keeping a mistress. His friend had found it so fascinating that now, whenever he had a new mistress, he was completely invested in it, sometimes to an unhealthy amount.

Samuel did not much care. He could trust Benedict. That had been established long ago. It helped that there was someone he could talk to about anything he desired, although the one rule he kept with all of this was that he never told Benedict who his lovers were.

When he first began, he had made a promise to his first lover that he would hide her identity. Whatever happened to harm her reputation would come through no fault of his. He had kept that promise and had continued to carry on with it. He trusted Benedict not to do something to harm their reputations, but it did not change the fact that his finding out was too risky.many.

“She went quite graciously if I do say so myself. I have had less desirable endings than I did with her. She took it in her stride. I do believe she was one of the calmer ones when it came to ending things,” Samuel said.

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