Page 11 of Seven Nights with the Wicked Duke
"I would never circumvent your principle on business, Blackmore," he answered. "It is not why I am here. I happen to have news worth sharing."
"Oh?" Magnus said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you finally announcing your nuptials?"
Theo laughed at the joke he had not been expecting from his friend. He had thought Magnus felt such frivolity too far beneath him as such he was caught unguarded.
"You and I both know my thoughts on the matter, Blackmore," he rebutted. "The Duke and Duchess of Gillingham have welcomed their firstborn and as such we are visiting his estate on the morrow to celebrate with them."
"And you travelled all the way here to tell me, so late at night when you would usually be tangled up with a mistress or two," Magnus stated calmly. "You have been acting out of sorts recently, Emerton. Is there something we should know? Are you in trouble? Are you in debt?"
Theo scoffed.
Of course he would be suspected of being in trouble.
He had been the only one whose estate had been in good condition when he had inherited thanks to his uncle's management and even though the coffers had been smaller than he had imagined, he had since multiplied it.
The fact that he visited gambling dens didn't mean he was frivolous.
Theo liked knowing things particularly the dark underbelly of the aristocracy. He liked seeing prim and proper men come undone and what better place to do so than where they gambledaway family fortunes and properties, some of which he had claimed for himself.
"Just because you know I have a gambling habit doesn't mean I lose, Blackmore," he chided. "I am no fool and I sure as hell know when to cede. You taught me that remember?"
Magnus gave a wolfish grin that was so unlike the proper duke the rest of thetonthought him to be. Even their friends had yet to see this side to the man and he intended to keep it that way.
If his proclivity for darkness was widely known, it would be difficult for Theo to poke at it when he needed a weapon against the man who usually seemed impenetrable.
"I do, yet I cannot help but wonder if you have improved since we last played," Magnus teased. "I do enjoy seeing you beg."
He had lost a hand of cards when the bastard had made it a condition to give an audience to Cuthbert. He had only humored him because his next best option would have been pummeled him and he had sworn he would never raise his hands to his friends, no matter how badly they deserved a sound thrashing.
"You do not know if I let you win."
Magnus scoffed.
It was obvious he had moved past his initial suspicion of Theo's presence in his home and he was happy for it. He couldn't think up any further excuse to hide his true purpose for his visit.
"I suppose drinks are in order then," Magnus finally said heading to the sideboard. "We are the last two to be wed."
"Do not remind me," Theo groaned. "If I had my way I would delay the task much longer."
Magnus chuckled, handing him a glass.
"I feel much the same," he answered. "Our friends are lucky to have found their wives the way they did. William's case might have been distasteful but I am envious that he didn't have to go through the rigors of navigating thetonin search of a bride."
Their friend's marriage sparked no endless source of amusement for them. It had been on his first night re-entering society on returning from the war front after six months of being a recluse and he had fallen victim to a scandal that saw him married quicker than any of them could have imagined.
The man had eventually fallen irrevocably in love with his wife but Theo wished to never experience the same dynamic that had led to them sharing the marital bliss they currently were enjoying.
"Lady Cecilia has returned, Your Grace," the butler informed them, which unwittingly caused a smirk to spread across Theo's face.
She had returned much later than he'd expected her to.
He wondered if she had changed into a prim proper evening dress or if she had hidden her costume beneath a cloak.
The desire to see which she had done burned beneath his blood but he tamped it and schooled his face into a blank mask.
"Thank you, Willoughby," Magnus dismissed his butler, then added to Theo, "She is later than usual. I shouldn't have allowed her this outing without a chaperone."
No. You shouldn't have,Theo thought.
