Page 8 of Enchanted By the Lyon
Moriah threw her hands in the air and sat forward again. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
Another sigh left Cassandra’s lips. “I’ve already made the arrangements with Mrs. Dove-Lyon. Whatever her plans might be, they are already in the making.”
“Lucius Ford will never… and I repeat…neverkowtow to the Black Widow of Whitehall’s plans for him or for marriage, for that matter. Honestly, if you’re expecting a love match, you’d best look elsewhere.”
“I can’t look to anyone else but him,” Cassandra confessed with a catch to her tone. “Every time I see him, it’s like everything that I’ve ever lost in my life comes back to me. I know it might not make any sense, but given the opportunity, I just know in my heart that we will suit.”
“I hope you’re right, Cassie,” Moriah said. Then, as if unwilling to hear any more on the topic—or perhaps because she didn’t want to discourage Cassandra—she began talking about Cassandra living there and the possible charities they could become involved in.
But Cassandra only listened with half an ear as she mused about every warning from Moriah about Lucius Ford. Cassandra couldn’t help where her heart was leading her. With every beat of her heart, every breath, she just knew that Lucius would oneday be the perfect husband. Why she had such a notion, she couldn’t say. Call it intuition. Call it Destiny. But whatever it was, Cassandra was completed enchanted by the earl who frequented the Lyon’s Den. She could only pray that he wouldn’t break her heart.
Chapter Five
Lucius entered hisbreakfast room and saw his brother slumped in his chair. The plate of food in front of him remained mostly untouched and he was leaning his head on the back of his seat. His eyes were closed, causing Lucius to wonder if the younger man had dozed off. But then the sound of a servant rushing forward with a brimming cup of coffee that rattled on the saucer alerted Leopold he was no longer alone.
“Your coffee, my lord,” the girl said placing the cup on the table in front of Lucius and stepped back, waiting for any further orders.
“Thank you, Silvia,” Lucius replied as another servant came from the kitchen with a covered plate, lifted the dome that had kept the food warm and set it down before him before quickly leaving the room. Lucius picked up his fork to eat his breakfast and sighed in appreciation. “Ah. Breakfast.” He took up a forkful of eggs.
A moan of agony came from the far end of the table, causing Lucius to grin before he sat back in his chair. “Feeling a bit under the weather, brother?” He put his fork down and picked up his coffee cup for a sip.
“I feel like an army of horses are stomping their way through my head.” Leopold groaned once more. “I swear, I will never drink again.”
A short laugh escaped Lucius. “I wonder how many times I’ve heardthatcoming from you?”
Leopold squinted his bloodshot eyes at Lucius and gave him a lopsided grin. “Probably too many to count. But I mean itthistime,” he said with a strained tone as if in an attempt to sound convincing.
“Shall we make a bet on it,” Lucius teased, knowing his brother wouldn’t take the bait.
“I think not,” he replied. “Nor will I be going back to the Lyon’s Den any time soon. That place will be the death of me.”
“It’s not necessarily the place that will do you in but your choices of the tables at which you play. I thought you were well aware of the chances you take there. Not all of the games are of the normal nature that you would find at an establishment like White’s. Some just might find you in debt to Mrs. Dove-Lyon. You know she’s adept at rigging her games to make marriage matches,” Lucius warned taking another drink of his coffee. “Everyone knows matchmaking is her real moneymaker. Or did you forget that?”
“How could I have forgotten something so important? But maybe it was because I was too far into my cups and my thinking was impaired. Obviously,” Leopold replied before leaning forward and pushing a newsprint across the table. “You might want to take a look at page two.”
Lucius grabbed hold of the paper before it managed to slide off the table.The Teatime Tattlerheadline splashed across the top of the page caused him to grimace. “What the devil are you doing reading such trash? You know most of what they print is a bunch of rubbish.”
Leopold took a cautious bite of his eggs. He pointed the fork once it left his mouth in Lucius’s direction. “Second page,” he answered, and made a face. “Too soon for food,” he muttered and put his fork back down on the table. “Do you think they gave us absinthe?”
“Anything is possible at the Lyon’s Den, brother,” Lucius muttered.
Leopold ran his hand through his hair before once more leaning back in his chair. “Well, whatever that drink was had me looking for the Green Fairy but all I saw was stars.”
Lucius chuckled. “Well, if you ever happen to see the actual Green Fairy, catch her for me. I understand she can inspire you to become creative or even feel liberated.”
“The only thing I need liberated from at the moment is this hangover.” Leopold then pointed to the newsprint. “Best give it a read.”
Lucius smirked before turning to the second page. He quickly scanned the headlines, not seeing anything of much import until he got to the middle of the page.
Dearest Gentle Reader:
It has come to the attention of this editor that none other than the Earl of B was seen last evening on a particular street known to house the mistresses of the most elite gentlemen of Society. That the earl was seen there is hardly news but when an eye witness sees him leaving one lady’s house only to encounter another (a Mrs. C.V.), then it could be assumed that the earl may be making a settlement soon on his latest woman of interest and taking another to replace her… again!
As for Mrs. C.V., alas… she is the last of the women who has been known by this reliable paper as belonging to none other than theWicked Widow’s Club. Given herrecent association with esteemed members of theton, perhaps this widow just might find herself also wed to a respectable gentleman… or not, if she has any sort of interest in the earl.
Stay tuned for the latest updates on this breaking story. More is sure to follow…
Samuel Clemens
