Page 37 of The Theory of Earls
“Why now? You’ve finally managed to throw a proper English garden party.”
Georgina laid down her cards, taking the next trick. “Who is Miss Lainscott?” She gave him a cheeky look.
Tony’s smile froze. “No one of any import.” The lie left him easily. He wasn’t certain he could explain what Miss Lainscott was tohimself, let alone anyone else.
“And yet you requested I send her an invitation to my party.”
“My stepmother has taken an interest in her. I assumed she’d want Miss Lainscott to accompany her and Romy. I knew it would slip Amanda’s mind, so I asked for her.”
“Beautiful liar.” Georgina motioned to the dealer for another card.
“I appreciate the compliment.” He pretended to study his hand. Georgina was too perceptive by half. That she’d guessed at his interest in Miss Lainscott put him on guard.
“I thought you preferred blondes.”
“Like yourself?”
“No.” She shook her head as if desolate. “I’m much to well-rounded for you.” She patted a hip. “Some might even call me plump.”
Georginawascurvy and deliciously voluptuous. She was also beautiful, intelligent, and witty, none of which served her well in London.
Tony wasn’t the least bit attracted to her. He looked down at Georgina’s hands. Her fingers were perfectly graceful in her gloves as she wielded her cards. But she didn’t play the piano with incredible abandon.
Nor expose bits of my heart to sunlight.
Tony’s jaw tightened. Because Miss Lainscott had managed to accomplish such a feat as making him feel something, Tony had reacted in a way he wasn’t especially proud of. The gnawing possessiveness he felt toward her finally erupted and had caused him to send Carstairs on a make-believe errand to inspect a hunting lodge Tony pretended he wished to purchase. Removing Carstairs from London temporarily had eased the jealous ache Tony had recently developed over Miss Lainscott and had provided the added benefit of not having to watch her fawn over his friend.
Tony didn’t deal with jealously very well.
The small piece of property was three days’ ride from London. Tony had merely asked Carstairs to give his opinion of the estate and report back on its potential use as a hunting retreat. Carstairs had jumped at the excuse to stalk rabbits and other furry creatures through the woods. He’d never even questioned why Tony wouldn’t be going with him.
Carstairs would return in a day or two, in time for the ball Tony’s stepmother was hosting. Miss Lainscott could continue her pursuit of his friend then.
The scotch turned bitter in his mouth at the thought of Carstairs and Miss Lainscott.
It isn’t as though you could have her.
“What’s wrong, Welles?” Georgina said from beside him. “You’re frowning. A poor hand?”
Jealousy was such an ugly emotion. He didn’t care for it.
“Something like that.”
18
Margaret hopped out of the hack she’d ridden in and stared at the entrance to Elysium. Part of her wanted to run after the driver and beg him to take her back to the relative safety of her aunt’s home. She gave herself a little shake remembering why she was here.
Best to see this through.
A boisterous group of young men sailed past her, drunk and laughing.
Cautiously, she pulled the hood close around her face to hide her features and kept her eyes lowered. Elysium, surprisingly, was located at the very edge of one of the toniest neighborhoods in London. She’d thought the driver hadn’t understood her destination until he’d taken a sharp turn up a winding driveway and through a cluster of trees before halting in front of an immense, red door. A discreet gold-lettered sign to the right of the door proclaimed the establishment was, indeed, Elysium.
A doorman with one arm stood guard before the entrance, watching the laughing group of gentlemen with hooded eyes. He inclined his head and greeted each by name. The giant next to him only grunted, the muscles of his immense arms and shoulders rippling beneath the fabric of his coat. The material parted revealing a pistol tucked into his waistband as he waived the young men forward.
The gentlemen’s laughter quieted as they stepped around the giant and into the club.
Margaret briefly reconsidered the wisdom of what she was about to do. She wanted Welles’s help with Carstairs, but that wasn’t why she’d come. At least it wasn’t the only reason. She pulled the cloak tighter and took a step forward.
