Page 13 of A Rogue to Ruin
Chapter 2
Rafe’s body thrummed with anticipation. He needed to focus on why he’d come to see Colton. Instead, he was consumed with thoughts of Mrs. Dazzling—no, Miss Anne Bloody Pemberton. He knew precisely who she was. Just as he’d known her betrothed. Never would Rafe have imagined the poor woman whose wedding had been interrupted by the arrest of her groom was his Mrs. Dazzling.
His?
“I shouldn’t be surprised to see you,” Colton said, standing near the hearth, his elbow resting on the dark wood mantel. “And yet I am. I wondered if you would ever come calling.” He gestured to the pair of chairs situated in front of the cold, dark fireplace. There was no need for additional warmth on this fine summer day.
Rafe took one of the chairs, high-backed, dark blue velvet with arms. Colton sat in the other.
The viscount looked far more relaxed than Rafe had ever seen him. His blue eyes held a warmth that hadn’t been there before his marriage to Miss Jane Pemberton.
Mrs. Dazzling’s bloody sister. Rafe still couldn’t believe it was her.
“Congratulations on your marriage,” Rafe said.
“Thank you.” Colton’s tone was wry. “I presume you’ve come to claim the favor I owe you.”
“Yes. Rather than a list of people I’d like to meet, there is just one man—the Earl of Stone.”
Colton pressed his lips together and flattened his back against the chair. “I don’t know him very well. I am, however, acquainted with his son, the Viscount Sandon. He’s just recently returned from his family’s estate in Ireland.”
“I need to meet Stone. Preferably at his house south of London.”
Colton’s dark brows arched briefly. “Ivy Grove?” He tipped his head to the side. “You want me to obtain an invitation for you to Ivy Grove to meet Lord Stone. Do you realize how difficult that is?”
“I do.” He didn’t, actually, but he could imagine. “Can you manage it?”
Stroking his jaw, Colton let out a breath. “Stone likes to entertain. He’s quite proud of that estate. I can try to put a word in Sandon’s ear—suggest his father should host something to welcome him home from Ireland.”
“You’re making this sound not that hard at all.”
A dark laugh bolted from the viscount. “My suggestion could go absolutely nowhere. It’s nearly the end of the Season. It may very well be too late.”
“I appreciate you trying. You’ll keep me apprised?”
Colton nodded. “I’ll hunt him down at Brooks’s later.” He eyed Rafe, his gaze sweeping over him from boot to brow. “Will you be seeking entry to one of the clubs?”
Rafe had considered it. He was only concerned with establishing business connections. He’d recently invested in a publishing venture and was about to embark on a property scheme. He planned to build housing for the labor class. Good housing that people deserved instead of the hovels that many lived in. “Perhaps. Are you offering to recommend me?”
“That would be a second favor.”
“Or something you would do for a friend.”
Colton leaned forward, a spark lighting his gaze. “You think we’re friends after all that’s gone on between us?”
“I loaned you money, and you paid me back.” A current of energy ran through Rafe. He rested his right elbow on the arm of the chair. “I thought we’d resolved the issue of your parents. I never wanted them—or you—to be killed.”
Colton had borrowed the funds to settle debts and had continued to gamble. He’d also continued to lose, and he hadn’t repaid his loan in the timeframe they’d agreed upon.
At the time, Rafe had certain employees whose responsibility was to collect outstanding debts such as Colton’s. In this instance, the employee had taken it upon himself to do more than apply pressure to the debtor. He’d killed Colton’s parents on the way to their country estate. Colton was supposed to have been the one on the road that day, and Rafe’s employee was to remind him—in plain terms—of his financial obligations. Instead, he’d committed murder.
“Perhaps it was resolved for you,” Colton said quietly. “For me, it will never be.”
“I do understand.” Rafe turned his head toward the hearth. “I lost my parents when I was very young.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back. He didn’t reveal things about himself.
So why had he now? He looked back to Colton. Was Rafe truly looking for a friend?
No. He was simply…raw. He was close to finding out who his parents were, and he bloody well needed Colton.
