A Rogue No More by Lana Williams

Author:Lana Williams
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2020-06-22T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Later that evening, Thomas folded his hand in the card room and gestured for another guest waiting nearby to take his place.

“Giving up already, Raybourne?” Lord Currie asked.

“The cards have not been in my favor.” Thomas smiled as he rose. “Perhaps I’ll try my luck again later.” Vingt-et-un, a game where each player did their best to reach a hand of one and twenty but not exceed it, was normally something he enjoyed, but concentrating was proving impossible.

He’d watched Sir Alexander throughout the evening, hoping to find a time when the man was engaged with someone or something, which would clear the path for him to look in the library. But the host had remained near the doorway of the ballroom not far from where Thomas believed the library was.

Playing a hand of cards had been something to pass the time as he could hardly stand near the man to watch him without gaining unwanted attention.

Though Thomas dearly wanted to dance with Annabelle again, he didn’t dare. Doing so twice in one evening would suggest he had an interest in her to everyone at the ball. He intended to do all he could to protect her reputation even if she seemed unconcerned about it.

He returned to the ballroom, frustration simmering inside him. If he and Annabelle could spend some time alone together to review the information they had, surely they could make sense of the few clues before them and decide on a path to pursue. However, that carried too much risk, which left him with the task of searching Sir Alexander’s library desk.

With a quiet sigh, he admitted talking to Annabelle wasn’t the only reason he wanted more time with her. She appealed to him in multiple ways, including her intelligence, wit, beauty, and those generous curves. He wanted her more than he’d wanted a woman in a long time, if ever.

He caught sight of her across the room, talking with her sister. She looked especially beautiful this evening in her pale green gown with its high waist and suggestive neckline that only made him want to see more of her. The delicate white bandeau circling her hair brought to mind a princess. His princess.

He deliberately turned away, determined to set aside his attraction so he might focus on the problem at hand.

Annabelle’s comment about the possibility of another murder occurring soon worried him. It made sense that if the murderer were replicating the book and had yet to achieve whatever goal he sought, he would kill again. But who and why?

Someone with influence at the East India Company had to be directing the murderer. Thomas’s instincts suggested Sir Alexander could very well be involved. The man’s background was unclear, but rumors circulated that he’d come from nothing, having grown up in one of the rougher areas of London. His rise to wealth and power, not to mention his knighthood, remained cloaked in mystery. Perhaps the man hadn’t lost touch with the tough roots from which he’d sprung.

Thomas couldn’t pass by the opportunity to investigate the man’s library when he was this close.

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