The Genuine Article by Patricia Rice

Author:Patricia Rice
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2014-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The marquess removed his boots and crept quietly up the servants' stairs to the attic. He glanced down the bare corridor of closed doors, then decided on the nearest one. Michael wouldn't waste steps going to the last door.

He entered the first chamber, pushing the door closed with his heel. Had his gaze only been steel, it would have pierced the occupant through the heart.

Instead, the auburn-haired man on the narrow bed merely threw another card in his hat, wriggled his wrist, and flung a coin at the intruder glaring at him. The marquess caught the coin and shoved it into his pocket without looking at it.

"I ought to wring your neck." The look in his eyes was murderous, and his scarred cheek twitched furiously.

"You'll disturb your guests," Michael replied insouciantly, gathering his scattered cards with a wave of his hand.

"They've all taken a break for something they're calling 'nuncheon' but which smells very much like roasted game and apple pies. I'm damned well about to starve, thanks to you."

"Tarts. They call them tarts here. Pies contain meat." O'Toole sat up and crossed his legs blithely, tailor-fashion. "You could join them. They're only looking for me."

The marquess grabbed a straight-backed chair and straddled it. His expression wasn't any more pleasant. "Fine idea. I'll go down and terrorize the ladies, have the damned hot-headed gentlemen call me out, and spill my blood on foreign soil. What else have I got to do today?"

The irrepressible O'Toole grinned. "You're all cock-a-hoop about nothing, as they say here. Your fair visage ain't nothing to expire over. Lady Marian will no doubt pin you to your chair and interrogate you over hot coals, but the other two will twitter and offer you tea. Scary thought, ain't it?"

The marquess rubbed idly at his mutilated face. "It isn't your Lady Marian I'm wary of, it's that other damned bastard, the stuck-up fellow who looks down his nose all the time. He's already putting two and two together, and it's his cash on the line if the ruby doesn't show up. I heard him offering to pay for it."

O'Toole looked impressed. "I didn't think he had it in him. From all I can tell, he lives modestly by London standards."

The marquess crossed his arms over the back of the chair. "He's arrogant enough to bankrupt himself trying. When all this started, I just thought we'd be removing a bauble no one would miss. Now we're losing ladies their homes and bankrupting noble aristocrats. I don't like it."

"Gavin, your soft heart is showing. Besides, the ladies can't lose their home and Montague lose his blunt both. It's one or the other. Once we sell the necklace and get things righted around here, you can ask the ladies to come stay."

The marquess scowled, drawing the scars into a formidable mask. "It's not that easy. That blasted Marian has all the gall of every Lawrence ever born. She's determined to throw herself away on the viscount and save the family fortune.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.