A Beginner's Guide to Rakes (29 page)

“That’s rather direct.”

“I don’t see the point of subtlety after you dragged Larden and Greaves here last night to attempt to, what, intimidate me, I suppose? So what are you after?”

His gaze steady on her, Anthony sank back into her chair and plunked his boot heels onto the top of her desk. As he crossed his ankles, he pulled a cheroot from his brown jacket pocket.

The elaborate show of relaxation meant one of two things. Either he was supremely confident that he had the key to evicting her from Adam House and The Tantalus Club, or he simply wanted her to think that while he sought about for a chink in her armor.

Well, she wouldn’t be handing him any ammunition to use against her. Diane remained in the doorway of her own office and allowed one of the people she most disliked in the world to sit at her desk. The unobtrusive door behind his right shoulder remained closed, but she knew Jenny was just behind it.

“If you must know,” he finally said, “I wanted a look at your books. From the crowd here last night and what I’ve already seen of The Tantalus Club, you must be pulling in the blunt hand over fist.”

“Money comes in, and money goes out. I don’t receive all those liquor bottles for free, and my employees don’t work for free. It’s a business, and that is what my books show.”

“I’d still like a look at them with my own two eyes.”

“No,” she said, incredulous.
Of all the nerve.
“I have no connection to you, and I owe you nothing. You are here only because I was once married to your brother. Now is there anything else, or are we finished?”

“I am here, Diane, because as far as I am aware, Frederick was penniless and in debt when he died. And yet you’ve opened a gentlemen’s club. I’ve made a few inquiries to some of his creditors, and you’ve also paid off most of them. And I heard that you arrived in London in grand style.” Lowering his feet, he sat forward again. “Adam House is a separate matter in this. But if you had any money from Frederick, it’s mine.”

“The only things I had from Frederick,” she said stiffly, “were a ring and our three-room house in Vienna. That money is how I repaid his creditors.”

“And this?” Anthony gestured at the house and club around them. “He signed Adam House over to you, as well.” A scowl crossed his face. “Or so you say. I had my solicitor peruse that very interesting document Frederic had drawn up just before he expired. Quite uncharacteristically thoughtful and intelligent of him, really. And disappointing, considering that Adam House was supposed to be mine.”

“I’ve given up relying on ‘supposed to,’ Anthony. Frederick did neither of us any favors. Perhaps he felt a bit of guilt at the end for dragging me to Vienna. I imagine we’ll never know for certain what he was thinking. Therefore, the facts before us will have to suffice.” And thank God she’d learned her late husband’s signature so well.

“You still haven’t explained The Tantalus Club. Opening this place took considerably more than you claim to have gotten from my brother.” Anthony waggled a finger at her. “Someone is lying, Diane.”

“I’m not lying, and I don’t need to justify anything to you. I am weary of your refusal to simply accept that. Now please leave.”

“I don’t think you understand. Unless you snare some other lord, you will remain Lady Cameron. That makes us connected. And
I
am growing weary of being referred to as the poor relation hanging about you hoping for scraps.”

And she’d spent the last two years experiencing just how difficult it was for a female with no income and alone in a foreign country to keep herself away from genuine disaster. Considering their relative positions in the world, she had very little sympathy for the new Earl of Cameron. Even so, she needed to choose her next words carefully. It was, as Oliver would say, all about strategy. “Then cease hanging about me, Anthony. I won’t apologize for the fact that things are as they are, but for both our sakes you need to simply accept it. I am not sharing. Not with you, and not with anyone.”

“Hm. I still don’t believe you.” He stood. “In fact, I think I’ll go have a word with the Marquis of Haybury. If anyone knows anything about how you … earned the money to open this club, he will. He’ll also know whether you’re sharing or not. Or whether you do have a partner.”

Anger began to replace her annoyance as he continued to gaze at her, an expression on his face she could only call patronizing and arrogant. Meeting his gaze, she folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t particularly give a damn who you talk to, Anthony, as long as you leave. If you can find any club member willing to escort you back here, then you’re welcome to visit The Tantalus. Otherwise, stay away.”

“You
have
changed, my dear,” he commented. “Clearly Frederick was too softhearted with you, if you think you can stand there and speak to one of your betters in that manner.”

“One of my betters?” she bit out. “I see no one here who matches that description. Now leave my home.”

He moved toward her and the door. Diane stepped backward, unwilling to be cornered in her own office. Over his shoulder the morning room door opened silently and Jenny appeared, a raised pistol in one hand.

“I’ll be back,” he said, keeping his gaze on Diane as he left the office and turned up the hallway. “I remain unconvinced of Frederick’s foresight. Or his charity to you, of all people.”

“Damn that man,” she grumbled at Genevieve as he stomped down the hallway.

“Do I allow him to call on Haybury?” her friend asked in the same low tone.

Short of shooting her former brother-in-law, Diane didn’t see how they could stop him. “Yes, let him,” she returned. “Just make certain he doesn’t cause any trouble in the club on his way through.”

Apparently she had some faith in her altering assessment of Oliver Warren. Because she trusted that he wouldn’t say anything to damage her or the club he was being blackmailed into aiding. God help them both if he proved her wrong.

Chapter Seventeen

“Winters,” Oliver said, nodding at the morning butleress as he reached the foyer.

“My lord. Clark has brought your coach around.”

“Thank you.” She pulled the front door open for him, but halfway through he stopped his exit. “Do I smell Macassar oil?” In other clubs the smell was almost ubiquitous, but Diane didn’t like dandies, and only dandies put the damned grease in their hair.

“Lord Cameron arrived some thirty minutes ago, my lord.”

Oliver turned around. “To visit the club?”

“To see Lady Cameron.” The chit blushed. “I’m not supposed to tell you about her business, though.”

Damnation.
“I won’t say a word,” he promised. “Though I do feel the need to ask Lady Cameron a question. Where might I find her?”

“Her office. But—”

Before he could pull open the side door leading to the interior of Adam House, Cameron himself shoved it open from the other side. “Haybury,” the earl said, starting. “Just the fellow I was looking for.”

Under any other circumstances Oliver wouldn’t even have bothered to acknowledge the man; most of what he knew about the Benchleys he’d learned from Diane, and that was more than enough for him. Cold, superior, grasping fools underestimating their own inadequacies and unhesitating about dragging others down with them.

“And why is that?”

“I’ve some questions I thought you might be more amenable to answering than Diane has proved to be.”

Immediately Oliver swallowed the insult he’d been about to deliver. The fellow wanted information, and
he
wanted to know how much Cameron thought he knew. “I suppose you have something to offer to make me feel more amenable?”

The earl’s cheek jumped. “You know I can’t offer you money.”

“I don’t need money.” What he did need, though, was something Cameron could use to bribe him with.
Hm.
How often did a man have the opportunity to designate his own flaws and weaknesses? “Your former sister-in-law is quite attractive, however,” he ventured, then caught the earl’s glance through the open door leading to the interior of the club. “Nearly as attractive as The Tantalus Club itself.”
There
.

“You— I’ve already promised a partnership to Greaves and Larden.”

“Then if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to Tattersall’s to meet Lord Manderlin.”

“But—”

“Lady Cameron and I are … friends at the moment,” Oliver interrupted, realizing now that that word was completely inadequate to describe his relationship with her. “If you expect me to chat about things I may or may not know, I expect you to provide something that will persuade me to do so. Good day.”

“Ten percent ownership of The Tantalus Club.”

Oliver slowed his exit. “Forty percent.”

“The three of us agreed to an equal partnership. No one has forty percent.”

Apparently Greaves and Larden were fairly confident this venture would succeed if they’d shaken hands on anything. “Equal, eh?” Oliver returned. “Very well. Twenty-five percent. As long as no one else knows.” He smiled. “We can’t have it getting about that I can’t be trusted, can we?” He’d best get the information he wanted swiftly, because he was fairly certain he was going to vomit if he had to keep discussing any kind of betrayal of Diane’s very hard-won trust.

“I— Very well, then. If I can convince Larden and His Grace to agree.”

If Oliver had truly meant to follow through with this venture, that assurance wouldn’t have been enough to convince him of anything. But the more quickly he could separate himself from this fool, the better. It wasn’t only the mud that he could already feel rising around his ankles; it was what Diane would think if she saw him chatting with the Earl of Cameron. Being a hero was bloody complicated. “Care to join me at Tattersall’s, then?”

“Well, I’ve an appointment of my own, but a morning in the company of such a well-respected judge of horseflesh is a rare treat.” Lord Cameron nodded. “I would be honored.”

“Let’s go then, shall we?”

Cameron followed him outside, then made a show of noticing the hired hack waiting at the edge of the drive. “Damnation,” he said, patting his pockets, “I’ve forgotten my purse. Lend a fellow a shilling, will you, Haybury?”

His estimation of Cameron and his character falling even further, Oliver took a coin from his pocket and flipped it at one of the grooms busily moving carriages and horses into and out of the drive. “Pay the hack, will you, Robson?”

The groom tugged at his forelock. “Yes, my lord.”

That done, Oliver motioned Diane’s former brother-in-law into his coach. He could almost swear that Cameron was twitching his fingers in imitation of the coin toss, practicing the move for his own later use. For the moment Oliver kept his steadily lowering opinion of the earl to himself, wishing he’d had the opportunity to speak with Diane before this little jaunt.

Now he needed to decide what he wanted to do about this conspiracy and, just as important, what Diane would want him to do about it. And the fact that he was more concerned over her well-being than his own convenience told him just how much he—and his life—had already altered.

“Are you looking to purchase an animal today?” Cameron asked, taking the front-facing seat.

“If I find one that appeals to me, I may,” Oliver answered. In truth he had a very specific type of mount in mind, but now, unless Manderlin was indeed at the horse market and willing to make the purchase, he would have to wait for another opportunity.

“I have to say, I thought Diane had you wrapped around her finger, especially after that disagreement with Larden last night. Greaves warned me to stay away from you, said you’d want nothing to do with me.”

“But you thought otherwise.”

“I see things. Something’s keeping you here, and it’s not Diane’s money. I reckon it’s either
your
money or a bit of lifted skirt from the owner and her chits.”

“Not to disagree, but a bit of lifted skirt has never compelled me to do anything.” No, his heart seemed to be dictating matters currently.

“Greaves said you were playing deep at something. He thinks—”

“I don’t actually give a damn about Greaves’s cranial endeavors, Cameron. I’m talking with
you.
And at the moment you’re boring me.”

“You don’t care to speak about Greaves, then,” Cameron pursued. “Why not?”

“No particular reason, other than the conversation’s utter frivolity. I don’t wish to speak about mutton, the stench of the Thames at low tide, or shoes, either. Or Cornwall, now that I think about it.”

The earl chuckled. “Very well.” He ran a finger along the seam of the carriage seat, no doubt assessing the quality of the workmanship. “So what can you tell me about Diane? Where did all that blunt come from?”

As if he would say anything that could hurt her. “First tell me what you were planning, before you recruited me into your little embroidery circle.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious, know a great many things, and have an obscene amount of money at my disposal. If the pretty chit has secrets from me … well, I’d like to know about them.”

“Five years ago I wouldn’t have thought she was intelligent enough to have any secrets, the mousy little thing.” Cameron shook himself. “My brother promised me Adam House for my London residence. You can imagine my surprise when I read in the newspaper that Lady Cameron was in London, and then when I heard that she was opening a gentlemen’s club at my home. I spoke with her, then had my solicitor contact her man. We looked through all the paperwork she brought back with her from Vienna. It seems that Frederick signed Adam House over for her exclusive use shortly before his death.”

“I know all this. It actually seems like the one decent thing your brother ever did for his wife,” Oliver commented.

“I said that it
appeared
Frederick had signed over the property. Given the money Diane has been spending since her return to London, and the way she suddenly acquired property that has been in the Benchley family for generations, I have my doubts about the legitimacy of this entire enterprise.”

“Do you, now.”