A Bright Particular Star (39 page)

Sophie wr
inkled her nose
in disgust
.
“
I cannot
conceive how such a spectacle constitute
s a fine evening
’s
entertainment
.
”

“
It is not a place for ladies, certainly,
”
agreed
Grey.
“
I am sorry
to h
ave missed an opportunity of recouping
my
losses
, Perry
.
In fact, now I conside
r the matter, you have had good fortune
lately and i
t is time you
offer
ed
me another chance
.
Do
you care to dine at my
lodgings this evening
and
discov
er which of us has
the current run of luck
?
”

“
I don
’t
know if I can—
”

“
W
e could
settle once and for all who
has the greatest skill,
”
interjected
Grey, a mocking challenge
in his glance.

Perry
frowned,
regarding
him through narrowed eyes.
“
What stakes do you care to play for?
”
he asked curtly.
“S
omething worthwhile
, I trust?
”

“
Wh
atever you choose.
It is immaterial to me
.
M
y tally may be down, bu
t my pockets are not
to let
.
”

“
Picquet,
then.
For guinea
poin
ts?
”

“
Certainly.
”
Grey showed not a whit of const
ernat
ion at these reckless stakes
as he pressed
his invitation.
“S
o
,
will
you take
up this
chance
to outdo me
again
?
”

“
My dear fellow
,
I never refuse a challenge,
”
drawled Perry.

“
Nor
I
.
I sense
my luck is about to turn.
I suggest we
dine at White
’s
before returning
to
my lodgings in St. James.
I have
some tolerable
port for you
to sample.
”

“
Very well.
I
’
ll meet you at White
’s
at eight
o
’
clock
,
”
snapped Peregrine.
“
And now
you will
excuse us
as
my cousin wants to admire the
rest of these antiquities
.
”

Mr
Grey
nodded,
and then
bowed in Sophie
’s
direction
.
“
F
orgive me
for
my execrable manners
.
I omitted to
compliment
you on your
appearance just now
.
”
He
studied her
carefully
.
“T
hat
is the
most dashing outfit
—
”

“D
on
’t
waste your time trying to turn
Sophie’s
head with
compliments,
”
interpolated
Perry
in a brusque voice
.
“
I have it on good
authority she
disdains them
.
”
In one of
his swift, mercurial mood swings
, a
cruel gleam slid into his eyes as he added
,
“S
till,
a
t least Sophie has
some
spirit
…
unlike Olivia
.
Such a
wet
goose cannot expect to attract attention
anywhere, especially
among the
ton
.
If she
has not received an offer by the time she leaves London, M
am
a is going to marry her off to
Colonel Ponsonby.
”
His lips drew back in a sneer.
“
Ponsonby
’s
sixty
if he is a day
,
suffers from go
ut and
is
a miser to boot
—
I
’d
say that
’s
a
s good a match as
Olivia can hope for
, eh, Luc?
”

Sophie
watched
in astonished silence.
O
ut of n
owhere, a strained
atmosphere
had develop
ed
and
t
he air
between the two men crackled
with menace
.
Perry
seemed to be
deliberatel
y trying to
provoke a reaction
.
Grey
’s
appearance
here
had annoyed him
and,
perhaps
aware of
Grey
’s
admiration of
Olivia,
Perry
had
chose
n
his words
to arouse the other man
’s
anger.

But if
his comments were designed to make Grey
’s
icy calm fall away, it
did not have the desired effect.
Lucius
Grey stayed
silent
, his face impassive.
Perry
, a chink appearing in his good humour for the first time that afternoon, hunched an irritable shoulder
and
turned away
.

Sophie
kept
her eyes
on Grey
’s
f
ace and therefore witnessed his
reaction
.
As he stared at Pe
rry
’s
retreating figure,
Grey
’s
lips
compressed into a
harsh
line.
F
or
a fleeting moment,
a
look
of such
hatred
burned in
his eyes
that she
took an involuntary step backwards
in the face of it
.
The movement seemed
t
o recall him to the present.
Grey
lowered his lids and swiftly
schooled
his
expression back into its usual
unreadable mien
.
H
e
engaged her
in general
conversa
tion
for
a few moments
longer before taking his leave
.

She
watched him walk away.
S
hocked by
what she had seen
, she
realize
d
Perry
’s
attitude towards Grey
had shifted to dislike
and
,
beneath his
re
serve, Grey returned the sentiment
.
Whatever the reasons
for
Perry
’s
about-face
, her overriding
thought
was that
he
wo
uld be well advised
not to
antagonise
Lucius
Grey
.
It
would be akin to pulling a
tiger by its tail.

Once back in London,
Theo
went immediately to his lodgings
.
He
had the use of
the
family town
house
whenever he chose
, but since Hal and Isabella
’s
marr
iage, he had preferred to
strike out on his own and
now
rent
ed
these
modest rooms in Stratton
Street.

The journey
had allowed him
more
time to think
.
As soon as
he had changed, he would
call upon
Sophie
and
lay his heart at her feet
.
He didn
’t
know
how she
would react
—
he had tormented
himself imagining every possible outcome
—
but
he
w
ould never give up trying to win her.
She had utterly bewitched
him.
His body ache
d
to possess her while
his heart ached with the need to hear her voic
e, to see her, to simply be
near
her.
The feeling
raged in his blood, coursing
through
every inch of his body until i
t distilled
, drop by
drop,
into his soul
.
He could no more live
wit
hout her than he could
stop himself
from
breathing.
A l
ife
without Sophie
would be no
life
at all
.

Leaving his
groom
to take his
curricle and team
back
to the mews
, he
ran up
the steps.
The door was opened by Saund
ers, his
long-serv
ing valet and, since his decamp
to these rooms, his
general factotum
.

As he
relieved Theo
of his driving coat,
gloves and hat, Saunders
announced
,

“T
here are two gentlemen
to see you, Sir.
They arrived some time
ago and when I informed them you were expected back this afterno
on, they
said they would
w
ait.
”

“
W
ho is it
?
”
Despite his distracted mood
,
Theo smiled
when he glimpsed
Saunders
‘s
expression
.
“T
rouble, eh?
But
I’m
not aware of any creditors dunning me for payment.
”

“
I would never allow trad
esme
n in
to your lodgings
,
”
said Saun
ders, with
a
sniff
.
‘
S
ir Seymour
is
in the
parlour
with
a Mr
Lucius Grey.
They were most insistent about
waiting and
,
as it was
Sir Seymour, I thought it would be acceptable
.
I trust
I did
right
to
bring
up
a bottle of the best claret
?

“
You did
.
”
Theo
’s
brows drew together
.
“
W
h
at on earth
brings Dinny
here at this hour?
And with Grey too.
”
Trying
to
ignore the
prickle
of alarm
shimmering
up his spine
, he
spoke again to
Saunders
.
“
As
soon as my business
with Sir Seymour is done
, I w
ill be going out again.
L
ay out some fresh clothes
,
but first, b
ring up another bottle of
claret
—
I’m
as dry as a bone.
”

Saunders
went away and
Theo strode towa
rd the parlour
,
annoyed
his visit to Sophie would be
delayed
and r
esolving
to get this
interview
out of the way quickly
.

A
s befitted a
typical
bachelor
’s
abode,
Theo
’s
rooms
were arranged for comfort rather than elegance.
The furniture in the parlour was old-fashioned: a selection of bottles, tankards, glasses and de
canters adorned a large
sideboard
; a writing desk sat near the window
and a
n
assortment of
ill-matched
chairs were placed around the roo
m,
two
of which were
drawn up haphazardly to
a
worn, baize-topped card table near the fireplace.
C
igars, snuff jars
, a clock
and invitation cards cluttered the mantelpiece
,
while the large mirror
above it had several newspaper advertisements announcing sporti
ng events pinned to its frame
.
A selection of
whips leant against one end of the sideboard and sporting prints and engravings hung on the walls.

The oblong table in the centre of the room was set with a
white cloth, a decanter and
gla
sses.
Sir Seymour, attired in a coat
of dark green superfine
with pearl
buttons,
breeches
and a
waistcoat embroidered with green and gold oak leaves,
was
seated at one end
,
pouring out
a
glass of wine
.
His usually amiable face bore a stern expression.
At the other
end
sat
Mr
Grey, more soberly attired than
his companion, but equally as sombre-faced.
His
arm rested on the table,
his
fingers
carelessly
crooked around
the stem of a half-filled
glass.
He was deep in conversation
with Sir Seymour, but they
fell silent when Theo came in
.

Theo
nodded a
greeting
.
“D
inny
, Grey
…
this is a surprise.
To what
do I owe this visit
?
I
should tell you that
I
have to go out again almost immediately.
”

Sir Seymour wasted no
time
with
pleasantries.
He
pushed
forward
a clean glass
and
wa
ved
one hand
towards
an empty chair
.
“S
it down, Theo.
Your appointment
will have
to wait
.
W
hat we have to say
is important.
”

Theo
’s
gaze flicked between the two men.
“
Oh?
I
m
portant en
ough to bring you both here
?
”

“S
ome
things
can
only be conveyed in
person and in
private
.
Lucius has accompanied me because the matter
concerns him also
.
”

Din
ny
was looking unusually grave and
Theo could see t
here was no pr
ospect
of this interview being
put off.
Nor
, judging by
Dinny
’s
expression
,
was it
likely to be pleasant.
Contrary to appearances, Sir Seymour was not a frivolous man and Theo knew whatever he had to say was in earnest.
The
prickles of alarm intensified.
“
Very well
,
”
he replie
d, sitting down
.

“
I will
come
straight to the point
,
”
said Sir Seymour.
“
We believe
Sophie Devereux
could be
in danger.
”

Th
eo gave a start
,
sat bolt upright,
and then
cursed
under his breath.
“
A
re you certain?
”

Sir Seymour
nodded
.

“D
ash it all
!
”
cried Theo.
“
I should have
anticipated
something like this,
bu
t
I
had
to
leave her under
Verney
’s
protection.
”
He looked sharply at Sir Seymour.
“
What do you know?
”

“
Grey
here
has
recently obtained information
which makes us
fearful for her
safety
.
”

“
You!
”
Theo
glared
at Lucius Grey.
“
Why
should anyone
listen to you
?
Y
ou
’
ve
not been
entirely truthful
since we met—
”

“
I have not, but
—
”
began
Grey.

“
I
knew it!
I
wasn
’t
such a paperskull to believe
that nonsense you spouted
when y
ou caught up with
us at
T
he Pelican
.
”
Theo
sprang to his feet,
leaned
over
Grey
and said
in a threatening
tone
,
“
W
as it you who went into Sophie
’s
room that night?
B
lister it
,
I’m
a fair way to thin
king any danger to
her
will come
from
your direction
!
”

“
Calm yourself, Theo!
”
urged Sir Seymour.
“
Y
ou will not help Miss Dev
ereux by getting angry with Luc.
”

Theo
swung around
, an arrested look on his face
.
“
Luc?
Do you k
now this fellow well then
, Dinny
?
”