Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (141 page)

Scott

information, but his absence was sure to be noticed.

Julia had finally consented to be left behind on the condition that he bring her back a wig.

Thinking of her saucy demand as he left brought a smile to his lips even now. Bringing Julia with him had a certain appeal. He might even teach her a few of the club games. Just the thought of Julia's bosom leaning over the dicing table stirred him and he'd only been gone from her an hour. Paine set the tantalising image aside. Tonight, he had work to do, work that mattered to him and to Julia.

John, the doorman, was waiting for him when Paine arrived at the club shortly after eight-thirty. 'We all missed you last night.' He gave a short nod to the group of dandies led by

talking too loudly in

the corner. 'They want to play

with you. The bunch

of them came in last night.'

Paine nodded, sizing up the rowdy group. He'd bet they would be in more sombre spirits by midnight. He'd hoped the earlier loss at Commerce would have taught a lesson about playing beyond one's means. Apparently no t. 'Anything else?'

'The gel that came

for you has a man

for her.' John lowered his voice. 'That man over there has been asking about her. She matches the description he's been giving, anyway.'

Paine's eyes narrowed, taking in the burly, unkempt man by the wall, slumped over a glass of cheap brandy.

'What did you tell him?'

102

Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

John shook his head. 'Nothing. I didn't like the looks or smell of him. The gel doesn't fit with him, so I thought the worst.'

'You're right about that. The girl's from a good family. Until I instruct anyone otherwise, we've never seen her. Make that clear to everyone-the dealers, the bartender, the other girls.' Paine bounced on the balls of his feet, organising the evening's business in his mind.

'John, send a bottle of our best brandy to the dandies with my compliments. I'll join them for faro at ten.

be in my office settling accounts until then. When Brian Flaherty comes in, I want to see him directly.'

Flaherty was a stocky Irishman with a balding pate and good humour in spite of his dark career as a private investigator. In the past year, Paine had come to trust the Irishman implicitly when it came to the business of the gambling hell.

The man was a veritable bloodhound, able to sniff out the backgrounds of

sundry clientele. No credit was

extended, no deal struck, without Flaherty's stamp of approval. The man's ability for research had saved Paine countless pounds. Tonight, Paine was hoping Flaherty had information regarding Oswalt and his search for Julia.

'The man is definitely

for her,' Flaherty said,

easing himself into a chair in Paine's office. 'Oswalt has his men everywhere. The three coaching inns I asked at indicated others had inquired about the same girl early yesterday. The good news is that it appears he didn't think to start searching gaming hells and other such es-

Scott

tablishments until tonight. That means he's still guessing with nothing substantial to go on,' Flaherty reported.

Paine nodded. He'd expected as much, but it was good to have those suspicions confirmed. 'And the uncle?'

shook his head. 'I am still

on that. It's

hard to say. Oswalt had visited the uncle, but to my knowledge the uncle has not been asking around for the girl except for inquiries at the

'Thank goodness for that at least.' Paine sighed. He'd take all the luck he could get. He'd hoped the man had enough sense to keep Julia's disappearance quiet and it seemed he had. If no one was aware of her disappearance, it would be far easier for her uncle to cover it up, explain it away with a believable story, or even with Paine's story that he and Julia had fallen in love at first sight. As things stood currently, only Julia's family and Oswalt knew she was gone.

Paine preferred it that way. 'Can I trust the uncle?'

Paine mused out loud. The man had shown surprising discretion so far. Perhaps he'd judged Barnaby too harshly, too soon. He'd thought he might go to the uncle and assure him of Julia's safety.

Paine also had other reasons for seeking out Uncle Barnaby. Paine wanted to 'help' him concoct a safe story that explained Julia's absence. It would be easy enough to use the sick relative in the country story and neatly tack on that while there she encountered him, under the watchful eye of chaperons, of course.

Romance bloomed, allowing their 'courtship' in London to take place upon her return.