Page 23 (1/1)

During the week following the ball, Sterling had lost an unconscionable ali her or winning back his stakes

Tonight was no exception Sterling had purchased his chips on credit Dodger’s was civilized in that regard At the end of the month a stateer’s reputation, Sterling doubted anyone ever reneged on settling accounts, but if he did, Sterling wondered if Miss Darling would attempt to collect As bookkeeper, perhaps she’d come around herselfIt would provide hi to make sense of his cards wasn’t Hisstack of chips testified

With his liht past him and he’d not notice her until it was too late Nu to access the offices, but he’d seen Dodger use a key often enough to know the door leading to them was always locked He knew the aparth stairs on the outside and had considered waiting for her in the alleyway, but she’d given hiet on with his own matters

But the fervor hich she’d spoken about her orphans haunted hi in life that he cared about so passionately? He cared for his title, to be sure The estates were a source of pride But nothing consu was consu was accustoht-hearted , he suspected, had no time or patience for such frivolity She was passionate about everything that mattered to her

He wanted to matter to her

He’d continued to make his servants available to her each day until they reported that all the furniture had been arranged to her satisfaction She’d sent hi her such fine workers

He’d sent her five hundred pounds She’d written hiood use

Each letter was precise, une she’d moved on with her life--as should he

He beca sensation that he’d felt onat his cards, he asked, "Are there peepholes at this place?"

"Good Lord," the Earl of Chesney lance "They’re all over the place"

"Do they overlook this area?"

"Mmm The curtained balconies above From what I hear, only accessible froer"

And his bookkeeper

Sterling lifted his gaze to a shadowed balcony in the far corner How could he have not noticed it before? It was too far away, too shadowy to make out clearly, but so she’d been peering through Da on hi in the balcony with her, trailing his finger along her throat

Tonight he certainly looked sharp in his dark green jacket, black waistcoat, and soft gray trousers Had he spent his evening in the co of hi with someone other than her, which was rather silly on her part He was a duke Eventually he would marry soht She had little doubt it would be a night filled with char kisses It would be a night thatfor ht and forever wish for another or to alonder what that one night an’s lads, but not one had ever caused desire to curl within her She’d thought when she gave Greystone her answer that she could walk away and never think about hi if she’d e to adin palace was raucous, but as Feagan sat in a dark corner sipping his gin, he appreciated the rowdy and boisterous activities He grew lonely in his quiet dwelling now that his children had left him, but he wasn’t of a mind to try to replace the theed quite well on his own to obtain what he needed to get by His requirein--ruh clothes to shelter his aching bones from the cold, warm stew on occasion, and a roof to keep out the rain Yes, indeed, he considered hi shadow blocked his view He lifted his gaze The only thing Feagan feared now stood before him "Mr Sykes, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Sykes pulled out a chair, dropped into it, and leaned forward "You need to have a ith your gel She’sinto the rookeries and taking my apprentices You, yourself, kno in His Frannie had always had a kind heart He suspected she’d been the reason that most of his lads had stayed with him, and the reason many had left after she did

"I don’t see ’ow I can ’elp ye I ain’t seen her since she left with that damned lord"