“To think!” Eaton ? said to his friends. “I was seriously thinking of proposing marriage to her! And all along, she was just using me.”
“Do you think it’s true she wants to marry Lord Dubois?” one of the gentlemen asked. “He is so old.”
? “It doesn’t matter what she wants,” Lord Eaton said forcefully. “She must obey the law and her commitment to a gentleman! A gentleman’s reputation and legal rights are on the line here. She must do her duty to her family.”
“You are going to regret that comment very much,” Dorian snarled, and he slammed his whiskey down on the nearest table, making it slosh out of the glass. Eaton looked startled and affronted.
“Is that a threat?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes,” Dorian said. “In fact, I ought to call you out for how you betrayed Lady Leah’s trust today and let her honor be impugned. Perhaps when I get back from putting things right.”
Eaton stared at him with a mixture of shock and horror. “You would call me out over this?”
“I would do much worse,” Dorian said, his anger now so strong it took all his effort not to punch Eaton in his sanctimonious face. “Fortunately for you, I don’t have the time. I have to save Lady Leah if you won’t.”
“What are you going to do?” Eaton’s friend asked uncertainly. “You heard what he said: he’s going to ruin any man who stands in his way.”
Dorian scoffed. “ Lord Dubois’s threats might scare most men, but I am not most men. And I am not going to let that vindictive old man scare him. ”
Eaton’s friend looked impressed, even as Eaton turned very pale.
Without another word, Dorian stood and strode from the room, grabbing his jacket on the way out. Fortunately, he moved quicker than Lord Dubois, who was just stepping up into his carriage as Dorian came outside. Ducking to the right, Dorian hurried over to where his horse was tied to a post and began to undo the reins. The door of Dubois’ carriage closed, and it jolted forward, with Dorian following right behind. He didn’t know exactly where Dubois was going, or why he was following him, or what the plan was, but he knew one thing: he was not going to let Dubois out of his sight until the threat had been neutralized.
He will never have her.
? Chapter Ten
“Here’s your ale, sir,” the barmaid said as she deposited the large glass, filled to the brim with beer, on Dorians’ table.
“Thank you,” he said, distractedly, as he tried to peer around the barmaid. He didn’t want to lose sight of Lord Dubois, even for a minute. He was afraid that if he did, the man would somehow carry Lady Leah off against her will.
So far, however, Lord Dubois had not showed any signs of kidnap. All he was doing was drinking heavily in this rather grimy public house in central London. It wasn’t exactly the kind of place Dorian would expect a viscount to frequent, but he was at least glad for the anonymity. He didn’t want anyone to see him here, following Lord Dubois.
The barmaid moved away, and Dorian took a sip of his ale and wondered what to do next. I should speak to him, try to discover more about his plans.
The viscount was certainly drunk enough that Dorian thought he could risk the conversation. But of course, Dorian was well-known as a friend of the Duke of Dredford’s. Which meant that Dubois might not trust him--even if he was drunk.
I will just have to be very convincing. He’d have to employ all the skills that had made him convincing as London’s most notorious rake--despite the fact he had never once acted on that supposed rakishness.
Dorian took one more large gulp of ale--for the nerves--and then he stood up and made his way over to Dubois’s table. .
“My Lord,” Dorian said, bowing low before Dubois. “May I join you?”
Dubois looked up, and the moment he saw Dorian , his eyes narrowed with suspicion . “ What are you doing here?” He snapped, his voice edged with fear and loathing. “Did you followme? Come to have another round with me about Lady Leah’s honor? Because I assure you, I will win. The law is on my side ”
Dorian laughed and shook his head. “No, no,” he said, “nothing like that. I came to clear things up between us: to tell you that I really am on your side.”
“On my side?” Dubois looked at him skeptically. “I do not believe that for a moment. Not after the way that you defended Lady Leah at White’s tonight.”
“I had to defend her,” Dorian said with a shrug. “Dredford has me over the barrel of a gun.”
Dubois’s eyes grew even more narrow. “What are you talking about?”
“You know of my profligate ways,” Dorian said, sighing. “May I sit?”
“No,” Dubois snapped, but Dorian sat anyway, giving Dubois a sad smile.
“It’s not just women with me,” Dorian continues, despite the look of annoyane on Dubois’s face. “It’s also the gambling. I have run myself up quite a debt at the gambling halls these past years. Why do you think I left England for so long? It wasn’t just to travel Europe, my friend, it was to avoid gambling debts.”
