The ladies each had a pair of shoes beside their chair, representing their one loss.
A bell rang, and when the noise had diminished somewhat, a servant announced that the card tables would need to be shifted to allow the partition between the rooms to be removed.
The men stood and bowed, thanking the women for the game.
Althea used the opportunity to slip her shoes back on and wish all three a good night.
Beth hugged her, leaning in to whisper, “Good game, cuz. Are you quite all right? You don’t mind if I stay?”
While they had discussed that as a plan before dinner, Althea knew her cousin would retire with her if she asked.
“Thank you. I am not sure what I would have done if we’d lost, but I am fine. You play. I want to hear all about it tomorrow. But please, pace yourself. This is the first night of several and as you said, they’ll get wilder.”
“I will. I promise.”
****
Evan shuffled papers on his desk, trying to find something urgent to address that would justify his lurking—ahem, presence—in his office rather than among his guests. What was left for him if he couldn’t muster the courage to brave his own party? He’d never minded the women rubbing against him or even rubbing him before.
Giving up, he hoped Ford would not come looking for him. With that in mind, he rounded his desk and strode toward the hall door to close it the last inch.
Movement through the crack of space caught his eye. Franklin the footman, as Evan liked to think of him, was walking away from him toward the great hall. Evan liked having his office down a narrow side hall, off the path of guests. It afforded him the perfect opportunity to hide, er, to get work done when he needed to.
Too many guests, male and female, wanted to be in his presence all day every day. He often wondered if they hoped his money would magically appear in their pockets, his investment skills in their brains, and his charisma in their manners. He smirked. It wouldn’t. He’d have shared it with Ford if he could. Instead, he dragged Ford out of his comfort zone over and over to assist with his own constant battle against boredom.
A guest appeared at the entrance to the hallway. ’Twas Beth Jenkins. Much as he was intrigued by Lady Althea and had contemplated possibilities for her when they’d arrived the first day, he wanted to avoid this forward bit of fluff. He wasn’t worried, though. Franklin had his orders. He’d redirect her.
The chit reminded him of himself. Not having the opportunities afforded Evan at Oxford, her sexual education had been ad hoc, then completed at the School of Enlightenment. In addition to sharing his carefree, take-all-comers approach to sex, she maintained a network of people of all classes, and knowledge of their needs, wants, and desires that might be even more informed and wider than his. After all, being one of the richest blokes in the land made one rather high profile and interfered with casting a subtle net for information.
He shook his head as she surreptitiously pinched her arms to her sides and pushed her stays up, then brought her hands together in front of her to tug her dress down from her waist. He had to admit she was an incredibly tasty morsel. But even from the demi-monde ball, his focus had been on her taller, dark-haired cousin.
Althea’s decorum and quietude juxtaposed with her obvious love and acceptance of her wild cousin were a conundrum that sparked interest like few things did for him these days. When he’d stepped onto the upper hallway at the London party and found Althea panting against a doorframe, her eyes sheened with lust, he was beyond intrigued.
He narrowed his eyes as Beth managed to disarm his most urbane servant.Hmm. She probably recognizes some of them from the school.
The young man gave her a shallow bow. “My lady, this is part of the private residence. Can I help you find your way to one of the game rooms?”
“What game did you have in mind?”
His eyes dropped to her chest, more on display after her quick maneuvering. His tongue ran across his lower lip. “Whatever my lady desires.”
“Excellent. I most definitely desire to see more of—” She ran her finger down his waistcoat buttons pulling back to hover in front of the placket of his breeches. “You.” Her other hand rose to her décolletage, fingering the lace edging on the gown.
“That can be arranged.” He gave another shallow bow.
“We’d need privacy for that, would we not?” she asked archly, glancing around the hall in this “private” section of the house. She took several steps toward Evan’s office, spinning so that she faced Franklin.
The servant caught his eye, and Evan shook his head quickly, gesturing for him to get her back to the rooms designated for entertaining guests.
“Ah, yes. But—”
“Excellent. Can you find my cousin and let her know I’m going for a walk please, so that she does not come looking for me? I’ll just step into one of these rooms and await you.”
“Ah…” Franklin’s eyes glazed as they followed her finger movements.
“In fact, let me just step in here.” She grabbed the handle of the door to Evan’s office, and he jumped back.
“Not—” Franklin sounded desperate.
