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Among the Society, he was king.
Unfortunately, the Marquess of Camden had suspicions that a traitor to the Crown, recently tied to the attempted assassination of the Duke of York, was part of the Society. It burned Anthony to think such a snake in the grass could be hiding among the members. As if those who shared these perverse inclinations did not have enough to worry about.
They were risking Society’s reprobation by their mere presence. If anyone outside of the Society was to discover their activities, the malicious gossip would rise to unthinkable levels. Sadly, that gossip came with tangible repercussions. Certain rumors carried ruin with them for individuals, families, businesses, even dynasties.
Instead of being able to enjoy everything the Society had to offer, Anthony was there to keep an eye out for the traitor. He was not the only one. The Marquess of Camden’s eldest son, Elijah, was about, as well as Captain Nathan Jones, both who Anthony considered friends. All three of them were there both because of their own preferences with sex and the indications someone from the Society had been involved in the assassination plot.
“Hello, there.” A lady stepped in front of Anthony as he made his way through the rooms of Lady Greywood’s main floor. Her eyes raked him up and down. The dress she was wearing left little to the imagination. While it covered her completely, the material was so sheer, even in the dimly light rooms, he could clearly see the outline of her nipples and the dark triangle of her mound. Blonde with bright blue eyes and pink pouting lips, she looked to be about his age, and the invitation in her eyes was clear.
“Are you looking for someone to play with this evening?” She purred the words, her pose provocative as she put one hand on her hip, pushing out her breasts toward him.
For a moment, he was tempted. There was something about her brazenness that tugged at his memory… a memory he refused to recall. Anthony’s tastes, when it came to a woman’s demeanor, had changed over the months, and he knew why. Once upon a time, he’d preferred quiet and demure submissive women. Lately, it was the brassy, challenging spitfires who drew him in.
He did not like to think too much about it.
However, he did not wish to be rude.
“Not at the moment. I do hear there’s going to be an exhilarating demonstration in the library. Did you have an interest in watching?” He offered his arm.
The blonde considered it for a moment before shaking her head.
“No, I would rather do than watch. If you see me alone later and decide you’d prefer to get your hands dirty, please do let me know.” Tipping him a wink, she moved past him, on the hunt for more accommodating quarry.
Anthony had to chuckle. One of the things he liked best about the Society was everyone was there for enjoyment’s sake, and there were rarely hurt feelings over a rejection.
Of course, human nature was still human nature, but overall, things were much easier here than among the tightly drawn strictures of theton.No wonder he felt more comfortable here than in theton’sballrooms. Turning down a lady’s request in a ballroom would be the height of rudeness and would involve much approbation from those around him, not to mention his mother’s likely appearance on his doorstep the next morning if she heard about it.
He did not have to worry about any of that here.
Turning to go back on his path, Anthony frowned. He’d seen something as he turned, and his hair prickled along the nape of his neck in warning.
He could not have seen what he’d thought he’d seen.
More than once since that fateful night in Paris, he’d thought he’d seen Yvette. It seemed there were plenty of dark-haired women about her height in the world. By now, the compulsion to double-check if the woman was Yvette should have worn off. He should be able to turn and walk away, knowing it was nothing more than his imagination playing tricks on him again.
He’d barely had more than a glance of the woman’s profile as she’d whisked away around the corner. The impression he’d gotten had been that of a maid, not one of the ladybirds brought by a member of the Society.
Turn and walk away.
Yes. That was what he was going to do. Turn and walk away and banish the specter of Yvette from his life once and for all.
* * *
Evie
Heart pounding in her chest, Evie pressed her back against the wall of the corner she’d just run around. She had not at all been prepared for the sight of Captain Anthony Browne here at Lady Greywood’s house. He had not been at any of the other of the lady’s previous parties!
Along with her pounding heart, she needed to slow her breathing. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath. Held it for a count of five. Slowly released it.
She had applied for a position in Lady Greywood’s household specifically because the lady hosted so many of the Society of Sin’s gatherings. While she had known her cousin Elijah and several of her uncle’s other agents had gained entrance to the Society, she had not expected them to appear quite so often. She also had not known Captain Brown would be one of them.
Even if she had known, she would not have expected the rush of jealousy she’d felt when she’d encountered Captain Browne being propositioned by Lady Dalton.
She should have run the moment she’d seen him, but she’d stopped, halted by the urge to know whether or not he was going to disappear into one of the side rooms with the lady. The relief Evie felt when the lady had turned away was as unacceptable as staying to see the outcome of their encounter.
The captain was not her concern, and she should not care about seeing him, much less about who he was dallying with. She had kept up with his activities over the years, sneaking glimpses at her uncle’s reports, but only to ensure he was kept well away from anywhere she intended to go.
Out of all the agents her uncle had, he was the only one who had seen her face when she was somewhere she was not supposed to be.
