AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, did you know of my father?” she asked graciously.
He shook his head. “I knew Great-Aunt Tilly had a brother who married some wh—er, actress. It caused a rift in the familial bond. I tell you, the solicitor’s letter came at the perfect time. This will be a splendid little hideaway until the Season begins.”
His rude slip of the tongue set her bristles up, but Etta kept her smile in place. “You plan on an extended stay, my lord?” She had no idea what to expect. The solicitor assumed Lord Turnsley would inspect the property, return to London, and let the estate manager continue to oversee the details.
“Only until the tongues stop wagging in Town. Got caught with a set of fulhams at the hazard table. I was deuced upset to lose those dice too. I traded them for my uncle’s pocket watch and had made a tidy profit until that rattler exposed me.” He slapped his silk-covered thigh. “Mother will smooth things over, though she doesn’t have the blunt to cover my debt. Anyway, that puts me here through Twelfth Night. I love a good crush. Do you have many neighbors?”
By the time Lord Turnsley finished a bottle of brandy and stumbled up the stairs, Etta’s head was pounding. The man never stopped talking and had given them quite an education of the ways of London society. Thebeau mondesounded as decadent and arrogant as her neighbor had warned.
“What do you think of him?” she asked Tia.
Her sister laughed. “He’s a jingle brain with enough tongue for two sets of teeth.”
“Oh, I believe he’s much more than that.” A Captain Shark, a tippler, and a Jack O’ Dandy with the devil playing in his pocket.
Lord help them.
