Damn.
If he could see the words and phrases that made him angry, he could take whichever route he wished to Frederick’s. Hell, Brook’s betting book was just down the hall, and if he found a young buck drunk enough—even at this early hour—he could goad him into a bet that would have him a thousand pounds richer in moments.
Or… the voices behind the doors. Men gambling deep. Devon could join them. Lay his entire savings on the table and hope to double or triple his wealth in a heartbeat.
A risk, that. One he’d not taken yet. When a man worked for his money, it was much harder to gamble it away, to risk losing it all.
Maybe the universe had not aligned itself for his pleasure. Because every way seemed a dead-end now. He stepped out of Brook’s and onto the street, with less bounce in his step than when he had entered it. He looked forward this morning to visiting with his brother and then seeing Lillian. Now he did not know how he would feel when he saw her. Not victorious, not elated, but unsure, uncertain. If only he had more time. Why had he insisted on such a short proposal period last night?
Damned cock.
Today, it was not in charge, and perhaps, he did have the answer after all. He would merely tell Lillian that they would increase the length of the engagement. That gave him time to figure things out, to make the right investments to secure the sort of life Lillian was used to.
The idea that Lillian’s future must match her present struck Devon like a lightning bolt, or like the hack barreling toward him down the street. He dodged out of the way, his heart beating fast. Mr. Clarke was a self-made man, a younger son like Devon himself, a man born into a family with privileges but without the purpose of the older brother. Yet, he had found his own purpose and had made his own way, rising to such a place in society that his daughter was marrying into one of theton’soldest families.
Lillian’s younger brothers were off at Oxford, and even if she had not ended up marrying a duke's younger son, she would have married a viscount.
Mr. Clarke had done it.
So, too, could Devon.
The bounce returned to Devon’s step. He looked forward to meeting Lillian once more.
CHAPTER15
The walls of Lillian’s room shook with the force of a small explosion.
She lurched upright, her heart pounding. She’d been jarred awake this suddenly before, and it startled her every time.
But it was the first time she’d waken so suddenly to find her father before her bed, gray hair in a messy nest about his head, scowling at her instead of bellowing down below in the workshop.
“Papa,” she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “What happened? Why are you up here instead of down there? What exploded this time? I didn’t do it. Devon didn’t either. Unless he did? Is he here?” She was rambling. She knew it. Her sleep-fogged brain could not stop it from happening.
“No, he is not. There was no explosion. I may have opened and closed your door too hard.”
Ah, then the bang and rattle had been her door shaking in its frame.
Her father speared her with steely eyes. “You disappeared last night. Your mother said she saw you slipping off with Lord Devon, which is why we did not sound the alarms. Did you tell anyone? No. Did you take care of your reputation? Not at all.”
“Papa—”
“Youwillruin yourself with this duke’s son, won’t you? Can’t keep your damned hands off one another, I suppose—”
“Papa, I—”
“Now here you are, safe and sound in your cozy bed, acting for all the world as if you’ve done nothing wrong, and—”
She wiped a tear from her cheek. Bother. When had she started crying?
“Bloody hell!” her father boomed. He sat on the bed so suddenly she bounced a bit into the air. He caught her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Crying?” His strong inventor’s arms wound round her, like a vice holding two essential parts of a machine together. “I’ll pluck every hair from that damned pup’s head, do you hear me? I’ll smash his fingers with my—”
“I’m n-not crying because of Lord Devon, Papa. I promise.”
“What then?”
“I’m not precisely sure. All my emotions are muddled. I’ve upset you and possibly ruined everything. I’m so sorry for it all and angry with myself. But also… I had such a marvelous time last night after I left the ball with him.”
“I don’t want to know,” he grumbled.
