“I am curious. Why haven’t you asked me if I have the betting book in my possession?”
The object of all his misery? “The book is nothing to do with me.”
Let it be lost forever.
“I see.”
“Do you not believe me?” Her tone was impossible to decipher.
“Oddly, I do.”
“Good, because I have enough curses to worry about without having the book causing more trouble.” His gaze probed hers. “You aren’t planning to cause more trouble with the book?”
She shook her head. “The book already served its purpose.”
If that was the case, why did he have a growing feeling that the book might be the biggest curse of them all?
Chapter Three
Dreams were thebest part of sleeping. The icing on an otherwise spongy, comforting lemon cake. Sometimes they had a bit too much lemon, but mostly they were sweet. Never, at least in Selena’s experience, had they been so syrupy that they bordered on shameless. Never had they been alarming.
Until she had a dream about him.Thatman. Warrick, her brother’s best friend—rich, titled, the world at his fingers.
And in this rather frightening dream, he had kissed her.
If only that that had been the most scandalous part. But no, he had kissed her to distract her. His main goal? Stealing the betting book and running off right after, leaving her a bothered mess.
Like the knaves most men are.
She should never have made an alliance with Warrick,andshe needed to get rid of that blasted book.
“Why are you scowling?” Theodosia asked with a small nudge to her arm. “We are supposed to be enjoying an evening of dancing.”
Selena scoffed. “I’m agog at how little impact the Turkish trousers parade made. They should have made their debut on this dance floor, though there not many couples dancing.”
Her friend lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “Fabulous gowns will always trump trousers. And so long as the nights are filled with bright parties, jewels, and those fabulous gowns, theworld could end, and the majority would not care. The world is truly strange.”
“Strange... yes.” Toss in a secret club, a family curse, an unlikely fellowship, andstrangetook on a rather stronger meaning. However, Selena didn’t completely trust her alliance with Warrick, which was why she hadn’t told him about the club’s signature embroidered on the trousers.
Three days had passed since her brother had confined her to the house after the parade. Three days of being watched like a hawk until Selena thought she would die of stale air. Which was why she needed to get out of that house no matter the cost. She couldn’t even breathe in there.
Oh, very well, it wasn’t allthatbad.
She supposed she could breathe just as well in the house as outside. What she couldn’t do was search for clues about the club. She hadn’t come up with a plan to find them either. Her sleuthing abilities were sorely lacking.
Was her best hope to receive a direct invitation? And if so, did that mean if she wanted to receive the holy pass, she would have to becomemorevisible? Actmorescandalous? Or poke and probemoreamongst the ladies of theton?
Though, upon reflection, it might be naïve to assume one had to behave scandalously to enter their ranks. After all, scandal served as poison to secrecy. The same for probing. Rumors might flare up.
Then should she appear proper? Who should she be? How should she act? These questions were giving her an ache in the temples.
“How troublesome.”
Theodosia eyed her askance and guessed, “Still troubled by lack of clues?”
“Yes.” Selena surveyed the crowd with interest. “That’s why I’m here tonight. What about you? How did you give my brother the slip?”
Theodosia’s eyes glittered with delight. She leaned closer to Selena. “I found a myself a girl who looks similar to me—a twin if you will—to take my place, cause him a wealth of confusion and throw him of my scent tonight.”
