We cant let him take our gifts. We cannot. A note of panic threaded into Edmunds voice. Unlike the broader-reaching gifts that John, Bram, and Leo had received, Edmund had received one, and one alone: Rosalind.
Bram scowled. Just last night I used my gift to persuade my way into Lady Hadlows bed. She was always too devoted to her husband, even if hes in India.
As a married man, said Edmund, I find your actions deplorable.
Because, before Rosalind, you only fucked widows and courtesans? Bram snorted. You forget, I once saw you sneaking off with the very married Augustine Colford. When Edmund continued to sulk, Bram added, For all her fidelity, Lady Hadlow did not complain when I brought her to climax four times.
Theres more at stake than your damned cock. John growled. Yesterday afternoon, I read the mind of the Earl of Northington, the damned Lord Chancellor, and learned his plans for the treaty with France. Without Mr. Hollidays gift, I wouldnt know a bloody thing. Id be merely another normal man, he sneered.
Dissention was never difficult to come by with the Hellraisers, but Leo needed to stop it before they degenerated into an outright scrum. No one is taking anything. There are four of us, and one of him.
And the Gypsy, added John. The ghost, too. If she has reappeared.
Doesnt matter, said Bram. Between us four Hellraisers and his less-than-reliable confederates, the odds favor us.
Whit always did like steep odds. Leo smiled darkly. But this is one gamble he cannot win.
You have a scheme in mind, said Bram.
Continuously.
Leaning forward, Leo braced his elbows on the table. Whit might not be able to mount a full-scale frontal assault. He knows that he cannot beat us all. If I were him, I would seek out allies, wherever I could find them. All that remains to us is to ensure that he makes no allegiances.
Johns fingers slowed their beat as he began to understand Leos intent. Ostracize him.
If Whit is not received anywhere in London, if he becomes a pariah, then he is left to his own frail resources.
Still, Bram looked skeptical. Frail was not the word I would have used to describe Whit in Manchester. He had no magic, tis true, but he seemed stronger than ever. Especially with that damned girl at his side. As if he could level mountains with thought alone.
John snorted. False confidence engendered by a bit of quim. Doubtless he has begun to realize that, outside of the bedchamber, a Gypsy girl makes for an inferior companion. He could be weakening even now.
We cut Whit off from any source of support, said Leo, leave him with nary a friend, so he has no reinforcements.
Clearly heartened by this idea, Edmund brightened. That should not prove overly difficult. His habits at the gaming tables seldom won him friendsbeyond us, of course.
A few well-placed tales of cheating and theft, Leo continued, and the deed is done. Thereve already been rumors about him ruining lordlings and reckless gentlemen. Some more kindling on that fire, and we will smoke him out.
Yet Bram was not entirely satisfied. And then?
And then ... when Whit has nowhere to turn, he will either flee, or attempt to make a stand. At which pointhe smiled grimly at the other Hellraiserswe will render him no longer a threat. By any means at our disposal.
A sheet of paper awaited Anne at breakfast. On it, in Leos bold, masculine scrawl, was a list of names. She took her tea and rolls in the upstairs parlor rather than the cavernous dining chamber, and as she sipped from her cup, she considered the list.
All of the names she knew, some better than others. Impoverished her family might be, but their breeding was matchless, their connections impeccable. A few barbs might be lobbed in Annes direction, given that she had married so far beneath her rank, yet a barons daughter she remained. Barring any real scandal, she ought to be admitted to anyones home. Welcomed, even.
She picked apart a roll and reviewed the list. Leo had selected the highest-ranking members of Society, men of ancient lineage. Anne mulled over their names, sensing that something connected them, something she could not quite identify, yet lingered at the back of her mind like a distant storm. Dark clouds massing on the horizon.
But what was it? What linked the names on the list?
Anne shook her head. Again, she let fancy run rampant. Leo had revealed much this morning, giving her glimpses of a self she suspected he showed few, if any. How much of his past did his friends know? Men seldom unburdened themselves to one another, as if, like the basest pack of animals, they feared a show of vulnerability meant a challenger would disembowel them and claim dominance.
What Leo had said to her today had been spoken in trust. She could not repay that trust with suspicion. Already she knew her acceptance pleased him. Her mouth and body still resonated with the heat of his kiss.
God, if that kiss was any gauge of what she ought to expect when they finally consummated their marriage ... no wonder she battled fear. For the effects of Leos desire could leave her a smoldering ruin. And she might gratefully welcome the conflagration.