The Langley Sisters Trilogy Boxed Set (81 page)

“I had come to that realization by myself, Dillinger, but thank you for the advice.”

“The twins probably told you that I’m a coal miner’s son, and the eldest of twelve.”

Luke nodded, but remained silent.

“Being born in a bed that I went on to share with my siblings does not make me any better or worse that someone born in one twice as big that they never had to share, Luke. It took me many years and many setbacks to understand that. Some believe that a title defines a man, makes him better than those without. I don’t. I believe a man is defined by his actions. I’ve known peers who could make the worst criminals in St. Giles look like good men, and men of lowly birth who I would trust with my life because they have both honesty and integrity.
   

“I have met a few of them myself,” Luke said, pulling his eyes from the road.
 

“Yes, I heard you lived in India for a while, and made a considerable sum of money.”

“I’m not sure where you came by that information, Dillinger, but I would prefer you kept it to yourself.”

“Is it true?” The man stood watching him calmly.”

“Perhaps.”

“Then what is stopping you from stepping out of Lord Ryder’s shadow?”

“What indeed,” Luke exhaled loudly. “I have plans, Dillinger, plans that until now I have implemented through Will.”

“And now?”

“And now I want to begin to implement them myself.”

The room was silent, the only noise the clip clop of hooves on the street below.

“Will and Finn have always offered to help me. In their eyes, I should be one of the new breed.”

Dillinger lifted an eyebrow.

“Like you. Someone who uses their money to strengthen England, to build it up, not let it fall. They believe that change is coming, but they also know that any untitled person embarking on that journey will hit many walls and rejections along the way.”

“I have been belittled, ridiculed, shunned, turned out of houses and buildings. I have had things thrown at me, Fletcher. But through that, I have become the man who stands before you.
 

“Please,” Luke lifted one hand, laughing. “No more. The picture you paint is so appealing I can hardly contain myself.”

“You have seen it all before, Fletcher, in various forms. You could not be the man you are with that money behind you had you not encountered obstacles.”

“I have, Mr. Dillinger, in many forms.

 
“Ace,” the man said, placing a large warm hand on his shoulder, “and I’ll call you Luke, as I think we’re going to be friends, you and I.”

“Ace,” Luke repeated. He didn’t have many friends; in fact, Will, Finn and the twins were it.
 

“Do you like this house, Luke?”

Taking a large breath, Luke exhaled slowly as he moved away from the window and turned a slow circle. “I do, Ace, very much.” He felt something change inside him as he said the words. He knew that it was a defining moment that he would not turn back from.

“And my informants tell me you’re nearly as wealthy as me, so why not buy it?”

“I will think about it.” Luke walked through the house once more before making his way outside.

“And now I will take you to my favorite place to eat and you shall look at these files. They are not all, but a few of them.”
 

They fell into step as they crossed the street, and Ace began to tell Luke about what he suspected was happening in one of his consortiums. They walked through the gates of the park that would bring them out on the street Ace had indicated they were to go down.
 

“And you say you can’t be sure you’re being swindled as you’ve not noticed a large difference in the figures?” Luke questioned as they made their way down a flower-lined path. “It sounds remarkably like what has happened to Finn.”

“The men involved are all titled and each believes it is beneath them to be in business with me. I was asked to invest, as it was failing, but since I have, I’ve noticed that things are off. I’ve had the men followed, and they have definitely been meeting in secret, and about the consortium. Normally, I would simply pull my money from it and let them lose theirs, but there are many people like you and I, Luke, who have invested much, and I won’t fail them.”

“Do you have access to all the other documents so I can take a look?”

“I can get them.”

Luke heard the grim tone. Oliver Dillinger was not happy that someone was taking advantage of him, and Luke thought that perhaps if it was the case, the men would be extremely sorry when he was finished with them.
 

“Veer left, Luke. I believe there is some kind of flower display on here today.”

“Why is it people find a constant need to display things?” Luke muttered, looking at the trestles stuck in the middle of the park, laden with blooms.
 

“Gives them a purpose, I guess.”

“Cutting flowers and displaying them gives them a purpose?
 

“Londoners like to compete in whatever way they can, Fletcher. It’s in their blood no matter the quality of the blanket they were born on.”

“I don’t.” Luke looked at a large lady wearing a hat laden with more flowers than the table before her.”

“That’s not what I heard. In fact, I heard you were the one who was constantly bartering to get the best goods to purchase, and then struck a hard bargain when it came to selling them.”

Luke looked at Ace as he spoke. The man’s eyes looked pleasant, but like him, Ace was not relaxed. It was living in this world; you never knew which direction the next surprise would spring from.
 

“Luke!”

“You’re being signaled, Fletcher, by a raven-haired beauty.”

Luke looked to where Thea stood waving at him. His eyes then moved to the left and right, knowing instinctively that she would be here, too. Deep in conversation with a man who was waving a large bunch of something purple in her face stood Bella. He saw her nod, her body still as she focused on what he was saying. She had always done that—concentrated all her attention on the person who engaged her. Eddie sat, for once still, at her feet.

“Lady Althea,” Luke bowed when she arrived. “Allow me to introduce Mr. Dillinger to you.”

Bella looked up then, almost as if she could feel his eyes on her. Smiling, she handed over some money and then started towards him with Eddie trotting along beside her.

“Lady Althea.” Thea’s hand was dwarfed by Ace’s larger one. “May I say that the day has suddenly brightened with your appearance in it.”

“You may say what you wish, sir. Whether I choose to believe your words is another matter entirely.”

Dragging his eyes from Bella, Luke noted the surprise on Ace’s face. Women obviously did not often return his compliments so casually.
 

“I’m wounded that you think so little of yourself, Lady Althea.”

“I’m sure a big man like you will recover.” She waved a dismissive hand at Ace before turning her attentions on Luke. Another first for Dillinger, Luke suspected. Men such as he were not used to being dismissed.

“Where are you off to, Luke Fletcher?
 

“I had a meeting with Mr. Dillinger, and then I am attending another with Finn.”

“Oh, so you are not here to look at the flowers like Bella and I?”

“It is not something my heart desires, no.”

She gave him a cheeky smile. “And what does your heart desire?”

Bella stepped up at that moment and Luke narrowed his eyes at Thea as she gave him a smug look.

“Hello, Luke.”

“Isabella, this is Mr. Dillinger. Ace, this is Miss Langley.”

She wore cream today, with green trim, the exact color of her eyes. Her straw bonnet framed her face, the green ribbons fluttering slightly in the breeze. The fresh air had brushed her creamy cheeks with a hint of rose and her eyes were bright; he felt the effect through his entire body. It was worse today than yesterday, because now he could see her breasts as he had last night; he could taste her skin and hear her soft cries as she found her release at his hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Langley.” Dillinger bowed over Bella’s hand.

“And this is Eddie,” she said, bending to push the dogs bottom down so he sat.

They talked for a while about the weather, the flowers and other silly topics.

“Can I see you to your carriage, ladies?” Luke said.

“Lord Anthony has already offered, but thank you, Luke.” Thea didn’t look pleased, and Luke had to agree. The man was certainly determined.

“He is waiting for us over by the roses. They are his favorite and he is pondering which would best suit his garden,” Bella added.

“I ask you both,” Thea said looking from Luke to Ace. “What man do you know ponders over roses? It does not seem a particularly masculine pursuit, to my mind.”

“Thea!” Bella giggled as she looked around to make sure Anthony had not crept up on them. “Not all men like blood sports and boxing like you.”

“You like to watch boxing, Lady Althea?”

“I like to box, Mr. Dillinger, not watch others do it,” Thea said, to which Luke and Bella moaned. It wasn’t precisely a secret, yet not something her brothers wanted bandied about. Thea had a punching bag in her room, and occasionally she coerced one of her brother’s into putting on gloves and sparring with her.

“We must go, Thea. I’m sure Lord Anthony is looking for us.” Bella grabbed her friend’s arm. “Good day to you, gentlemen.”
 

They bowed, and then watched as the woman walked away.
 

“I want explanations, Luke, lots of them. But the first one is, does she really box?”

“Yes, and spars with her brothers when she can trick them into it.”

“I may just be in love,” Ace said, watching Thea as she disappeared with Bella into the crowd.

“And what is between you and Will’s sister?”

“You are well-informed,” Luke said buying himself some time.

“I make it my job to be.
 
Now answer the question.”

“That information is private, but I will say that we have been friends for a very long time.”

“And you love her?”

“Next question.”

“Who is Lord Anthony and why do you dislike him?

“He’s a peer who seems to have a fondness for Bella.”

“And?”

“And I don’t trust him.”

“Because he cares for her?”

Luke thought about that. “No, there is more to it. He may fool others, but I have seen what lies beneath that civil veneer and it is not pretty.”

“She’s stunning.”

Luke struggled to follow the swift bite of anger at the words.
 

“I bet she gave her brothers the rounds around growing up.”

Brothers?

 
“Lady Althea.” Ace held Thea’s last name in his mouth as if savoring it, and Luke felt his anger ease.

“Her other brother, the Duke, is a good man. Fair and kind. My father worked for his father, and then him, as did I.”

“Ah, so that’s how you know them all so intimately.”

“We grew up together.”
 

Ace fell silent and they walked side by side in the sun. Around them, the sweet scent of flowers filled the air. He would move out from Will’s shadow, and at the end of the season, he would ask Bella to marry him. She would know then what she had to give up to be with him, and whether he was worth the risk.

***

“Not too fast, Kevin. The streets will be busy at this time of the day, and remember that Monty is feisty so you need to keep an eye on him or he’ll start the others off.”

“Get in the carriage, for pity’s sake, Luke. Kevin has been driving for Finn for years. He knows what he’s about.”

“I never doubted his ability, Will. I was just alerting him to Monty’s behavior in case he was not aware of it.” Luke closed the door behind him and took the seat across from Will and Finn. “He is driving your carriage and your horses; he has not done so before.”

“Thank you for alerting him,” Finn stated calmly.
 

“Why are you here, Ryder?” Luke asked Will. “Surely visiting the crooked Mr. Collins does not concern you.”

“Because two noblemen are more intimidating than one.”

Luke saw the look that passed between them. “What’s the real reason?”

“Always so suspicious for a young man,” Will said, shaking his head.

“There is a year between us,” Luke drawled.

“We have a bet about today’s interview with Collins, Luke. But in the interests of a clear winner, I cannot disclose what.”

“You bet on me?” He looked between them as they nodded. “Noblemen,” he said in disgust. “Always bleating on about the righteousness of gambling, yet conveniently exclude themselves from any wrongdoing.”

Will looked affronted. “I have never bleated in my life.”