Her eyes flashed with a sheen of purpose. “Don’t be difficult. What of rumors of your involvement with your brother’s death? You may not think I’m aware, or that they are of concern now, but they are.”
Ian froze. He couldn’t believe she was dragging Matthew’s death into their conversation. “Are you suggesting you believe the malicious gossip of magpies?”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe. The talk, combined with tonight’s gossip, will ensure wagging tongues follow your sisters at every Society function for years. What respectable family would want their son to marry into ours? You must think of your sisters.”
His gut twisted at the cold reality of her words. Matthew’s death was a dark specter that haunted Ian. Who would believe he had tried to convince his brother not to ride the treacherous Devil’s Leap track that day?
Ian shut out the hurt and felt the familiar armor encase his heart. He was a businessman, and he forced himself to analyze the decision before him as if he were adding a new roulette table or additional boxing ring to the club.
As his wife, Grace’s title and reputation would help launch his sisters properly into Society. They wouldn’t need Lady Taddlesworth’s assistance. Ian disliked the widow on sight. Grace’s continued tutelage would allow him to polish his rough edges and ensure he acted the perfect gentleman when required. Her lack of dowry didn’t dissuade him.
Then there was Grace herself. He’d get to bed her nightly. Possess her body until his crazed need for her subsided.
But what of the Raven Club?
Grace had made her position clear. She’d never marry a man who owned a casino. His mother would agree with her, but despite his mother’s demands to dispose of the Raven Club, he had no intention of doing so. He would live life on his own terms after the wedding.
He could tell Grace he’d sell the Raven, but not search for a buyer. Whether he went through with a sale or not, after tonight, Grace did not have a choice.
She must marry him or face ruin.
His jaw hardened in determination, and he met his mother’s gaze. “I shall speak with the baron tomorrow.”
“Good. You must arrange for a special license. It must be handled quickly. Meanwhile, I’ll tell Lady Taddlesworth that I knew of your secret engagement. I can only hope it ensures her silence until the wedding.”
The more he thought of the arrangement, the more convinced he became that the benefits outweighed the detriments. He would continue to live as he always had.
A wife, even one as tempting as Grace, would change nothing.
…
As soon as the carriage whisked away Ian’s mother and Lady Taddlesworth, Ian headed for the Raven Club. Brooks had been overseeing the club while Ian took his lessons with Grace, and he needed to speak with him now.
Ian spotted Brooks by the roulette table and quickly summarized the night’s events.
Brooks shot him an incredulous look after learning everything. “You really did it this time.”
Ian watched a group of wealthy men place bets. The roulette wheel spun and Ian marveled at how much life was like gambling. The odds were always stacked against you.
The wheel stopped. “Twenty-three black,” his croupier called out. All those crowded around the table let out a groan as the croupier collected their lost bets. A small fortune. The club would do well tonight.
“I didn’t have a choice. My mother and her acquaintance, a gossip, discovered Grace and me together.”
“You always have a choice.”
“Should I have let the lady be ruined?”
“Why care?”
Brooks was watching him closely, too closely. “You’re right,” Ian said. “I’ve always said no one can force my hand, not even my mother. My father, the old bastard, had tried and failed.” Brooks knew about Ian’s past and how his father had attempted to marry Ian off to a simple-minded country neighbor.
“Then why agree to marry the lady?”
“Blackmail by guilt.”
“Your mother blackmailed you?”
“In essence. My mother pointed out that the talk of Matthew’s death, combined with the inevitable scandal from tonight, would harm my sisters’ chances for future happiness.”
“I never thought I’d see the day. Ian Swift coerced. It’s always been you doing the persuading.”
He knew what Brooks was referring to. Ian was a ruthless businessman and had often used information from the Raven Club’s clientele to his advantage.
“The marriage to Grace has its advantages. She’ll assist my sisters. She’ll continue with my lessons. As my wife, we’ll no longer need to meet in secret at night. She’s beautiful and no hardship to bed. She’s been raised as a proper baron’s daughter and accepted by the beau monde. She has been overseeing her father’s household for some time and has the skills to efficiently run my household. As for her lack of dowry, it is insignificant to me.” Ian rattled off the reasons like one of his croupiers at the club calling out winning numbers.
“That’s all?”
“What else?”
“I’ve met the lady. I think she’s gotten under your skin.”
“Don’t be an ass. I’m attracted to her. What man wouldn’t be?”
“Hmm. What of the club? Despite your beliefs that a marriage is solely a business arrangement, your wife may have a say in how you run your life.”
At Brooks’s questioning look, Ian snapped out. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It’s simple. Would she accept a man who owns a gambling club when her own father is a reckless gambler? She may take your mother’s side and insist you sell the place.”
She already has. “Her opinion on the matter is meaningless.”
“Don’t be daft. She has to agree to marry you.”
Ian knew the club could be an issue. His mother had insisted he sell the Raven Club after inheriting the earldom.
But Grace…
Grace’s disapproval of the Raven Club was for entirely different reasons. She didn’t care what others thought. Grace believed gambling had ruined her father, and she despised casinos. Grace and her young brother were victims of the baron’s addiction.
But the Raven Club had saved Ian. The casino floor held a piece of his soul, and he was not willing to relinquish it. He hadn’t spoken of his past with Grace, and it was not something that he shared with anyone. Only Brooks knew the truth of how he came to open the club.
He was surprised at how badly he wanted Grace to marry him. For a man who swore never to marry, he was uncomfortable with this need to bind her to him. Yes, her consent was required in order to shield his sisters from the taint of scandal. But he also realized that he’d grown to admire her, a first for any woman of his acquaintance. She had admirable traits. Loyalty to her family and her father—a man whom in Ian’s opinion did not deserve his daughter’s loyalty or love. She was intelligent, feisty, and headstrong, traits some men didn’t value in a lady, but Ian was not one of them. To the contrary, he had grown to look forward to conversing with her. He also found her more and more desirable with each evening visit.
If he wasn’t careful, she’d bewitch him, and Ian could never allow that to happen.