Tempted by a Rake’s Smile: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Meghan Sloan

  He was about to start the next game when the dealer looked up, over Gabriel’s shoulder, and straightened up. The other players around the table turned to whoever it was standing behind Gabriel’s chair. Gabriel didn’t need to look to know who it was.

  “Afternoon, Norman. I didn’t think you were still here.”

  “Of course I am.” Norman moved into sight, his expression a look of thunder. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Gabriel?”

  Gabriel had never seen Norman look so angry. He raised his glass.

  “What does it look like? I’m trying to have a good time.”

  “With what? You haven’t got the money, and you certainly shouldn’t be drinking.”

  “I got credit. I said you signed off on it.” Gabriel took a swig and shrugged, “I didn’t think you would mind.”

  “You were wrong,” Norman growled.

  The room had become very silent. Gabriel knew that Norman wasn’t a regular visitor into the main hall, but when he was, he was mild-mannered and interacted when he needed to. Keeping things going until he passed ownership to someone else. Nobody would have seen him this furious. Norman growled at the dealer, who openly flinched.

  “Deal him out of this. He’s not to be dealt anything from now until the day he dies. If you do, I’ll make sure you can’t get another job.”

  The dealer blanched, and he nodded. Gabriel frowned.

  “It wasn’t his fault.”

  “He knows you’re not supposed to be playing here. Father made it clear when you got disowned. Everyone was made aware.” Norman swung around to the steward who had been serving the drinks. “Why didn’t anyone tell me he was down here before? Why do I have to find out two hours after he was supposed to have left?”

  “We didn’t know, Mr. Montgomery.” The man was practically shaking, “When he said you had given him credit, we thought you had allowed him to start again.”

  Norman growled.

  “When this man says something like that, you need to come to me and let me know. I’m the one who decides who plays here and who doesn’t, not you.” Then he grabbed Gabriel’s arm and hauled him to his feet. “Get me some coffee, and a lot of it, and then bring it to my office. Now!”

  The steward scurried away. The other patrons were still watching in silence, the employees clearly nervous. Gabriel was getting a little nervous himself. Even drunk as he was, he was beginning to realise that maybe he had messed up his chances to become the new owner. Norman could easily go back on what they had agreed; nothing was signed, so he had the ability to turn Gabriel down.

  He had really screwed things up.

  With the help of another steward, Norman got Gabriel up the stairs and into the study Gabriel had vacated only a few short hours ago. Gabriel was practically thrown into one of the chairs by the fire, almost falling out and onto the floor. The steward left and Norman stood over Gabriel with his arms folded and a dark scowl. He was practically shaking.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing, Gabriel? Did you want to jeopardise everything?”

  “Give over.” Gabriel waved a hand, “I can handle it.”

  “I don’t think you can. You know you’ll be in deeper trouble if this gets back to your father, and I certainly know it will, seeing as a lot of people in that room are friends of his.”

  Gabriel hadn’t thought of that. He had been visiting Montgomery’s for so long and focusing on himself that he had forgotten that there would be people there who would know the family. It was them who had notified Derek Tattershall that his son was racking up more debts than he could afford. Gabriel had no one to blame but himself on that.

  The coffee arrived pretty rapidly, and Norman sent the steward away with a sharp word. He poured out a cup and carried it over to Gabriel, crouching beside the chair as he held the cup out.

  “Drink. It’ll help with the alcohol.”

  “I’m fine. I’m perfectly aware of things.”

  Norman snorted.

  “No, you’re not. You’ve had at least a dozen drinks, from looking at your tab. If you want to buy this place from me, you do as you’re told. Now drink!”

  Gabriel glared at him, but his friend wasn’t budging. Grumbling, Gabriel snatched the cup and almost spilled it, taking a sip. It burned his mouth, but it made him sit up. He adjusted his hold on the cup to prevent himself from spilling it.

  “I wish everyone would stop treating me like a child,” he grumbled.

  “If you didn’t want to be treated like a child, you shouldn’t have behaved like one.” Norman rose to his feet and came around to stand before him with his arms folded. “Are you insane? I know I want to sell this place, but I’m not going to give Montgomery’s to a drunk.”

  “I’m not a drunk!”

  “You’re close enough if you’re not.” Norman shook his head. “Do you want me to let your father know about this? If my patrons don’t, I certainly will. And I guarantee he’s not going to be happy.”

  Gabriel knew that. Derek had threatened to send him abroad to America or Australia if he carried on his ways, cut off completely. He would have to work for his money, and as he had never worked before, Gabriel would be stuck. He wouldn’t be able to cope.

  He stared at the cup in his hand as realisation dawned. Everyone had told him that this would ruin him, and that Gabriel needed to step up and take responsibility. Gabriel had scoffed, saying he would be able to cope, and he had. For the most part. Now he had slipped back into his old ways and Gabriel now knew the gravity of his situation. He was teetering on the edge of being sent away completely.

  Away from Cassandra Seton.

  All of this because of a kiss. Gabriel had never become unglued like this before, and never expected it to be because of a woman. Certainly not a woman he couldn’t have.

  Gabriel concentrated on drinking the coffee. Black wasn’t how he would take it, but it seemed to be working. He was feeling less lightheaded and sluggish and more alert. Norman made him drink the lot, which had Gabriel’s stomach tightening as it filled with coffee. But it was making him feel less drunk.

  “I think that’s enough.” He held out the now empty cup. “No more.”

  “You think you’re able to think coherently now?”

  “I’ve been thinking coherently since the first sip. My stomach won’t appreciate it anymore.”

  Norman grunted. He took the cup and put it on the tray on his desk. Then he settled into the chair across from Gabriel, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees. He didn’t look angry anymore. He looked worried.

  “What’s the matter with you? I thought you were going home.”

  “I decided to stay. Far more interesting than going home and doing things at the cottage.”

  “That’s not it. Not when you were so determined to leave a short while ago.” Norman frowned, “What happened to make you change your mind?”

  Gabriel thought about lying. But he found he couldn’t with Norman. He needed someone to talk to about this. Allen wasn’t here, and if he knew about the gambling and the drinking, his valet would immediately go and tell his father. And there was no chance of Gabriel confiding in Percy. Gabriel hung his head.

  “Miss Seton was waiting outside when I left. She was waiting for me. We...we got into it. An argument of sorts, I mean.”

  “An argument with a woman doesn’t normally leave a man wanting to gamble what he doesn’t have.” Norman raised his eyebrows. “What did she do that rattled you?”

  Gabriel gritted his teeth. God, this was embarrassing. Never did he think he would find himself discussing a woman who had the ability to put him on the back foot and refused to let him do anything except topple.

  “I kissed her. I know I shouldn’t have, but I did.” Gabriel didn’t look up. “And now...it was only a short while ago, but I can’t stop thinking about it. It...it would have followed me home and would have plagued me. I…” He swallowed, “I needed a distraction, and I guess I went the wrong way about it.�
�

  “You certainly went the wrong way about it.” Norman’s voice was laced with sarcasm. “So, you kissed the woman you had been trying to give to your brother? You certainly know how to pick them, Gabriel.”

  “This isn’t amusing, Norman.”

  “I never said it was.” Norman sat back. “You’ve just made it all the more complicated for yourself. Just ridiculous.”

  Gabriel knew that. He had been berating himself about it for hours now. Even now, he could remember the taste of Cassandra’s mouth, the feel of her supple body pressed up against his chest, how her breasts moulded against his body…

  Stop! Now is not the time.

  “I thought this would be easy, but now…” he slumped back, staring at the ceiling, “I’m not so sure.”

  “You really do have it bad for her.”

  Gabriel didn’t bother to deny it. Not even to himself. What he was feeling for Cassandra was more intense than he had ever experienced. It shouldn’t even be possible. They had only had a handful of interactions, and yet that was enough to emit a spark between the two of them. Cassandra felt it, too, if that kiss was anything to go by. And it had turned Gabriel upside-down.

  He rubbed his hands over his face.

  “She’s infuriating. Beautiful, fiery, kind and compassionate, doesn’t suffer fools gladly. But infuriating. Suspicious. Single-minded.”

  “Flaws are often outweighed by the good things, depending on the person,” Norman pointed out.

  “She’s not the type of woman I would pay attention to in normal circumstances.”

  “You wouldn’t have met her under normal circumstances.” Norman paused, tilting his head. “Is it because you can’t have her that you find her attractive?”

  “I thought about that, and I don’t think that’s the case. I felt it here,” Gabriel rubbed his chest, which was still feeling tight, “when I first saw her. When she literally bumped into me. She’s...she’s something else.”

  He did have it bad. And Gabriel hated it. His father had said while they were arguing and Gabriel was being thrown out of the house that when he finally found someone he could fall in love with, he would experience that it wasn’t as simple or as foolish as Gabriel had once declared. He was beginning to find that out now, in harsh reality.

  “What am I going to do?”

  “You’re going to have to step back and leave her be,” Norman said solemnly. “Your brother wants to court her, and you were the one who put them together in the first place. You need to step away.”

  “I know, but…” Gabriel closed his eyes, “I’m not sure if I can.”

  “You’re going to have to. What are you going to do? Marry her yourself?” Norman grunted. “That’s going to be interesting with you in charge here and her father in charge of the other.”

  “Who said anything about marrying her?”

  But the thought of marriage didn’t scare Gabriel as much as he thought it would. If it had been anyone else - that woman Jessica Gibson, for instance - Gabriel would have balked. The idea of marriage with his old self didn’t sit well. His parents had been pestering him to find a good, respectable girl and settle down. If he didn’t, they would have found her themselves.

  However, marriage to Cassandra...that wasn’t as frightening as Gabriel thought it would be. And that was very sobering, because he knew that he could never really have her.

  “I’ll instruct my carriage to take you home.” Norman shot to his feet and threw Gabriel a glare. “You do that again, and you can forget about the agreement to buy this place. Like I said, I don’t deal with drunks.”

  #

  “Miss Seton.”

  Cassandra turned, and her heart sank. Percy was approaching her across the terrace, looking at her in concern. She had hoped she could have a moment outside, away from everyone. It had felt like everything was pressing in on her, and Cassandra hadn’t been able to concentrate.

  She didn’t want to ruin the Duke and Duchess’ ball because she wasn’t feeling up for socialising. Percy had invited her along as his guest, and she hadn’t wanted to disappoint him. This was meant to be a chance to get to know him more.

  But all Cassandra could think about was the kiss with his older brother. And it was consuming her to the point where she couldn’t enjoy a social gathering with the man she was supposed to be seeing romantically.

  She swallowed back a hard lump in her throat and managed a smile.

  “Mr. Tattershall. You seem to be in the habit of coming to find me when I wander off on my own.”

  “I noticed.” Percy stopped before her, his eyes drifting over her face. “You seemed very distracted while we were dancing.”

  “It’s…” Cassandra bit her lip. “It’s been a difficult time so far.”

  That was an understatement. It was all Cassandra could do not to blurt out to Percy that she had been having thoughts about his brother. He would be upset, and angry, and Cassandra knew it was her fault.

  She shouldn’t have returned the kiss. She should have been pushing him away, slapping him and telling the man not to bother her again. But that hadn’t happened. Instead, Cassandra had kissed him like she was starving.

  She had never been a wanton woman before. It was just whenever she was around Gabriel, Cassandra was very aware of herself as a woman. One who wanted a man she should have no business wanting. Gabriel was the last person her father would approve of as a match, due to his past and family history. That should have been the end of it for Cassandra. They couldn’t be together. Both of them knew it.

  So why was it so difficult to put it aside and chalk it up to a mistake?

  “Difficult?” Percy frowned. “Your father’s not unwell, is he?”

  “What? Oh, no, he’s perfectly well, all things considered.” As well as anyone could be preparing for a funeral. “I...I’ve just got a lot of things on my mind.”

  “I understand.” Percy touched her shoulder, his hand warm through his glove. “I know you love Seton’s, but you need to remember that you’re not in charge. You don’t need to worry so much.”

  “I suppose…” Cassandra stopped. What did he just say? She stared at him. “You knew? How did…?”

  “Father knew. He has a few friends who frequent Seton’s.”

  “And the fact my father is in charge of a gambling hall doesn’t bother you?”

  “Not really,” Percy shrugged. “Father was dubious, but you impressed him. And you certainly impressed me.”

  That was something. Cassandra felt some relief lift off her shoulders. If only that could make her feel any better. She swallowed and tried a sly smile, but it fell short of what she wanted.

  “Did you think I was going to be uncouth and unladylike?”

  “We weren’t sure what we were going to get, if I’m honest,” Percy’s expression warmed. “But we’re pleased with how you presented yourself.”

  “I can be ladylike when I need to be.” Cassandra lifted her chin. “But just be aware that the other side of me will come out and I’m not one to hold back.”

  Percy chuckled.

  “I’ll remember that. Although I think I like the sweeter side of you.”

  He would. Percy was just sweet all over. He was still a little awkward socially, and Cassandra had witnessed it throughout the evening, but it was endearing. Percy was just a sweetheart, and it was a wonder no woman had seen that.