A Stranger's Gamble (Lords of Chance Book 3)

by Tarah Scott

  He glared at her, and if he intended to reply, but was interrupted by Lord Blair. “There you are, Adam.” His eyes shifted to Sophie. “And Lady Monthemer is with you.” Lord Blair bowed. “My lady, may I introduce my wife, Lady Blair?”

  The petite woman at his side curtsied. “We have met before, my lady,” she said. “You may remember in Invergarry.”

  Sophie didn’t remember but smiled.

  “And this is Lord Cassilis and his wife, Lady Charlotte,” Lord Blair said.

  Lord Cassilis bowed over Sophie’s hand, and Lady Charlotte curtsied.

  “A pleasure to meet you all,” Sophie said.

  Lady Blair met her gaze. “Perhaps you would like to go with Charlotte and me to the ladies’ retiring room, my lady?”

  “The ladies’ retiring room?” Sophie repeated.

  Lady Blair glanced meaningfully at her hair and Sophie recalled that Adam had mussed her hair.

  “Oh, yes, I would.” She looked at Adam. “Please continue with your business, sir. I shall be fine.”

  Adam blinked and Sophie resisted the urge to grin. She had him on the run.

  His eyes narrowed. Well, perhaps not “on the run.”

  “Sophie—”

  She laid a hand on his arm. “Please, Adam, I will be fine.” She looked at the two men. “Will I not, sirs?”

  They nodded. “You will, my lady,” Lord Blair said.

  “Sophie,” she corrected, then turned to the women. “Shall we, ladies?”

  The two women glanced at their husbands, then linked arms with Sophie and started through the crowd.

  “Like I said, an intelligent woman gets a man into trouble every time,” Lord Cassilis said behind them.

  Lady Blair leaned close to Sophie and said, “Very nicely done.”

  Sophie snapped her head in the woman’s direction. “I beg your pardon?”

  “The way you handled your husband. I knew you and Adam would deal well together.”

  “You knew Adam and I would deal well together? You don’t mean that it was you who—”

  “Well, Charlotte and I.” Lady Blair said.

  “Oh, Adam, there you are,” Lady Ella said behind them. Sophie started to turn, but when Lady Ella said, “You will not believe what your wife did to Lady Fleming,” Sophie kept walking.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Adam scooped up the small lantern on a bench in the lawn as he strode toward the groundskeeper’s cottage. His wife had ejected Lena from their wedding celebration.

  According to Ella, Sophie had told Lena she wasn’t welcome. Sophie was an innocent. He wouldn’t have thought she had the nerve to face an experienced woman like Lena. Though Sophie had defied him and come to the party because she thought his life was at risk. Pride washed over him. Sophie was a loyal woman—everything Lena wasn’t. He was, indeed, a fortunate man.

  He continued on the path, past the tree where Balfour had caught him with Sophie, and, five minutes later, a cottage came into view. Light spilled out of a window into the darkness. Adam reached the cottage, knocked, then entered. Balfour sat at a table with one other man.

  “Glad to see you could make it,” Balfour said. “I had begun to wonder if your wife was too much to resist again.”

  “She is a distraction.” Adam crossed to the table and sat down. “Shall we get down to business?”

  Balfour nodded. “I believe we should.” He lifted the hand hidden by the table and pointed a pistol at Adam. “I would like to have a talk about you and Lord Wilmingly.”

  ***

  Sophie leaned against the chair back in the ladies’ retiring room as Lady Blair and Lady Cassilis continued to chat. Her head whirled. It was they who suggested to their husbands that she and Adam would make a good match. She wasn’t yet certain whether to curse them or thank them. The look in Adam’s eyes when he’d gotten her back to the ballroom had startled her. She’d known he would be angry, but she’d seen fear as well as frustration in his eyes. He’d been worried about her.

  “I suppose we should return to the ballroom if we don’t want our husbands to storm the ladies’ retiring room,” Lady Blair said.

  Sophie pictured Adam charging into the room and couldn’t help a smile.

  “I do believe our newly married Sophie is thinking about her husband,” Lady Cassilis said.

  Sophie’s cheeks warmed. “I was picturing him invading the ladies’ retiring room looking for me. I fear I have given him the impression that I am going to be trouble.”

  Lady Blair laughed. “Good. It’s only proper you set precedence early on. You wouldn’t want him being surprised later.” She stood. “Come, our husbands owe us at least one dance.”

  Lady Cassilis rose, and Sophie followed suit. They brushed past three ladies, who smiled at Sophie. She didn’t know them, but they seemed to know her. She and Lady Blair and Lady Cassilis filed out the door into the small hallway leading to the ballroom. The orchestra strings and flutes echoed in a lively waltz. They reached the ballroom and halted.

  “We might not find them at all,” Lady Blair said. “Let us take a turn around the ballroom.”

  “Please, go without me,” Sophie said. “I believe I will have a bite to eat in the refreshments room.” She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and her stomach was making it known she had ignored it too long.

  Lady Cassilis frowned. “Perhaps we should go together?”

  Sophie shook her head. “Nae. My father and aunt are here. I will look for them. If you do not unearth your husband, you will find me in the refreshments room—unless I locate my family.” They hesitated, and Sophie laughed. “Surely, you are not going to act like my husband?”

  Butterflies skittered across the inside of the stomach.

  Husband.

  She was well and truly married. Her heart fell. Nae. In the eyes of the world, she was married, but she wasn’t truly married. She wouldn’t be until they consummated the marriage in the marriage bed. When would that be?

  “You are sure you will be all right?” Lady Blair asked.

  Sophie smiled and hoped none of her thoughts shone on her face. “Quite sure.”

  “All right, then,” Lady Cassilis said. “We will check in the refreshments room in a bit.”

  “I hope you find your husbands,” Sophie said.

  They smiled, then quickly disappeared into the throng. Sophie spotted a waiter with a tray of champagne and started toward him.

  “Sophie, is that you?” a woman called.

  Sophie turned and cried out at sight of Imogen. Sophie sidestepped two gentlemen to where Imogen stood and threw her arms about her old friend. Imogen hugged her back, and they separated.

  “I had no idea you were here,” Sophie said.

  “I’m not supposed to be here,” Imogen replied.

  Sophie frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Imogen glanced around, then motioned for Sophie to follow her. They hugged the wall until they reached a hallway. Imogen picked up the pace, and Sophie hurried to keep up with her. They reached a room, and Imogen went inside, then closed the door after Sophie entered.

  Imogen spun to face her. “I had no idea you were in town until the day after you were here.”

  “You knew I was here?” Sophie asked in surprise. “Why did you not visit me?”

  “I only heard from the servants the next morning. By then, you were gone.”

  “But it’s so wonderful to see you,” Sophie said. “I’m supposed to leave for Inverness.” She assumed Adam—and her father—would insist she leave tomorrow. “But now that I know you are here, I will insist on staying a few more days.”

  Imogen shook her head. “That is what I am here to tell you. You must leave as soon as possible. You are in danger.”

  “From your brother?”

  “Step-brother,” Imogen shot back. “He is no brother of mine. But, yes, from him. I believe he intends to kill you.”

  Sophie gasped. “Kill me?”

  Her mind catapulted back to th
e night Mr. Balfour insisted she and Adam marry. He had forced her marriage to Adam in order to ensure she would be under Adam’s control and wouldn’t be able to report Adam to the authorities for his criminal activities, and by extension, protect Mr. Balfour.

  “He has no reason to want to kill me,” she said.

  “He knows your husband is trying to trap him into revealing where he hid the gold he stole from the king,” Imogen said.

  How could Mr. Balfour possibly know Adam was working for the Crown?

  “If he knows, why didn’t he kill Adam and me when he found us in the garden?” she asked.

  “He learned the truth only fifteen minutes ago.”

  Sophie pinned Imogen with a stare. Though she had fond memories of Imogen, Sophie had to admit that she didn’t really know her anymore.

  “How do you know all this?” Sophie asked.

  Imogen’s expression clouded. “I learned long ago to pay attention to Kenrich’s business. When I discovered that you had been here and he had forced you to marry Lord Monthemer, I paid close attention to Kenrich. He is a very suspicious man.” She gave a dark laugh. “He believes everyone is dishonest because he is dishonest. He has many connections. I do not know which of his connections told him about Lord Monthemer, but I do know someone did.”

  “Good God.” Sophie remembered Mr. Balfour telling Adam to meet him at the groundskeeper’s cottage. Sophie took two steps to Imogen and grasped her hands. “Where is the groundskeeper’s cottage?”

  Imogen frowned. “What? Why?”

  “Your stepbrother instructed Adam to meet him there.”

  Sophie’s mind raced. Mr. Balfour and his companion had been on the way to the groundskeeper’s cottage when they had come upon her and Adam. He had said the cottage was on the path.

  “I must go.” Sophie pulled the door open and hurried from the room.

  Imogen caught up with her. “Where are you going?”

  “The groundkeeper’s cottage.”

  “But why? Oh, Sophie, you must leave. This is too dangerous.”

  “No more dangerous than it is for you,” she replied.

  Imogen shook her head. “I am perfectly safe—at least until my twenty-fifth birthday. That is when I am to receive my trust. Then Kenrich will not need me anymore.”

  They neared the ballroom. Sophie halted and grasped Imogen’s hands. “I am so sorry I knew nothing of your troubles all these years. I thought you were off living a grand life in France. Once this is over, we shall make up for lost time. For now, I need you to find my father or aunt and tell them what you have told me.” She took a breath. “Then tell them I have gone to the groundskeeper’s cottage to help Adam.”

  “I do not know your aunt, and t has been so long. Will I know your father?” Imogen asked.

  Sophie laughed. “Ask anyone who Madeline Forsyth is. Everyone knows her. Can you do that?”

  Imogen nodded. “I will find them right away.”

  Sophie hugged her, then they hurried to the ballroom and parted ways.

  ***

  Adam glanced at the other man sitting to Balfour’s left, then returned his attention to Balfour. “Lord Wilmingly? What about him?”

  “How he engaged you to find the gold I am accused of stealing from the king,” Balfour replied.

  “You did steal gold from the king.” There was no use in pretending they didn’t know why they were here. “As for Wilmingly,” Adam continued, “I have nothing to do with him.”

  Balfour shook his head. “I am deeply disappointed. We would have made excellent partners. It’s my fault, I suppose. I should have known a man who paid his father’s debts was simply too honest.”

  “You’re a fool if you believe that.” Adam had known the fact he’d paid his father’s debts would be his undoing.

  “Brigands do not pay their father’s debts.” Balfour said.

  “Not that.” Adam paused for effect, then said, “I didn’t pay my father’s debts. Well, at least not most of them.”

  Balfour lifted a brow. “Everyone knows you paid his debts and made yourself a pauper in the bargain.”

  “Everyone thinks that because I paid just enough to set the rumor into motion.”

  “Why would you do that?” Balfour demanded.

  “Because I wanted to obtain a sizeable loan from the bank, and I knew they wouldn’t extend the loan if they thought creditors were waiting in the wings to seize the funds once I had them in hand.”

  Balfour’s eyes narrowed. “If you hadn’t paid those creditors, they would be shouting their demands from the rooftop.”

  Adam met his gaze squarely. “They are keeping quiet for the very reason you approached me: I am a skilled businessman. I negotiated with them for their silence. As things are now, they stand to gain nothing by making demands. My father lost all our property, except the entailed estate, which cannot be sold. I told them I was in the middle of a business deal, and if they remained quiet about my father’s debts, I would pay them once I received funds. Of course, I expected to obtain a loan—of which they would have received nothing. Then fortune smiled on me, and I married Miss Shaw.

  “Granted, my marriage has pulled me from the brink of ruin, but my wife’s dowry will ensure I keep the creditors quiet until I have obtained the loan. Then…” He shrugged. “They are welcome to take me to court.”

  “That would be a clever trick, indeed.”

  Adam shrugged again. “The creditors have nothing to lose by remaining silent for a short time.”

  “I think he’s too slick,” the other man said.

  “Oh, Lord Monthemer is, indeed, slick,” Balfour said. “Sadly, I believe our king has made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

  Adam laughed. “There is no offer the king could possibly make that would benefit me more than the agreement I made with you.” He pinned Balfour with a hard look. “Unless, that is, you do not know when our king is transporting his gold.”

  “Oh, I do, indeed, know,” Balfour said. “But I want to be certain you aren’t telling him what I have told you.”

  “I have not spoken with Wilmingly or the king or anyone else associated with him.”

  That much was true. He had yet to report anything Balfour had told him. Though Adam hadn’t detected anyone following him, he knew Balfour for the suspicious sort he was, and Adam felt certain Balfour had people watching him. If the king knew Adam hadn’t reported that Balfour intended to rob the king’s shipment, they would likely toss him into prison—which was why Adam counted on finding the gold Balfour had stolen.

  Balfour sighed. “A pity. You would have made a good partner.” He lifted the gun.

  Adam tensed in readiness to shove the table up and at the two men. A knock sounded on the door. Balfour jerked his head in that direction. Adam shoved the table onto the men as he dived for the door. The pistol roared. The door flew open, and Adam rolled and came up in a squat. He glimpsed Sophie, muff pistol gripped in one hand as she leveled the weapon on something beyond him and fired.

  Movement in the corner of his eye yanked Adam’s attention to the left, and he leapt forward as the unidentified man charged Sophie. Adam rammed his shoulder into the man’s gut and forced him backward into the wall. He glimpsed Balfour pushing to his feet from behind the overturned table.

  Another weapon roared. Adam rammed his fist into the man’s jaw, then whirled and took two steps before his mind registered Balfour on the floor, and Sophie, still standing just inside the doorway, pointing a revolver with a whisp of smoke rising from the hammer. A large stain grew on the front of Balfour’s waistcoat. Sophie swung her gaze to Adam. He reached her in three paces and grasped the hand holding the revolver.

  “You can release the revolver, Sophie,” he said gently.

  She looked at him. “He meant to kill you.”

  Adam nodded. “Aye, but I am well.”

  She released the weapon, and he took it. Adam caught sight of three figures racing the last few feet to the cottage. Liam Sh
aw, his sister, and another young woman Adam didn’t recognize.

  “What in bloody hell is going on?” Liam demanded as he rushed past the two women into the cottage.

  “It would seem my wife saved my life,” Adam said.

  “Is he dead?” Madeline demanded.

  “I suspect Balfour is,” Adam said. “The other man is only unconscious.”

  The young woman crossed to Balfour and knelt beside him. She pressed a finger to his neck, then stood. “Yes,” she said without taking her eyes off him. “He is dead.”

  “Then this business is finished,” Liam said. “We will send for a constable.” He looked at Adam. “Did you get the information you needed?”

  Adam slipped an arm around Sophie. “Nae. Our king will have to do without his stolen gold.”

  “Oh, I know where the gold is hidden,” the girl said.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  A noise outside the window caught Sophie’s attention. She paused in writing the first letter she would send to Imogen from Brewhold, and she looked out the parlor window. Adam, coat off, sleeves rolled up his forearms, stood alongside young Calum as they fitted a wheel to the rear of a wagon. Her pulse quickened when Adam’s shirt went taut across his back. God help her. What was it about the mere sight of the man that sent butterflies skittering across the insides of her stomach?

  A month had passed since she’d shot Kenrich Balfour. No charges had been filed against her for his death. She had, after all, been protecting her husband. Imogen had led them to the gold, which was beneath the very floorboards where they stood in the groundskeeper’s cottage. The necklace stolen from the Duke of Bransbury was nowhere to be found. King George, however, was satisfied, and Adam had received a handsome reward.

  Adam had been a paragon of a husband—kind, patient, solicitous. But not a real husband. They had yet to consummate their marriage. Maybe all men really were alike. Much promise of passion before marriage, then…nothing. Or maybe he simply didn’t see her that way.

  The two men got the wheel fitted to the wagon, and Adam clapped Calum on the back, then turned. As if aware she was watching, Adam looked up. He lifted his brows in question, and her cheeks heated. He started toward the castle, and she told herself to look away but watched until he was out of view. Her spirits sagged, but she forced her attention back to her letter to Imogen.