A Beginner's Guide to Rakes Read Online Free PDF

only party who is guaranteed to have money at the end of the evening is the gambling establishment.”
    “There are a dozen high-class gentlemen’s clubs here already, my dear. You’re not the first to come to this conclusion.”
    “Frederick’s idiotic wagering took everything from me, Oliver. Now it is my turn. My club will be extremely exclusive. And given that the Monarch Club property was just sold to some merchant wanting to open a shop in Mayfair, my club will be here, at Adam House. The architecture and floor plan are nearly ideal, and very little need be done to render it perfect. Every one of my employees will be female, well educated, and attractive. The—”
    “So you’re going to manage a brothel.”
    Her cheeks darkened. “Absolutely not. Sex is not the vice I aim to exploit. I am invariably disappointed by its brevity and arbitrariness.”
    Whether she meant to aim that particular barb at him or not, Oliver wasn’t about to lose the path of the conversation because of an insult. “That explains the lady butler at your door. You do have an elderly fellow in your stable, however.”
    “I never said men aren’t capable of shifting manure. You seem supremely well suited for it, in fact.”
    “And this is how you ask for money? I’d hate to hear you flat-out insult someone.”
    She hesitated. It was only a heartbeat, a brief lowering of her eyes, but he saw it. Not very long ago he’d earned his way by finding weak points in others and making them bleed any blunt he could get his hands on. This time he waited. Whatever it was about her that irked him also made him curious. Lamentable but true.
    “Whatever my employees choose to do privately will not be my concern, as long as it doesn’t reflect badly on the club. So no, I am not opening a brothel. If anyone should choose to think so and decide to pay my membership fee because of that … misapprehension, I have no objection.”
    “You have some interesting ideas, I admit, but I’ve never heard of a woman opening a club that didn’t feature sex. And if you’re assuming you’ll remain Society’s new darling once words become deeds, you’re sadly mistaken.” He pulled out his pocket watch and clicked it open. “It’s an unsound enterprise, and I won’t throw money at it.”
    “What would convince you to do so?”
    “In general? Partial ownership, a guaranteed percentage of the profits, a say in which games were offered and who was granted membership. Specifically? I’ve been in bed with you, Diane. I don’t care to repeat my mistakes.”
    She sighed. “I’d hoped you would see that I don’t much care what Society makes of me, as long as they continue speculating. And I thought you might realize that I intend to do this, whatever your unasked-for thoughts on the matter.”
    “Determination does not make a business successful, my dear.”
    “Men who flee my bed so swiftly they leave their waistcoats behind aren’t permitted to call me ‘my dear.’” She pulled a folded piece of paper from that half-open drawer. Considering he’d expected to see a pistol or a dagger, he was slightly relieved. “And before you pretend to be insulted and slink off again,” she continued, “you should read this.”
    Frowning, he sat forward and pulled the paper toward him. “If you mean to publish a memoir about my ‘slinking,’ as you call it, pray keep in mind that I know a few unpleasant things about you, as well. Aside from that, I don’t embarrass easily.”
    She flicked her fingers toward the note. “Read.”
    Oliver unfolded the paper. In neat cursive two lines curled across the otherwise bare page: “I have a sworn statement from Tomas DuChamps affirming that you cheated him and four other gentlemen at cards in the amount of 812 pounds on the twenty-seventh of April 1816.”
    Murder . That was what the chit deserved. Murder. Black fury flashing through him, Oliver snapped to his feet. “You little b—”
    The pistol in her hand