How to Entice an Earl Read Online Free PDF Page B

would turn out to be quite such a complication.
    He’d known she would not be pleased, of course, to learn of his suspicions about her brother, but if things worked out as he hoped they would, she need never know about them. There was a fifty-fifty chance that the man who met with the Citizen’s Liberation Society operative tonight would be John Tinker and not Lady Madeline’s brother. He sent up a silent prayer that it would be the case, because if he had to face Maddie after he informed on her brother for treason, whatever one could call their relationship would cease to exist.
    Aside from the problem of Maddie, he had also discovered, as he trailed Lord Linton and Tinker from gaming hell to gaming hell these past couple of weeks, that he no longer found that kind of life enjoyable. He wasn’t sure if it was his recent inheritance, or a newfound sense of maturity, but whatever the case the sight of young men losing their family fortunes on the turn of a card made him slightly ill. Just this week, in between more genteel ton gatherings, he’d seen Lord Linton lose a small fortune at various entertainments. And the more he lost, the more fevered his gaze on the cards became.
    He wondered if Maddie was aware of her brother’s gambling obsession. Doubtless her parents were since no one could lose that amount of money without needing to apply to a parent for more. Recalling her defense of him earlier, he hoped that she was not. He would not like to see that sibling relationship jeopardized.
    Even so, he wished that Linton had not been quite so easy to persuade when it came to bringing Maddie to Mrs. Bailey’s tonight. He knew of course that Maddie could be determined, but he hadn’t dreamed that she’d be able to convince her brother to bring her along.
    Granted, it was mild so far as gaming hells went. Mrs. Bailey ran a tight ship, and was quite strict about what she did and did not allow to happen within the walls of her establishment. She kept the doors leading abovestairs locked so that amorous couples wouldn’t be able to wander about in search of privacy. And she did not allow just anyone to enter the place. Entrance was by invitation only, and she was not above turning someone—even someone with pockets full of the ready—away should she dislike the look of them. Even so, he certainly would not have brought his own sister to such a place.
    A familiar pain struck at the thought of Clarissa, but he dismissed it. This was about Maddie and her brother, not him.
    Just as soon as she returned from the retiring room, he would suggest strongly to Maddie that she return home. If her brother chose to escort her, then he would know for sure that it was Tinker who was to meet the contact from the Citizen’s Liberation Society. And that would reassure him on two fronts.

 
     
    Three
     
    Maddie was still fuming as she pressed through the doors of the chamber Mrs. Bailey had set aside for ladies. What right had Gresham to read her a scold? He was nothing to her. So what if he was concerned that Winterson or Cecily might chide him for her presence here? That didn’t mean that the blame lay with him and not with Linton. Not that she was saying blame needed to be ascribed at all. She was perfectly capable of making her own decisions and she had chosen to come here tonight. Linton had simply agreed to be her escort. That her parents would be less than pleased should they learn of her visit here was beside the point.
    And Gresham! Was there ever such a man for plaguing a young lady? One minute he was giving her looks that would scorch the paint off a fence, and the next he was reading her a scold. It was enough to make her wish to cut his acquaintance altogether.
    She should have known he would be here tonight, she fumed as she removed her gloves and stared at herself in the cheval glass Mrs. Bailey had provided. Why was it that the only gentleman who roused her to any sort of passion was Gresham, of all people? She already