“Name the day,” he said, knowing he’d not beat Aaron again.
“Excellent.” Aaron clapped his hands together. “So, what now?”
Nicholas looked at Helen, the need to propose to her, kiss her and make love to her, all fighting for supremacy.
“We shall probably sleep for three days,” she said, laughing. “Then we have a lot to discuss.” She turned to him, her gaze slipping over his body, and he knew their thoughts were aligned. “We have a future to plan.”
He silently agreed, but meant to decide on their future before closing his eyes tonight. “We shall leave you now. I promised to escort Helen home. Denton is determined to ensure Peel punishes the culprits and means to wait to read the statements.”
The sudden jeering from the card room stole their attention.
Aaron glanced at the closed door and mumbled in frustration. “I need to get back to the tables, but before you go, I advise you keep a watchful eye on Miss Ferrington.”
Helen jerked her head, almost spilling her sherry. “Mina? Why?”
“Masters played hazard here last night. As well as winning the entire contents of Claverly’s stable, Broadwell’s home in Brighton and Dunston’s racing curricle, he won ten thousand pounds from Sir Thomas Ferrington.”
“Ten thousand!” Helen almost choked on the news. “But Sir Thomas hasn’t a penny to his name. He hasn’t paid last month’s creditors, and Mina had to sell her mother’s diamond necklace last week.”
“I know. As a responsible club owner, I persuaded Masters to give the fool three months to pay. But I suggest you speak to Sir Thomas privately and see what can be done about his gaming addiction. I’ve barred him from the club, but not every proprietor is as considerate.”
Helen released a weary sigh. “Are we ever to have any peace?”
Nicholas reached across the sofa and captured her hand. “I shall speak to Masters and Sir Thomas in the next few days. But we’ve finally got a moment to breathe freely again, and I don’t want to think about their troubles tonight.”
He wanted to lose himself in her arms.
Not spend the next few hours worrying about Miss Ferrington.
Her gaze searched his face. She must have read his expression. “Then let us leave now before Fortune’s Den is reduced to rubble.”
Indeed, Sigmund knocked on the door and burst into the room without being prompted. “Forgive the intrusion, but Winward has just lost his father’s gold pocket watch and is tearing round the room in a violent rage.”
Aaron shot to his feet. “Please excuse me while I throttle Winward. I suggest you leave now before a fight ensues. Sigmund will see you safely out. Remember, after my efforts, I expect a wedding invitation.”
Keen to return to the melee, Sigmund ushered them to the front door and practically pushed them over the threshold.
“Now I know why Mr Chance has a fighting pit in his basement,” Helen said. She held his arm tightly as he led her to the hired carriage parked further along Aldgate Street. “He must be involved in scuffles most nights.”
“Hence why he enjoys brawling with men who prove a challenge.”
While he had promised Aaron a rematch, he couldn’t risk taking a punch to the head, risk ruining the life he had craved for so long.
They reached the carriage and Nicholas helped her inside. He instructed the driver to take them to Grosvenor Street, then settled back in the seat to stare at the woman he loved.
“You’ve said very little about Laurence Russell,” she said, and he knew she meant to dive deep into his psyche to understand the reason for his cool reserve. “You must find it all quite distressing.”
Bile bubbled to his throat as he considered all he had learned. It was a physical reaction to emotional pain, and he knew it was wrong to suppress it or let it fester.
“Do you know what makes me saddest of all?”
“That your mother never told you about your brothers?”
Yes, that bothered him, but Esther was not always of sound mind, and there was no point grieving for a relationship he’d never had. “No, it’s what she lost having Robert Holland’s children.”
Helen cast him a sympathetic smile. “You mean she lost her friends and her reputation?”
“She lost her sanity,” Nicholas said solemnly. “In giving her virtue, she gave that bastard her life. I wonder if my father knew, if that’s why he tolerated her erratic moods.”