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Chapter 185
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The League of Rogues Chapter 186
London in the day was a bustling city with carriages speeding along the cobblestoned streets and women selling flowers in heavily perfumed baskets while the crowds perused the shops and paid calls on friends. But as darkness fell, shadows could play tricks on the eyes of those foolish enough to walk the streets after the sun dropped beneath the horizon.And I am one of those fools.Gillian Beaumont squinted at the nearest alley, swallowing hard and holding back a scream of fear every time she thought she saw something fluttering in the mews like a bat's wings. The coach she had taken to the Temple Bar district was already rattling away, leaving her alone. The leaves of the early fall scuttled along the ground, tangling in her skirts like brown spiders, making her jump. She gripped her gown below her knees and gave the fabric a shake, trying to loosen the dried leaves from her dark purple satin gown. Then she faced her surroundings. She stood on the street close to the Royal Courts of
The League of Rogues Chapter 187
As James reached the Strand, he scanned the darkened streets and buildings. Fear for Gillian built inside him like a storm catching on the winds. She was a gently bred lady who shouldn't have to face the horrors of a hellfire club, especially if they learned she was Lady Society. While he trusted she was quite capable of taking care of herself, he was afraid that she was walking into a trap and didn't know it. He had to find her before something happened to her. With luck, she wouldn't be here, and he would spend the rest of the night watching some fools pretend to throw a black mass and worship the devil. He prayed fervently it was the latter.He caught a glimpse of a man in a black cloak and a mask walking down the street. He was undoubtedly a hellfire member. The man paused, glancing about before he headed up the steps to one of the rather unremarkable buildings on the street.James flung a few coins at his driver and bolted after the figure. He caught up with him just as he was
The League of Rogues Chapter 188
Everything seemed to be a bit hazy. Gillian watched James explode into the dining room. He moved with a surprising swiftness and ease, as if he was quite accustomed to battling the minions of a hellfire club. Earlier that day he had shown her his sweet, irresistible, and all too seductive side, but now she saw a warrior before her.She tried to walk toward him but tripped. Her feet felt clumsy, and she looked down. She blinked past the pain in her head, and with an odd distant feeling she noticed that the beautiful purple gown she wore was torn, andwas that blood smeared on her bodice? Heavenswhose blood is that? The sound of fighting drew her attention back to the dining room, and she looked up.Her mouth fell open as she saw James grab a man and throw him over the table as he fought his way to Jonathan. Audrey stood in the corner of the dining room, a black cat in her arms and a fireplace poker in one hand. She faced a drunken lout who was stumbling toward her. Audrey wielded the p
The League of Rogues Chapter 189
Gillian jerked awake as something moved beside her. She froze when she realized there was a man in her bed. Not just any man. The Earl of Pembroke's large naked body lay beside her, his arm stretched around her waist, his fingers curled against her skin. His long legs were tangled with hers. A faint chill trickled over her bare upper body where the blankets had fallen down to her hips. She blinked drowsily and realized with some confusion that she wasn't even in her own bed.What in the blazes?She touched her head to brush her hair back and winced as a sharp pain blossomed around her right temple. A wild blur of memories from the previous night came back to her. The perils of the hellfire club, the fight, then the insanity of their escape, andthe intimacy she'd shared with James right here in this bed. She'd opened herself up to him, shared her body with him and he with her.She had slept with James. No, Lord Pembroke. He could never be James. She was a servant, and he was a lord.
The League of Rogues Chapter 190
She was gone. When James woke a few hours after dawn, the realization had been like a knife to his chest. The woman he'd shared the most intimate night with had abandoned him. Rather than James running out like a heartless rogue, she was the one who had fled. It was as though the world had turned upside down on him.James hunched over on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor where his clothes lay in a crumpled heap. He was completely naked, which wasn't unusual, but for once he felt exposed. He'd never taken mistresses, had only bedded one other woman in his life before last night, but damned if he didn't feel as though he had lost his virginity rather than Gillian losing hers."My lord?" Dr. Wilkes's voice came through the closed door."Yes, Dr. Wilkes. Give me a moment." He scrambled out of bed and hastily threw on his clothes. When he opened the door, Dr. Wilkes was standing there, frowning."I wished to check on you. It's not like you to" Dr. Wilkes's eyes strayed to the be
The League of Rogues Chapter 191
"I think you've gone mad," Gillian informed her mistress.Audrey lay on her stomach on the bed, penning her next column for the Quizzing Glass Gazette. A sleek black cat pawed at the quill pen each time Audrey frowned and crossed a line and rewrote something in its place."Hmm?" Audrey murmured, clearly not listening.Gillian rolled her eyes. She folded the red silk gown Audrey had worn the previous night, though it was perhaps beyond repair. It was tattered, and its stitching was ripped in a few places, no doubt caused when Audrey had scaled the window."I said I think you've gone mad, my lady."Audrey's eyes flicked up from the paper, and she stared at Gillian."Mad because I'm writing an exposé on the Unholy Sinners of Hell, or mad that I brought home Archimedes?" She glanced toward the handsome black cat on the bed beside her."Both, I should think." Gillian stared at the black cat. The Unholy Sinners had claimed he was the devil. Gillian was not fool enough to believe such
The League of Rogues Chapter 192
James didn't feel like sitting, but when Audrey motioned for him to sit while she poured tea, he did the gentlemanly thing and eased into the nearest chair. He took a moment to study the lady before him. She looked bright-eyed and well, with no hint of the dark horrors she had faced the previous evening. She, like Gillian, was like no other woman he'd ever met. He was used to encountering preening, silly creatures who focused only a man's title and wealth. These two petite Amazons with their warrior spirits surprised himand fascinated him."How are you after last night? I'm afraid that due to the chaos we could not avoid getting separated. I trust Mr. St. Laurent escorted you safely home?""Oh yes, we were fine." She held out a cup of tea and he accepted it, taking a sip only after she sipped from her own cup. The orange pekoe was one he did not drink often, but he rather liked the subtle hints of spices upon his tongue. Audrey had excellent taste in tea."And Miss Beaumont? Did she
The League of Rogues Chapter 193
Gillian stepped down from the coach behind Audrey and faced the vast entrance of Rochester Hall. "I think this is a terrible idea.""Nonsense. I had to watch you mope about for an entire week, and now you owe me." Audrey's smile was far too sweet, and Gillian's stomach fluttered with nerves. Her mistress was up to something again.Gillian let the hood of her cloak fall back, even though a cold breeze played with her skirts and tugged at her hair."But to act like a lady when I am not one""Hush. You are a lady gently born. Your circumstances after that do not make you any less a lady."Gillian frowned. She was certain her mistress had taken leave of her senses. When Audrey told her two days before that she might need Gillian to play a larger role in her future endeavors, she had worried about what that might entail. When she was told she was to act as a lady at Audrey's sister's house party, Gillian had prayed she'd been joking. But as usual, with Audrey, she hadn't been."Horati
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