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Chapter 83
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The League of Rogues Chapter 84
"I think it only fitting that he's been deprived of sight, devil that he is. May he never fix his lecherous gaze on another virtuous woman ever again," Lord Upton announced to the men in the main card room of Berkley's, an elite gentlemen's club. There were several murmurs of agreement on this, but an equal number of disgruntled mutters.Cedric entered the card room, fighting off the natural panic of being in a room where he felt intensely vulnerable. "Stow it, Upton. I'm blind, not deaf. Do not make me call you out."His cane swung back and forth across the carpet as he navigated his way through the tables. He could not see Lord Upton's face, but the disquiet in the area of where he heard Upton's voice was telling. Cedric smiled and waited for his friend Ashton Lennox to join him."Cedric?"He flinched at the sudden sound of his friend's voice. Ashton had a way of walking softly as a cat.Although Cedric could no longer see, he remembered well enough how Ashton looked. Tall, pale
The League of Rogues Chapter 85
Anne Chessley stood in the entryway of her townhouse on Regent Street. Her back and neck were tense as she fought to remain poised and cool, hoping to hide her racing heart and the creeping flush in her cheeks. Had it only been yesterday that she foolishly sought out Viscount Sheridan and convinced him to propose to her?God, please don't let this be a mistake. What if he didn't come? What if he changed his mind and didn't go through with the wedding? Anne shoved the thoughts aside, though not easily.How much difference one day can make, she thought. Since her father had passed the week before, sleep had eluded her, but last nightshe'd drifted to sleep with thoughts of Cedric and that wicked kiss he'd given her. No, not given, shared. As much as it embarrassed her to admit it, she'd kissed him back.Anne smoothed her black crepe gown over her hips and sighed. The ripples of the stiff fabric were an uncomfortable reminder of her mourning and her grief. Her father, Archibald Chessley
The League of Rogues Chapter 86
Emily St. Laurent lounged in the library of her London townhouse, a book in one hand and the other stroking her beloved foxhound Penelope. The dog was nearly ten months old and no longer the sweet pup she'd been when Emily had received her as a gift, but a proud grown-up dog.When Emily had been abducted by Godric and his friends, Cedric had traveled to London and bought the puppy for her, hoping it would keep her at Godric's estate and dissuade her from running off.It hadn't stopped her. She'd escaped anyway, taking the dog with her.Penelope was her closest friend after Anne Chessley and Cedric's sisters. The dog let out a contented sigh as she rested her head on Emily's knee. Emily smiled and shut her eyes for a moment. The April sun was warm as it poured through the tall windows of the library, embracing her face."Emily." Goosebumps broke out over her skin at that deep voice.She opened her eyes to find her husband towering over her where she lay on the couch."You're back!
The League of Rogues Chapter 87
Cedric was ignorant of his fiancée's thoughts as he walked with her to dinner. He let her body guide his, feeling the faint pull of her when he needed to alter his path. It was a skill he'd worked on when Ashton led him about while he first learned to survive with his condition. Fortunately, he was decently familiar with Godric's townhouse, but the nervousness that held his body made him more hesitant than usual.He wanted to show Anne that he could still play the English gentleman, that he was not as helpless and hopeless as he felt. He sagged into his seat at the table with relief. His body seemed to naturally tense when he was up and about, as though some part of him expected to be injured somehow. Feeling more like himself, he reached out boldly to find his wine gobletSplunk!His hand collided with the thin stem of the goblet, toppling it onto its side. He heard wine sluice over the table and the chatter around the table halted. Cedric, even blind, could sense every eye in the
The League of Rogues Chapter 88
"Charles! I want a private word with you immediately." The Duchess of Essex tapped her foot and pointed to the door. Charles rose from his chair, and the others at the table looked away in various directions. No one would save him from Emily's wrath, it seemed. Cowards.He shouldn't have challenged Anne. He realized his mistake now. But if Emily was going to lecture him, he'd not make it easy for her."Today, if you please," Emily commanded.With an exaggerated sigh, Charles followed her into the hallway, where she turned and punched him in the chest with a little balled fist. She moved to strike him again, but Charles blocked the blow with his forearm, acting so instinctively that he didn't even realize he'd moved. The pugilist in him always managed to rise to the surface, it seemed. He grabbed her delicate wrist before she could assault him a third time. He was so annoyed that she'd resorted to striking him that he kept her wrist locked in his grasp."What is it that has upset yo
The League of Rogues Chapter 89
London, March 1820Cigar smoke hung in hazy clouds near the ceiling of Berkeley's dimly lit card room. The majority of the men lounging in chairs about the card tables were in their mid to late thirties. The young sensible bucks of marrying age were enslaved at the dances of Almack's that evening. Only the most dangerous of men were left free to prowl tonight and seek their pleasures without worry of crossing the paths of society mamas and their marriage-minded daughters. Cedric, Ashton, and their friend James Fordyce, the Earl of Pembroke, chose a table near the main fireplace to play a few games of whist before heading to a pleasure haunt in a few hours.Ashton spread the deck of cards out and shuffled them while Cedric and James flagged down a club servant to bring three glasses of port."Thank God Letty did not expect me to accompany her to Almack's," James confessed to Cedric. James blew out a sigh of relief. Cedric chuckled at the relieved expression in the earl's eyes."Not
The League of Rogues Chapter 90
Anne focused on Cedric's face, secretly enjoying the wealth of emotions that flitted across his features as he told her the story. "You don't think the Arab will return for you, do you?"Cedric smiled. "He left London shortly after he delivered the mares to me. He simply had to make a show of pride before he left, and I had to respond in kind. It is the way of things when the stakes are so high."He showed more animation than she'd seen from him since he'd gone blind. For a brief few minutes he'd been the old Cedric again, the one whoAnne shook her head, dispelling thoughts of the past, thoughts that stung too deeply."You men and your pride. Is there nothing else that matters to you?"Cedric's deep laugh poured over her. "Oh, my dear, you bait me with your innocence by asking that.""What do you mean?"Cedric cupped her chin and tilted his head down in reply, finding her lips with ease. Anne stiffened as his tongue traced the seam of her lips. Her hands fisted against his ches
The League of Rogues Chapter 91
The White House in Soho Square was filled with the sounds of the rich and elegant seeking their pleasure. It was a night for devilry and revelry. The young bucks who'd been trapped at balls, parties and sandwiched in the crowds at Almack's since the beginning of the season in January were finally able to escape to less reputable locations and enjoy themselves freely in ways they could not with the eligible ladies under the watchful eyes of their mothers.Even a few ladies who'd borne their husbands the required heirs were taking the night to slip away from their cold marriage beds, along with some adventurous widows scattered throughout the expensively furnished rooms of the most famous pleasure haunt in London.Samir Al Zahrani exited the Skeleton Room, one of the more macabre themed areas within the establishment, his soul blackened with greed. The English provided him a perfect market to carry on his trade, both legal and otherwise, with discretion and near anonymity.Even his fa
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