Page 34 of Brazen

Leana plopped down on the chair nearest Mia. “I do not understand. I was so sure he felt a tenderness for you.”

“For years, you watched my father make women think he had a tenderness for them. It comes easy for them.”

Her aunt nodded absently. “Joshua might marry well in a few years. Perhaps he will be able to help care for Angeline.”

If he isn’t foolish enough to marry for love instead of duty, Mia thought.

Mia stood. “Get some rest. Tomorrow will look brighter,” she said, but didn’t believe the words.

* * *

Magnus emerged from the arboretum and glanced skyward. Filmy clouds drifted across the moon. He estimated the time to be roughly three a.m. He’d walked the grounds for at least an hour and a half yet hadn’t brought his lust into submission. How long had it been since he’d lain with a woman? Six months…a year? Fourteen months, he realized, and grimaced. He wasn’t nineteen years old. Fourteen months no longer seemed like forever. But the image of Mia’s breasts straining against her bodice drew his bollocks up in pleasurable discomfort. Christ, the way he reacted, he might as well be nineteen.

Stirling had a pond on the property. Magnus was half tempted to walk the mile and jump in. The water would be freezing this time of year, which was exactly what he needed.

Nae. What he needed was to return to Barkely Hall. Get as far away from Lady Mia as he could. He should have left the moment he’d handed her off to Lady Chastity. What made him think he could remain at the party and not be driven mad by her proximity? More important, why had he ignored good sense? He would only further damage her reputation by staying.

Magnus headed for the stables Tomorrow, he would send a carriage for his belongings. How the devil was he going to live next door to her and not eventually—

Christ, he couldn’t allow himself so much as a thought in that direction.

He reached the stables five minutes later and entered. To his surprise, a dim light lit the far end of the darkened building. He took three steps, then slowed at the murmur of male voices. Who was in the stables at three thirty in the morning? A bay hung his head out of a stall and watched Magnus slowly advance.

Halfway down the aisle, Magnus halted when a familiar male voice said, “Never fear, I will convince him.”

Young.

“You had better,” another man replied.

Shock swept through Magnus. Blane? His uncle was here? The two men must occupy one of the stalls up ahead. Magnus spun and started back the way he’d come.

Two heartbeats later, Young called, “Magnus?”

Magnus kept going.

“Magnus.” This time his uncle called him.

He kept walking.

Quick bootfalls drew near. Magnus whirled and came face to face with his uncle.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Magnus demanded, then realized how stupid the question was and added, “Leave,” then turned.

His uncle’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. Magnus spun and drove a fist into the older man’s belly. Blane doubled over and stumbled back two paces. Young caught him. Magnus’s hands worked at his sides.

“There is no need for this, Magnus,” Young snapped. “We have told you, we knew nothing about how those girls were being treated. We put a stop to the prostitution once we discovered the truth.”

“I think this has more to do with that pretty skirt he was dancing with,” Blane said in a strained voice. “What if she learned that you once owned a gambling hell and brothel? If that got out, your attentions would ruin her. Or have you already ruined her?”

Cold fury snapped Magnus’s mind into focus. “Come near me again and I will set a runner on both of you.”

Young had the audacity to look affronted. “We haven’t broken any law.”

“Owning a gambling hell is illegal,” he said. “Not to mention prostitution. The fact the girls were underage will ensure you two never again taste freedom.”

Young’s expression finally cracked. “You were part owner of The Honeydrop.

You took money—”