Alex did not dare to remove the cloth from his forehead and instead pulled it down over his eyes. He did not need to look at his friend’s face to know that the last evening’s takings would not be enough.
When he remained silent, Sean said, “Did I see your uncle in here last night?”
Alex stiffened. He had hoped not to have to have this conversation just yet. “Yes.”
He felt the tension grow heavier in the room. Opening one eye, he lifted the cloth and looked at his friend. “He says another of my father’s debts has come to light.”
Before he could see his friend’s reaction, he dropped the cloth back down again.
“You’re jesting with me!” Sean exclaimed incredulously. “Another?”
Alex simply nodded though it was hard to tell if his friend had seen it for the cloth. With a gesture of his hand, he told his manservant standing beside the door, “Please, fetch me something to take the ache from my head. Have one of the maids fix up one of those god-awful concoctions, would you?”
Mr. Benedict dipped his head and was gone from the room without a word.
Finally, Alex pulled the cloth from his face and dropped his feet from the desk, leaning forward in his seat.
Though he trusted his valet entirely, with his life and everything else besides, he did not wish to have such matters discussed before him.
“How bad is it this time?” Sean asked, his face pale. The man brushed his fingers through his chestnut hair and looked Alex in the eye.
“Let us just say it shall make our pocketbooks tight for the next month or so, but we should manage it,” Alex stated, his throat tightening. He did not have the heart to go into any more detail.
Sean raised his brow and pursed his lips. The suspicious expression on his face was undeniable and Alex’s jaw clenched. He had seen that look more and more frequently upon his friend’s face of late.
“Are you quite certain of this?” Sean asked, closing the ledger on his thumb to keep his place.
“Of which part?” Alex asked though deep down he knew exactly what his friend was insinuating.
“That this debt is in fact your father’s and yours to pay?” Sean said, looking Alex deep in the eye. Alex opened his mouth to argue but before he could do so, Sean continued, “Alex, I only say this as your friend. You and I both know that your uncle isn’t exactly the most trustworthy of men. Just look at how he and your father built this place!”
Alex gulped past the hard lump in his throat. There was no denying all the dark and disgusting things that had led to the very club they now sat in, the place that had come to be known asThe Devil’s Lair, a secret club that only the most elite were aware of. Gambling, drugs, drink and sex were among the main points of the club, but the entire place had been built upon fear, extortion, blackmail and all other kinds of other foul things.
“Yes, my father and uncle did all manner of unimaginable things to build this place,” Alex said through gritted teeth, “But my father always trusted my uncle and so shall I. Neither of them was ever perfect, and my father was a fool when it came to racking up so much debt. But one thing he always insisted upon was being able to trust Frederick.”
Sean continued to look him in the eye without blinking as he asked, “Are you quite certain?”
Nausea rose in the back of Alex’s throat. He knew that his friend only meant to try and protect him. He was likely the only man who would ever face him and tell him nothing but the truth. And yet, he hated to be questioned, especially when it came to family.
“I am.”
Alex glowered at his friend, leaving no room for argument. Though he and Sean had been friends since they were small children—ever since Sean’s father, Lord Seymour, had sold him to Alex’s father to pay his own debts to the club—Alex would not sit idly by and allow him to talk ill of his uncle.
The man was a scoundrel, a drunkard and a gambler, but one thing was always certain, the Black brothers had always been about family and Alex and his younger sister Lorraine were the only family his uncle had left now.
“Besides, the shipment from India should be coming in shortly and that shall change all of our fortunes,” Alex pointed out.
“The sooner it arrives, the better,” Sean scoffed. He pulled open his ledger again and glanced down at the pages. “With our own investment and that of the loan you gave the Earl of Monrith our debts shall be more than covered.”
Alex nodded agreement, flinching at the reminder that they were not yet entirely out of the loaning business. It was a business he would rather not be in, especially with his father having earned the title ofThe Devil Lord— which Alex inherited—thanks to the dark ways in which his father and Frederick had gone about seeing their investments and loans returned.
Violence and blackmail had been his father and uncle’s main resources, and though Alex had used the threat of such things often, he very rarely had to actually use them.
When he closed his eyes, he could still see how easily his father and uncle had ordered their men to crack heads or set property alight. He still heard the screams of women and children as they paid dearly for the debts of their husbands and fathers.
“We shall all be much more comfortable once the shipment comes in,” he agreed. At that moment, Mr. Benedict returned, knocking quietly before he entered.
“Your grace, your tonic,” the man said, dipping his head even as he offered Alex a silver tray. Upon it sat two glasses. Alex took one of them and waved the valet away. The man turned and offered the second glass to Sean. “My lord.”
