Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply.I will not kill my friend, I will not kill my friend, I will not kill the idiot that is my friend.“She’s gone?” He whispered the words, afraid to release them into the air.
“I would say so.” Heathcliff strode into the room as if having not one care in the world, and sat across from Lucas. He relaxed into the wing-back chair, the wood protesting under his weight.
“You’re not taking this seriously,” Ramsey remarked, his eyes narrowing.
“I always take everything seriously,” Heathcliff replied, yawning.
“The hell you do!” Ramsey said, standing, his hands fisted at his sides. “We had two men name their seconds tonight at the hazard table, one of them my bloody uncle!”
“Hazards of the game.” Heathcliff chuckled.
“You’re not amusing,” Ramsey replied icily.
“Both of you, enough. Ramsey, all is resolved, please relax. As for the girl, it’s nothing of note. She’s an unknown, so be it. At least it was a girl, not some young buck wanting to make a name for himself, eh?” Lucas shrugged, the lie tasting bitter in his mouth.
Ramsey ran his hand through his sandy blond hair. “Very well. I’m going out to check on the tables. Lord knows what other disasters will happen tonight,” he mumbled, quitting the room promptly.
Lucas watched as the door closed, his attention arrested by the low chuckle from Heathcliff.
“What?” Lucas bit out.
Heathcliff arched a brow, a knowing grin spreading across his face. “I know who your friend is.” He stood slowly, walking toward the fire burning low in the grate.
Lucas closed his eyes, controlling his reaction, his emotions. That encounter with the minx was still fresh in his mind. “Oh?”
“Indeed.” Heathcliff glanced over his shoulder.
Lucas took a calming breath. “And are you going to tell me who the bloody hell she is?”
“I can tell you who she isn’t.”
“Helpful.”
“She’s not a courtesan, though I’ll say she played the part shockingly well.”
Lucas’s blood heated at his friend’s words. “Did you touch—”
“No, I have no business ruining an innocent.” He gave a shudder. “Lord knows I’d have to pay for that sin. I much prefer sins I can commit without punishment.” He turned to face his friend. “You, on the other hand . . .”
“Her virtue is intact.” Lucas sighed dramatically, annoyed with his friend’s conversation.
“If my assumptions are correct, only by a thin shred. She might not be bedded, but she certainly was compromised. Her gown alone attested to that truth. That, and, well . . . the fact that your mask was tossed clear across the room, as if you were quite impatient to discard it. I cannot imagine why . . .”
“What of it?” Lucas ground out, his patience wearing thin.
“I just thought you’d like to be fully aware of the situation before you know her name.”
“I know her name. It’s Liliah.” Her name rolled from his tongue like honey, and his body responded.
“Calling her by her Christian name . . .” Heathcliff shook his head. “For shame. No daughter of a duke should give such license to a man not her betrothed.”
Lucas froze.
He replayed Heathcliff’s words in his head—twice.
No. No, no, no, no!
“You’re serious?” Lucas whispered, his gaze fixed on his friend’s face.
