He left the house and did not look back.
CHAPTER 1
TWO YEARS LATER
“Where are you, Elliot?” she muttered under her breath.
Thalia drew her cloak about her as she approached the nondescript door set into a building on the side of the road. A lantern hung from above, casting her in a circle of pale-yellow light, and through the elegant windows, she glimpsed figures and heard raucous laughter.
The doorman standing by the door gave her a long, assessing glance, and Thalia opened her cloak enough to reveal her scandalous dress.
A lady did not venture into underground clubs—they did not even know about them.
A lady of the night, however, had entry practically anywhere.
The doorman nodded and opened the door, letting free a blast of hot air, sweat, the sharp tang of spirits, and the sour scent of wine, and Thalia entered.
The first room had been set up as, nominally, a gambling den, with tables holding various card games. A roaring fire stood in the center of the room, and several gentlemen sized each other up as though to fight.
Somewhere in this mess, according to her source, was Elliot.
Shoulders hunched, she made her way through the room, ducking free of reaching hands. Slurred curses followed her; she ignored them all.
Through an archway, she came to an entirely different room. The air was hazy with smoke. Gentlemen reclined on cushions, ladies leaning over them, dresses low and suitably busty.
I’d fit right in, Thalia thought wryly.
“Thalia!” Her name was delivered in a whisper, and a hand took hold of her arm, holding her surprisingly gently, considering the way he hauled her into a darkened corner of the room.
Mr. Elliot Calloway stood before her, slightly disheveled. His neckcloth was askew, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was a new heaviness on his brow.
As she suspected, Elliot had debts to pay.
Thanks to her father, she knew all too well the burden of owing debts and the toll it could take on the man.
“What the devil are you doing here?” he demanded. Then, casting a furtive glance around the room, he took her arm once more and led her through a side door. They emerged into an alley, the cobbles broken and grimy underfoot. “That is to say,” he continued in a milder voice, “this isn’t the sort of place that’s appropriate for a lady such as yourself.”
Thalia tossed the hood of her cloak back. “And what, pray, makes it appropriate for a gentleman such asyou, Elliot?”
“Because, for starters, I am no gentleman.” He removed a cigar from his pocket and attempted to light it, but his hands shook too much, and he soon abandoned the attempt. “And because I have no choice but to be here.”
“Why? Do you owe someone?”
“In a manner of speaking.” He sighed and dragged his hand down the tip of his chin. “Either I win them back the money, or they will take it via more forcible means, but I fear I have never been a skillful gambler.”
“You ought to have told me!”
“Heavens, Thalia, for what purpose?” His eyes, bloodshot as they were, sharpened on her. “You might be my pupil, butthat does not entitle you to chase after me as though I were a miscreant on the run from the law.”
Thalia planted her hands on her hips. “I thought we were friends.”
“So we are, but this isn’t the sort of business I would bother my friends with, either.” He cast another nervous glance at the club. “I’ll see you home, and we can discuss this tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” She arched a brow. “You have been missing for four days, Elliot. If I leave you to your own devices, how long will you be missing for next? Will you ever return?”
She knew enough of the world to know that a man who lost everything often had no reason to return. If he lost his home… Heavens, she hardly knew if he could continue living in the fashionable side of London as it was.
“If you stay away, I will be forced to find a new sculpting master, you know, and that would behighlyinconvenient.” She reached for the bag of money she had saved from selling her sculptures and handed it over. “Would this appease them, at least for now? I have more at home, but for safety reasons, I hesitated to travel with too much on me.”
