He’d give the apology. It was all she wanted from him.
Sins of his gambling past had finally caught up with him. He now realized what a mistake it had been to try to teach Robert to be a well-seasoned gamester when they were in Vienna. Few people ever became really good at it, but Robert was a Browning, so there was a chance. At the time, Zane needed something to take Robert’s mind off the French woman. And it had, but it gave him a far bigger problem.
The American crimp who’d held Robert and Harper in his makeshift prison had been one good card player. For a time, it looked as if Zane weren’t going to win enough money to pay their debts before time was up. He simply wasn’t winning enough games. Brina and the dinner party kept coming to his mind, causing him to lose focus in the beginning. He was doing all the things he knew not to do. Sweat, hold the cards tight, blink too rapidly, and so many little telling hints of what he held in his hand.
But those same thoughts of Brina and getting back to her eventually calmed him. His skill and intuitive nature took over, and just before the hour Remick had given him was up, Zane had won more than enough to pay for Robert and Harper’s freedom.
Remick reluctantly conceded and assured Zane the young men would be released. Zane wasn’t about to letthe crimp out of his sight until he had the young men in his hands and they were safe from being thrown onto a ship bound for the East. That was when Zane pulled the knife Harry had slipped into his pocket and forced Remick to take him to Robert and Harper.
Only after he had the young fools with him and seen they were not too badly hurt did he let Remick go—with the warning he never peddle his skills or his crimping in London again. Zane was certain word that he’d been seen gambling at the Brass Bull had made it to his house.
News like that traveled fast.
He had been equally confident everyone would be gone by the time he made it back home. However, Brina was still there.
For one very good reason. To let him know she had won.
“It’s about time you got here,” Uncle Hector said. “Not that it’s pertinent to this evening, but I had a note from Robert this morning saying he was going to visit one of his aunt Lorraine’s son’s in Dorset. I thought it was sudden. Did you know about that?”
“Not any particulars,” Zane said. “I’m sure he’ll write once he gets there. Young men like to travel.”
“Now that we have that out of the way,” Uncle Syl said, “what happened to you last night?”
“We know what happened, Uncle,” Patricia informed him dryly and rolled her eyes toward Zane to ask her own question. “What I want to know, dear brother, is if you have spoken to Mrs. Feld today?”
“No.”
“No?” Hector said, stomping his cane. “Why not? You have some explaining to do and today was the time to do it.”
“Not to mention an apology,” Patricia added.
“Well, you can’t do it now,” Sylvester said calmly.“She’s not here. Who can blame her? She probably wouldn’t listen anyway. You didn’t make it to your own dinner last night. She obviously isn’t going to make it to your apology.”
“Well, she should,” Uncle Hector insisted. “They were almost engaged. There’s still hope this can be settled for a good outcome. She was doing such a fine job helping you be more of a gentleman. Until you strayed.”
“What I want to know is what happens between Zane and the widow,” Patricia said, keeping her eyes on his face.
Thewidow. Zane grimaced and gave a silent growl. How he’d come to detest that description of her.
“Maybe all is not lost,” Uncle Syl said in a placating tone. “Perhaps if you tried writing her a poem? Ladies love poetry. You know, something about flowers, moonglow, and how beautiful she is might go a long way to soothing her and help her overlook your lesser points.”
“A poem?” Patricia asked in an unbelievably indignant voice. “At this point, a poem is not going to win her hand.”
“If romantic words won’t ease her disposition,” Syl countered, “tell her in no uncertain terms that she will sit down and listen to you because you are an earl. Though we don’t know exactly what they were, I’m sure you had good reasons for your behavior with that gentleman last night, and she needs to accept them without further ado.”
“And thinking like that,” Patricia remarked sharply, “is why you never married.”
Hector stomped his cane again. “Everyone is growing restless. It’s time for you to speak. While you are apologizing, you might as well extend your regrets to your peers as well for missing your own dinner party. Most of them are here.”
When hell freezes over, Zane thought.
“I think it best he never mention it again, but go forward from here,” Patricia said, offering her bit of advice. “No matter how you decide to handle what you are about to say, we will stand with you.” She gave him a sincere smile. “We are family.”
Zane gave his sister a nod of appreciation. “My actions are my responsibility.”
There was no clock to chime the midnight hour, but Zane agreed with Hector. Every gentleman in the room was ready to go to White’s and other places they may have placed a bet to either collect their winnings or pay their debts.
It was time to end this, even though Brina wasn’t present.
