Sickening was what it was.
“Good thing,” Demon drawled, raising a brow before turning his attention to Davy. “Scatter, lad. Clean up the shite. Off you go.”
Davy tugged at his forelock before disappearing, leaving Gen and Demon alone. Gen bent, tucking her fingers into her boot.
“The little bugger didn’t try to steal my blade,” she mused, sounding shocked.
Demon inclined his head. “The lad is changing his ways.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why now?’
She was right to question it.
He had not shared the incident concerning Mira and Davy—the theft of the ring, the subsequent departure of Davy, followed by his abrupt return. The reasons for omitting it were obvious. He did not want to discuss Mira. Or receive a tongue lashing from his sister.
Demon rubbed his jaw. “No reason.”
“Do not lie to me,” she persisted. “Lie to others. Not me.”
He sighed. “There was an incident. Davy thieved the ring of one of the ladies whilst helping her with her wrap. I have seen the matter settled. You needn’t worry over it.”
But had he seen the matter settled?
It hardly seemed so.
Andhefelt everything but settled.
“You are certain it has been taken care of?” Gen asked, frowning.
Although she was a married woman, the realities of which necessitated her living in Mayfair with her husband Lord Sundenbury, she was still quite involved in the operations of Lady Fortune. She had built the ladies’ gaming hell from nothing with her own determination and resilience.
“Certain.” He skirted the desk, thinking he must tell her about what had happened yesterday. She would do far worse than blacken his eye when she discovered he had gone to their brother Dom with the news first and that she had gone uninformed as the owner of Lady Fortune. Best to get her a bit soused first, he reasoned. “A flash of lightning for you, darling sister?”
“No drops of jackey for me today,” she declined his offer of gin demurely, pressing a hand to her midriff. “Stomach’s unsettled these days.”
“Gen,” he said, suspecting what she meant and forgetting all about the attack the day before for a moment.
She nodded. “Aye. ’Tis true. You’ll be an uncle again soon.”
“Fuck.” The oath fled him. Seemed he was making a habit of the vulgar tongue today.
But if ever there was a time for losing control, it was now, when he had recently come upon the scene of a murder and he had been beaten over the head himself, only to have Gen announce she was going to be a mother.
Gen.
She was his baby sister. The one he and his brothers had looked after, fretted over, the one for whom they would wage war to defend her honor, much as they had done with that no-account Gregory she’d fancied herself in love with so long ago.
A small smile turned up her lips. “I was hoping you might be happy for us.”
“Floating hell.” He raked his fingers through his hair, forgetting himself. He winced and barely strangled his cry of pain as he glanced over his wound. “Damn.I am. Of course, I am. But you are still scarcely more than a babe to me. I am shocked, is all. Felicitations to you and the marquess. What does the duke make of your news?”
The Duke of Linross was her husband’s father, who had not been keen on any of his aristocratic children marrying into the Winter clan. And almost every one of his children had, save the eldest daughter.
“He possesses the manners of an ill-tempered goat,” Gen declared. “He’ll not be happy unless it’s a son and heir, and even then, he’ll wish it were a proper lady whelping the lad instead of me. Is something wrong with you? You were wincing just now.”
“Has he attempted to eat your shoe?” he tried to joke, although he was filled with inner rage on her behalf. The Duke of Linross was a pompous arse, as were most of the quality.
Demon was also carefully ignoring her query.
