Read Online Candice Hern by In the Thrill of the Night - Free Book Online Page B

of it legitimate — was transacted, just as it had been for over one hundred years. Rochdale preferred it to any of the gentlemen's clubs in Mayfair or St. James, since they were unlikely to run into familiar faces, particularly those belonging to angry husbands or others connected to the women in his life. They could sit and converse in one of the old church-like box pews with relative anonymity. Adam had grown fond of the old place as well. The low ceiling with its heavy beams made it dark inside even at midday, and the air was thick with tobacco and the smoke of oil lamps. Best of all, though, was the coffee, which Adam preferred to tea. Still an expensive indulgence at fivepence per cup, it was worth it for the dark, rich brew that suited his mood today.
    He scowled at his chuckling friend. "You may laugh, but if I hadn't armored myself with drink, I could not have faced that damned list. And the lowest cut of all was that my name was conspicuously missing."
    "Does that surprise you?"
    "Unfortunately, no. She knows me too well, knows my history with women too well. No, I would not expect to see my name on such a list, but it was no less painful to see all those other names. I tell you, there must have been twenty or twenty-five of them. It was pure agony."
    The dim light of a sputtering candle carved harsh shadows in the hollows of Rochdale's cheeks, making the grin he flashed appear all the more wicked. Clearly he was enjoying Adam's distress. "I sincerely hope my name was there. I would be more than happy to accommodate her."
    Adam glared at him across the narrow table, darkened and scarred with a century of wear. "Your name came up."
    His lordship's brows lifted in surprise. "Did it? Well, then, I have underestimated your Marianne. I trust you supported my candidacy?"
    "Though I would have done no such thing, it was not necessary. She mentioned you only in jest."
    "Ah, so I have become a joke among respectable ladies. How mortifying." His grin held not a hint of mortification, however. Adam sometimes believed Rochdale enjoyed his unsavory reputation. He certainly cultivated it.
    "She only wanted to tease me," Adam said. "Though I cannot imagine you would have been interested. She is not your usual type."
    "I would have made an exception in order to bed the lovely Marianne."
    Adam leaned forward to insure his words would be heard clearly above the hubbub of a dozen lively conversations, the clatter of cups and dishes, and the constant rumble of carriages and carts passing outside. "Over. My. Dead. Body."
    Rochdale narrowed his eyes and glared indignantly at Adam. "Cazenove, you are a fool. Just because you cannot have her, no other man is to be allowed that pleasure?"
    "That's not it at all. She is too much an innocent for someone like you."
    "And for someone like you?"
    Adam shrugged. "And for me, too. Even were I free."
    "Well, you’re not anymore, so why such a fuss over Marianne Nesbitt?" Rochdale leaned back and sipped his coffee. "The woman's been widowed more than two years. You've had ample opportunity to make a move if you were so inclined. And since you have never done so, one can only assume the inclination is not there."
    He paused and lifted a quizzical brow, as though waiting for Adam to contradict him, but Adam only shook his head in response. Of course he had not made a move.
    Rochdale shrugged. "So I can't see you have any cause to complain if she wants to seek out another man for her bed."
    His friend was right. Adam had no right to interfere. It was just that he did not think any of the men they'd discussed would satisfy her. And he truly did believe she would have her heart broken in the end. She would discover he was right, that a sexual relationship would never be enough for her.
    "Leave her to her own devices," Rochdale said. "What she does is none of your business."
    "You're right, of course. But damn it all, I just can't seem to reconcile myself to the idea of her in another man's