Who Wants a Brawling Baron (Romancing the Rake 6)

But he’d also begun to wonder about his vow to remain unwed, unattached. Or perhaps he just questioned his solution, which had been to become a womanizing rogue.

He sat forward as Crestwood and Craven chatted with their soon-to-be father-in-law. “How is the purchase coming?” Mr. Moorish turned to Crestwood.

“Excellent.” Crestwood grinned. “Adrianna was right. The land is a gem and we shall benefit greatly from its purchase.”

Mr. Moorish chuckled. “I’m sure you shall and may I just say, I’m glad I was not the one who had to purchase the property. That girl can wear a man down. I tried to tell her, I’m a ship’s man not a farmer. But she doesn’t listen.”

Crestwood chuckled. “Well. I’ve been warned. I’m fairly certain she won’t listen to me either. It would be easier to digest if she weren’t right so often.” He didn’t look irritated, however. Rather the man wore a tender smile as he lightly rubbed his knuckles along his jaw.

“How nice to have found a woman who is intelligent,” Raithe said, joining the conversation for the first time. Jennifer had been such a woman as well. She’d challenged him. Made him better. Damn how he missed their partnership

Crestwood eyes him over the rim of the whisky. “It is.”

Craven shook his shaggy head. Thinner than Raithe, the man was equally tall and extremely well-muscled. Raithe didn’t fear many men but he always gave Craven a careful step.

“What I didn’t understand about love until I met Bianca was how filling it would be. It lights the dark corners,” Craven said.

Crestwood and Mr. Moorish chuckled, but Raithe started in surprise. He’d barely heard the man speak and now he was waxing poetic?

“Lights the dark corners?” Had he felt that way with Jennifer? He hadn’t remembered having dark corners then. He’d been young, fresh, the son of a gentleman. Privileged without the burden of being a lord.

The other man brushed his dark hair back. “That’s right and I’m lighter for it too.”

Lighter? Raithe had been weighed down by grief for so long. He looked down at his glass. “I don’t even remember what it means to be light.”

Mr. Moorish leaned forward. “You should stay for a few days. Seabridge Gate is an excellent place to restore and refresh your body, mind, and spirit.” He waved around the room. “I was lost before I returned here, married, and started my family. It’s when I feel my real life started. The one of joy and meaning, anyhow.”

Crestwood gave Raithe a wink. “There are rumors that Mr. Moorish here was quite the rascal in his younger days.”

Mr. Moorish shook his head. “Rascal implies that I enjoyed myself. When I look back at that time of drink and women, it is as Craven said, the darkness before the

light. My life since I left London, fills me rather than draining my life’s blood.”

Raithe shook his head as if someone had slapped his face. He couldn’t even imagine what happiness again might feel like. He’d been down in the dark for so long. Then an image of Charlie, sparkling in the moonlight, danced in front of him. His teeth clenched tighter. She wouldn’t make his life lighter. Would she?

He knew a few things for certain. That kiss, her first, had filled him with a desire he’d never known. He’d barely been able to step away from her. It had taken every shred of his self-control.

And if he kissed her again, the rightness or wrongness of touching a woman like her wouldn’t matter. He might lose himself in the passion she so effortlessly evoked.

Chapter Five

Charlie woke early and rose from bed, dressing in a beautiful morning gown of pale blue. Her hair was dressed in simple coif at her neck; today would be a day of doing, not lounging.

What exactly she’d do, she was uncertain. But her fingers itched and her legs twitched. She needed a plan. She’d thought her rake research would keep her mind occupied, but last night’s activities had only sent it racing.

What was her future going to be? She liked the attention she’d receive as a debutante. Multiple men swirling about left so little time for thinking.

She’d assume she’d be bored in a marriage but perhaps, she needed such an activity to make her feel…safe and less lonely. A force like her brother had been these past several years.

Heading downstairs, she found Mr. Moorish in the breakfast room. “You’re up early,” he said as he gave her a smile.

She nodded. “I went to bed early with a headache.”

“Feeling better this morning?”

“Much,” she answered as she headed to the buffet; she filled her plate with food then sat down at the table. It wasn’t the truth. If anything, she felt far worse. But she needn’t burden Mr. Moorish with that.

“Charlie.” Mr. Moorish patted her hand. “I want you to know that you are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish.” He gave a soft sigh that rang with a note of sadness.