Ten Ways to Ruin

“Whisky.”

Simon walked down to the gaming room and grabbed two glasses of whisky before approaching Meg. “Give this to the

man with the hat at the roulette table.”

“That arse? He refused to remove his hat.”

“Tell him the drink is from me.”

“That will be his fourth.”

Simon smiled. “Good.”

If he worked for the ruffians from Seven Dials, more alcohol might loosen the boy’s tongue. Simon stared at the young man who kept his head down, and his eyes on the wheel. He looked even younger than the last lad he’d tossed out of Hell. But this man’s clothes were in much better quality than Smith’s had been, albeit a wrinkled mess. This man looked like rumpled quality, not a poor thief.

He appeared to have lost that spin but quickly placed two bets on the table. With the next turn, he won again. Simon might have suspected his employee was up to something, but Talbot had been with him for over three years. The young man briefly looked up with a sneer as Meg delivered the drink. How odd. Meg could entice any man to do as she desired. She even had him for one enjoyable encounter that had been all too quickly interrupted by Louisa and Emma.

That was who the man reminded him of, which made no sense at all. Simon could see only hints of blond hair under that cap. Now he was thinking of Emma while watching a man. There was something dreadfully wrong with him. Except, as the man accepted the drink, he slid a glance over at Simon.

Bloody hell!

How the devil had she gotten out of the house wearing those clothes? Why was her mother unwilling to rein in her daughter? He gulped down his whisky while trying to decide the best course of action. He walked over to Hood and asked for his carriage to be ready and waiting at the back door.

“Something amiss, King?” Riley asked after hearing him order his carriage.

“Let just say, I know exactly why a certain gentleman refused to remove his hat.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

Simon smiled as he planned his attack. “She wouldn’t wish to reveal her hair.”

“She?”

“Yes, and this goes no further. I will get her out of here, but I doubt she’ll go quietly. It’s up to you to distract everyone with a drink if she reveals herself.”

Riley tilted his head and quirked a brow. “Reveals herself?”

“Her hair, you bastard. Nothing else will be exposed.”

Riley laughed. “Now that is a shame. Will you let me know who she is?”

“The Duchess’ sister.”

“Bloody hell,” Riley muttered, glancing over at her. “The Duchess is going to kill you.”

“Which is why Miss Drake will be delivered to the duchess in person so she can see how foxed her sister is.” Simon still could not believe Emma Drake was in his gaming hell. Hadn’t he wished she would make an appearance here only yesterday? Not that he’d wanted her dressed as a boy.

He waited until Hood returned with a nod letting him know the carriage was ready before slowly approaching her.

“Good evening, young man,” Simon said, noting that she’d already sipped half of her fourth whisky down. The poor girl would regret that decision in the morning.

“Evening, sir.”

Simon almost laughed at her husky voice, except his anger at her actions stopped him. “I do believe you were told to remove your hat.”

“Why’d I need to do that?” she mumbled.

“It’s my policy.”