But the marquess did not. Shock seemed to have overtaken him. The Derbyshire estate was worth a veritable king’s ransom, and Wolf knew it. He had counted upon it, in fact.
“Would you care to accompany me to a private room my lord?” he asked solicitously, hating that he was being forced to continue the charade of being polite for a few more moments. “In circumstances such as these, it’s customary for privacy to be required. Indeed, perhaps there is an understanding that can be reached between yourself and The Sinner’s Palace.”
“I…” the man faltered, his gaze going wild as his panic continued to heighten.
Wolf had seen such a reaction before when patrons had wagered far more than they could afford at the tables. In the past, he had felt sympathy for the poor nobs.
But he didn’t feel a hint of contrition for the Marquess of Granville. He was about to reap the mercy he had sown.
Which was to say not a goddamn bit.
“Come,” Wolf ordered him, taking command of the situation and guiding Granville across the room to a discreet door.
He knocked twice, and it swung inward, opening to reveal one of the private dining rooms. Within, Jasper, Rafe, and Hart awaited, looking as menacing as they were capable of being.
“My lord,” Jasper said coolly in greeting.
Granville hesitated, and Wolf crowded him from behind, leaving him no choice save crossing the threshold as Wolf stepped inside as well and closed and bolted the door at his back.
“What is the meaning of this?” Granville demanded.
“So good of you to ask,” Wolf drawled. “You lost your Derbyshire estate this evening, my lord. And, unless I’m mistaken, you are also severely indebted to a moneylender by the name of Archer Tierney.”
“A half brother of yours, so I’m told,” Jasper added.
“A vast sum,” Rafe said.
“The sort that’s going to leave you bankrupted,” Hart concluded.
“But seeing that we’re good-natured coves,” Wolf continued, “we are willing to make a concession.”
Granville’s nostrils flared. “I was tricked. The four of you are confederates of that swine Tierney. I should have known!”
“You were not tricked,” Jasper snapped. “You are a terrible gambler. You need only to look at your vowels to realize that for yourself, Granville. The only person in this room who tricked you is yourself.”
That was not entirely true, but again, Wolf felt nary a hint of compunction at the lie. Suttons were loyal to one another above all else, and Portia was about to become a Sutton. As his brothers had assured him, she was already family.
“We don’t take kindly to the suggestion we ain’t an honest establishment,” Rafe added, cracking his knuckles.
“Not kindly at all,” Hart said, his expression deadly.
“We are willing to offer an exchange, however,” Wolf said. “The Derbyshire property will be restored to you when you surrender your role as legal guardian of your nephew. The new guardian, appointed by you, will be your sister.”
“I need the property to pay my debts to that son-of-a-whore Tierney,” Granville said. “But why the hell should you care who is the guardian of my nephew unless… My God, I never believed she would have sunken so low. That wanton, faithless, witless—”
“Enough,” Wolf bit out, cutting off any further insults Granville would have paid Portia. “You will also never again raise a hand to her. You will never pay her another call. You will never burden her with your presence in her life. And if you do, well, we have men everywhere in our employ. No telling when one of them might steal into your rooms while you’re asleep.”
He was treading carefully. He had not directly threatened a peer of the realm, and nor had he raised a hand against the marquess. But he was not taking any chances, much as he wished to smash his fist into Granville’s nose for the vile accusations he had made about Portia and for the harm he had done to her.
“But all that unpleasantness can be avoided with ease,” Jasper continued smoothly. “As long as you do as we ask.”
“What choice have I?” Granville muttered, looking impotent and furious. “I’ll sign the whelp away, and my doxy of a sister, too.”
Wolf’s own fists clenched at his sides this time, but he held himself in check. For his future with Portia was far more important than the Marquess of Granville.
“See that you do,” he ground out, the only reaction he would allow. “With all haste.”
“Or we ain’t going to be responsible for what befalls you,” Hart added with an ominous air of warning.
* * *