Duke of Decadence (Lords of Scandal 9)

Bash left the Archbishop’s office, a satisfied smile on his face. He’d gotten the license.

Now that he was about to marry her, tuck her safely under his title and his name, the rightness of the decision settled over him.

This was how it was supposed to be.

He only hoped she understood the need to keep his distance during their marriage.

But he’d worry about that later. It was the theme of their relationship, really.

Right now, he needed to go to the club. He’d hoped some of the guards had gathered information on the club’s visitor last night. Unlikely but possible. And he had to tell his partners about his decision to marry Isabella. A duchess would not be moonlighting as a gaming hell dealer.

But as he entered through the back door, there was an eerie silence about the place.

He found all his partners, including Mason and their silent partner, the Earl of Goldthwaite, sitting in the red room. “What’s wrong?” he said, not bothering with formalities.

Menace grimaced. “There was a fire.”

“Where?” Sick dread filled his stomach.

“The docks.” Goldthwaite answered. “It was next to several ships I use to transport goods. My boats were untarnished, but two boats burned, both from Carrington Shipping Company.”

Cold dread slid down his back. Isabella’s father’s company. “Pennington did this.”

Menace gave a stiff nod. “Most likely. Though I don’t know how we prove it. It happened early this morning, but no one has seen anything that I’ve been able to discover.”

Vanity ran a hand through his hair. A gesture the man almost never indulged in. “You were right. Isabella shouldn’t be here any longer. This situation is getting out of hand.”

He scrubbed the back of his neck. “You’re right on both counts. And I’ve decided I need to protect her completely. I’m marrying her. Tomorrow.”

/> For a moment the room was silent and then his friends and allies broke out in a round of hoots and hollers, several backs getting slapped.

Mason stood and crossed the room to embrace Bash in a quick tight hug. “Congratulations, brother.”

He gave a stiff nod. “Thank you. But we can’t celebrate for long. What are we going to do about Pennington?”

The room fell silent again. Finally, Mason spoke. “We’ve got to have him followed. If he tries anything else, we’ll have proof.”

“I agree,” Bash said. “And this other man? The one who is trying to pass money to my wife?”

Mason raised his brows. “You sound even angrier at the man who attempted to help than you do at Pennington.”

Bash grimaced. “I tried to tell you. She strips me of my control.”

“What do we know of the man so far?” Goldthwaite asked. The man had gone from ruined to riches in just a few years by being incredibly savvy.

“Well…” Bash stroked his chin. “Not much. He had a great deal of gold that he handed to Isabella. We know that her father had a silent partner. But no one knows who that man is. And we know that he handed her money here, rather than anywhere else because her identity is protected here too.”

Goldthwaite smiled. “I can always find silent partners. His name has to be on documents somewhere. Leave that to me.”

Menace gave Goldthwaite a smack on the back. “That’s why we brought this guy in.”

“Is it?” Blasphemy asked. “I thought it was just to torture me.”

Bash shook his head. The two men had an old feud but now was not the time. “Blasphemy, I’ve a job for you too. Find a man who looks like Isabella and let’s have him in the club to see if we can get our mystery guest to return.”

Blasphemy gave him a hard stare. “You want me to find a man who looks like a woman impersonating a man? Are you fucking serious?”

They all chuckled at that. “You can do it, my friend.” Bash said. “Now, I’d like to return home and check on Isabella. I wouldn’t put it past Pennington to bring the fight right to my door.”