How to Seduce a Scoundrel by Vicky Dreiling Read Free Book Online Page A

door opened.
    “Meg, you’re
jush
in time,” Georgette said. “Will you bring more wine?”
    “It appears you’ve had quite enough.” Hester strode past Meg.
    Julianne hiccoughed and clapped her hand over her mouth.
    Hester glanced at the empty decanter and turned to Meg. “Everyone is filing downstairs for the midnight supper. Do not let the girls leave. I shall return directly.”
    Hawk slouched in his chair at the card table. He assumed Julianne was well enough. Amy Hardwick was a responsible girl and would have alerted his aunt if Julianne had taken a turn for the worse. He wondered about Julianne’s sudden illness. Was it his confrontation with Ramsey or had the overheated ballroom made her ill? Hawk had never thought Julianne one of those delicatefemale creatures, but the devil knew his sisters complained incessantly of mysterious ailments.
    Despite his preoccupation, he’d automatically memorized the cards previously played. He visualized the remaining ones, an easy task given that he need only recall by a single suit, in this case hearts. Across the table, Ramsey frowned at his hand, hesitating. The reprobate had joined the game at the last minute. Over the years, Ramsey had taken every opportunity to needle him. Hawk had ignored him for years. Tonight, Ramsey had forced a confrontation.
    Hawk covered a yawn, growing bored with the tedious delays. Ramsey made a stupid play. With a smug grin, Hawk threw down his queen, winning the trick and the rubber, in this case, the best three out of five games.
    His partner, a young cub with a blade of a nose, crowed. “You’re a wizard,” Eastham said. “It’s almost as if you could see through the discards.”
    Hawk said nothing. Long ago, he’d learned to calculate the odds at cards.
    “The devil.” Ramsey’s partner, Durleigh, gathered the cards and shuffled.
    Eastham leaned across the table, his intent gaze on Hawk. “Do you have a talisman?”
    “No.” Most gamblers were superstitious and kept all sorts of lucky charms on their person while playing. Far too many lost fortunes and called it capricious luck. He’d amassed a considerable fortune simply by leaving the table when he was ahead. When he’d attempted to use his winnings to pay for a mistake he’d made long ago, his father had refused to take the money. The memory still burned, but he shoved the useless thought aside.
    At the approach of a footman, Hawk frowned.
    “Lord Hawkfield, your aunt requests you attend her in the ballroom,” the servant said. “She asked for Lord Ramsey as well. The matter is urgent.”
    Hawk’s heart drummed in his chest as he shoved his chair back. Julianne could be dangerously ill, and he’d wasted precious time. He strode from the card room, fearing the worst. Ramsey followed close behind.
    Hester waited near the door. Hawk noted the other guests were leaving the ballroom, probably for the midnight supper.
    “Where is Julianne?” Hawk asked his aunt.
    “With her friends in a bedchamber adjoining the lady’s retiring room.”
    Hawk envisioned Julie-girl shivering on the bed. “My God, how bad off is she?”
    “All three girls are in a shocking state,” Hester said.
    Ramsey stiffened. “I’ll find Beresford and have him send for a doctor immediately.”
    Hester shook her head. “That would be unwise.” She looked about her as if checking to be sure no one listened. Then she leaned toward them. “They drank an entire decanter of wine.”
    Silence reigned from the retiring room next door.
    “Everyone has gone downstairs for the midnight supper by now,” Amy whispered.
    “Oh my God, I cannot let my brother see me foshed,” Georgette said.
    “You mean
foxed
.” Julianne hiccoughed again. “I will have to convince Hawk to say nothing to Tristan. Otherwise, my brother will make me return home.” The very thought made her stomach roil.
    “I have a plan,” Georgette said. “We will disappear until their tempers cool.”
    Amy made an exasperated