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through him.
    “So what does the lady have to say?” Mr. Clipps asked after Justin dropped the parchment onto his desk.
    “It is an invitation for dinner.”
    Clipps’ eyebrows rose. “More invitations to join into proper Society. Too bad your damned father isn’t alive to see it,” he said.
    “Yes, too bad.” He glanced back at the invitation knowing this meant he’d get to see Clarissa in a more formal setting. But it did beg the question as to whether or not Clarissa arrange for her beau to be there too?
    Justin knew, though, that while George did frequent his establishment, he played billiards and the occasional game of hazard, and he was always lucky. He might have debts somewhere else, but certainly not at Rodale’s.
    Perhaps that was the truth. Perhaps Wilbanks gambled more heavily at a less reputable hell and he hadn’t wanted to tell her the truth. Either way, Justin would wager Wilbanks never expected Clarissa to attempt to pay his debts on her own.
    Over the years, even though he no longer had a connection to her family, he’d followed the gossip about Clarissa Kincaid out of curiosity. Or, more to the point, the absolute lack of gossip. Clarissa’s reputation was as spotless as a chandelier at one of the Ton’s parties. At least, it had been until the moment she’d stepped out of the carriage and onto the doorstep of his gaming hell. No one could have predicted she would do something so reckless. So brazen. But Vivian March, now Vivian Kincaid, had worked her particular form of magic and salvaged Clarissa’s reputation. Of course, that was unless someone had seen her arrive at his townhome earlier that evening. He’d wager not, she’d kept herself pretty well hidden in that cloak.
    “Clipps, I want you to find out what you can on George Wilbanks.”
    “Interesting,” Clipps said. He absently rubbed at the thick stubble on his chin.
    “In what way?”
    Clipps shrugged. “I thought we were done with that issue. You see Lady Blue-eyes again?”
    Justin couldn’t help but smile. “I did. And she is in that wager book downstairs. If the man lied to her once, he’ll likely do it again. I merely want to uncover any other secrets he might have and give her all the information possible so she can decide to marry him knowing his faults as well as his merits. I’m suspicious that he prefers to spend the bulk of his coin at a different establishment. One not as acceptable as ours.”
    “Probably right. There are lots of those places willing to take wagers on all manner of things.”
    Justin leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his abdomen. “I want to know everything though. What he plays, who he plays with, how much he wagers, side wagers, all of it.”
    “Consider it done.” Clipps nodded, then stood to leave.
    “Have you discovered anything about the other matter I asked you to look into?” Justin asked.
    Clipps rocked back on his heels. “Another dead end, I’m afraid.”
    Justin nodded and Clipps slipped out the door.
    “Bloody hell.” Another dead end. This was the third one in the last two months. His father had told him he would never discover his mother’s real identity, and damned if the man hadn’t been right. But Justin refused to give up. The right evidence had to be out there, he merely needed to find it. While he looked into his mother’s identity, he would also do his best to ensure Chrissy was protected from making a huge mistake. Everything Justin knew about George right now indicated he was quite similar to Justin’s father. Selfish and dishonest. The last thing he’d want to see is Chrissy married off to someone like that.
    …
    The following day Justin decided it was time to pay a call on his half-brother. Some days being the brother of the Duke of Chanceworth had its benefits. The man knew practically everyone in town. While Clipps was looking into what Wilbanks did outside of Rodale’s, Roe might be able to give Justin information as to the