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met James’s over the table and widened. When James gestured to the front doors with his head, Andrew closed his eyes and grimaced. His tablemates must have taken note of his reaction, because curious gazes turned in James’s direction, and some nodded and chuckled quietly, perhaps surmising the reason for his appearance.
    The first part of his charge accomplished, James moved a discreet distance from the table and leaned back against a paneled wall, waiting for them to finish their play. There were plenty of other gentlemen close by who’d be more than willing to sit in, so James knew his nephew would be able to extricate himself from the game witha minimumoffuss.
    The wait didn’t bother himin the least. It gave hima chance to calm himself and hopefully allow some of his blood to return to his head. It wasn’t easy. More than once, temptation won out and his eyes strayed back to the youngmanacross fromAndrew.
    The young beauty continued to play but seemed preoccupied, glancing worriedly between him and Andrew. By this James finally surmised that he must be the infamous Mr. Allen, the friend that Andrew was trying to help with his dunderheaded scheme. The thought did not give him comfort. He wondered what could have happened in the few short hours after he left the ball. Why did Allen need to leave London, and where was Victor Weir?
    These questions and more plagued him as he continued to watch the play. He was surprised to note how well Allen played despite his distraction, and James had to admit he was impressed. Fromthe look ofhimhe couldn’t be much older thanAndrew, yet he was holding his own quite well against several older gentlemen at the table. Though that thought made him grimace the moment it popped into his head. The “older”menat the table were close to his ownage, so what did that make him?
He’s your nephew’s friend, for God’s sake, barely half your age. Show a little restraint .
    James was becoming disgusted with himself. Perhaps going to see Elias had beena bad idea after all. It certainlyhadn’t helped.
James glanced around the room, hopingfor a distraction. It was a bad idea, for in doing so, he couldn’t help noticing more than one man’s attention drifting back to that table over and over. Apparently he wasn’t the only man in the room so affected, and the surge of jealousyhe felt at that realizationcaught himoffguard.
    James closed his eyes this time. That’s enough . You haven’t even met the man, and already you’re feeling possessive? Collect your nephew and go home before you make a fool of yourself.
    The round concluded, and Andrew and Mr. Allen stepped away from the table, each giving their apologies. James turned and moved toward the front doors without looking to see if they were following. The thought that the youngmanmight be joiningtheminthe carriage sent equal parts anticipation and anxiety coursing through him, addingto his self-disgust.
    Out in the street, he walked to the carriage and climbed in without a word. The other two followed shortly after and settled onto the seat opposite him. No one broke the silence, for which James would be eternally grateful. The carriage took off as soon as the footman climbed on, and in short order they were on their merry way home.
F
OR Kyle, it was the longest and most uncomfortable carriage ride he had ever experienced. Any other night, he would have thrilled at the beauty of the carriage itself, positively the finest he’d ever been allowed to ride in. But the pleasant haze fromthe brandyAndrew had shared with himonly an hour before was gone, and the pain fromthe jostling ofthe carriage was forcibly reminding himofthe nightmare his life had become.
    As he tried to find a more comfortable position on the bench, he felt the strange, empty calm he’d managed to maintain slipping away and the reality of his situation, and Victor’s betrayal, descend on him. His stomach twisted, and he broke out into a cold sweat as he struggled to