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that he had been in this business for years, it still startled him to see how a little drink and a game of cards could bring out the worst in these supposed “men of nobility.” Some nights he was ashamed to be counted a member of them, and those nights were coming more and more frequently. Stephen had always loathed the weakness that shone through as he watched desperate men gamble away what little they had left in the hopes of making a fortune. But more and more often of late, he was also bearing witness to a cruelty hidden beneath some of those men’s suave exteriors. It wearied his soul and made him think that perhaps it was time to get out of this business. He had even looked into several alternative ventures, but had not struck on anything as lucrative yet. Once he did…
    Shrugging his thoughts away, he turned his attention to the matter at hand. “Take Sally and Belle to be tended; then see them home. Here.” Unlocking the drawer of his desk, he retrieved a sack and tossed it to his doorman. “Split this between them and tell them not to come back until they are recovered.”
    Nodding, the large man turned and left him alone to his thoughts, which promptly returned to the woman he hadbeen kissing only moments before. Damn, she had looked fine in breeches. Even sagging, baggy breeches. But, he thought with a small smile, she had looked even better with them pooled around her ankles.

Chapter Three
    “O h, dear.”
    “ ‘Oh, dear’ is right!” Prudence quit her pacing and dropped glumly onto the settee beside Eleanore. The Kindersleys’ town house was where Prudence had taken her father’s clothes to change into them before attempting her infiltration of Ballard’s. After fleeing the scene of her humiliation, she had been forced to return to change back into her gown. She would have preferred to have Jamison take her straight home, where she could weep over her humiliating failure in private, but, dressed as she had been, going home had been impossible. Meg Prescott was not aware of what her daughter was up to. It was her Christmas wish, after all. Besides, she probably wouldn’t have approved.
    Now that she was here and had revealed the humiliating results of her venture, Prudence found that she did actually feel a touch better. Eleanore’s sympathy was a soothing balm.
    “What was it like?”
    Pru turned a confused gaze to her friend. “What? Realizing that I was standing there with Father’s breeches down around my ankles like some—”
    “Nay.”
    The other woman started to smile, but bit it back quickly, Prudence noticed.
    “Nay,” she repeated. “I meant the kiss. What was his kiss like?”
    Prudence glanced away, her mouth twitching and twisting before she could control it. She wasn’t at all surprised to find her friend curious about
that
. They had often talked about the members of the
ton
, discussing the men they found attractive and such. Stephen had been one of them.
    He was terribly handsome and debonair. And she and Eleanore were not the only ones who thought so. The older set among the
ton
might have resented having to admit him to society, but the younger ladies were more than happy to have him around, and they often vied for his attention. Eleanore and Prudence had never been among those who vied, but they had certainly noticed the man and would not have said nay had he asked for a dance, or the opportunity to fetch them a refreshment.
    It wasn’t just that he was attractive, but he had shown his kindness on several occasions. It was well known that he had a tendency to befriend those the
ton
saw as just barely acceptable, and there was never a wallflower so long as he was in attendance. He made a point of being introduced, and of making everyone feel included. Pru and Ellie had both appreciated that. Especially Prudence, who just lately had found herself in need of being rescued from being a wallflower. She rarely attended social functions, but had on one or two occasions