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home.”
    “Did he know about his inheritance?”
    She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
    “So he saw you before even visiting his mother.”
    She flinched, startled that he had been that perceptive. “He did not come to see me. He and my brother…”
    He waved her into silence, uninterested in her evasions. “Look around you, Wendy. This is my world, and I have two more like this.”
    And brothels as well. Not to mention a couple of thieving rings. Damon had his hands in any number of pies.
    “I have wealth larger than any dukedom, and I’m more powerful than Prinny.”
    “That’s treason!” she cried, stunned that he would match power with the crown, even in words.
    He shrugged. “It is the truth. I have more money than the regent, more influence, and a larger circle of people who flow through my doors.”
    She turned away, disturbed by his words, but excited too. After all, she would never stand beside Prinny and banter with him. But she was here with Damon.
    “What has Prinny done for his people?” he continued. “What does he do that improves anyone’s lot?”
    She snorted. “What do you do but line your own pockets?”
    He turned to look at her, his expression sad. It startled her to see such emotion haunt his face.
    “You do not know me as well as you think,” he said. “I am not a monster. I never have been.”
    She shook her head, unwilling to believe anything he said.
    He huffed out a breath. “I have never lied to you. I have treated you honestly, and I take nothing from anyone that is not freely given.” He gestured to the floor below. “What need do I have to steal? They are eager to spend their blunt.”
    “What of your whores? I have heard of your initiation rooms.”
    His eyes narrowed in anger. “I have never forced a woman in my life. There are whores enough that come begging to my doors. I give them fair coin and a safe place to work. Food and clothing as well. I even provide for their get.”
    She nodded, knowing it was true. “The children go to the thieving rings.”
    “Again, I give them food and shelter.”
    “But you know what they do.”
    He sighed as he looked at the floor. But she had the impression he did not see what was below. Instead, he was thinking of something else, remembering the past, perhaps, or envisioning a future that she couldn’t imagine.
    “I have made a place for myself and for countless others in this world. Prinny has done nothing but grow fat and disparage his wife.”
    Wendy had no response to that. She knew nothing of politics and cared even less. But she began to see Damon’s point. The world was filled with vices. He did nothing but profit from them while keeping his employees safe.
    There were other hells in London, but none were safe for a woman to work. In terms of the evil, Damon was perhaps the best of the lot. He was certainly the smartest.
    She shifted uncomfortably beside him, unsure of things she’d once thought were absolutes. “You didn’t bring me here to talk politics, Damon. What do you want?”
    “How is your mother?”
    “She is just fine,” she answered tartly, mostly because she knew his real question. Where will you go now that you have been tossed on the street? “She is packing. We will be sharing the home of…” Her voice trailed away, the truth hitting her hard. They couldn’t stay at the home of Mrs. Lyncott. Not if she truly was the mother of a duke now. The woman hadn’t liked Wendy when they were of the same social status. Now the social gap was too great.
    She swallowed and looked at her hands, trying to hide the panic. They were to leave their home by tomorrow night. Where would they go?
    “Wendy?”
    She didn’t look at him. She knew what he was offering, and more than anything, she didn’t want to say yes. She couldn’t! And yet, what choice did she have?
    He touched her chin, slowly drawing her to look at him.
    “Do you have a place to stay?”
    “Not yet,” she whispered.
    His hand was