Twice Tempted by a Rogue (Stud Club #2)

“Tell us about the attack,” Rhys interrupted. “What exactly happened in that alley?”


“As I told you, Leo and I were having words about the tokens while Miss Dunn over there waited just round the bend. From the other end of the alley came two ruffians. We were taken unawares. Before we knew what was happening, they were upon us, slinging fists. We made our stab at defense, but the men were … large. And determined.”

“What else can you tell us about them?” Rhys asked.

“Cora said one was bald,” Bellamy said. “And the other …”

“Was Scottish, from the sounds of him,” the girl put in. “I’m almost certain of it.”

Rhys leaned to the edge of his chair. “Would you know them again, be able to identify them if they were caught?”

Faraday put his hands to his temples. “Honestly, once the beating started, I remember little. Bald or ginger, Irish or Scot, pug-nosed or six-fingered … I’ve no recollection. If I didn’t even recognize Miss Dunn, how would I know those brutes again? There was no time to get a proper look. They didn’t even go for our money before they started in on us.”

“Well, if they weren’t cut-purses, what were they after?”

A strange look crossed Faraday’s face. “Don’t you know?”

Rhys and Bellamy looked to one another, nonplussed.

“I’ll be damned. You truly don’t know.” Faraday rubbed his eyes for a long moment. Then he gave a throaty chuckle as he reached for a piece of shortbread. “You, Mr. Bellamy. They were after you.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Bellamy paled. “What the hell are you saying?” “I meant just what I said,” Faraday replied. “That attack was meant for you.”

Bellamy leapt from his chair. A teacup crashed to the floor, and Cora flinched.

“Easy, there.” Faraday quirked a brow at Rhys. “Your friend’s hotheaded, isn’t he?”

Raking both hands through his dark hair, Bellamy paced the room with agitation. Every few seconds, he punctuated his steps with a muttered oath.

Faraday watched him with a dispassionate gaze, leaning back in his chair. “You have to admit, it only makes sense. Everyone expected Leo to be with you that night, and the two of us share a strong resemblance. In the dark, we could easily be confused. The brutes weren’t after money, just blood.”

Rhys frowned. “Even from that, you can’t be sure—”

“Leo was sure.”

“What?” Bellamy stopped pacing.

“He said, ‘Tell Julian,’” Faraday said. He blinked a few times, cleared his throat. “Those were his last words to me. He said them twice, as a matter of fact. Clear as day. ‘Tell Julian.’ Why do you think I gave Miss Dunn your address?”

“Oh, Jesus.” Sinking his weight onto the windowsill, Bellamy put a hand to his eyes. “I knew it. I knew his death was my fault.” His voice broke. “How will I ever look Lily in the face again?”

Faraday said, “If you value her safety, you’d best stay clear of her entirely. Evidently, you’re a dangerous man to be around. Leo never did know how to choose his company. This is what happens when you start a club and open membership to just anyone.”

Rhys gave their host a scrutinizing look. “If all this is true, why didn’t you wait for Cora to return? Go with her to Bellamy’s house? Instead you slunk off and left Leo alone.”

Bellamy said, “He’s right. That makes no sense.”

Faraday gave a defensive shrug. “I don’t know … I suppose I panicked.”

“What did you have to fear?”

“Questions. Suspicions. Being found alone with a dead man.”

“But if your story is truthful …” Rhys began.

“If,” Bellamy emphasized.

“If your story is truthful, you would have nothing to fear from an inquiry,” Rhys finished. “Not to mention”—he eyed the man’s legs—“you walked back to your carriage with a broken hip?”

“No.” Faraday winced as he said the word. “I crawled.”

That answer didn’t sit right with Rhys. The man had dragged a broken leg and his gold-threaded waistcoat through the gutters of Whitechapel, rather than wait for assistance?

Faraday absorbed Rhys’s skeptical look. “As I said, I panicked. And …” He blew out a slow breath. “I knew he was going to die. And I didn’t want to watch him go. Just couldn’t.”

“So you left him to die alone,” Bellamy choked out. “In a dark, filthy alley, with a whore for company.”

Faraday picked up his teacup and stared into it, hard. “Do you know, I believe I’ve had enough society for today. Miss Dunn, once again your pretty face has improved a very bleak occasion. It’s been lovely, but I really must ask you all to leave.”