Earl of Gold (Lords of Scandal #7) - Tammy Andresen Page 0,25

sort of man had she allowed into her home and into the lives of her orphans? Would he hurt them? Because he’d already managed to damage her heart. She cared for him and he’d only ever wanted gold.

Chapter Eight

Logan’s fists itched, and he knew how to scratch that itch. Plant his hands in Blackwater’s face. He knew why Blackwater had singled him out. And it wasn’t because of Penny. These men still saw Logan as the outsider.

The one who didn’t belong.

It had been the same since he’d been sent to Eton as a youth. They’d jeered him, despite being the son of an earl.

His father was already in debtor’s prison at that point. So he’d been accepted on merit, having earned a scholarship rather than his family buying his spot.

His high marks on the entrance exam might have proven his worth, but he was treated like he was less. Without money, he was less in the other student’s eyes.

The instructors had been awful.

But after class had been the worst. Left in the care of older boys, they’d hated him for his ragged clothes and his thin purse. He’d been labelled an outsider and their punishment for such a crime had been merciless.

But Logan had grown hard and he’d grown strong. And his fists were anvils that waited to pummel Blackwater. Because he’d made Logan the outsider again.

They stopped in an open terrace and Logan shrugged off his coat, facing the ring of men. So that was how it was going to be. He could take it. He’d done it before. He’d gotten his revenge on the older Blackwater, Sirius, and he could teach the younger a few lessons as well.

He rolled his shoulders, then he spoke through his clenched teeth. “Say what we came out here to say, Blackwater, and then I can beat in your face.”

Blackwater’s lip curled as he stepped forward. “We can move straight to the fighting. There isn’t a thing I want to say to you. Besides, the state of your face tells me you haven’t changed a bit. Still fighting all the time.”

“That’s none of your damned business,” Logan pushed out between his clenched teeth, stepping toward the other man with a raised fist.

“Stop,” Daring’s voice through the thick air. “Both of you put your fists down.”

Blackwater stuck his finger out, jabbing it in Logan’s direction. “He ruined my brother’s life. The least I can do is hit him hard.”

Logan staggered back at that. He’d ruined the other Blackwater? If this wasn’t so serious, that would be laughable. “Your brother made it his sole mission to torment me for most of my school life. And you think I ruined his life?”

Blackwater took a step toward him, giving him a hard shove that sent Logan back several steps. He only just managed to keep his feet under him. The anger in the other man’s body was palpable.

“Liar,” Blackwater growled. “You trounced him so badly, his mind was never the same. It was the beginning of the end.”

It was the Duke of Devonhall who moved in front of him. “You’re wrong Blackwater. I was sixteen when I left Eton, Goldthwaite was ten. I watched your brother do terrible, awful things to him.”

Logan blinked in surprise. What?

Of course he remembered Devonhall. But the fact that the other man remembered him, made his head pulse. “You saw…”

Devonhall looked back at him. “I did. And I should have stopped it then. I was young and weak.”

Those words hit him like a punch in the chest. Devonhall regretted not helping him? “It’s fine,” he said. “I grew strong in that time and I learned how to fight for myself.”

Daring gave a stiff nod from next to Blackwater. “But did you banish every ounce of softness?”

Logan scrubbed his face. Perhaps he had.

Blackwater spit on the ground. “I’m not here to debate what my brother did, God rest his soul. It doesn’t change the fact that a man can only take responsibility for his own actions. I won’t work with Goldthwaite because of his temper, aptly displayed this evening. He’s too independent, too volatile, too liable to involve his fists.”

Daring stood straighter. “Do you all feel that way? Because Goldthwaite is part of the deal.”

But it was Logan who hesitated.

Because several things came into focus as he stood there.

Daring had been attempting to look out for him. This duke who didn’t need to do anything had tried to find him friends among the peerage and he’d…

Logan’s heart twisted.

He’d delivered Penny right to Logan’s