Earl of Gold (Lords of Scandal #7) - Tammy Andresen Page 0,26

door.

Penny who’d been shunned by society too but instead of becoming completely self-possessed, she’d decided to live her life, helping those who needed it most.

He winced.

Penny was as poor as her name implied and yet she was…so much more admirable than himself. She glowed with the love that she allowed to fill her heart.

And suddenly, he didn’t need the ton, the club, these men. He needed Penny, or, at least, he wished to help her with her orphanage. Because what would it have meant to him as a boy to have a place that he could have been loved? Like Penny loved Natty.

Emotion thickened his throat. Blackwater was right. Logan was responsible for what he’d done to his older brother. He’d allowed the basest of motivations to shape his life.

“I’m out.” Blackwater spit again.

The other men stood silently. Would they side with Logan?

He wouldn’t make them decide.

“It’s all right, Blackwater. You stay in. I’ll leave.” And then he stepped around Devonhall and past Daring, coming to face the other men.

Blackwater’s surprise made his eyes wide and his chin whip back. “What?”

“You’ve every right to hate me. I allowed myself to explode in violent anger. And that same anger has shaped my entire adult life.”

Daring looked at him. “You don’t have to—”

“I do.” Logan shrugged. “It’s time I lived a different life. One that helps the weak rather than making money off of them. I don’t want the club anymore, but I would be most appreciative if you all saw fit to donate to Miss Walter’s cause.”

Absolute silence met his words.

It was Daring who finally spoke. “It happened, didn’t it? And rather quickly too.”

“What’s that?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

Daring only smiled as he began leading Logan back toward the doors. “You, my good man, have fallen in love.”

Penny sat across from the duchess, trying to decide what she might possibly ask to gain some sort of insight.

She cleared her throat. “Your Grace.”

The other woman smiled. “Call me Minnie.”

“Minnie?” Penny repeated, managing not to jolt in surprise. The duchess, tall, thin, and stunningly beautiful with flaming red hair, seemed as though she should be up on a pedestal, not nice and approachable. It seemed wrong to call this woman by her given name.

“Well, it’s Minerva, but all my sisters call me Minnie.”

“Thank you…Minnie.” Penny cleared her throat. “I am trying to discern what just happened. Can you tell me?”

Minnie gave her a warm smile. “I’m not entirely certain either. Blackwater clearly had an axe to grind, though the why of it eludes me.”

Penny nodded. “And the club?”

“The Den of Sins.” Minnie wrinkled her nose. “A gaming hell. I hate the place. My husband likely would have held onto it but I can’t abide it and I’ve convinced him to sell.”

“A gaming hell?” Dread churned in Penny’s gut. “He had to donate to my cause in order to buy a share in the club.” She’d mostly figured that part out. And it hurt deeply.

She’d begun to hope that he cared for her and her cause. But it had become clear that he didn’t give a whit for either. She should have known. Why would a man like him really care for a nobody like her and her girls? And the orphanage? She suppressed a groan.

A shudder passed over her and her chin dropped as she cast her gaze to the floor. “I am nothing but a means to an end.”

The dress, which she’d loved earlier, filled her with a disgust. She’d gained funds beyond her wildest imaginations, but Logan hadn’t bought it for her. He was going to make a king’s ransom on his gaming hell and that was the real reason she’d been brought here.

It had all become clear.

The Earl of Gold.

Apparently his heart was just as hard and shiny as she’d first imagined. He hadn’t cared about them at all. Her breath hitched. Why was she surprised? And why did that knowledge hurt so much?

“Penny,” the other woman spoke softly, reaching out to place a hand on top of hers. “Are you all right?”

Penny shook her head. “I am used to men not wanting a woman with a cause. But somehow, I thought he was different.”

Minnie squeezed her finger. “He might be. I saw the way he looked at Blackwater. I do believe the earl would lay down his life for yours.”

Penny’s head dropped even lower. He’d called her orphans urchins. He didn’t care about them. He’d been telling her that from the beginning. But she’d allowed her attraction to