A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,43

rarely won a hand. Considering his lack of skill and endless run of bad luck, Caroline was certain the man was up to something. No one could play that poorly that often unless they had endless funds of money. But that would prove nothing to the authorities.

Caroline climbed back into the carriage to find Roe lounging against the back bench, his legs stretched out in front of him, a glass of brandy held in one hand. He held it up to her as she took a seat across from him.

“What did you discover? Is Mr. Lamb up to something evil and nefarious?”

The carriage lurched forward, rolling down the dark London street toward Roe’s townhome.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I believe he is,” she said. She withdrew the hat from her head and began pulling at the pins binding the mass of hair to her scalp. “My memory of him from before was spot on. He loses. Every hand. No one who is that bad a player can continue playing again and again unless he has a large sum to play with. We know that Mr. Lamb does not, correct?”

“Yes, I had my solicitor’s firm look into Lamb’s private financials and they indicated the man’s coffers were slim at best,” Roe said. “There’s no way he’s paying for all of his playing time.”

“Precisely. He’s getting the money from somewhere. I asked around to some other players to see if Mr. Lamb had been in regularly and he had. Same story again and again. He plays for hours, he loses nearly every hand, yet he comes back at least three times a week,” Caroline said.

“There are certain people out there who will loan people money with exorbitant interest, but that would only make sense if we’d seen him show some sign of skill or luck.”

“None of either, I’m afraid,” she said. “Does he have any family?”

“Not that I know of. Perhaps we need to speak to the other board members about the monies given to the orphanage,” Roe said. “If he’s the only one seeing the financials, then he can do with them what he chooses.”

“Yes, but how to prove it?” Caroline asked.

“There are ways, but it will take time. And we’ll likely have to set a trap. Or two.” Roe took a long sip of his brandy. “You certain he didn’t recognize you?”

“No, but he did speak to me tonight more than he had the other times we’ve been at the same table.”

“Did he talk to everyone?”

“More or less. He was uncharacteristically chatty this evening.” It had bothered her, but Mr. Lamb already made her feel unsettled, so it was probably just his character. Still, she should use caution when it came to him.

“We should also consider that there are other ways he could be funding his habit, other than theft and high interest loans.”

“What other ways?”

“He could have a wealthy benefactor.” Roe shrugged. “A widow who gifts him for pleasuring her.”

Caroline opened her mouth, then shook her head. “That is a vile thought.”

“You do not have to imagine such a thing. But it does happen.”

“With men? I thought mistresses were just for men.”

“It’s far more common for a woman to be a mistress. Men, in general, don’t want to have to rely on women for creature comforts. But it’s probably more common than you’d think.”

“Interesting.” She couldn’t imagine a life like that. For a man or a woman. To be paid off for your physical favors was no better than prostitution, regardless if the payments were given in jewelry boxes rather than coins.

“What if we speak to the other board members and find out what their impressions of Mr. Lamb are? That could be helpful,” Caroline said. “Inquire as to what they know about how the funding is spent.”

“You and my mother could visit the ladies. Except Lady Fairfax, I shall handle her.”

Caroline knew they had history. He claimed it was a relationship from his past, but perhaps he intended to rekindle things with the beauty. She knew Belinda was interested in such a thing, she’d heard as much from the woman’s mouth the other day. But she hadn’t heard Roe’s response.

“I’ll also pay a visit to the other men.”

“Very well. Perhaps Millie and I will see to it tomorrow and make certain that we try to uncover some of this situation before that man steals every last dime from those children.”

If Caroline knew pledging her life’s service to the Queen would get her out of her current situation,