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time he’d rejected her.
No, if pride was the problem between them, it was her lack of pride, not an overabundance of it.
“It is not pride that keeps him away, I assure you,” Caroline said with chagrin. “It is disinterest.”
“Don’t be so certain of that. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“He’s made it perfectly clear that he does not want a life with me.”
“Yes, well, sometimes men don’t know what’s best for them.” She went back to her embroidery. “Perhaps he needs a little push in that direction.”
Caroline waited for Millie to say something else, but she sat silent, pulling her needle through the fabric. “Meaning?”
“Seduction, dear. Sometimes a girl must take matters into her own hands.”
Chapter Fourteen
Roe couldn’t very well go and play in the back room with Caroline. They’d risk Mr. Lamb getting suspicious. So he did the very best thing next to himself observing—he asked Justin to spend some time monitoring the game. And since they’d set up a tournament, it wouldn’t appear odd for Justin to stand watch. They’d been in there for over an hour now and Roe grew restless. He sat in the carriage outside, waiting for Caroline to finish. He’d given her the exact sum of money he’d loaned Mr. Lamb and then suggested she try to win it all back.
He knew she could do it. She was an excellent player, but damnation, he wished he were in there with her. Sending her in on her own grated against every protective instinct he had. Never mind that he was sitting right outside the whole time. Never mind that she was in Rodale’s, the safest gaming hell in London. Never mind that Justin himself was standing over her. It still irked Roe that he couldn’t watch over her himself.
Mr. Lamb was no fool. He was quite skilled at scamming and manipulating people out of money and persuading them to believe whatever lies he fed them.
Boomer, his aunt’s manservant, had been unable to accompany her tonight so Roe had felt it was necessary to have someone in there to keep an eye on her. Someone who knew who she was.
Twenty minutes later, Justin slid out the back door and stepped into the carriage. “I think we might be in trouble,” he said.
“Why is that?” Roe asked, ignoring the wave of nerves that assailed him. “Where is Caroline?”
“She’s fine. I have Mr. Clipps watching her for a moment until I return. But I think Nigel Lamb suspects something. He’s watching her too closely this evening.”
Roe swore. “This was a bad idea, I should have simply accused him of stealing the money from the orphanage and left it at that. To hell with proof.”
“You need the proof if you want to ensure he doesn’t wind up in another position of authority where he can pilfer funds from children. Tonight I’ve documented precisely how much he’s spent. He’s losing, too. Badly. He’s already dropped nearly five-hundred pounds. And Lamb is definitely using the bills you marked. I’ve seen several of them move across the table.”
“That’s about half of what I gave him. Bastard.”
“Caroline, on the other hand, is winning.” Justin smiled. “She’s quite good.”
“Indeed. I taught her.”
“Serves you right then that she’s so talented.” Justin held up a finger in protest. “But let me tell you, this disguise of hers is causing trouble at my house. My wife is begging me for a pair of trousers and has used Caroline as an excuse. If the two of them start a new fashion trend of women wearing pants, we’ll both lose our heads.”
Roe tried to laugh, but the truth was he was so damned worried about Caroline he couldn’t muster up the humor. “So you believe this will be enough to prove he took the money?” he asked.
“The documents I can give you, plus the monies you gave him, your solicitor will have record of that, correct?”
“Yes. I’m waiting on the final report from my solicitor regarding Lamb’s personal finances. At first glance it seems he doesn’t have enough money, but they found a second account at a different banking institution. Once I can prove that he doesn’t have that kind of money to gamble with, it will give the investigators enough evidence to look into matters further,” Roe said.
“Good.”
“Go get Caroline. I want her out of there before that bastard figures out her secret.”
Justin nodded. “I shall have her out to you in a moment.” He disappeared back into Rodale’s.
The minutes that followed seemed to crawl by.