Temptation Has Green Eyes Read Free Page A

actual illegal acts ever took place on the premises.
    Then they passed the theater at Drury Lane, its doors currently closed pending the evening’s performances, and turned the corner, away from Seven Dials. Nobody went that way unless they had some criminal business to pursue. They passed several tall buildings lining the narrow streets with columns of brass plaques outside, indicating the concerns based there.
    Normally Max would be reveling in the place, in the variety and the exhibition of life in all its variations, but this time he only noted the familiar landmarks without thought. His mind was occupied with one thing. Sophia. A pretty girl, and one who answered sensibly when addressed, but not someone who quickened his heart or had attracted much of his attention. No sense of excitement or anticipation when he’d seen her, which was rarely.
    Was she avoiding him? He didn’t think so. Perhaps she was as reticent with everyone she met. That didn’t augur well for Sophia as a society lady. Reticence would be considered bad breeding, nothing more.
    Children of Max’s station were bred to expect people to stare at them and single them out. They should not avoid that task. Otherwise it could be regarded as bad manners. Would Sophia make a good marchioness? The reticence didn’t indicate that.
    Before they reached their destination, Max recommenced discussing the problem with Russell. They were moving too fast and with too much purpose for anyone to catch more than a few words in passing, so they were as private here as at the discreet corner table at Lloyd’s. “Do you intend Sophia to continue the business after she marries, or will you expect her to withdraw from commercial life?”
    Russell laughed as he dodged a dark pool of something unpleasantly liquid. Since it hadn’t rained for a day or so, it was unlikely to be water. “I’d consider any man who chose not to consult her an idiot. She knows the various enterprises as well as I do. It’s sheer madness to ignore expertise in whatever guise it appears, male or female.”
    Relief flooded him. She was an intelligent woman, then. “Why the hurry to hand over your business? You, sir, are in your prime.” He assumed Russell to be around fifty. His vigor and mental acuity pointed to a lack of extreme age.
    Russell raised a brow. “Thank you for that. It’s time I took life at a more leisurely pace.”
    Did he have a health problem? The lines of his face and the gnarled hands were probably from Russell’s early years on board ship, where he made his first fortune. But perhaps the lines were deeper, the eyes a little less clear.
    “My daughter is twenty-four. She needs a husband, one who will care for her and ensure she comes to no harm. And you are the best candidate. My lord,” he added as if an afterthought.
    In fact, Max’s colleague was reminding him of his exalted title and station. True, he could enhance Russell’s business merely by being a peer of the realm.
    He could finally restore the house. His parents had spent all their money and lavished their love on the house in the country. Devereaux House had been a large establishment, suitable for a marquess’s main residence, and his parents had enlarged it still further. Now it was packed with treasures, beautified, and redesigned.
    His land steward had loftily informed Max that the house contained as many rooms as there were days in the year. The news appalled Max. How could anyone live in a monstrosity that size? Now the place belonged to him, or more precisely, had devolved to him with the entail on the land. He couldn’t sell it. He never went there.
    After his father’s death, Max had closed and shuttered the place, retaining a skeleton staff to keep the house clear of the pests that might damage the treasures. Even that had cost him more than he could afford.
    His mother had adored her husband, and therefore she adored the house, too. Not that she lived there. That was a constant needle in