She let the words settle, more than a little curious, while she reached for the last tart on the tray.
‘The Underworld.’ Crispin’s brows rose all the way to his hairline. ‘That topping house is a well-kept secret and no place for a delicate lady. Every scoundrel, rogue and rake holds an account there. How do you know of it?’ He leaned closer as if he could see the answer in her eyes and for a brief moment, Vivienne thought his expression altered, softened, until a look of absolute surprise slid back into place.
She settled against the cushion and relished Crispin’s shocked expression, Sophie’s laughter and prompt applause. If she were to visit the Underworld, she would see Mr Sinclair and that in itself was intriguing enough to motivate a continuation of the discussion. ‘Never mind that. You’ve proved my point. If the ton seeks to keep the hall secret, there must be good reason. What better place to find a gentleman to reform?’
‘Oh, now that sounds intriguing,’ Sophie added.
Crispin chuckled loud and long. ‘It is called a hell, not a hall and, Vivienne, you are the veriest delight.’ He sat beside her on the couch. ‘You will not find a gentleman there.’
‘Enlighten us, dear brother.’ Sophie drew closer too, aware her brother enjoyed being the centre of their attention.
‘A gaming hell is a magnet for low women and high stakes. People who dally at such places are not fit company for either of you.’ He spoke to them both but somehow his focus remained solely on Vivienne. ‘I couldn’t bear the thought of you rubbing elbows with the lowest levels of humanity in the dimly lit interior of a gaming hell.’
Sophie cleared her throat and Crispin amended his statement.
‘Or you either, Sis.’
‘I’m just wondering—’ Sophie flashed a knowing smile ‘—at your exuberance for the telling. It ignites my curiosity as to how often you’ve visited the Underworld club.’
‘Not a club. Not a hall.’ He shook his head back and forth as if he was explaining something simple to a young child. Then he expelled a long breath to indicate he tolerated their foolery and by obligatory bond would impart his privileged male knowledge and eradicate why their reasoning remained flawed. ‘I mean to protect Vivienne lest you put some hare-brained idea in her head.’ He paused to eye his sister with what could only be considered a glare of warning.
Sophie pulled a mulish look in return. When silence ensued, Vivienne interjected.
‘I don’t believe it can be as bad as all that. I’m sure there is a man who oversees the activities of this hell.’ She made sure to emphasize she’d stated the word correctly. ‘Someone in control.’ Absolute control. Mr Sinclair exuded authority like others perspired.
‘Let me speak plainly, ladies. The proprietors are neither well-mannered men nor company for anyone in good standing with the ton. I’ve heard stories about one of the owners, Mr Sinclair.’ The latter was said with calamitous gravity.
Vivienne’s head shot up with the mention.
Sophie wasn’t as patient. ‘And?’ She practically begged the question.
‘If I must.’ Crispin lifted a meaningful eyebrow. ‘The man is a by-blow: child of a mother with light heels and a father with poor judgement.’ He shifted on the couch though he didn’t break eye contact. ‘I’ve heard he is a violent man with a wicked temper, too clever by far to be caught at his misdeeds. Details would curl your hair so I will spare you both, but association with the scoundrel would bring about any woman’s ruin. Let that erase any ambitious thoughts simmering in your lovely brains.’
‘But wouldn’t his poor reputation suggest he was in need of reform more than most?’ Vivienne slid her gaze from one friend to the other.
‘There’s no reforming Lucifer.’
‘Oh, Crispin, you exaggerate. I think Vivienne’s logic makes a fine point.’ Sophie shook her head for emphasis. ‘All this talk of dark and dangerous strangers makes me more curious than ever. Besides, everyone deserves a chance for atonement.’
‘Perhaps,’ Crispin answered. ‘But not by the two of you. Father would lock you up for the rest of your life, darling sister.’
‘I never said I wished to provide salvation to the wayward.’ She backtracked with hurried explanation. ‘I merely suggested an idea to assist Vivienne to ease into social circles now that she’s returned to us.’
Vivienne half listened to the continued debate between brother and sister, stalled on Crispin’s description of Mr Sinclair as wicked and clever. He’d certainly seemed that way when he’d discovered her against the ivy. Lord, when he’d looked at her she’d gone all fluttery inside. And the more Crispin spoke of the man’s daunting reputation, the more she became convinced he warranted her attention. Besides, any man known to his friends as Sin begged for betterment, didn’t he?
‘So did you spit on Rowley Johns’ grave?’ Cole shuffled a deck of cards with lightning speed before splaying them across the table to flip back and forth in senseless distraction. The reassuring chatter of conversation mingled with an occasional shout of celebration from below. The hell was crowded again tonight.
‘No.’ Sin answered with a grunt of regret. He hadn’t achieved his objective at the graveyard yesterday. Not because the man deserved better but because Sinclair was a better man. And, too, he’d become distracted by Ransom on the hunt for a runaway ebony-haired sprite. He should have learned more of her, but his mind had been all over the place, emotions a muddled mess.
It wasn’t until early this morning after closing the hell and returning home to his town house that he allowed himself the luxury of fantasy. She was no doubt a beauty, but something else about the lady fired his blood with unexpected desire. Jaded by wealth and opportunity, myriad women had warmed his sheets and left the next morning without his second glance. But this one, with her raven hair and emerald eyes, gave him pause. Not that he had any room in his life for a woman. Binding relationships were off limits. Life seemed much simpler when not emotionally anchored to another person. The remembrance spoke well of his mother’s hardship and father’s fickle attention.
Like the flick of an overturned card, Sin remembered being called to the headmaster’s office all those years ago. He’d worked hard to achieve the grades expected of him, though he knew his efforts were not valued. He walked a fine line with the headmaster and a false story had given cause to have his mother summoned. With a heartless economy of words, he’d learned his mother had been killed, set upon by highwaymen, and already buried while he’d studied for midterm exams, none the wiser.
His heart shattered in that moment, never to be mended, his mother the only person of value in his life. He was often at her hip, just the two of them through his formative years, and despite his father making brief appearances the rare meetings were composed of reserved conversation and a stilted report of his progress in school. His father would never fail to remind him of his place and the difference between Max and the legitimate heir he’d fathered across London.
From that rejection the bond with his mother grew stronger and they were inseparable until his schooling at Eton. Even then he’d begrudged having to leave her. She was an unending source of love and pride, determined to instil in him a belief his world was not limited by the circumstance of his birth. The impact of her death compounded every sorrowful regret he amassed since that horrible afternoon in the headmaster’s office. It wasn’t until years later that his world exploded for a second time.
Cole snapped his fingers a few inches from Sin’s face with impatient sarcasm. ‘Where are you? Are you listening?’
‘No.’ He smiled. Truth was truth and his friend wouldn’t be offended. ‘I was thinking about something else.’
‘When we met four years ago you told me you’d