A Fool Again by Eloisa James Page A

will always behave in a genteel fashion,” she said coolly. “And that is just as I would wish it.”
    â€œIf you say so,” Carola said. The doubt rang clear in her voice. Then she reached over to the table next to her and picked up a small garment. “Look at this, Genevieve. Do you think that I disfigured the sleeve with too many rosebuds?”
    Lucius Felton was involved in some suspect dealings, all right. But he was walking just on the right side of the law, although it appeared that Genevieve’s dead husband had had no such scruples. From what Tobias could ascertain, Felton was worth a tremendous amount of money, far more, Tobias suspected, than the ton imagined. Within five hours of beginning his inquiries, Tobias had gained respect for the man. Felton may be a shade disreputable, but some of his disreputable dealings were clearly brilliant.
    One thing Tobias had discovered immediately was that Felton’s appearance in Genevieve’s life was no accident. He must have seen her somewhere and decided to have her, because Felton had suddenly presented himself to Lord Mul-caster as a partner six months before Mulcaster died, accepting a piddling percentage.
    Obviously, Felton was out for bigger prey than Mulcaster’s money. He wanted Mulcaster’s wife, and money was no object.
    Still, Tobias thought he saw one weakness: Felton’s stables. Felton was a fanatic with horseflesh, a man who would move mountains to buy a colt he wanted for his stable. It took Tobias four days to buy all five horses in England considered likely to win considerable fame in the next few years.
    So Tobias strolled into a dinner party being given by Lady Perwinkle with a sense of well-being, although it quickly dissipated. The first thing he saw after greeting his cheerful little hostess was Felton bending over Genevieve’s hand in a display of outrageous gallantry. All that golden-brown hair of hers was precariously tied up with a few flowers; yet somehow a haphazard arrangement that would make any other woman look disheveled made her look more alive. And Lucius Felton saw it. There was a deep, acquisitive sense of possession in Felton’s eyes that made To-bias think seriously of murder for the first time in his life.
    He walked further into the drawing room and greeted the quite exquisite Miss Priscilla Blythe. Genevieve was playing the piano, and Felton was watching with a sleepy look in his eyes that made Tobias stiffen like a jackal. But he was playing a long game, and so he held his cards, chattering with Priscilla until he was ready to expire from tedium. She seemed to have only one subject of conversation: her small dog, Lance.
    There was one interesting moment over port. Lord Perwinkle was chatting with two gentlemen about trout fishing, of which Tobias knew nothing. Lucius Felton was standing by the fireplace, so Tobias strolled over to greet him. He didn’t bother with pleasantries: From what he’d discovered in the last few days, Felton’s urbane courtesies were all on the surface. “I believe you have something that I want,” he remarked. His tone was courteous enough.
    Felton raised his head and looked at him. Tobias had seen adders in Indian marketplaces with kinder eyes. “I never give up my possessions,” he said.
    Tobias raised an eyebrow. “Under no circumstances?”
    â€œNever. I would recommend that you abandon your efforts, Mr. Darby. The lady in question has no wish to jump ship, you see.” He smiled with all the delicate courtesy of a cat playing with a mouse.
    But Tobias was no mouse. He smiled as well, and it was a smile honed in the back alleys of Bombay and the marble palaces of Indian rajas. “Shall we leave the lady out of this?” he said softly.
    Felton’s eyes dropped demurely, and he examined his fingernails. “I simply wished to spare you some trouble,” he said. “She is quite, quite attached to