Sin With a Scoundrel: The Husband Hunters Club by Sara Bennett Page B

keep them occupied usefully instead of spending their days gambling and worse.”
    It was so unfair that this disaster had happened to her father through his being too trusting. He’d believed the investment his friend had convinced him to undertake was foolproof, and this was the result. Now he’d grown suspicious and bitter of all wealthy men.
    “Thomas, you like Horace, you know you do.”
    “Humph.”
    “Tina is waiting.”
    “Yes, yes, you look beautiful, Tina. Just like your mother.” He stood up and kissed her cheek. “Enjoy the theater,” he added for good measure.
    Tina could see that the poor man was trying very hard to be cheerful for her sake.
    “Thank you, Father. I’m glad you like Horace,” she added, with a sideways glance at her mother.
    Tina couldn’t help but wonder what her father’s opinion would be of a man like Richard Eversham and the way he made his living. Best not to think of it, she decided with a shudder. They would never meet so the problem would never arise.
    Just then Charles came running down the stairs and barely glanced at her. “Ready, Tina?” He noted the time on the longcase clock. “We should get a move on.”
    “Yes, Charles. I’m ready.”
    They walked out together to the waiting coach. Tina found herself considering how much the vehicle was worth, and at what point that, too, would have to be sold, and then she told herself to stop it. Tonight she must concentrate on her quest for Horace and forget about everything else.
    Charles was shuffling about impatiently in his seat, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at Horace’s Bell Street town house. Tonight there was a wash of light from the windows and open door, welcoming his guests inside.
    It was a tall, grand building and had belonged to the Gilfoyles for many years. Horace, having inherited his fortune so early—his parents had died in a boating accident when he was a child—had lived here most of his life.
    Tina took a deep breath—as deep as her corset would allow—and stepped over the threshold. Tentatively she imagined Richard Eversham at her side, and it helped, so she kept him there. Horace was nowhere to be seen, but there were several familiar faces, and she drifted toward a group of young women with whom she was acquainted.
    “Clementina!” said Anne Burgess. “There you are, at last.”
    “Charles made us late,” Tina said, with a teasing grin in her brother’s direction.
    Charles pretended to frown. “Humph. How do you do, Anne? Looking as beautiful as ever.”
    Anne smiled back at him. She was a very attractive blonde. Tall and slim and elegant, she wore a royal blue dress that matched her eyes. She attracted the attention of a great many males, without, it seemed to Tina, any deliberate effort at all. Tina and Charles had known her almost as long as they had Horace, and she was always so nice, it was impossible to dislike her.
    Unless, of course, she was here because Horace had a special interest in her, thought Tina. How cruel that would be, when she had gone to so much trouble and expense to try to capture that interest for herself.
    At her shoulder Richard Eversham told her to show more confidence in her own abilities, and she immediately felt better.
    A moment later Horace arrived through a side door, alone, and looking flustered and upset. She had never seen him like that and was so surprised she said nothing, simply watching as he straightened his waistcoat and brushed back a lock of fair hair. An expression of delighted welcome settled over his face, almost as if he had put on a mask, and he strode into the room to greet his guests.
    There was a group of young men nearby, and he was soon laughing with them and slapping their backs as if he hadn’t seen them for years. Then he went to the pianoforte and spoke to the pianist, after which, to Tina’s surprise, Horace began to sing, a ditty about the life of a beggar being an easier one than that of a workingman. He sang it with a