Chapter Thirteen
Only a half hour passed before Gideon watched another gentleman leave the garden where he knew Angel remained.
Shortly thereafter, he saw Lysander go inside and the lady followed him out, leaving him with the impression that the prospects for her hand were at an end…
at least for the evening. He had a sense of relief that the last candidate left far sooner than the one previous to Dawkes’s intervention.
And he still couldn’t explain why he had felt so jealous of those men.
Perhaps it was because of that first evening when he had seen the lady—Angel, he reminded himself—on the balcony. Ever since then, he had searched for her above among the other ladies of the ton.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and reached for another brandy from a passing servant.
As he raised the crystal glass to his lips, he noticed he had the Black Widow of Whitehall’s attention.
Or at least Gideon assumed he did, since he couldn’t see anything of her features past that blasted black veil.
But he believed she was looking in his direction and those thoughts were confirmed once she began making her way toward him.
Gideon gulped once the lady dressed in mourning attire came abreast of him.
She stood silent, which couldn’t be a good omen because only God above knew what this woman had planned next.
But he couldn’t help the sound he made when Angel, along with another lady, came into view at the women’s balcony and they began to converse.
A slight chuckle could be heard from the woman standing next to him.
It wasn’t hard to miss even above the sound of the gambling room.
“She is lovely, isn’t she? But then I’m assuming you are well aware of such a fact given you have encountered the lady prior to this evening,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon stated as she discreetly pointed in Angel’s direction.
“We only just met,” he confided, lifting his glass to his lips.
The Black Widow of Whitehall turned toward him but as always, no matter how he tried to see even catch a glimpse of the lady’s features, nothing could be revealed beyond her veil of black.
This woman could walk among Society in broad daylight without her veil and no one would have any sort of an idea that she was the owner of the infamous Lyon’s Den.
“Really?” she asked in a tone that could only be termed as surprising since a short titter emitted from behind the veil. “I find this extremely difficult to believe. You truly don’t know the identity of the lady?”
He raised one of his brows in wonderment not fully understanding why his comment seemed so unusual to the woman. “Considering your own rules about keeping the men and women separated in your own establishment, how else could I have previously met her?”
The lady no longer made any attempt to hide her merriment. “How else, indeed?” she declared before turning her attention back to the gambling room. “Is there some reason, then, that you chose to enter the garden without permission?”
“I saw Major Dawkes sneaking into the area when your guard left his post to help with the disturbance on the main floor. I thought the lady might be in need of assistance,” he answered.
He scanned around the room before his eye fell on Dawkes.
He generally wasn’t one to break the rules, and wasn’t sure how much he should interfere in what went on here at her establishment.
He was only too lucky that he currently didn’t owe the woman even the smallest of debts that must be repaid.
He lifted his head to gaze at the lady above with his one good eye. She really was something to behold.
“And was she in need of your protection?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon inquired.
“Yes.” He finally tore his attention from Angel but Gideon had the feeling the woman standing next to him was missing nothing.
“And you believe that Major Dawkes wouldn’t be a good fit for the lady’s hand if I were to pursue matching them together?” she asked while her veiled head turned in the direction of Dawkes.
He grunted. “Hardly,” he scoffed, not holding back what he thought of Dawkes. “You would be wise to keep an eye on him and notify your bouncers to do the same. He doesn’t have the best of intentions and that includes caring about a lady and her reputation.”
“Duly noted, but tell me, Captain Tyler… since you’ve just had a conversation with the lady and you clearly appear interested in her, would you be willing to meet with her to see if you might suit?”
Gideon drained his glass in one gulp. Angel intrigued him but was this emotion just a physical attraction, or something more?
He continued to stare at the woman he had only just met and something lurched inside his chest. Was that nervous knot in the pit of his stomach because of the possibility that something might come from their apparent first connection?
Perhaps this was the prospect of being tied to a wife who might one day come to regret her decision to marry a disfigured man, no matter how noble she felt his character.
Inwardly he cringed and then shook his head that had begun to pound with one of his all too frequent headaches.
No. Better to go through life alone than to have a woman stay with him out of pity.
And heaven forbid if he actually fell in love with his wife and then she ended up leaving him because she could no longer stand the sight of his face!
“I’m sure you will be able to find a candidate that is more than suitable for the lady. I must decline, Mrs. Dove-Lyon,” he at last answered with a considerable amount of distress. Once the words left his mouth, he instantly knew he would indeed regret such a decision.
“Given how you continue to glance her way, I’m not entirely convinced this is really what you desire, Captain Tyler,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon exclaimed. “Won’t you change your mind?”
With one last stare upon the woman who gazed back at him from the upper gallery, he knew his mind was made up.
He was nothing but a second son and a scarred one at that.
His Angel deserved more. Even so, she gave him the briefest of nods and he heaved a sigh filled with remorse.
“I’ve given you my response, madam. Please excuse me,” he said before quickly turning on his heels and taking his leave.
He knew if he stayed any longer he just might take a chance at falling in love.
Without another thought of changing his mind, he went to find Leopold.
Learning he was occupied upstairs, he asked a servant to inform his friend that he was heading home.
Gideon was done with the Lyon’s Den for the night.