Chapter 8

Andrew wondered when his life had turned into a giant game. The worst part was he didn’t know what piece in the game he was playing: the pawn or the master manipulator. It all depended on which other players were present at the time. For now, he was going to play the manipulator, again.

Andrew had been searching for his friend Alex Banks for more than an hour before he finally found him at his club, sitting at a table and reading a newspaper.

“Alex,” Andrew called to his friend, catching his attention.

“Ho there, old chap,” Alex countered.

Alex really was a good sort, even if he did talk, and act, like a simpleton at times. He was highly intelligent, but he often missed the obvious, especially when it was staring him in the face.

They’d vaguely known each other at Eton. But Andrew’s friendship with Benjamin at the time came at a cost: Benjamin selected his friends for him.

At Cambridge things changed. By that time he no longer felt obligated to be friends with Benjamin (who didn’t even attend University), Andrew made his own friends, one of which was Alex.

After school, they'd continued to be friends. They traveled together for a while at first, then came back to London and stepped into their roles, Andrew as an earl and Alex a mere mister who was the heir to his father’s barony.

Andrew took a seat at the table where Alex was reading his newspaper. “I heard your father is throwing a house party.” No point in beating around the bush.

Alex didn’t even bat an eyelash at Andrew’s obvious angling for an invitation. “You heard right. Are you looking for an invitation, Andrew?” At Andrew’s nod Alex remarked, “This is a respectable party, Andrew, there will be no skirt chasing, clear?”

Andrew swallowed hard before nodding again.

“I knew I didn’t have to worry about you. You have never been a despoiler of innocents, but I do have some cousins that will be there so I just had to make sure you understood.”

Andrew felt those words like a punch to the gut. He now realized that he was going to lose even more than he initially thought when this was all over. The few friends he had now would also be gone forever, Alex included. Alex was not likely to forgive a man who deliberately hurt a member of his family, particularly ruining an innocent young lady.

“No worries there,” Andrew said roughly. “I’m just looking for something to do for a while. If I meet a woman that I want to make my countess, well, it will just be good luck on my part,” he added jovially.

Alex eyed him skeptically, then snorted. “You had me going there for a minute, you finding a countess, that’s rich.”

Andrew stiffened. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, don’t get all worked up. It meant nothing really. It’s just that you are a bachelor. Always have been, always will be,” Alex said with a shrug.

It wouldn’t do for Andrew to contradict this. If Alex thought he was a lifelong bachelor then he wouldn’t be concerned overmuch with Andrew being in Brooke’s company.

“You’re right, I am not the marrying kind,” Andrew agreed. “I had better be off.”

Andrew picked up his hat and departed. Walking home he couldn’t help but think about how well things were going for him. Pieces were moving into place better than he would have imagined. If only he could get past his guilt, then everything would be perfect.

***

Benjamin Collins, Duke of Gateway, stared at his guest. It wasn’t usual for her to visit, but he typically welcomed it all the same. “What brings you here today, Lizzie?” he asked, his voice lacking any emotion.

He was glad to see her. She’d once been the closest person in the world to him, but when she ended things, for reasons he didn’t understand at the time, he had taken steps to hurt her and the only other person in the world she loved, her son.

Though their separation hadn’t lasted long, he’d always been careful not to become too close again.

One reason he’d kept his distance was he didn’t want to accidentally mention that he was the cause of the pain for her and her son. Occasionally, he’d feel a little guilt about it when she spoke of her son and had that distant look in her eyes, but he’d never actually been able to openly admit neither his part nor his guilt about it. At the time, he felt his actions were justified because of the pain she’d caused him.

At one point he’d even tried to fix everything in a way that would not expose his part. But that eventually led to more problems, so he washed his hands of it and felt no guilt because at least he’d tried.

“To see you, of course,” she replied cheerfully.

“To see me? Why would you want to do that?” Benjamin asked, taking a seat in a chair near her.

Lizzie smiled. “Why, because you are one of my two favorite people of course. And since you don’t respond to my correspondence.” She gave a speaking glance over to where some letters were stacked on the corner of his desk. “I thought I would come and inquire about your welfare personally.”

Benjamin gave her a thin smile. He’d never been one for writing letters, and she knew it. At one time he would have dearly loved to have a letter from her. He had actually longed for one and would have written her back immediately. But not now, maybe this was his underhanded way of punishing her for not sending him one when he craved one so badly.

“I am doing well,” he said flatly. “You?”

“The same as always,” she said with a watery smile.

They were both quiet for a few minutes. Benjamin had never been much a conversationalist and Lizzie didn’t speak much unless she had something to say, or was forced to talk.

“Are you planning to attend the Watson house party next week?” Lizzie asked, breaking the silence. Noticing his scowl, she tried a different approach. “I hear they have some American relations who are also to be in attendance.” She wagged her eyebrows suggestively at him.

He chose to ignore Lizzie’s clear attempt at matchmaking. “I will not be attending,” he said simply as if to end the discussion.

Lizzie broke into a wide grin. “Why, Benjamin, I thought you had a tendre for the oldest daughter. I did read your name linked to hers in a scandal sheet no more than three days ago. What’s wrong, Benny, was the waltz not close enough for you?” she thrilled.

Benjamin grimaced at her words. He knew she was just having her fun, even if it was at his expense. He wasn’t going to ruin it for her though. He knew better than anyone that fun was something Lizzie had very little of in her life. He thought back to the night she was talking about with a crystal clear memory. Brooke Banks had made such a fool of him, and worst of all, he’d let her.

“Maybe I will go to the party after all. Something interesting always seems to happen at house parties. I wouldn’t want to miss something. Will you be going?”

“You mean do I plan to willingly surround myself with a bunch of gossiping old dowagers with fire pokers up their arses? The answer is no.” Lizzie’s voice was full of conviction.

Gateway couldn’t help but smile, leave it to Lizzie to be so blunt. He could always count on her to be completely blunt and honest with him. It is probably why they had stayed so close over the years; they both hated society and their rules and neither of them gave a thought to what others thought of them for it.