Before Liars Loved (Before Series, Book 3)

Punches

"What are you playing at, Leo?" Will's voice hissed behind him.

"I'm playing cards, Trotten," Leo ground out.

"Not what I meant, and you know it," Will mumbled, but sidled up next to Leo at the table anyway.

Eades didn't seem to notice their exchange, too busy with drowning himself in his glass of liquor. Cards were dealt at the table for a game of whist. Leo and Will readied themselves to face off against Eades and another bloke by the name of Atwood.

The play was quiet. Leo didn't say anything when he won the first trick. And he didn't say anything when Eades won the second. But on the third round, Leo began, "So I heard that you've some opinions on the opera last night, Eades."

Eades raised a brow before carefully selecting a card to play. "Why yes." He threw down a king of spades. "I thought it was an intriguing performance of a rogue."

"I wasn't talking about Don Giovanni," Leo said dryly.

"Neither was I," Eades quickly countered. "I thought we were speaking of you in the royal box with Lady Humphries."

Leo thought he heard Theo chuckle lowly behind him. He ought to kick the man.

"I daresay, it isn't quite fair of you to use your connections to gain favor with the lady," Eades continued, nodding toward Will and Theo.

It was quiet for a moment. Scarlett wasn't connected to the royal family because of Leo, but none of them could mention that without bringing forth further questions that could lead to secrets they couldn't tell.

Leo cleared his throat. "Who said I was trying to gain favor with the lady?"

Eades flashed an incredulous look.

"I am not part of this bet as you boys are," Leo added.

Not gentlemen. Merely boys.

Shaking his head, Eades pursed his lips for a moment before replying. "Everyone knows you are trying to gain her favor regardless. And you make to mock us, but it isn't as though you haven't joined such a wager before, Farrington."

Leo considered that. "True. But no longer."

"And why is that?" Eades asked, laying his cards down to scrutinize Leo. "Do you toy with the lady just for fun, then?"

"Toy with her?" Leo repeated, indignant. He laid his cards down as well. "You forget yourself, Eades. I am not the one who used her and then discarded her as if she was nothing."

"You speak of what you do not understand, Farrington." Eades still hadn't picked his cards back up. He was glaring at Leo with a hard glint, and his lips had flattened into a tight line. 

But Leo was far from done. Lord Eades had taken Scarlett as a mistress but hadn't even bothered to care for her in a way that she deserved. Today Leo realized that her household was clearly lacking absolute essentials, and it hadn't been that long since Scarlett and Eades' relationship had ended.

"I do not understand why you think she'd go back to you a second time," Leo said.

Eades stared blankly. And then a little sneer appeared on his face. "I think we both know why."

Leo's fingertips gripped the edge of the table, trying to keep himself balanced even though he felt his blood rising. "Clearly you are using her to win a few pounds if the only reason you want her back is because of a wager," Leo said through gritted teeth.

"But the lady doesn't know that, does she?" Atwood cut in. "So why should she not return to his bed?"

Leo felt a hand on his shoulder, either from Will or Theo. He wasn't certain if it was meant to be a warning or a reassurance, but regardless, he ignored it. Because the next words out of Lord Eades' mouth solidified the other man's fate.