There is nothing Matthias Deverell, illegitimate son of a marquis, wants more than to remove the murmurs of treason that haunt his father’s name. He is determined to do just that, even if it means completing the nearly impossible task of reassembling the globe his father used as a safe. With pieces spread all over London, it will take all of Matthias’ considerable skill at intimidation to retrieve them. Nicholas Rexford, young Viscount Leighton, wants only to be able to provide a comfortable life for himself and his three sisters. After being left in near-poverty thanks to their father’s spending and gambling, Nick is desperate to find a business venture he can invest in to turn their fortunes around. Sadly, he has no head for business, preferring to spend his time engrossed in horrid novels. When Matthias finds Nick in possession of a piece of the globe, he believes the handsome young man to be in on the scheme, and decides to keep a closer eye on him. But when Nick meets Matthias, he is enthralled by the “dark and dangerous bastard” who could have stepped out of one of his novels. Despite his suspicions, Matthias is drawn to Nick, but will his suspicions destroy what is developing between them and cost Matthias a chance at happiness?

The Bastard's World

Looking around again and seeing that Violet was back with Charlotte and waited on by Beresford, Nick decided to make his way to another part of the room. It never did to stay in one place too long; that made it too easy for some hopeful mamma to ambush him for her daughter. He saw doors that opened into the card room and started toward them. Usually, he avoided the card room at all costs, but now the idea struck him that Matthias might be inside. There had never been any sign that Matthias played at cards, but Nick knew that nearly all gentlemen played at cards to some extent, as did many ladies. Nick was an exception, but he had no intention of setting so much as a toe on the path down which his father had dragged the entire family.


Chapter 44