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

There was nothing he could say at the moment that would mollify her, Nick knew, and so he didn’t make the attempt. As he left the parlor and started upstairs, he resigned himself to the several unpleasant days he knew lay ahead. Perhaps he would attend the balls with them the entire night, despite his words; it would appease Charlotte somewhat.


As he knocked on Violet’s door, Nick consoled himself with the fact that he could make at least onesister happy today.


Matthias waved out the footman that had been assigned to him, wanting a few moments to himself before he met everyone in the parlor before dinner. He glanced around the chamber before going to the window. The room wasn’t large, but it was elegantly decorated and had a fine prospect of the estate’s trout stream, at least what Matthias could make of it through the rain that had dogged the party since they left London.


Chapter 51