The Bachelor Bargain (Secrets, Scandals, and Spies) Read online

  “And who the hell are you?” Rowan spluttered, grabbing the ledger that had been on his lap and unfurling his tall form to stand.

  “Perhaps I can hazard a guess?” a deeply calm and confident voice spoke from across the room. It was the third man, standing beside the window. The most intimidating of them all. “You must be Lady Olivia Haliford, the Duke of Beresford’s daughter.”

  She turned her attention to him. This had to be Colver, though she hadn’t expected him to speak with the cultured tones of a refined gentleman, with the slightest hint of a cockney accent underneath. She hadn’t known exactly what to expect of him, but the man towering before her certainly hadn’t been it.

  Of course, he was definitely intimidating, perhaps fearsome even, which is what she’d expected from someone with his reputation. But the man standing before her wasn’t only possessed of raw brute strength, there was also intelligence radiating from those steel-gray eyes of his. And an air of menace. Although that most likely emanated from the three-inch scar marring the right side of his face, starting at the top of his cheek to stop just shy of the corner of his mouth.

  This was not a man to cross or to trifle with. Power radiated from him like a second skin, and Livie knew without any doubt the details in the dossier outlining what it was rumored he’d done to survive and eventually thrive to become the undisputed king of London’s underworld had to be true.

  This man had killed before. She could see it in his eyes. It was the same gaze Kat often wore; separate and lonely, with a detachment that set them apart.

  A chill ran through Livie with the knowledge. But it wasn’t from fear, but rather a strange sense of curiosity. What had driven this man to such a position? What had he done to not only survive but become one of London’s most powerful men, against all odds?

  His height and brawn would have helped; why, he had to be at least six foot four, and there was an innate confidence in his bearing that belonged to someone used to being in charge and in control. Absolute control.

  No wonder he’d become the King of the Rookeries. It was almost impossible to imagine anyone daring to stand up to him.

  Livie felt her prospects of convincing him to invest in the gazette dwindle. This man was no pushover. Not that she’d anticipated him to be, but in the flesh, it was plainly obvious there was no quarter to be given from him. She unconsciously licked her lips as she gathered her courage to convince him.

  Because convince him she must.

  “And you must be Mr. Colver.” Livie was extremely pleased her voice sounded steady and calm when her heartbeat was anything but.

  He gave her a brief nod, his dark golden hair looking ridiculously like a halo as it reflected the fading sunlight streaming in through the window behind him as the sun slowly set. Power permeated every pore of this man and she knew, without doubt, that he could wield it with deadly consequences whenever he so chose.

  Not for the first time, Livie questioned her reasoning for thinking he’d be an ideal silent partner in the business venture. But she couldn’t keep second-guessing herself as she so often had in the past.

  “You two, out,” Colver barked to his two men, who nodded and began to head for the door. “You, sit.” The last order was directed at Livie.

  “I’m more than capable of standing, thank you very much.” It was best he learned sooner rather than later that he couldn’t boss her around like he could his underlings. Plus, she didn’t like the thought of him towering over her; he did that enough already while they were standing. Not to mention that sitting for her was not as graceful an act as it was for other women; she had to often adjust her leg so it wouldn’t cramp, and in doing so inevitably drew attention to her disability.

  And showing weakness of any kind in front of Colver, while trying to negotiate with him, would be foolish.

  Her defiance seemed to make the other two men pause briefly on their way out of the room; however, they quickly continued on, closing the door sharply behind them, obviously used to obeying Colver without question.

  Livie felt her heart rate pick up even more. She was now alone with the Bastard of Baker Street, and he wasn’t looking impressed that she hadn’t obeyed him.

  For about a minute, they stood facing each other, their eyes locked, neither willing to budge an inch. She couldn’t tell what the man was thinking, though she imagined he probably wasn’t too happy with her for showing up at his office today without an appointment.

  But what else could she have done? Drastic times called for drastic measures.

  “You have three minutes.” His deep voice was clipped. “And trust me, I’ll kick you out on your pretty little backside, limp and all, if you’re a second more.”

  Livie raised her chin. She’d never been threatened with that sort of action before nor, come to think of it, had her derrière been called pretty either. But there was no time to consider such things, as a meeting with him is what she’d been after for over a fortnight. And she was running out of time to obtain the funds needed. “As my letters have stated, I have a unique business proposal for you.”

  “And I believe as my replies have stated,” Sebastian countered, “I am not interested in your unique business proposal.”

  “Your replies? You haven’t had the courtesy to reply once to my letters!” Livie fisted her hands on her hips.

  “Courtesy is in short supply in my world, my lady. Besides, not replying is replying,” the man stated blandly. “It sends a clear message of disinterest, I would have thought.”

  “Disinterest? Or rudeness?” Livie was starting to get frustrated with the man. “I would think the latter.”

  “Rudeness?” He laughed lightly as he relaxed back on the windowsill, perching his behind on the wood frame. “Have you heard of my reputation, Lady Olivia?”

  “Of course I have,” she replied. “Hasn’t everyone in London?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know about everyone, but if you really knew the truth of it, you wouldn’t be here. Especially not alone.”

  For a moment, the expression in his eyes as he stared at her was completely predatory, and Livie had to suppress a shiver, suddenly aware of him on a very physical level. He was a dangerous man to be sure, but she didn’t think he’d hurt her, especially not in his offices in broad daylight. At least she hoped not.

  She knew from her research that the man abhorred violence against women and he admired honesty and directness, which was exactly what he was going to get from her. “I don’t pretend to know all the details of your life or your past, but I do know a great deal about you, Mr. Colver, and it hasn’t scared me off.”

  “How interesting,” he murmured, his voice dropping an octave. “Why don’t you tell me just what it is you think you know of me? It can’t be that much if you aren’t scared.”

  “Very well,” she said, inwardly debating how much to tell him of what she’d discovered. Most men didn’t like their past to be known or dredged up, and Livie got the impression Mr. Colver was firmly in that camp. “I know you’ve become one of the richest men in the country through somewhat less than legal means, at least initially, though now you do try to run your businesses as legitimately as possible. I also know you own some of the most scandalous gentlemen’s clubs and gambling dens in the city, which partake in all sorts of wicked amusements. You also own some of the most elegant hotels in London and New York, and you have shares in several railroads across the country. Making you, currently, probably the wealthiest non-titled man in England.”

  “My, you’ve done your research.”

  He didn’t sound particularly impressed by her knowledge, not that she could really tell one way or the other; his expression was impenetrable.

  Perhaps she would have to show her cards and tell him the secret Kat’s informants had uncovered that she had eventually been able to put together? Though, how would a man like Colver react to someone
knowing secrets of his he’d obviously made some effort to hide? Not well, was Livie’s guess.

  “I certainly have done my research, for I think it’s important to know who one is dealing with.” Livie crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Lady, if you knew everything I’d truly done, you never would have approached me in the first place.” There was a grimness radiating from him that should have given her pause but didn’t. “Your informants clearly need to dig deeper.”

  She had no doubt there were things he’d done that she didn’t know about. He’d practically grown up on the streets in the worst areas of London and had been the leader of one of the most infamous gangs since he was a child. In her investigations, she’d learned some things about him that probably should have sent her fleeing but hadn’t.

  “I’m well aware you’ve killed before. Many times, in fact, though the police have never been able to link you to a crime. That in itself tells me you are clever but it does not scare me.”

  “You’re a fool if it doesn’t.”

  “Perhaps,” she agreed. “But I also discovered that once you give your word you will honor it, no matter what. And not only do you have the funds, but you also have the required motivation to be a silent partner in the gazette.”

  “Motivation?”

  Livie could tell she’d piqued his interest. “Yes. You’re the only man I know who has enough of a grudge against the disreputable gentlemen of Society, that you won’t bat an eyelid to see any of them destroyed. Men such as your father, who ruined your mother by forcing himself upon her, causing her to be thrown out into the streets when her employer discovered she was with child.”

  “A rather bland way of saying my father raped my mother, isn’t it?”

  Livie tried not to let the shock of his words show. She knew what had happened to his mother, but she wasn’t used to having things put so bluntly, especially regarding a subject so abhorrent. “Yes. It is,” she conceded. “Which is why you have ruthlessly used your power to ruin many of the gentlemen who have been foolish enough to gamble away their estates and inheritances in your clubs.”

  He was silent for a moment, simply staring at her. “And you wish to go into a partnership with someone who destroys the lives of gentlemen? Men such as your brothers and father?”

  “You know of my family?”

  “You’re not the only one to have done your research, my lady.”

  Livie didn’t know how to feel about that. Though it could bode well for her proposal. After all, if he had dismissed it out of turn, he would never have bothered to have her background researched. “My father and brothers have not ruined anyone. They are honorable. The gentlemen who think it’s a sport to take advantage of a woman are not true gentlemen at all, and I intend to unmask them and destroy them.” Livie stared at him, too, trying to impress upon him how serious she was. “Your utter disdain for the nobility is one of the main reasons I’m offering you this opportunity.”

  “Opportunity?” A bark of laughter sprang from his mouth. “Is it not more the case you need my blunt to bankroll your endeavor? And tell me this, why are you intent on exposing and ruining the scoundrel gentlemen of Society? Doesn’t seem like much of a ladylike activity for a duke’s daughter.”

  Briefly, she told him of Alice’s demise. “Starting the gazette and exposing the villain, along with others like him, will prevent such a thing occurring again.”

  “That’s a bit optimistic of you,” Sebastian replied. “Even a bit naive.”

  His eyes trapped her own, but rather than censure there was curiosity in his gaze. Curiosity and an intensity that burned all the way through Livie, sending a wicked wantonness to her very core. The man was dangerously compelling, so much so, that she nearly forgot her train of thought.

  She blinked and looked away, using the respite to remind herself of what they’d been speaking of. “Well, it may not entirely prevent it, but exposing those who are swine hiding behind tailored suits and the title of gentlemen, will make others think twice about ruining a lady with the gazette up and running.” She returned her gaze back to his and had to rein in the thought of how undeniably attractive the man was. “Investing in the publication is an endeavor that will save women’s reputations and potentially their lives.”

  “And destroy gentlemen in the process. I like it.” Sebastian shrugged. “But it is an endeavor I’m still not convinced you have the resources to truly make effective. After all, what you’ve uncovered about me wouldn’t have been too difficult to discover or guess, especially with so many dark rumors about myself floating around. Doesn’t really inspire confidence that your informants can dig up a person’s skeletons, so to speak.”

  She was going to have to roll out the big guns after all.

  Livie took in a deep breath and pulled back her shoulders, knowing he wasn’t going to appreciate the well-buried secret of his she’d eventually been able to uncover. “I know about Charlotte.”

  Silence greeted her pronouncement.

  The room felt as if it had dropped ten degrees, but there was fire in Sebastian’s eyes as he pinned her with his glare.

  “And just what is it you think you know?” His voice was smooth and as cold as steel, all amusement having fled.

  Livie swallowed, refusing to be cowered, even though she knew she was on extremely shaky ground at the moment. “I know she is your younger half sister, a fact you’ve taken great pains to hide from the world in order to protect her. You’ve obviously been successful in doing so, because it was only after I collated a great deal of information from multiple sources that I could piece the puzzle together. You can rest assured not one of my informants knows the full truth of the matter.”

  “Quite the detective, aren’t you?” Sebastian’s eyes continued staring her down while his jaw clenched. “Is that why you’re here? To use the information about Charlotte to extort funds from me to start your gazette?”

  Livie gasped. “Of course not! I’d never use such information against anyone. I am no blackmailer. You have my word on that.”

  “I don’t trust anyone’s word,” Seb growled.

  In a fluid movement he stood and strode over to her, his long legs covering the distance in seconds, before he stopped a mere foot from her.

  She couldn’t help but gulp, coming into such close proximity to him. It was highly disconcerting, yet unusually thrilling. But she couldn’t let such a feeling distract her from her purpose. “Then I feel sorry for you. A life without trusting others is no real life at all. Surely you trust your men?”

  She craned her neck to look up to his face. This close, his scar was even more wicked-looking, and for a moment she was sad for the boy he’d been, clearly having gone through hell to survive. For a mad minute, Livie had to resist the foreign impulse to run a finger soothingly over the line across his face. Why she felt the sudden need to comfort a man such as Sebastian Colver was perplexing. If there ever was a man who didn’t need comforting, it was he.

  “I don’t trust anyone fully,” Sebastian replied. “To trust your life in someone else’s hands is foolish, my lady. Inevitably, everyone will either disappoint or betray you.” She could see the conviction in his words and knew he’d obviously experienced that for himself.

  “I choose to believe better about people,” Livie countered. And she did. She knew she could trust Kat, Etta, and her family, maddening though they were, with her life.

  “You’re a naive fool then,” he scoffed.

  “Perhaps,” she admitted. “But I am not naive about how successful the gazette will be once you agree to invest in it.”

  “I have no need of any further investments. I have enough money as it is.” His deep voice was smooth but devoid of any emotion. “What I do have a need of, though, is female company. Perhaps you could assist me with that endeavor instead? You’d find I am a very generous patron.”

&nbs
p; Chapter Four

  Shock rippled through her with the man’s bold pronouncement. Shock and breathless anticipation. “Did you really just dare to proposition me?”

  His lips stretched into a thin smile, and his scar twisted dangerously. “I dare almost anything, my lady. Don’t you know that from your research?”

  She did know it, and while a part of her was alarmed, another part of her was equally thrilled with the notion. Aware of him as a man, as she hadn’t been of another in a long time. “I am not some doxy, and you very well know it!” Livie took several deliberate steps back, her cane at the ready in case her instincts about the man were wrong. “You are purposefully trying to intimidate and shock me, and such tactics, I can assure you, are failing to impress me.”

  “I didn’t realize I was trying to impress you.” The man had the audacity to wink at her. “Forgive me, if I’d known that, I would have at least offered you a drink. Dear me, but where are my manners today?”

  “Manners, Mr. Colver? Do you even know what manners are?” Livie narrowed her eyes at the man. He was having fun at her expense. “I highly doubt it. Perhaps I should offer to teach you etiquette lessons instead, as you sorely need them.”

  Instantly, his posture changed as he snapped to attention, his eyes bright with interest. “Etiquette lessons, you say?”

  “I was not serious,” Livie spluttered. “Even if you would obviously benefit from such teachings.”

  There was silence for a moment as Sebastian simply regarded her. “Your godmother is the Duchess of Calder, is she not?”

  The abrupt change of subject had Livie at a loss for a moment. He had indeed researched her background as thoroughly as she had his. “Yes, she is. What of it?”

  “And do you hold any sway with the Dragon Duchess?”

  He was referring to Livie’s godmother by her nickname, something no one would dare do to the old woman’s face. Though Livie somehow suspected Sebastian Colver would. “Why are you asking about my godmother? Do you intend to proposition her instead?”