Simon looked around with exaggerated curiosity, taking in the crowded tables and the women weaving between them. "All those years of lectures. All those solemn warnings about the company I keep, the places I frequent, the money I waste. And now I find you sitting beneath the same roof as the rest of us sinners."
Draven loathed how Simon was making him seem like a hypocrite.
"I fail to understand how that is any of your business."
Simon scoffed derisively. "Of course. You have always been too good for us common folk."
There was no mistaking the scorn in Simon’s voice.
Draven had spent years criticizing his cousin’s gambling habit. Simon had inherited enough money to live comfortably and possessed every opportunity to make something of himself, yet he seemed determined to squander both his fortune and his name at card tables.
Draven had eventually cut him off financially after repeated warnings had achieved nothing.
Simon had never forgiven him for it.
"Why are you here?" Draven asked.
Simon glanced toward the table and shrugged.
"I asked you a question." Draven gritted his teeth in annoyance, looking down his nose at him.
"Like you said, it’s none of your business." Simon retorted.
Draven’s patience had begun to wear thin. "I hope you are not frequenting the tables again."
Simon’s amusement faded slightly. "Why does it concern you? You already cut me off, didn’t you?"
"I did. How else was I going to make you see reason?"
"Then perhaps you should allow me to waste away in peace." Simon replied, using the exact words Draven uttered during their last argument.
"Your father has been dead barely a month."
"I am well aware." His tone was scathing.
"I would have thought you might spend a little longer mourning him before returning to the habits that caused him so much frustration."
Draven knew he had struck a nerve.
Simon looked away briefly, his fingers forming fists at his sides. When he looked back, his expression had hardened.
"I was unaware that to mourn him I must sit at home and stare at the walls."
"For once, I would have preferred you to do exactly that."
For a moment, the tension between them was thick enough that Nicholas finally intervened.
"Your family gatherings must be dreadful."
Simon snorted.
"Fortunately, we rarely gather."
Nicholas rose from the chair he had briefly commandeered. "Our man is here."
Draven followed Nicholas’ gaze and spotted the person in question.
A stout man had just entered the room. He paused near the doorway, surveyed the tables, and then made his way toward them.
Simon followed Draven’s gaze.
"Business, then?"
Draven said nothing.
Simon smiled again and it was mean looking. "Enjoy yourself, cousin. Try not to look too offended by the surroundings."
He returned to his table before Draven could reply, like whatever his cousin had to say was irrelevant to him now.
Nicholas waited until they moved away from there before speaking.
"That was awkward to sit through. You know, there are less painful ways to spend an evening."
"Then you should have selected one."
Nicholas hummed, sounding thoughtful. "I considered it."
"And?"
"I wanted to see how long it would take before you threatened someone."
Draven ignored him.
They followed the recruiter into a private room at the back of the establishment.
The difference was immediate. The noise of the gaming floor faded behind the closed door, leaving only the muted sounds of conversation filtering through the walls. A fire burned low in the grate, and lamps illuminated the table where their target had taken a seat.
He was a man in his early forties, perhaps, dressed plainly enough to fit in but expensively enough to suggest that he did not lack money. His eyes were sharp and watchful. He looked at Nicholas first, then at Draven, and finally at the closed door behind them.
"You’re Chatham?"
"I am."
The man’s gaze drifted to Draven. "And him?"
"A friend."
The man studied Draven’s face for another moment before leaning back.
"Your friend looks as though he would rather be anywhere else."
Draven took the chair opposite him. "I would."
Nicholas laughed.
The recruiter did not. That was the first thing Draven liked about him.
The man poured himself a drink and gestured toward the cards resting on the table.
"I was told you were interested in an arrangement."
"I am interested in opportunities," Nicholas replied.
"Those words are not always the same."
"Not when the opportunity is profitable."
The man’s mouth curved up slightly.
"You have money?"
"Enough of it." Nicholas had never been modest a day in his life.
"And you want to put it somewhere?" The recruiter inquired.
"Somewhere with better returns than the usual respectable investments."
The recruiter considered him more closely.
Draven watched the exchange in silence. Nicholas was doing exactly what they had agreed upon. He wasn’t asking questions about the smuggling. He wasn’t mentioning contraband or shipments or illegal routes.
He was allowing the man to believe that he had come looking for an investment that could make him considerably richer.
They suspected more aristocrats knew more about this smuggling operation than they were willing to confess. Nicholas intended to infiltrate their den by feigning interest in it, that way the people responsible don’t become suspicious.
The recruiter didn’t look entirely convinced.
That was good. A man who trusted too easily would have been useless to the mastermind. It meant he was very much involved in the operation.
"How much are you prepared to risk?" the recruiter asked.
"That depends on what I’m buying."
The man chuckled like he had just heard the funniest joke. "Everyone apparently wants to know that."
"Because everyone wants to know whether they’re being cheated."
"You assume I would cheat you."
"I assume everyone cheats when the opportunity presents itself."
That seemed to further amuse the recruiter. He reached for the cards on the table. "Care to play?"
Nicholas glanced at Draven.
Draven immediately knew what he was thinking.
The game would make the conversation less conspicuous. More importantly, it would give the recruiter an opportunity to assess them. Men revealed far more about themselves while gambling than they did during ordinary conversation.
Nicholas nodded. "Certainly."