If he had an ounce of common sense he would keep silent, Anthony thought. Instead, he cleared his throat.
“Uh, why precisely do you say it would be impossible to make a runaway marriage with one of those gentlemen?” he asked carefully.
“Because I am not in love with any of them, of course.” She glanced at the tiny watch pinned to the front of her pelisse. “Come along, Anthony, we must hurry. We do not want to get caught in the rain. Aunt Lavinia will have an attack of the vapors if I ruin this new gown.”
She was not in love with any of them.
It did not follow, he reminded himself, that she loved him, but at least she had not developed a tendre for anyone else.
His spirits revived miraculously. He grinned. “Calm yourself, Emeline. Any lady who can take Tobias on as a business partner is hardly likely to faint dead away at the notion of a ruined gown.”
Emeline laughed. “You do not know how much stock Aunt Lavinia places in Madam Francesca’s gowns. She considers them investments.”
Unfortunately, he knew precisely why Lavinia was investing heavily in gowns from the exclusive dressmaker these days, he thought. She still entertained visions of marrying Emeline off into the ton.
Halfway along Claremont Lane, he saw Tobias and Lavinia going up the front steps of Number 7.
“It looks as though we are not the only ones who are late arriving home today,” Emeline said cheerfully. “Lavinia and Mr. March must have gone out for some exercise.”
Anthony studied Tobias lounging against the iron railing while he waited for Lavinia to retrieve her key from her reticule. Even from this distance he could detect his brother-in-law’s air of deep satisfaction. Tobias looked very much like a large beast relaxing after a successful hunt.
“A rather lively bit of exercise, if I am not mistaken,” Anthony muttered.
“I beg your pardon?” She gave him a curious look.
Fortunately he did not have to come up with an explanation for the remark. At that moment Tobias turned his head and saw them coming toward the steps.
“Good afternoon, Miss Emeline.” Tobias nodded at her. “How was the lecture?”
“Not as learned as one might have hoped, but Anthony and I had a pleasant day nonetheless,” Emeline said easily.
Mrs. Chilton got the door open just as Lavinia found her key.
“Would you care to come in for some tea?” Lavinia asked Anthony.
“Thank you, no.” He looked pointedly at Tobias. “I wish to speak with you, if you don’t mind.”
Tobias elevated one brow and straightened away from the iron railing. “Can it wait?”
“I’m afraid not. It is a matter of some importance.”
“Very well. We can discuss it on the way to my club.” Tobias turned to Lavinia. “I will bid you good day, madam.”
“Good day, sir.”
Anthony was somewhat surprised by the uncharacteristically soft nature of her farewell, but Tobias did not appear to find it odd.
They waited until the ladies were safely inside their own front hall before heading toward the corner to find a hackney. They managed to hail a carriage without difficulty and got into the cab. Tobias settled onto one of the seats and gave Anthony a considering look.
“Is there something amiss? You look as if you have swallowed a spoonful of unpleasant medicine.”
This was the second time in the past hour that someone had assumed him to be ill from his expression, he realized. It was annoying.
“I am in need of a fortune,” he announced.
“Aren’t we all?” Tobias stretched out his left leg. “If you find one, let me know. I will be delighted to share it with you.”
“I am serious. I wish to acquire a sum of money that will enable me to support a wife in a proper style.”
“Bloody hell.” Tobias met his eyes. “You’re in love with Miss Emeline, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Damnation, I was afraid of this. Have you declared your affections to her?”
“Of course not. I am in no position to do so, because I cannot ask her to marry me.”
Tobias nodded in resigned comprehension. “Because you lack a fortune.”
Anthony drummed his fingers on the window ledge. “I have been giving the matter some thought.”
“Lord save us from young men who think too much.”
“I am very determined about this.”
“Yes, I can see that. I collect that you have concocted a plan to acquire this fortune you feel you need?”
“I have a good head for cards. With a bit of practice-”
“No.”
“Granted, I have never played them for high stakes because you have always been so opposed to the notion of gambling, but I believe that I could do quite well at the tables.”
“No.”
“Hear me out.” Anthony leaned forward, intent on pressing his point. “The vast majority of gamesters do not approach their play in a logical manner. Indeed, they usually sit down to their cards after they are well into their cups. It is no wonder that most gentlemen lose heavily. I, however, intend to treat gaming from the standpoint of a mathematical problem.”
“Your sister would come back to haunt me if I were to allow you to go into the hells. You know as well as I do that her greatest fear was that you would become a gamester.”
“I know that Ann feared I would end up destitute, as our father did. But I assure you, that would not be the case.”
“Hell’s teeth, it is not the fact that your father lost everything he possessed because he could not resist the damned gaming tables that worried her so greatly. It is that he got himself killed over a disputed hand of cards while trying to recover his losses. In the long run, there is no winning in that career.”
“I am not my father.”
“I know that.”
Anthony stiffened. He had dreaded this conflict, well aware from the moment he had hatched his scheme that it loomed in front of him. The strategy was complicated, but he told himself he had to stick with it.
“I do not wish to argue with you over this matter,” he said. “We both know that you cannot stop me. I am no longer a boy. This is my decision to make.”
Tobias’s eyes darkened to the shade of a storm at sea. In all the years he had lived with this man who had been more of a father to him than his own parent, Anthony thought, he had rarely seen such cold and implacable promise in his gaze. A chill went through him.
“Let us be clear on this,” Tobias said in his softest, most dangerous voice. “If you insist upon going into the hells, you can expect the devil’s own quarrel with me. You may believe that I cannot stop you, but you can count on finding me in your path every time you turn around. I have an obligation to Ann’s memory. Do not think that I will ignore my promise to her.”
He had known this would be difficult, Anthony reminded himself. He drew a deep breath and straightened his shoulders.
“I have no wish to be at odds with you over this,” he said. “You know full well that I respect you and your loyalty to your oath. But I am quite desperate and I do not see that I have any great choice in the matter.”
Instead of launching into another lecture, Tobias turned his attention to the darkening street outside the window. He sank into a deep, brooding silence.