The Rake of Last Resort, page 1
The Rake of Last Resort
Heather Boyd
Dire circumstances often lead to desperate measures, and it’s the most extreme desperation that leads spinster Edith Dean to the door of a notorious rake, in search of her wayward brother. Without Loftus Dean owning up to his responsibilities, she and her young sisters face starvation and ruin. Though, if anyone learns she’s traveled to Mr. West’s home in London without a chaperone, ruin will befall her anyway.
A spinster has no business in Sidney West’s decadent London town house. But the moment he sets eyes on Edith, he feels protective instincts so strong, he barely hesitates to give the woman and her sisters safe harbor. And the longer Edith stays, the clearer the depths of her brother’s neglect…and Sidney’s determination to keep her close and safe. But is it possible for a woman of virtue to believe the rake of last resort might just be her hero in disguise?
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Epilogue
Also by Heather Boyd
About Heather
THE RAKE OF LAST RESORT
Copyright © 2024 by Heather Boyd
Editing by Kelli Collins
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced nor used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for use of brief quotations in a book review.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
One
Mr. Sidney West tore his eyes away from the astonishing beauty standing in his front hall and addressed his friend. “Loftus Dean, is that your sister in my hall?”
“Couldn’t be.”
“The family resemblance is uncanny, though she is far more lovely than you led me to believe,” Sidney complained to him, waiting for Dean’s merry expression to turn to one of recognition. He did not have to wait long for a reaction.
“No! It cannot be.”
Sidney studied the woman’s slender figure and his interest only increased. What he could see of her face under the cloak hood wasn’t enough, as he felt the pull of attraction from half a room away.
“Edith has no cause to be in London,” Dean complained.
“Well, she is here and could only be looking for you,” he noted.
Loftus Dean shrank back. “How the hell did she find me?”
“She has.” Sidney waited impatiently for his friend to act accordingly. To take charge of his relative and take her away from his scandalous party. But the fellow didn’t move. “You must deal with her.”
“She’s not my problem,” Loftus declared. “I know what she will ask for, and the answer is no.”
Then Dean opened the window he was standing beside, letting in a blast of frigid air, and disappeared. In his haste, he rudely left it open, too.
Sidney hurried to the window, calling after his friend, but it was no use. The rear courtyard was dark and already empty.
Sidney cursed roundly under his breath as he shut the window. Surely the man couldn’t avoid his responsibilities, now they were in London.
Miss Edith Dean looked like a woman on a mission to reform a rake, but it wasn’t Sidney. Her brother hadn’t shown his face in the countryside in over two years, and she’d been desperate enough to write to Sidney about the matter. He’d informed her that her brother was a regular visitor to Sidney’s home during the cold winter nights, when most other society had fled London.
Sidney squared his shoulders. He would have a chance to speak with the proper Miss Dean and then he must send her away, unsatisfied.
He strolled to greet her in the entrance hall, and nearly tripped over his feet when he got a full glimpse of her face. She was nothing at all like her brother had described. She was…breathtakingly fine. Dark hair pulled back severely from a pale face; pink full lips that begged to be kissed with unbridled passion. Yet, Edith Dean was a seven-and-twenty-year-old spinster and a gently bred woman from the country, and unsuited to the wickedness he was capable of. He quickly pulled the doors shut behind him, protecting her from any further glimpse of his friends and their wanton companions.
“Miss Dean? What an unexpected pleasure,” he drawled.
“Mr. West,” Miss Dean replied in a soft but tired voice, dipping him a shallow, wobbling curtsey. Her eyes fixed on his and then widened the longer she stared.
Sidney discovered he was doing the same.
He reached for her hand, and Miss Dean offered hers immediately. A shock of possessiveness and pleasure ran through him when they touched.
“A pleasure to meet you, too. She shook her head, then looked around anxiously. “Is my brother in there?”
“I’m afraid not,” he murmured. “But I can send him to you.”
Edith gulped and squared her shoulders. “I’ve not come all this way to leave empty-handed.”
Sidney admired her openly. She was prettier than he’d imagined but as determined as her letters suggested. Edith had braved the cold in the dead of winter to reunite with her brother. But with him disappearing out the window, there would be no swift resolution. A retreat to a more respectable location was called for.
“He is not here.”
Her jaw firmed. “I will wait.”
Sidney studied her with alarm. There was a defiance in her eyes that appealed to him, but she was an innocent. She should not remain in his home without her brother under his roof too. Edith was exhausted and shivering. She needed rest.
He heard a throat clear and glanced around to find his housekeeper had arrived. Hargreaves was hovering, eyes wide with alarm for his predicament of finding him alone with so obvious an innocent lady but gestured her to go. He wanted no gossip about Edith Dean spread by his own servants. He had more to say to Edith before she left him.
When he turned back, it was to find Edith staring at him still.
He offered her a hesitant smile. “I trust your journey was comfortable.”
“It was.” She exhaled slowly, and then edged close to whisper, “Thank you for sending the carriage.
“It was my pleasure,” he drawled, yet Sidney couldn’t relax.
He’d been on edge all day, waiting to hear news of her arrival in Town. Now he was finally alone with the only proper woman of his acquaintance, he hardly knew what to do with her. Their acquaintance was so unusual no one should ever believe it had even begun. But it had and she was here, and Sidney had acted with honor.
Loftus Dean’s absolute dereliction of duty to his family, leaving them for two whole years unprotected, meant she’d had to rely on a rake—not her brother—these past six months.
Despite sending begging letters to her brother all year, she had been ignored. In desperation, Edith had written Sidney to ask if Loftus Dean was dead.
They had begun a secret correspondence, exchanging confidences, news, and advice. When Sidney discovered Edith’s truly dire straits, he’d quickly sent her money won from her own brother and a side of beef. But Dean’s pockets were emptying faster than the man could ever hope to refill them. He had become reckless, and seemed not to care about the future. Something had to be done about him, Edith, and her younger sisters.
He tried to look upon her as if they were complete strangers. Staring at a face so new yet a person so familiar. Edith stared at Sidney as well, so he knew he wasn’t the only one surprised by the appearance of the other.
Edith cleared her throat finally. “There is something you should know. My siblings are with me. I could not leave them behind.”
He winced, thinking of the inappropriateness of them coming to his home. “I shall arrange suitable accommodation for you all.”
“But I cannot leave without speaking to Loftus,” she insisted, and her expression turned grim. “When can I see him?”
Sidney found her rapid changes in demeanor fascinating to watch. One minute shy, retiring, and then the next determined. What must it be like to live with such a creature? He doubted he would ever find out. “I will conspire to arrange a meeting tomorrow. He will be made to hear you, but your brother is as stubborn as a mule and used to doing as he pleases.”
She scowled. “I have it in me to be just as difficult.”
“I bet you do,” he said, admiring the woman more every moment. She was far more interesting than her letters even suggested. “You must be tired after your long journey, and your sisters should have grown terribly cold by now. I will have servants take you to proper lodgings now.”
“I said we are not leaving,” she argued.
He pursed his lips a moment. “You cannot sit in the carriage outside my home all night.”
“If I go elsewhere, Loftus could slip through my fingers. You said he is a regular visitor here. If he doesn’t come tonight, he might tomorrow. I must stay close to you so I can surprise him.”
Sidney’s blood ran cold at her recklessness. “But your reputation?”
She g
He ran his hand through his hair. Dean would try to avoid his sister, judging by the manner of his leaving through the window. If he failed to come back tonight, there’d be a better chance for another encounter tomorrow.
As he took in the determination in her expression, he knew he had to take charge again. Edith had no money, no friends, and no family besides Loftus Dean in London. She was unknown. Who would there be to gossip about her but Loftus?
The nearest respectable inn might be the proper choice, but he could not risk her being seen when she came back to his door time and again.
He also couldn’t throw her out. It was his actions that had brought her to his door. “Bring your sisters inside quickly and keep them out of sight of my guests.”
“I intended to. Oh, and Mr. West?”
“Yes?”
She looked up at him, blushing. “Your letters. They were a kindness I did not expect from…”
“A rake,” he said quickly.
“A stranger,” she admitted. “You’re a better man than any I’ve known, aside from my father, who was the most constant of men.”
He pursed his lips at how wrong that comparison was but accepted the compliment. If she understood his nature at all, she ought to run screaming into the snowy night.
He ordered the grooms to unburden the carriage of luggage and passengers and jumped aside as two tiny figures darted inside past him, dark cloaks flapping in their haste to reunite with their older sister.
Diana and Clare. Eight and six years old. Motherless, but for Edith’s devotion. The trio embraced, and then they all turned to look at him.
“Where’s Loftus?” the smallest girl asked.
“He’ll be here soon,” Edith promised with a confidence Sidney did not currently share.
Loftus Dean might be easily located, but getting him back here might prove the hardest task of all. Yet he bowed to the trio.
Sidney had no interest in the children besides reuniting them with their errant brother and issued orders for a pair of rooms to be prepared for them upstairs. “If you will excuse me, I’ll see what’s taking so long.”
Two
Edith had not expected to find Mr. West as handsome as he was helpful. In fact, she’d been rather touched by his generosity. Each step of her journey had been meticulously planned by him. He’d sent a carriage, a locker of food, warm blankets, and the grooms had strict instructions to bring them directly to London as swiftly as the snowy country roads allowed.
What had started as a rash correspondence had blossomed into an exchange of confidences during recent months. She had found an unexpected ally in Mr. West. He was someone who appeared to be just as vexed by her brother as she was. What she had heard of Loftus’ life from Sidney West was expected, but the reckless waste of money was truly alarming. He was bound for ruin and taking them along for the ride.
Loftus, as head of the family, had their young sisters’ futures to think of. Her limited resources had run out long ago. Coming to London was her last resort.
She startled at a tap at the door and glanced at her siblings, asleep on the large bed together. They were utterly exhausted from their long journey. They’d fallen asleep almost the moment their heads had touched the pillows.
She crept to the door. “Yes?”
“Mr. West bids you to come immediately.”
“Is my brother with him?”
“I don’t know. I did not see Mr. Dean.”
Edith winced. She’d not come to socialize with the master of this house, no matter how his welcoming smile had set her heart to flutter. “Just a moment while I wake my sisters.”
“I brought a maid with me so you could let them sleep,” the voice said. “I will act as chaperone for you.”
Edith bit her lip, deliberating the wisdom of leaving the girls behind. They had been her constant concern and companions these last two lonely years. But there was also no telling how her confrontation would go with their brother. Loftus might be angry that she had taken them from the estate without his permission.
That could upset the girls, who’d been so excited about their London journey. She had to know why he’d abandoned them.
She unlocked the door to the housekeeper but noticed the suspicion in her eyes. She was being judged for coming to a bachelor’s home. It had been a mad decision on her part to trust a rake, but she’d had no choice.
Edith pushed aside her doubts. There would be consequences, but it was too late to turn back now.
A young maid slipped into the room, and Edith locked the door behind her.
The housekeeper clucked her tongue. “Mr. West would never allow any harm to come to them, or you.”
“Forgive me, but I cannot place my faith in the promises of any man,” Edith answered, scowling as she considered the disappointment her brother had become.
“He’s a good man, my master.”
She nodded. He had been in his letters, but this was London. A place she’d been warned would corrupt her. Even Mr. West had tried to talk her out of it in the beginning.
She followed the housekeeper away from the guest rooms, down the servants’ stairs, encountering no one on her way to a sturdy-looking door. The housekeeper stood aside, allowing her to pass. Edith entered a charming candlelit book room, featuring a small desk beneath the window and a pair of comfortable chairs by the roaring fire.
What the room lacked, though, was her brother.
She turned around to find Mr. West watching her from the doorway. “Wait here,” he said and then disappeared.
The housekeeper joined her, shutting the door, too. “I will stay until your brother comes, and escort you back to the guest room directly after your conversation.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, full of appreciation but her palms growing damp from nervousness.
She heard laughter before a man and a woman burst into the room. Her brother and a woman who clearly was too fond of him to be a proper lady.
Mr. West brought up the rear. He was not laughing. He grabbed the woman by the waist and wrenched her away from Loftus. The pair twirled out the door, the housekeeper following to shut and lock it, sealing Loftus in the room with Edith.
Edith appreciated the help, but Loftus did not appear to have noticed her, given the way he shouted rude obscenities at Mr. West.
“Good evening, Loftus,” she called, raising her voice.
Her brother spun about. “Why that…! She lured me here under false pretenses, and I bet West put her up to it! Bastard,” he raged, throwing himself at the door. “You’ll pay for this!”
“It’s good to see you again, brother,” Edith continued. “It’s been too long.”
“Not long enough.” Loftus beat his fists against the door one more time, but it didn’t budge. He turned slowly. “How did you find me?”
“I am not without some friends in the world.” She searched his face, looking for the brother she remembered but seeing a stranger in his place. His eyes were bloodshot and his clothing suggested he lacked a valet. She charged on, forcing a smile to her lips. “I’ve been so worried about you. Where have you been?”
Loftus sneered at her. “Somewhere better than in that pathetic village you come from.”
“Where you come from, too,” she corrected.
“I come from London, or between any pair of legs I want,” he answered rudely.
She colored at his description. Her brother had lost his way. “What about us? Your family?”
He laughed. “I was my father’s only proper family. You, however, belong to that craven woman he was tricked into marrying. She destroyed his honor, reputation, wasted his fortune on three brats, and drove him to an early death. I won’t be saddled with her children.”
“How can you say that? After all the years as brother and sister…”
“My god. I’m a better actor than I gave myself credit for,” he crowed proudly. “I couldn’t wait to wash my hands of the stink of you when father met his untimely end!”
