Emilia left Will in the study promptly after delivering her ultimatum. She would have enjoyed the look on his face as he glared at her with ardent eyes if it did not terrify her so.

Stopping on the other side of the door, Emilia composed herself. She took a deep breath, running her hands nervously over her skirts. Leo was across from her, standing at the entrance to the gaming room. He was speaking to a woman whose back was turned to Emilia, but his eyes connected with hers, and he winked.

Emilia felt her cheeks growing hot, knowing what Leo must have assumed about her and Will's visit in the study.

She had always been rather unrestrained. But never had she behaved as brazenly as just now. Oh, God. And the night was still young. She would have to continue her act until the clock struck twelve if she wished to convince Will.

Well, it wasn't precisely an act. Emilia wanted Will with an intensity that scared her. She had never stopped loving him, and after the things he had said to her in the past months, she couldn't stop thinking about if it was possible...

Emilia needed to know if it was possible before she married Lord Trevor.

Because she knew that was where their courtship was going.

Emilia braced herself and walked across the room. Leo caught her by the wrist as she walked by him and leaned in to whisper, "I do hope I've judged correctly by placing you next to him at the table."

She smiled, but before responding, shifted her eyes to the woman across from Leo, wanting to be careful of her words. Upon realizing who it was, her smile only grew. The dazzling brunette returned the grin slowly.

"Lady Humphries," Emilia said brightly. "How lovely that you are joining us."

"Yes," she purred in her usual sultry tone, "Well, Leo told me that this would not be an evening to miss."

Emilia tossed them a look, glancing between the countess and the earl. "But nothing worth reporting on, I trust," she said with a raise of her brow.

Lady Humphries gave her a sincere smile. "Of course not, Lady Emilia."

Lady Humphries, as it turned out, was the infamous gossip columnist, Madame Mischief. When Emilia had found out from Addie, she was rather...upset. To put it mildly.

Madame Mischief's gossip column, Mischief in Mayfair, had not been kind to Emilia upon her ruination. And Emilia might have been still carrying that grudge. However, Lady Humphries called on her at Kingfield House right before Prince George's death, and they had been able to clear the air.

When it had been the two of them sitting in the drawing-room, Lady Humphries, or Scarlett, as she had insisted on being called, seemed nearly...human. Her mysterious air had vanished, and she was merely a woman, like Emilia. She apologized for the words she had written in the column. Mischief in Mayfair had still been new at the time of the scandal, and she had admitted to taking advantage of the situation, knowing it would sell copies like fire.

The words were spoken with such despairing honesty that Emilia hadn't been able to refuse Lady Humphries' apology. In fact, by the time they had finished their cups of tea at Kingfield House that day, Emilia was feeling quite warmly toward the woman.

She gave Leo and Lady Humphries another small smile and continued into the sparsely lit room. As Emilia strode away, she suddenly wondered what had ever happened with the wager concerning them. After Will had jilted her, Emilia had avoided gossip and society for some time, so she never heard the results of the gentlemen's bets on Lady Humphries.

But Emilia had seen Leo and Scarlett together more than a few times in the past year, and they were always...amiable.

This was no time to be wondering about those two, however. Emilia needed to focus. She approached her brother and Lord Trevor, thankful to see that they appeared to be conversing amiably. Well, it seemed that Theo was doing most of the speaking, and Trevor continued to nod in response to a lecture on estate management.

Lord Trevor passed Emilia a relieved look as she took her place at his side. It seemed he did not dare give her the same perusing gaze that he had earlier that evening. He would not be so stupid as to be that obvious in front of Theo.

Emilia turned her attention instead to the other members of the room. She saw that the Duke of Weston was chatting cheerily with Lady Worthington, the lady's head bobbing along enthusiastically to his words.

Emilia was honestly unsure if she had ever seen Weston chatting cheerily with anyone before and cocked her head to the side in contemplation.

"Alright!" Leo came into the room, clapping his hands together in barely concealed anticipation. "Shall we begin?"

All members of the room gravitated toward Leo as he flashed an engaging smile at them. Emilia was not sure that anyone else noticed when Will slipped into the room behind Lady Humphries. But she did.

Leo meticulously explained the rules; being that Whist was a game for four, he split their group of eight into two different tables. Emilia would be playing with Will, Trevor, and Theo. God, help her.

This could be disastrous.

Leo, Weston, Lady Humphries, and Lady Worthington would be playing at the opposite table.

As Lady Worthington seemed to be on her fourth glass of sherry, it was evident that her chaperoning skills would be sub-par this evening. Clearly, seeing as her charge had already escaped and had a clandestine meeting with one, Lord Trotten. However, Lady Worthington's chaperoning skills were of little concern to Emilia.

She had asked Lady Worthington to attend the game on principle. But tonight, Emilia realized that she had very little of that. Principle, that is. Her ethics were rather damning as of late. Respectability was overrated, and it seemed it was too late for her anyway.

Carefully, Emilia sat at the table. She arranged her skirts so that they hung tightly against her. Will sat on her left, and Lord Trevor on her right. Theo was across from her, regarding her with a cautious raise of his brow. He likely knew precisely what she was doing, and while he hadn't outright stopped her, neither did he seem approving.

She ignored her brother and turned to Trevor. "You have no idea how much it pleases me that you agreed to come with us this evening, my lord."

It wasn't a complete falsity. If Emilia were to accept Trevor's suit, she was pleased that he might consider a wife who enjoyed cards and other unladylike activities.

"And you have no idea how much it pleases me for you and your brother to have invited me," Trevor replied, his voice low and husky.

Emilia quirked her lips up. "When Theo told me that his response to your suit was unorthodox, I was rather concerned about what he had done. Or said." Emilia shot a look at Theo across the table then, and he merely shrugged.

Lord Trevor laughed. Emilia realized it was the first time she'd heard him do so. It was a charming sound that sent little shivers down her spine, and she found herself laughing with him. Emilia saw Theo's eyes dart to Will, and she followed them.

The shivers that had been going down her spine turned red hot and settled at the base of her. Will was glaring at her darkly. He was Eros, God of desire, and she was helpless to him.

When Emilia had met Will, she'd thought he was the epitome of perfection. He was genially handsome in a nearly unattainable way, the ideal representation of a societal gentleman. Now, he looked like sin—like darkness and sin.

It was a new type of perfect.

Emilia cleared her throat and gestured to the stack of cards on the table.

"Shall we?"

"Certainly," Trevor said amiably. "I have never played cards with a lady before, but I do believe it would be wise of me to say ladies first." He plucked the cards from the middle of the table and set them before her.

Emilia gave him a cheeky grin. "Thank you, my lord." Then she leaned toward him and chided, "Though you should know that simply because I am a lady does not mean you should give me the advantage."

"I am certain that you will hold your own," Lord Trevor assured, his eyes sparkling back at her.

Emilia returned her attention to the cards and expertly readied them for the game of Whist. She was giddy with anticipation of the game. Which game, precisely, she couldn't be sure.

****

Will wondered if he were actually dead. Perhaps he had crashed his carriage on the way across town, and his body was in actuality lying in the streets of London.

He must be dead.

Because this...this thing that was happening to him, here in Leo's home, was hell.

Will was in hell.

He had considered leaving after Emilia threw her gauntlet down, but Will reasoned with himself that this possibly would be good for them. If they could move past this evening, they could put this, whatever this was between them, behind them.

Alright, perhaps it wasn't reason. Perhaps, it was aligned with madness.

Maybe Will could not stop looking at her, and maybe he could not stand to think that Trevor was doing the same. And for some sick, twisted reason, Will did not dare walk away.

Will should be mad at the game Emilia was playing. And anger was, in fact, a feeling that was coursing through him. But it wasn't directed at Emilia. It was at the knowing look in Trevor's eye when he gleamed at her... and then winked at him.

The other lord actually winked at Will. As if they were both on the inside of the same joke. As if to insinuate that they both knew, or would know, Emilia in a way that no other man did.

But that was what Will had signed up for, so he attempted to restrain his anger. Trevor had not really done anything wrong. The only problem was that when the anger faded, desire took over.

"This trick is yours," Emilia leaned toward him and whispered, referring to the card game. The table they were sitting at was so goddamn small that her breath fanned over him and her breasts nearly graced his arm.

All he had to do was turn his head, and he would be able to capture her lips.

Instead, Will counted to five slowly in his head and waited until Emilia had straightened herself once more. Only when she was a reasonable distance away from Will did he dare peek over at her. But it would seem that it did not matter how far away she was from him. Because now Will was watching as she bit her pouty lip, sucking it into her luscious mouth. Her tongue darted out in a movement most people would miss, but Will saw it.

She licked her bottom lip once before biting again. And god, Will had never wanted to kiss her more.

He bit his own lip to keep from making an unbecoming noise and forced himself to look away. How could Emilia sit there thinking about cards so nonchalantly?

Now more than ever, Will was aware that all he needed to do was reach out and touch her leg beneath the table. Then it would be over. He would grasp the silky fabric and watch Emilia's face as he caressed the skin beneath it. He would claim her, and this ridiculousness would all be over.

That was what she was implying, wasn't it?

His finger tapped on his own pant leg.

But if he did that, then what would happen?

Emilia's future would be in jeopardy.

That was what would happen.

He stilled his finger before reaching up, playing his next card.

Emilia was wrong when she said that this was his last chance. He never had a chance at all.

He slapped his cards on the table, and the rounded ended. Suddenly, Theo sighed very loudly and said, "Emilia, before the next round is dealt, would you please join me at the refreshment table?"

She eyed her brother suspiciously but agreed and followed him.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them, and Will glanced around the room awkwardly. He was trying not to spy on Emilia and Theo and also ignore Trevor's probing gaze. It left him with minimal other options.

The other table erupted in cheers, thankfully giving Will an excuse to check behind his shoulder.

It seemed that Lady Worthington was raking in her winnings from the other players, and Will smiled lightly.

"I do not quite understand, Trotten," Trevor said, and Will knew he wasn't going to escape the other man's questions. He swiveled slowly around to look at him.

"What is it that you don't understand, Trevor?" Will drawled.

"You clearly care about the lady. Why did you jilt her?"

Will was glad that he had snagged a glass of scotch before sitting earlier and took a sip. "It was complicated," he muttered.

"Well," Trevor began, settling back into her chair. "Luckily, my situation in life is relatively uncomplicated."

"Yes," Will agreed. "That is lucky for you."

Trevor did not seem like he was going to say more, which Will thought was fortunate. He had expected any number of probes or the possibility of sneering.

But actually, besides the little wink at the beginning of the game, Trevor had been considerably cordial. Nothing at all like Theo had claimed he behaved when drinking and gambling. In fact, Will suddenly noticed he wasn't drinking anything at all.

As he saw Emilia and Theo cross back over from the far side of the room, Will noticed that the hand on Leo's grandfather clock was nearing eleven.

It would be midnight soon, and then this ridiculous game would be over.

****

Theo glared at her as they ambled to the drink cart.

"I know you are a capable woman who is smart and responsible, but what the hell are you doing, Emilia?"

"I do not know what you're talking about, Theo," Emilia replied sweetly.

Theo ignored her. "I mean, I know you are trying to make Will jealous, but Jesus, sister. You are killing the man."

"I am not killing him," she said matter-of-factly. Emilia had hardly gotten a response from Will at all. He merely sat there, brooding. Sure, the look on his face was more intense than ever before, but he hadn't moved a muscle toward her.

"You are," Theo insisted. "Meanwhile, Trevor is eating up your little show. You need to be careful. I cannot believe I am saying this, but it isn't fair to him, either."

Emilia glanced back at the two men at the table. They were saying something to each other that all looked very normal, considering the circumstances.

"You are doing no one a favor here," Theo said from behind her.

"Fine," Emilia said, whirling toward Theo once more and taking the glass of sherry from him. "I suppose you are right. I will...tone it down."

"Thank you," Theo said, visibly relieved.

The rest of the evening passed with little excitement. Certainly not the excitement Emilia was hoping for.

The clock struck midnight, and their group dispersed out into the night. Trevor kindly bid Emilia goodnight, whereas Will left without a word. Thankfully, Theo was silent as they rode home together.

Emilia realized that she had been overconfident at the beginning of the day. Why had she thought that this was going to change anything? Why did she believe that Will would suddenly change his mind after all this time?

Walking through the doors to Kingfield House, she trudged up the stairs to her bedchamber, lost in thought. She was so lost in her own mind that she bumped into something hard immediately upon entering her room. When she realized it was a body, a sharp scream flew through her lips.

A hand quickly came up to cover her mouth, and Emilia inhaled the faint smell of scotch and oak.

"Shh, Emilia. It's me," Will's voice wafted over her, raising the hairs on her arms.

He released her slowly upon being satisfied that she wouldn't scream again.

"What are you doing here, Will?" Emilia gasped breathlessly.

"You wagered that I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you the rest of the night."

"Yes," Emilia said slowly, dragging the words out. Will hadn't stepped away from her. They were still pressed together, right inside the door. One of his hands reached out to close it behind them.

"You said it ended at midnight," Will pointed out, the words low.

"Yes," she repeated, not able to think of any other words. The closeness of his body next to hers, actually touching hers, was clouding her brain.

"Well," he drawled, smirking. "It's midnight. And all bets are off."