"Ah, well, that is of no consequence. The important thing here is that my father, like the rest of your patrons, will not show up here tonight. My picketing is still a success."
Stephen glared at her in frustration, then snatched her hand and began dragging her along the sidewalk toward his carriage.
"What are you doing? Unhand me, my lord." She started to bring her sign down on his head, but he caught it with his free hand and tugged it from her, tossing it aside with disgust.
"Must you always carry something to brain men?"
"I do not carry things about with the intention of braining men," Prudence answered with affront.
"Oh? What about that umbrella you broke over Plunkett's head?"
"It was raining earlier in the evening. I brought the umbrella in case it started up again."
"Uh-huh." He sounded doubtful. "And the cane you clobbered Mershone with when you were disguised as a man?"
"Mershone?" Prudence echoed with confusion, then asked, "Was he that hawk-faced fellow?"
"Aye."
"What an awful man. He was mistreating one of your servants and deserved the koshing he got. But I only had that cane as part of my disguise; I thought it was most effective."
"Most effective," she heard him mutter. Prudence made a face at the back of his head.
"You batted me over the head with your fan at the Kindersleys' ball."
"I told you I was sorry about that. There was a rather large spider on your head and-"
"You were just about to beat on me with that sign you're carrying!"
Having no defense for that accusation, Prudence merely sighed and settled on the cushioned seat, then stiffened when she realized that while distracting her with his accusations, he had managed to get her into his carriage. She lunged for the door.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Stephen grasped her about the waist and tugged her onto his lap, holding her there firmly with one arm as he banged on the carriage wall with the other. The carriage was off at once and Prudence grabbed frantically at his arm to maintain her balance.
"You can release me now," she said once the carriage had settled into a steady trot.
"But I rather like holding you."
Prudence felt her insides melt at that husky announcement and allowed herself the luxury of briefly enjoying his embrace. When she felt his breath on her neck, little tingles of anticipation raced through her; then she let out a breathy sigh and turned in to the caress as his lips claimed the sensitive skin there. However, when his hands closed over her breasts through her gown and the warmth inside her started turning to red-hot heat, she forced herself to struggle out of his arms to the safety of the opposite seat.
Stephen let her go. He was smiling at her when she finally glanced across at him.
"I thought you liked my kisses?"
Prudence flushed. "Aye. Well, it is not proper to-"
"And you are so proper," he gently teased.
Prudence glanced away, trying not to squirm with embarrassment, and shrugged. "I may not always be proper, my lord, but I do have some sense. And once I was away from your… influence, I realized that I really did not wish to become involved with someone who is helping my father, and countless others, destroy their families by gambling. Especially a man who should know better. Your own father should have made you sympathetic to this plight!"
Stephen was silent for a moment, the smile gone from his face. She expected him to be angry and strike out at her verbally about her own shortcomings, but was surprised by his quiet reply. "I can understand that sentiment, my lady. I did not feel much differently about the gaming hells my father attended or their owners. I have realized since that the owners are not the ones to blame. Which I am about to prove to you."
Prudence turned her head and peered silently out the window.
"If he were not gambling at Ballard's, it would be somewhere else," Stephen said quietly. "I run an honest establishment and limit how much men are allowed to lose. Should they start to dig too deep, I cut them off and send them home."
Prudence turned back to face him. "Is that supposed to make it all right that you help ruin them-the fact that if it was not you taking their money, it would be someone else?"
Irritation flashed across his face. "That is not what I meant."
"What did you mean then?"
He opened his mouth to answer, then paused to glance out the window as the carriage slowed. "We are here. Come. You will see what I am trying to say."
Opening the carriage door, he stepped down and turned to help her out. Prudence ignored the hand he proffered and glanced at the building they had stopped before. As she stepped down from the carriage, she saw that he had brought her to White's.
"After our discussion at the Kindersleys' ball, I looked into your father's gambling." Stephen urged her up to the window to the side of the door. There was a table there with men seated around it. Prudence knew it was considered the best seat in the house, where one could be seen on display. Her father was not one of the men at the table, she saw with relief.
"As I told you, I do not allow my patrons to play too deep. For him to have lost the large amounts of money you are suggesting, I knew he must be gambling elsewhere. I looked into the matter. He usually comes here first. Then he goes to one or two of the other private clubs, depending on his mood. Then he goes to Ballard's, where he plays cards until well after midnight. At that point, he heads to some of the lesser establishments. He does not appear to gamble large amounts at any of his stops, but when added together, perhaps…" He shrugged, then suddenly pointed past the table in the front window toward one further in. "There he is."
Prudence stared at the man he was pointing to. It was her father. And he was playing cards. She felt her heart shrivel in her chest. Tonight had been a waste of time. Perhaps all of it had been. And perhaps she'd known all along and blindly done what seemed would help-no matter how ludicrous.
She remained silent and docile as he turned her away from the window and led her back to his carriage, getting inside automatically when the driver opened the door. She remained silent as Stephen gave his driver her address and instructions to take them there. Some part of her thought she should return to the picketing. She had organized it, after all, but now there seemed little use, and she did not have the heart for it. They had all been so excited and buoyed by the fact that they were driving Ballard's customers away that she didn't want to be the one to tell them it was for naught. No doubt all their husbands and fathers were merely gambling elsewhere.
"You should give it up, Prudence. Your father simply does not wish to listen. Nothing you say will sway him. It is some sort of illness. Believe me, I know."
"Aye, I know you do," she said quietly. "Which is precisely why it is so hard for me to comprehend how you can now do to others what was done to your family."
"I am not doing anything. I run an honest establishment. I do not cheat-"
"You say that it is some sort of illness. A compulsion. Are you not then taking advantage of this illness?" When he stared at her blankly, she turned her head away with a sigh. "I am not foolish enough to think that I can make him change his ways. Our talk at Ellie's ball convinced me that I could not do that. Tonight's efforts were an attempt to at least slow his losses down. Perhaps I would have been able to keep my family intact just a little bit longer. I thought- hoped-to keep us out of the poorhouse until at least the new year. I see now that even that is not possible."