A Rogue's Game
Chapter One
Your luck hasn't changed, young man." Lord Shelbrook spread out his winning cards with a gleeful flourish, which Julian Clay, the Earl of Westleigh, deliberately ignored. He was too experienced a player to betray his chagrin at having spent another evening having his pockets picked by his host.
You're a heartless witch, Lady Luck, to save a man's life only to leave him mired in poverty.
"Barnaby, if that were true, I would not be sitting here tonight in your elegant home." Julian tossed his own cards facedown on the table, conceding defeat with a graceful flick of his wrists before stretching his long legs. "But perhaps a change of pace..." His words trailed into an artful yawn, demonstrating a show of fatigue and boredom at the game, and effectively ending his self-inflicted torture for the evening.
Shelbrook began to count his small windfall, too distracted to note that his guest's attention had shifted to the large portrait of Lady Shelbrook over the mantel.
Julian studied the icy blue eyes and aristocratic angles of the woman's face, aware that the painter had barely masked the subject's haughty nature. With he ... read full excerpt from A Rogue's Game ebook
