Lahat ng Kabanata ng The League of Rogues: Kabanata 241 - Kabanata 250

I am a bloody fool.Charles sighed heavily as he walked up the steps to his townhouse. He had spent nearly two hours scouring Vauxhall Gardens, hoping to see the woman in the red gown again. It was a silly notion to think he could find her there simply because that was where she had been when those brutes from Lewis Street had taken her, but he had no idea where else to look. He had only her first name to go by, and no one he'd met remembered seeing anyone of her description with that name. She was an enigma he feared he would never unravel.Was she a gentle-born lady? The conservative cut of her fine red silk gown suggested so, but her defiance and bravery were not traits often found in a gentle-born woman. Certainly, he had known brave women, the wives of his friends were excellent examples, but their bravery had been tempered by their positions in life, even when they dared to reach beyond it.Lily had been different. When she broke free of her captors, something about her remind

"How are you feeling?" Charles carried a tray of food into the guest bedchamber for Graham. His younger brother sat up in bed, his face still a messy mix of blue and purple bruises. One eye was almost swollen shut.Graham winced as he reached for the toast on the tray Charles placed on his lap. "I feel like the devil himself trod all over me with his cloven hooves.""Eat, even if it hurts. Food will help you heal." Charles pulled the chair up to the side of the bed and watched as Graham ate. It'd been so long since he and Graham had talked, let alone been in the same room like this.Graham paused in his breakfast to look at him. "You don't have to stay and watch me eat.""I know. I suppose I am just glad you came to me." He didn't have the courage to confess how much it meant to him that his brother had sought him out."I didn't plan on coming here," Graham said a bit gruffly. "But I knew I couldn't go home to Mother and Ella." Graham put his hand to his chest in obvious pain. Cha

"How is he?" Charles asked the doctor.Dr. Shreve shut the door to the bedchamber where Phillip had been settled and removed his spectacles, folding them carefully and tucking them away in a slender leather case before he met Charles's gaze."He has several broken ribs, and his left leg is fractured in two places, but I'm most concerned about the injuries inflicted to his skull. I reset the leg and bound it, but the rest?" He shook his head. "If he survives the next week, he may well yet recover, but it is in God's hands now."Charles released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank you, Doctor. I'm certain you've done everything you can." He shook Shreve's hand, and then Ramsey escorted him to the door."Phillip is a tough man," Ashton said, placing a hand on Charles's shoulder. "He may surprise us all.""I hope you're right." Charles leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. God, would this nightmare ever end? Was there no crevice Hugo's tentacles could not reac

Charles's heart began to race as he started walking toward the woman in the midnight-blue dress, like a man lost in a most exquisite dream.She'd told him her name was Lily, but had that been the truth? He tried to think of all the ladies who might be acquainted with Lord Sanderson, and yet he knew of no woman like her. A haunting vision, a woman built by God just for him. The crowd thinned as he moved through it, ignoring every call of his name as he tried to catch sight of the woman again. When he reached the veranda, she was gone.Vanished again, as though she had slipped into another realm through a beam of moonlight. Charles opened the veranda door, shivering as he walked out onto the terrace overlooking the gardens. The tall hedges that formed a labyrinth were covered in frost, and the moon rose high above him as he stepped down onto the garden path. Had she come out here? He kept his steps light as he traversed the winding path.Snap! He froze at the sound of a twig breaking

Charles stared at his outfit in the mirror of his bedchamber, his nerves running rampant. He'd woken early, far too early, and had lain in bed for hours planning in detail how he wanted to spend the day with Lily. He'd accounted for Emily's usual games. No doubt the woman would try to play matchmaker and have her own agenda, but Charles was determined to see things through his own way.He looked over his bottle-green waistcoat embroidered with gold stags, his buff breeches and dark-blue coat. Would Lily approve? He'd never thought his appearance questionable before, but now he was doubting every choice he made."My lord?" Davis stood there at his right side, frowning. "Did I choose something incorrectly?"Charles frowned now as well. "No. I'm simply unsure of myself. Do you think I look impressive? If you were a lady, I mean."Davis gave a half smile. "I think you quite handsome, my lord. If I were a lady, that is.""I'm so bloody nervous after all these years.""Nervous, sir? I'