Free Cast in Ice by Laura Landon Page A

had been treated by his grandfather and the rest of Society, Nick didn’t want a thing to do with any of them. They were nothing but bloody snobs. Elitists who didn’t accept anyone they considered beneath them.
    Except she wasn’t a snob. She was far from one. She had enough compassion for her family that she did whatever was demanded of her to protect them. She’d taken it upon herself to keep the Townsend name spotless and free of scandal until her sister could seal a marriage with Lord Montroy. And she wasn’t selfish enough to go to her father to ask for money, even though she desperately needed it.
    Nick thought of the risks she took every time she stepped through the doors of The Soiled Dove . He detested how she went about making the money she needed, no doubt to pay her mother’s upkeep. But he couldn’t help but admire her because she’d shouldered the responsibility of taking care of her mother without involving anyone else.
    But that didn’t change what Lady Winnifred was doing. She was breaking the law. The duchess was a murderer, and her daughter was harboring her. Her mother should be locked away in a prison, and when he found her that’s exactly what he’d make sure happened to her. And Lady Winnifred would be lucky if she didn’t find herself in a cell next to her mother.
    Nick stormed through the ballroom. Every reason he should avoid having anything to do with her slammed him in the gut.
    There was the gambling. And the secrets she was keeping from him. And the fact that he couldn’t trust her. And that she was in over her head. And that if the owners of The Dove ever realized the lady counted cards, she’d be in more trouble than she could get herself out of.
    And he’d kissed her.
    Nick took long, angry steps as he made his way through the ballroom. He was so consumed by his anger and lost in his thoughts, that he almost missed Lady Amy and Miss Bickford standing by the refreshment table. Thankfully, he’d been introduced to them when they were with Lizzy, so there was nothing untoward about his approaching them.
    “Good evening, Lady Amy. Miss Bickford,” he said when he reached them.
    “Mr. Stillman,” they answered.
    The look they shared between them indicated how uncomfortable they were talking to him. The unease on their faces was plain. But he didn’t have the patience to spend time calming them, or making them feel relaxed around him. He was desperate to find Lizzy. The longer his cousin was gone, the more likely that her absence would be noticed. The greater the possibility that her reputation would be ruined.
    The longer he remained here, the greater his chances were that he’d run into Lady Winnifred again. He didn’t need another reminder of what a fool he’d been.
    “I’d like to speak with you about my cousin, Lady Elizabeth.”
    As usual, Lady Amy was the spokesperson. “I’m afraid we haven’t seen her. She isn’t here.”
    Nick smiled his most charming. “I know she isn’t here. I simply want to know where she is.”
    “I don’t know why you’re asking us—” Lady Amy started to say, but Nick cut her off.
    “I’m asking you because you know where my cousin is and you can either talk to me now, or I can ask to speak to your parents and we’ll have this discussion with them.”
    Nick nodded toward where Lady Amy’s father, the Marquess of Rushling stood, then turned a glance toward the other side of the room where Baron Bickford stood. “I’m sure they’ll be very interested to know that their daughters are regular patrons of the questionable establishment, The Soiled Dove .”
    Nick watched Lizzy’s friends’ eyes grow wide with terror. “You might want to spend a few moments thinking up excuses to offer your fathers as to how you acquire the amounts of money you lose.”
    “No, you can’t,” Miss Bickford cried. “My father would send me to the country and I’d never see London again.”
    “You should have thought of that before the two