He scowled down at Amanda.

Amanda blinked, wary of the mischievous, malicious light that gleamed in Connor's eyes.

"I'll send the mare around first thing tomorrow morning-Upper Brook Street, ain't it? Enjoy her in good health."

That last was said with unholy glee. Reality crashed down on her. "No! Wait-" Where the devil was she to stable this horse? How could she explain how she'd come by such an animal? And it was odds on that Demon, currently in town, would drop by the instant he heard, recognize the beast, know to whom it had belonged-and start asking all manner of awkward questions.

"Let me think…" She glanced at Reggie, blinking owlishly, half asleep. No help there; Reggie resided with his parents and his mother was her mother's bosom-bow. "Perhaps…" She glanced at Connor, still standing over her. Could she refuse the horse? Or, given the incomprehensible slew of rules surrounding male wagers, was even suggesting such a thing a base insult?

"I daresay-" Martin's deep voice, cool and calm, cut across her whirling thoughts.

She and Connor turned to him, a conquering hero elegantly at ease in the large chair, a glass of champagne in one long-fingered hand.

"-that Miss Cynster might not have room in her stables at present for the mare." His changeable green gaze fixed on her face. "My stables are large and only half full. If you wish, Connor can send the mare to my establishment and you may send word whenever you wish to ride her, or to move her, once you've had time to make the necessary arrangements."

Relief swept her. The man was a godsend in more ways than one. She beamed. "Thank you. That would suit admirably." She glanced up at Connor. "If you would be so good, my lord, as to deliver the mare to Lord Martin's house?"

Connor stared down at her, his expression inscrutable. "Lord Martin's house, heh?" Then he nodded. "Very well. Consider it done." He hesitated, then reached down, took her hand and bowed. "You play remarkably well for a female, my dear, but you're not in my class-or his." With his head he indicated Martin. "In your future forays into the hells, you'd be wise to remember that."