“Haven’t much experience with liquor?” he asked.
Linley’s face drained of color. “Only to receive the beatings of those too deep in their cups.”
Charles’s chest tightened. He despised those who used drink as an excuse to unleash their demons on others.
“If you don’t mind my asking, sir, how did you come by that shiner?” Linley asked quietly.
“This?” Charles touched his purple eye. “I got this after I aided a friend of the female persuasion.”
“Someone tried to harm you when you helped a young lady?” Linley looked doubtful.
Well, if this young man was going to be his valet, it would be best if Linley understood what kind of adventures—or rather misadventures—he could expect to see in his service.
“The lady was a sister of my close friend.” He paused, uncertain of how to explain what s
