“It never ceases to amaze me that given the vast amount of time you waste with your endless gaming and wagering you are both so exceedingly poor at it,” Meredith said tartly. “One would think you could at least improve over time.”
“ ’Tis just a run of bad luck,” Jasper declared stoically. He was the older twin by several minutes, and thus the heir to his father’s title.
That gave him a distinct advantage over his brother, for as the future earl he was afforded more privileges and considerations. Chief among them was a larger line of credit from merchants, moneylenders, and his gaming partners.
“Why, only last week I won a shockingly fine pair of matched bays from Lord Darby,” Jasper continued, “at the turn of a single card. It was the talk of the club for several days.”
“And I won them from Jasper only three days later,” Jason said in a cheerful tone.
“You cheated.” Jasper flicked a small bit of lint off his breeches and glared at his brother. “Though I cannot prove it, I am convinced you marked those cards.”
“Sore loser.” Jason smirked. “You are loath to admit it, but my skill at piquet exceeds yours. It always has.”
“It never has,” Jasper stated emphatically. “The only possible way you could have won was by foul means.”
Jason shrugged his shoulders. Her brother’s total lack of offense at the suggestion he had cheated had Meredith convinced there might be some truth in the charge. She only prayed he practiced such foolishness with his twin and not with other gamesters. Cheaters often came to a swift and unpleasant end.
Though her brothers were nearly identical in face and form, there were distinct differences in their personalities. Jason was by far the more congenial of the twins, quick with a smile, always eager for a new experience, a new challenge. Yet Meredith had recently begun to notice a reckless streak in Jason that worried her greatly.
“If the horses are as prime as you say, then you should sell these magnificent beasts to cover your current gaming debts and wisely hold aside enough coin to make good on this latest wager,” Meredith said, as she diverted the conversation back to the current problem at hand. “If you lose this newest bet, of course.”
“I’m afraid that is impossible.” Now it was Jasper’s turn to smirk at his brother’s expense. “Jason lost the bays only last night. In another game of piquet.”
“Good lord.” Meredith collapsed onto an upholstered chair. “Those poor animals are being shuttled all over London as half the bucks in town win and lose them. Have you no conscience at all for their well being?”
Both men gave her an equally puzzled expression.
“They are fed the finest grain, housed in the cleanest stables, exercised in the choicest fields,” Jasper said. “I daresay those less fortunate souls in the East End of London would envy the treatment these horses receive.”
“A most pitiful comment on the state of our society,” Meredith said dryly, but the blank expressions on her brothers’ faces told her it was pointless to continue in this vein. This was most definitely not the time for her to begin a lecture on the responsibilities and duties of a privileged man in Society toward those who were less fortunate.
“We can discuss your ideas for political and social reform later, Merry,” Jasper said smoothly. “But first we would like to talk about a more pressing problem. Of a personal nature.”
Meredith’s brows arched upward. Perhaps she had underestimated her brothers’ shrewdness. At least they were aware of her opinions, even if they did not share them. “I have already told you I will not lend you any money, and I have no intention of changing my mind, no matter how eloquently you state your case. Therefore, we have nothing to discuss.”
Meredith regained her feet and strode restlessly to the other side of the room, deliberately keeping her back to the twins. When they turned pleading, sincere eyes toward her, it was much harder to stand firm, and Meredith was determined not to relent in this matter.
“We are not asking you for money,” Jasper said in an indignant tone. “You have obviously misunderstood the entire situation.”
“We have come to ask your help in winning a wager that could restore those long-necked bays to us,” Jason added in a righteous voice. “Won’t you at least do us the courtesy of listening to our plan before you dismiss it?”
Meredith sighed as her shoulders sagged. “Jasper initially won these poor horses from Lord Darby, then Jason won them from Jasper, and last night Jason again lost them in still another card game.” She rubbed her temples in an effort to ease the steady pounding in her head. It was not successful. “I fail to see how I can assist you in the matter. I don’t even play piquet.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Merry.”
“I was being sarcastic.”
“Oh.”
Silence fell. Meredith raised her eyes toward the gilt porcelain clock resting on the marble mantel above the fireplace and slowly counted to ten.
“All we ask is that you listen to us. With an open mind. Please?” a voice which could have belonged to either brother entreated.
Against her better judgment, Meredith slowly turned around. Both men immediately flashed her their most winning smiles. Merry gritted her teeth, refusing to be charmed.
Then Jason invitingly patted the seat beside him. Merry’s mouth quirked faintly, but her gaze was sharp as she took the place so solicitously offered by her brother.
“All right, out with it. I know I shall not have a moment’s peace until you have revealed your latest plan.” Meredith primly folded her hands together and placed them in her lap. “I’m listening.”
Jason leaned forward eagerly. “We have devised a most clever way to ensure we win this latest wager. All we require is a bit of help from you—in a very limited role.”
“For once my brother does not exaggerate,” Jasper agreed heartily. “It will take very little effort for us to be victorious, and the best part is that we will walk away not only in possession of the bays but with a tidy sum in our pockets.”
“More than enough to last until we receive our regular quarterly allowance,” Jason said.
“I hardly dare ask, but with whom have you placed this oh-so-easy-to-win wager?”
“The Marquess of Dardington,” both men said simultaneously.
Color flared high on Meredith’s cheeks and she had difficulty catching her breath. The Marquess of Dardington! The last time she had set eyes on Trevor Morely was at Lavinia’s funeral, eight years ago. He had stood beside the black-silk-draped coffin stiffly, without a trace of emotion marring his handsome features, as his young wife was entombed in the family vault.
The grief of the day had nearly shattered Meredith’s own heart. She had worn a dark, heavy veil to hide the constant flow of tears that would not cease. The sadness had seeped inside her very soul and would not abate.
Eventually time had lessened the pain Meredith felt, but somewhere inside she knew she would always grieve for the friend she had so abruptly lost.
Jason and Jasper had been away at school that ill-fated year Meredith made her debut into society and knew nothing of her friendship with Lavinia. They knew of the tragic, accidental death of the lovely young marchioness, for that harrowing tale had reached even the halls of Eton, but they had no idea of its impact on Meredith’s life.
Immediately after the funeral, the marquess had disappeared from Society entirely. Rumors abounded as to his fate. Some said he had joined the army, others said he had shut himself away in one of his father’s remote estates and nearly gone mad with grief. There were even hints that in a raging fit of madness he had taken his own life.
It was all nonsense, of course. Trevor had emerged again among the ton two years after Lavinia’s death and became a formidable presence among the rogues and rakes who existed on the fringes of society. Meredith often wondered how she would feel, how she would react, if she once again met the marquess, but their paths never crossed.
She attended fewer and fewer
Society events each Season, and apparently the marquess went to even less. By all accounts, he seemed to prefer the company of men, those who had reckless and daring reputations that equaled his own, and women who were known for their beauty, not their moral character. It surprised and worried Meredith to realize that Trevor was an acquaintance of her brothers. She wondered what a jaded, worldly man like the marquess would find interesting or even amusing about her younger siblings.
Meredith struggled to control her emotions, but when she spoke her voice was nearly a whisper. “I know the marquess has a reputation as a reckless gamester, but he is not a fool. Why would he make a wager with you that can be so easily lost?”
“He does not realize how clever we are.” Jason slapped his thigh gleefully. “That is the true beauty of our plan. By the time Dardington discovers we have tricked him, it will be too late. The wager will have been lost, and we will already be in possession of our winnings.”
Meredith sincerely doubted it would be as easy as her brothers insisted, but she needed to know the details of this ingenious plan, so she kept that opinion to herself.
“What precisely is the wager?” she asked. “A horse or a carriage race?”
“No. We are not foolish enough to bet against the marquess in a race,” Jason stated emphatically. “I have never heard of Dardington being beaten on horseback nor when racing his phaeton. He has nerves of steel, and even with disaster only a hairbreadth away, he won’t pull up or hold back.
“I once saw him balance his carriage on its two left wheels as he shot around a narrow curve and overtook his rival. They were so close the men could have touched whips, but the marquess never faltered. His steady hand and boundless courage won the day.”
There was no mistaking the admiration in her brother’s voice as he related the tale, and that troubled Meredith deeply. The marquess was hardly the type of man she wanted her brothers’ to emulate. They already had enough bad habits to overcome.
“If the wager does not concern racing, then what is it about?” Meredith asked again.
“Women,” Jason admitted with a sly grin.
“Women!” A spot of color flared high on Meredith’s cheeks. “When it comes to experience with the female sex, I am certain the marquess is far more knowledgeable than either of you.” Or both of you combined, Meredith added silently to herself.
“Oh, no. In this instance the marquess just thinks he knows more,” Jason said. He paused briefly for a moment as if he were carefully considering his words. “When the subject came up late last night, a rather heated debate ensued.”
“A debate about women?” Meredith squeaked, fearful the gist of the discussion was about to take a most embarrassing direction. While she certainly did not consider herself a prude, there were some subjects she preferred not to discuss with her younger brothers.
“Our conversation turned to unmarried ladies, specifically those who are placed firmly on the shelf,” Jasper explained. “Dardington insisted a spinster has no passion lurking within her soul, and I disagreed.”
“As did I,” Jason added. “Several other opinions were offered, and in the end Dardington proposed a wager. He said it would be impossible to get a confirmed spinster to passionately kiss a rake, but if we somehow managed it within the week, he would pay us each five hundred guineas.”
“And if the spinster was passably pretty, he would throw in the bays for good measure,” Jasper concluded with an eager grin.
Meredith nearly sighed with relief. Clearly the marquess was jesting with her brothers. “Getting a rake, a man who has an extremely limited moral code, to kiss a woman, spinster or otherwise, hardly involves any effort. I imagine a true rogue would kiss his horse and not think twice about it, if the poor animal was female.”
Jasper and Jason both grinned.
“You are missing the subtle nuances, Merry,” Jasper said, a smile still brightening his face. “Everyone knows a rake is a connoisseur of women and, given the opportunity, will chase nearly anything in skirts, even a woman who is firmly on the shelf.
“To win our wager, the woman must be the one who pursues the gentleman. She must be the one who initiates the kiss. That is the essence of the challenge.”
Jason leaned closer to her. “And it must be a real kiss, lips firmly locked upon each other. A full, passionate embrace, given freely and with no regret.”
“It appears you have given this a considerable amount of thought,” Meredith stated dryly. “ ’Tis a most frightening notion knowing that men of wealth, rank, and privilege spend their nights concocting these outrageous wagers. I can assure you almost no one else cares in the least about spinsters and rakes kissing each other. Passionately or otherwise.”
“There were some that felt far more physical involvement was necessary to prove our point. However—”
A fierce glare from his twin abruptly ended Jason’s confession.
Meredith gritted her teeth, having a fair idea of what her brother had nearly revealed. “So you believe I should commend you for your restraint in limiting this wager to a single kiss?” Meredith asked, her brow raised.
“It is just a harmless bit of fun that won’t hurt anyone,” Jasper insisted hastily, glowering over her head at his twin.
“I’m not sure your poor, unsuspecting spinster will feel that way,” Meredith retorted sharply.
She had always heard the betting book at White’s was filled with absurd, ridiculous wagers concerning just about anything—the color of the coat worn by the third gentleman to enter the room, the exact time it began to rain on a particular afternoon, the number of flies on the wall. This preposterous wager her brothers had accepted amply demonstrated that point.
“No one will be harmed,” Jasper said in a smooth tone. “Especially if you agree to help us.”
For an instant Meredith was struck dumb. Then angry color flooded her cheeks. “You expect me to find and then persuade some unfortunate, unsuspecting woman to aid you in winning this ridiculous wager? For the love of God, have you lost all sense of decency?”
“You have misunderstood us completely,” Jasper yelped as he sprang to his feet. “We would never think of, let alone ask you to perform, such a distasteful task.”
“Never,” Jason stated emphatically as he stood beside his brother.
Meredith stared at them for a long, hard moment. When she concluded the expressions of surprise, shock, and indignation on her brother’s faces were genuine, her anger slowly disappeared.
“Then what are you asking of me?” she asked with a puzzled frown.
Jasper’s eyes suddenly had great difficulty meeting her own. Meredith swung her gaze toward Jason. She saw his finger creep up to his cravat and tug insistently at it, attempting to adjust the fit around his neck. A nagging suspicion snaked through her mind.
“ ’Tis me,” she said in a voice of soft wonderment. “I am to be the spinster.”
“Don’t look so distressed,” Jasper admonished. “It’s a clever, flawless plan. Dardington will never suspect you.”
“Never,” Jason repeated enthusiastically. “In fact, I’m not even sure he realizes you are our sister.” Jason rubbed the palms of his hands together gleefully. “The best part is that everyone in Society knows what a beautiful woman you are, so Dardington will have to pay out on the second half of the wager and give us the horses, too.”
“Is that how you see me? A beautiful spinster-” Meredith choked off her words, unable to continue.
“For pity’s sake, Merry, we would never call you a spinster,” Jasper said, his expression suspiciously innocent. He moved the tip of his polished boot back and forth across a small section of the carpet. “However, you are well past the age when most women marry, and it seems unlikely you will form a union anytime soon.”
A chill skittered along her spine. True, she was twenty-six years old and unmarried, with no immediate prospects to change that situation. But that was her choice.
Over the years she had lost coun
t of the men whose marriage proposals she had rejected. Why, only last year the Earl of Monford had offered for her. He was a well-established nobleman in his early fifties, possessing an important title and an adequate income.
She had been both kind and gracious when refusing his offer, mentioning neither his lack of personal hygiene nor his inclination for conversation so boring it could be classified as mind-numbing as her main reasons for refusing his suit.
Meredith had always known she was different from other women of her class. At first the difference had confused her, but over the years she had learned to embrace and even celebrate her independence. She said it often and believed it totally—the opinion of others did not matter to her.
Yet why did it hurt so much to discover her brothers thought of her as a woman firmly on the shelf? A spinster!
“We thought you might find the wager amusing,” Jason said. He glanced worriedly over her head at his twin.
Concern flickered in Jasper’s eyes. “Your helping us win was meant to be a bit of fun. A lark.”
Meredith suppressed the exasperated reply that sprang to mind and instead searched her heart to find the humor in this situation. Yet she was still feeling too ruffled to find any.
“Since you have already decided I would be the perfect spinster, I assume you have also selected the rake I am to kiss?”
“We would hardly allow our sister to kiss someone we did not approve of,” Jasper said with a great show of indignation.
“How comforting to know I can count on your diligent vigilance of both my person and reputation,” Meredith said. “It warms a sister’s heart to know how highly she is regarded by her brothers. So who is it to be?”
Her expression remained frozen as she jerked her head back and forth to stare at the men seated on either side of her. They both looked sheepishly back.
“Dardington proposed the terms of the wager,” Jasper finally replied. “We thought it only fitting he should be the man who is kissed.”
“Very clever.” Meredith sniffed in a most unladylike manner, hardly surprised by the answer. “I applaud your ingenuity. If Dardington is the man kissed, there shall be no quibbling over the completion of the wager. I was wondering how you were going to prove the task had been accomplished, but frankly was afraid to ask.”
To Protect An Heiress (Zebra Historical Romance) Page 3
