An Inadvisable Wager (The Curse of the Weatherby Ball Book 2) by Eliza Lloyd (the best novels to read txt) 📕

mentioned she’d spent several years in India. Gabriel hadn’t told Nora of their other connection. Lord and Lady Hythe had been snagged by Lady Weatherby’s ball curse last year. Maybe he would tell Nora later when he needed to humor her.

“Carlow?” Nora tugged at his sleeve as a servant approached.

“Ah, yes. A cool drink sounds just the thing.” The servant held a silver platter full of long-stemmed glasses, probably ratafia if its pinkish color were an indication. It would satisfy for the moment until the hard liquor was available.

Nora took her glass and sipped. “Oh! That is quite delicious,” she said.

“It’s always been a bit sweet for my taste.”

She took another sip and laughed. “How is it made?”

“Exeter probably has his own recipe, and he does have orchards in France, so I would guess he has it made and bottled there.”

“It’s fruity.”

“Champagne grapes and other fruits, and almonds sometimes. I’ve never had a glass that tastes quite the same as the last one.”

“Well, I intend to have another.”

“Not too many, my dear, or I might find you collapsed on the dance floor.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed.” She sipped again and licked her lips. “So, what does one do at a ball if they don’t dance?”

“Gossip. Drink. Flirt. Find a wife. Have you never been to a ball such as this?”

“Other than the Weatherby Ball, no. Lady Fortenay no longer enjoys such gatherings, at least she hasn’t since I’ve been of age. But a few country dances near Dorchester. Nothing terribly fancy. I wish my brother were here. I would at least have him to bother.”

“Finish your drink and we will make another round.” They had moved toward the corner of the large room where three alcoves had been prepared that allowed for some privacy, light curtains shielding them from prying gazes. Most men let their wives mingle at their leisure. Gabriel was feeling particularly protective of Nora even though she held her own when she wore a mask.

“Does it seem like we’ve been married a year already?” she asked.

He laughed. “Does it?”

“My life moved slowly at one time. The past few days have been a whirlwind. It seems that you enjoy this life, but I’m glad it will only be three months for me.”

“And in that year, have you found a few moments of enjoyment with me?”

“Carlow, since the day I was taken away from Henbury in that carriage, I’ve lived my life for one thing and that is to return to Henbury. You were an obstacle. You are all that stands between me and the estate, and I only have your word that you will give it back. There is no enjoyment, only toleration.”

“No enjoyment? You don’t enjoy wearing fine clothes, meeting the cream of society, being feted as the wife of an earl?”

“Your vanity is speaking. There is nothing here I need.”

“I’m not the monster you think I am,” he said.

“Carlow, I have blinders. I don’t see you as a monster; I see you as a means to an end.”

Gabriel wanted to prove to her that she was wrong, and he really hated that he was in the middle of the Exeter’s ball where he could prove nothing at all. He took the glass she still gripped and set it aside. He held her hand, drew her close, then leaned to kiss her, not once, but a trio of kisses, each longer than the one before. “My vanity isn’t whispering; it’s screaming. And my vanity is only going to be assuaged when you’re my wife true. So, in a proper twist of irony, you are also a means to an end for me. And I certainly don’t see you as a monster.”

The light curtain that gave them some privacy was hauled back, startling them both.

Miss Grace Talbot, in all her noble finery, stood there. “You beast! I have waited two years, and now this. You should be ashamed.”

“Grace, now is not the time or place,” Gabriel said. Exeter’s ball was no place for fury, only calm reasoning. He gritted his teeth. Beside him, Nora drew away, shoulders back.

“You’ve dishonored and embarrassed me. And my parents!” Miss Talbot said.

“I made no promises to anyone.”

“Except her. A woman you don’t even know!”

“Miss Talbot, I haven’t seen you or your family in months. It is inconceivable that you are accusing me of anything. Now, if you will excuse us. I was in a private conversation with my wife.”

He glanced at Nora, who stood proud and unsure. Oh, he did know Nora. He knew her like the back of his hand and the inside of his heart. Maybe that was why he was so sanguine about this whole lovely scandalous affair and his nearly-three-day marriage.

* * * * *

Lady Fortenay had taught Nora everything via the best in literature, history and philosophical thought. Yet Carlow could leave her twisting in the wind without a word to answer him. Her debates with Lord and Lady Fortenay were meant to whet the blade in a way that a ton debutante would never experience. If Nora hadn’t had that foundation, she would never have been able to challenge Carlow in any way.

And she wasn’t sure she could have faced the humiliation of encountering a supposed amore, red-faced and angry as the girl was. Carlow was stern, though, and accepted no responsibility for imagined hopes and dreams, or his part in crushing them.

The girl huffed, may have stamped her foot and whirled away.

“Let’s dance, my dear,” he said. “A reel just as you asked.”

“You aren’t going to explain?”

“There is nothing to explain. A few meals with her family does not a betrothal make. And she has three other sisters. Why would she think I was interested in her? I haven’t even been in London over the