Page 74 of A Lady's Wager
“I am not so oblivious as some might think.” Lord Tarrant sat on the bench tucked among the honeysuckle. “Come sit with me, Charlotte.”
She did so. Julian, not having been dismissed, remained nearby.
“I had the opportunity while at my club this morning to undertake a very enlightening conversation,” the earl said, “but also to peruse the betting books while I was there.”
Charlotte looked up at Julian, confused and concerned. He wished he had some reassurance to offer.
“I have discovered, Lord Wesley, why it is you did not realize the wager you stumbled across was not a current one.” The earl threaded his fingers on his lap just as he’d done during their earlier conversation. “The wager was not dated, neither was it marked as fulfilled.”
“Ihadthought it odd that, after only a half a glass of sherry, I was left so inebriated that I couldn’t comprehend what I was reading, yet somehow remembered in great detail what I had read.”
With a lift of his eyebrow, Lord Tarrant said, “Perhaps you should keep to champagne.”
Julian laughed lightly. “That is likely very good advice.”
The earl seemed both surprised and pleased by that response.
“Were you able to have the wager marked complete?” Julian asked.
“I can’t. Only the one who placed it and the one to whom the forfeit was to be paid can have it officially declared completed.”
Thatwasa difficulty. “Both of those gentlemen are dead.”
The earl nodded. “But their heirs are not.”
“Weare their heirs.” Julian knew the earl realized that. There must have been more to it. “Could we not declare in their steads?”
The earl shook his head. “To do so, we would need to have some proof that our predecessors did as they pledged. But I am certain my father did not record the payment he made, as he would have been ashamed of the entire thing. And considering how quickly your grandfather lost what he was paid, I don’t imagine he recorded it either.”
“Likely not.”
“I cannot imagine any of this is legally binding,” Charlotte said.
“Yet,” her father said, “it is still binding in a very real way. The existence of the wager does not reflect well on either of our families. To be believed to be delinquent in the payment of it only makes the situation worse.”
She squared her shoulders. “If you think I will allow myself to be forced into an unwanted match so that your gentlemanly obligation can be met—”
Both Julian and the earl were quick to insist they would not countenance such a thing. That her father was not thinking of subjecting his daughter to such an unkindness set Julian’s mind a bit at ease.
“What is it you mean to do, Father?”
“I mean, in one weeks’ time, to pay Lord Wesley £1000.”
Julian shook his head. “That is hardly necessary.”
The earl rose once more, moving to stand in front of Julian. “I have spent much of the weeks since your arrival in our lives determined to believe that you were exactly like your father and his. I ought to have been doing more to show thatIwas not likemine.” He looked Julian fully in the eye. “You rose to my sister’s defense despite not knowing her. You pleaded for my daughter’shappiness, even knowing you were unlikely to secure your own. And even now, when you found yourself in a position to receive a much-needed windfall, you objected to what you felt was an unwarranted burden on me. You have led me to rethink a great many things.”
“Your daughter has led me to do the same. She is a remarkable person.”
“Yes, she is.” He smiled quickly at his daughter. “And she seems to think very highly of you.”
Charlotte was watching Julian, her gaze uncertain but tender, gentle.
“Do you suppose, Lord Tarrant, that in light of Lady Charlotte’s approval, I might be permitted to call here now and then? Perhaps join you some mornings when you ride in the park?”
Lord Tarrant dipped his head. “I would appreciate the opportunity to learn for myself if you are worthy of the good opinion that she has bestowed upon you.”
Charlotte rose and stood at Julian’s side, facing the earl. “You have seen his good character for yourself, Father. You’ve only just said as much.”
