Page 1 of The Baron Takes a Bet
Chapter One
Holly Wincombe, neeSmyth, had never once considered that she would be a widow after only being married for seven days.
Staring at the Mora grandfather clock that stood against the plum-colored wall of the Kingston House parlor, she tried to relax her shoulders. Her entire body was tense and her hands gripped tightly together, resting on her black-crepe-covered lap. She and her siblings, Jasper and Katrina, silently waited for their lawyer, Mr. Franklin Armstrong, to arrive.
Though she had only been married to the baron for a week before his passing, Holly wore her mourning dress with a heavy heart. John Wincombe, 6th Baron of Bairnsdale, had been one of her dearest friends. Even during the last moments of his life, his only concern had been for Holly and her siblings. He had insisted on their marriage to secure her family’s future, and after months of refusing him, she had finally ended up marrying him on his death bed. Holly hadn’t been able to deny the dying man his wish to help them.
Besides, she and her siblings were in desperate need of whatever help they could get.
“How long will we have to be in mourning?” Jasper asked, toeing the fringe of the oriental rug beneath his foot.
Holly tried not to glare at her adolescent brother, who had returned from Eton for the funeral. His walnut-colored hair, not unlike hers, had grown out since he had visited forChristmas and was arranged in a devil-may-care fashion. As most seventeen-year-old boys were, he was preoccupied with his own feelings above all else.
“As long as we must. The baron was family,” Katrina, his twin, said, turning to her sister. “Right, Holly?”
But before Holly could answer, Jasper leaned forward from his chair to continue.
“Wincombe wasn’t family. They were barely married a week.”
“Yes, to save us from destitution, Jasper. Or have you forgotten who’s been funding your education these past few years?”
“Oh yes, a fine reason to marry someone,” he retorted, folding his arms across his chest as he slumped back. “So you can pawn off your brother—”
“Jasper!”
“—and let him rot in some dingy school.”
“Eton is not some dingy school,” Katrina argued. “And you’re being unfair to Holly. She did the only thing she could, and we should be grateful that the baron was kind enough to propose to her.”
Jasper’s face darkened. His eyes flickered to Holly though he continued to address Katrina.
“She wouldn’t have had to marry him if she just let me help.”
“And what could you have done?” Katrina pressed. “We have no money, no income—”
“Well, if you two would ever stop treating me like a child—”
“Hush the both of you,” Holly said, her tone low as her gaze returned to the clock. “Mr. Armstrong will be here any minute, and I will not have him witness our family squabble.”
Both siblings instantly quieted. Katrina began picking at her thumbnail while Jasper continued toying with the carpet with his foot. But a minute hadn’t passed before Jasper tried once more.
“If you just sold the blasted farm—”
“Jasper,” Holly bit out, her tone one of warning.
The youth sighed loudly and stood, walking around the settee towards the window. Evidently, he was too annoyed to continue sitting in silence, but Holly wasn’t concerned about his foul mood. She had more important things to worry about.
Since the death of their mother several years ago, Holly has had to become her siblings’ surrogate parent and caretaker. Their father, a member of the landed gentry who had been nearly sixty-two when he married, succumbed to old age before their mother’s death from fever several years ago. It had been traumatizing to suddenly be the sole caregiver to two young children, but Holly had swallowed her grief and met the challenge head-on. Life was full of unexpected challenges. Holly knew that all too well.
Their family home, Felton Manor had been floating purely on credit the last few years. Holly’s mother had tried her hardest to pay off the debts Holly’s father had left, though her economizing was never enough to get them ahead of the bills. Her mother had kept their debt a secret and Holly had not learned the extent of their poor situation until her mother’s death. She had told her siblings about their financial woes, which had only garnered her tears from Katrina and foolish ideas from Jasper.
Holly wasn’t in the mood to entertain one of his ridiculous whims. In the past twelve months, her brother had become increasingly argumentative about his position in the family. He had recently come to the realization that once he came of age, he would technically be the head of their household, even though Holly had maintained their family on her own for years. Jasper believed she should rely more on him, but as his only suggestion was to sell off Felton Manor, Holly refused to listen. Her brother was to inherit Felton Manor on his eighteenth birthday, barely two months away, and he had promised to sell it the moment itcame fully into his possession. Holly was still searching for a way to keep it. She could stand to lose a great deal in life, but she absolutely refused to lose her home.
Even if that meant marrying a dying man for money.
Holly inhaled deeply as she began to rub her index fingertips over her thumbnails. It hadn’t been as vulgar as it sounded. John had been a good friend for years and he was aware of the family’s dire financial strains. He had proposed to her a handful of times in the past year to try and help her with her burden, but Holly had always refused, believing she could eventually find a way to manage it all on her own. But when she had to sell the last of their livestock that past fall, Holly knew her time was running out.
Just then, a middle-aged butler, Mr. Jorden, entered the room. Holly straightened her spine.
