Page 23 of A Wager With A Rake
Theodosia’s eyes came alive with the unbridled mischief he loved so much about her.No, not love.They were just the beautiful, intriguing, intoxicating eyes of a friend.
Even so, he was tempted beyond belief to launch himself into the eye of the storm that was this woman.And if he were smart, he’d take cover in his study, but he was a glutton for punishment.
“I’d like that very much.”
The late summer morning was bright and sunny as they strolled the gardens.And each time Theodosia stopped to smell a rose bloom, his heart thundered in a chest.So much so that he placed his hand over his chest to soothe the beat.
A comfortable silence settled between them as they continued their stroll.Court couldn’t recall a time he’d been more at peace than there with her.There was nothing else in the entire world but the two of them.
Theodosia slid him a sidelong glance.“You seem different.I can’t put my finger on it, but you are truly one of a kind.”
Court huffed a laugh.“I suppose we all are.”He paused, considering his words.Something about her made him want to open up, to share parts of himself he kept tightly guarded.Especially after her moment of vulnerability with him.
He drew a deep breath.“Growing up, nothing I did was ever good enough for my father.”
Understanding softened her features, but she remained quiet, giving him the opportunity to continue.
“No matter how hard I tried, he always found fault.He found me to be worthless and a waste of his time.I tried for so long to please him, to be the son he expected.And all the while, he was making one poor decision after another, frittering away our family’s funds and holdings on foolish investments, gambling, and women.I gave up trying to meet his expectations and decided I’d just prove him right.But it’s all different now.”
“Different how?”Theodosia asked gently.
“Proving him right was unsatisfying and unfulfilling.Now I work to prove what he believed about me wrong.I shall right all the misdeeds.His and mine.I am a better brother to Rebecca and a doting uncle.My estates are prospering since I have taken an active interest in its dealings.I have apologized to a couple of women who were due such, even if thetonhad many details of certain situations quite wrong.”He narrowed his eyes on her.
“I never said a single word about you,” she said, raising her hands in defense.
He grinned at her.“I believe you.”He released a small sigh as they continued their stroll, deciding he wished to confide the rest to her.“I also set out to set right the things my father had done.Making amends with people he hurt and restoring our family’s holdings.I have one person left to meet with, and then I will have completed the list.”
He met her gaze, seeing the admiration shining there.
“I never knew,” she said softly.
“Knew what?”
“That your father treated you so,” she said, sympathy laced in her tone.“Mine was dreadful.That’s why I was delighted to spend summers with you and Rebecca.Those were some of the happiest memories of my life.”
His heart swelled, pounding hard against the walls of his chest.“Me too,” he said, just above a whisper.“As well as my time at Rosewood.”He glanced at her sideways, awaiting her reaction to his words.
“What?”she asked, coming to a stop.
“Rosewood was one of my family’s estates.”
She gasped and stared at him with a pained, confused expression marring her visage.
“My father lost it in a card game to your father years ago,” Court continued.“Coming here as a boy without my father, with only my mother and Rebecca, were some of the few times I ever felt… free.Loved, even.Only here, and only during those summers.With you.”
Unexpectedly, her face contorted into a look of disgust.“Why would you agree to wager Rosewood after you righted your father’s wrong?”
“Because I have no intention of losing.”It was the truth.If he thought he would not win, he wouldn’t have done so.And if only she knew that what he desired most was her.That he desired her enough to take the risk.She was worth far more than Rosewood.And it terrified him.The words hovered on his tongue to tell her exactly that, but he bit them back.
She started walking again, and he fell into step at her side.“This is nothing but folly to you,” she said, the disdain evident in her tone.“You speak of righting wrongs and becoming some new man when you are still behaving like a rake.And don’t you see that righting your wrong has enabled a wrong against me?I need Rosewood.I have nowhere to live, Court.And I have only the funds left to me to use to provide for myself for the rest of my days.It’s the least I deserve after what I endured at the hands of the men in my life.”
The gravel path crunched beneath their feet as they rounded the walkway, the large house coming into view.Court slowed his steps, reluctant to return.The guilt of her situation made his stomach churn.He wasn’t the one truly at fault, but he hadn’t considered just how much losing Rosewood would risk the entire stability of her future.
“I’m sorry, Tess.”It didn’t feel like enough, but it was the only thing he could think to say.“I can’t imagine that a marriage to Dundas was easy to endure.”
“Not at all.Unless you find being beneath a man in his eighties something that one should be grateful for.”
His hands fisted at his sides, forcing down the bile rising in his throat from the thought of any man, let alone Dundas, touching Theodosia.“No.”It was all he could muster.
