Page 52 of Leap of Faith
“Well? How long will you keep me in suspense?”
“Sir Julian means either you or your guardian ill, Miss Whitford.”
“How do you know this? What does he intend?”
“That, we have not yet discovered. You may or may not have heard that there are betting books in all the gentlemen’s clubs. They will bet on anything—the more frivolous, the better. Many of them during the Season involve who will be matched with whom or on any sort of race.”
“That is unsurprising. But if they are public, then how do you not know the nature of the wager?”
“That is the catch. Apparently, Sir Julian has begun his own private betting book. We know there is a wager which somehow involves you, but part of it involves remaining secret from Westwood.”
“Why did he not simply tell me this instead of being odious?”
Lord Carew laughed. “I suspect there are many reasons even he does not yet understand.”
Faith was obliged to take a turn with another partner while contemplating that enigmatic statement.
“How do you know he means us ill?”
“For one, Sir Julian avoids young maidens like the plague. He is never to be found at Almack’s for instance.”
“And you and Westwood are?”
“Touché, my dear. We are here to protect you from him and his cronies.”
Her ire was piqued. She pulled back. “Then I hereby release you from your guard duties, my lord.”
“Sheathe your claws, my dear. I would rather you consider us concerned friends. You are hardly up to snuff when it comes to London ways. Would you ever have thought someone unknown to you would create a wager involving your ruination or loss of virtue?’
She gasped. “Do you think it is as wicked as that?”
“I’ve no doubt. Sir Julian does not play for simple stakes. He wagers estates or thousands of pounds.”
Faith gasped again.
“And there is a good chance it involves your guardian, and possibly the rest of us, so it behoves us to protect you from Wright and his ilk.”
Faith pondered this. She had truly thought it was some silly game—not her or her sisters’ possible ruin. Why oh why had he insisted they come to London?
“You may not feel as though you need protection, but you cannot guard your sisters on your own. Neither can Westwood, which is why he has enlisted our help.”
“Very well. Thank you for enlightening me.” She still could not understand why Westwood would keep such a thing from her.
* * *
After waltzing with Miss Whitford,Dominic knew he needed to distance himself from her, or he was as good as making a declaration. He signalled to Carew that he was going to the card room and to keep an eye on things. Dominic needed to make sense of Sir Julian, for if he was at Almack’s, he would do anything to win.
Small stakes only were permitted in the card room at the Assembly Rooms, but the ruse he’d thought of was worth a try.
He looked around for familiar faces, but there was no one there under the age of sixty, so Dominic greeted a few people and then abandoned that idea. It was highly unlikely this crowd was privy to Sir Julian’s wagers. He remained for the length of the set, then decided to return to the ballroom to help watch over his charges.
His mind was in a whirl. What would someone bet high stakes against Dominic for? To trap him into marriage, or force him into a compromising situation?
Or was the game more malicious, and intended to ruin the girls with no hope of marriage? In no way could Dominic be convinced that Sir Julian meant to court and marry Miss Whitford honourably, lovely though she be.
He returned to the ballroom and found his mother beside her friends.
“Will you honour me with a dance, Mother?”
