Duke Looks Like a Groomsman - Valerie Bowman Page 0,37

the manor house for luncheon and rest.

Rhys stopped Julianna momentarily with a hand to her forearm. “You’re trying to rile me, aren’t you?”

She folded her hands together primly, swinging her parasol between them. “Riling you is no more than the embroidery upon the handkerchief. I’m hoping to get you to quit and forfeit your bet.”

“It won’t work,” he declared adamantly.

“We’ll see,” she replied sweetly.

Chapter Fifteen

Julianna had clearly chosen poorly this morning, she thought to herself later that afternoon as she took a solitary stroll through the gardens. Rhys loved to talk. Asking him to take the ladies on a tour of the grounds this morning had not been a particularly taxing chore for him. He’d somehow managed to answer every question she’d concocted and some of them she’d made up at the last moment.

Julianna had, however, chosen the ladies carefully. She’d picked each one based on the fact that they’d only been in Society for one Season and didn’t have any older siblings who may have known Worthington.

Of course, she’d experienced a bit of trepidation when they’d first arrived at the stables. No matter how carefully she’d chosen, there was always the chance that one of them happened to know what Rhys looked like. But she’d kept her confident smile in place and so had Rhys, and the afternoon had been not entirely unpleasant. Lord Clayton’s estate was lovely, and attempting to trip up Rhys had been nothing if not enjoyable—even if he hadn’t exactly risen to the bait.

The best part, however, had definitely been when the ladies began discussing the Duke of Worthington right in front of him. Why, it couldn’t have gone better if she’d planned it herself. It had taken every ounce of control she’d had not to look at him.

The part about him being in debt was interesting. She’d heard the odd rumor or two, but she’d never given them much credence. He certainly lived as if he were wealthy. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. Many peers lived on copious amounts of credit. Could Rhys’s debts be the reason he was so eager to win the bet? If that was the case, her trying to get him to lose it wouldn’t just be a matter of revenge, it might very well break him. Based on the amount of money he’d tried to promise her for her silence, the bet had to be for a large sum of money indeed.

For the first time since this entire game had begun four days ago, Julianna felt the slightest bit of guilt tug at her. What if she caused him to lose and that plunged him into debt from which he could not rebound? She would single-handedly be responsible for the downfall of the Duke of Worthington.

She bit her lip. A few days ago, she would have said that was precisely what she wanted. But now she had her doubts. If she was no longer trying to rile him, however, what possible excuse did she have for going out to the stables to see him each day?

Chapter Sixteen

The next excuse presented itself to Julianna the following morning, quite conveniently in the person of her younger sister. She and Mary were eating breakfast off of trays that had been brought up to their bedchamber when she turned to her younger sister and asked, “What would you like to do today?”

Mary finished chewing her orange slice before replying, “I thought we’d go on the picnic planned for lunchtime with the other ladies. But, perhaps this morning . . .” Her voice trailed off and she bit her lip.

“Yes?” Julianna prodded, taking a bite from her own small bowl of fruit.

Mary’s cheeks turned ever-so-slightly pink. “At dinner last night one of the gentlemen asked me if I would care to go riding with him sometime.”

Julianna’s eyes widened and a catlike smile appeared on her face. “Ooh, which gentleman was it?”

“Lord Mixton,” Mary replied, her cheeks turning even more pink.

“Mixton?” Julianna set down her spoon. “He seems nice enough.”

“I agree,” Mary replied, “and for the first time, I actually wanted to go.”

Julianna gave her sister a sympathetic look. “Oh, you poor darling, I know you’re scared witless of horses. Perhaps you can ask him to go for a walk instead.”

Mary shook her head. “No. No. You misunderstand. My fear of horses is perfectly silly. I know that. It’s also quite embarrassing. I would do anything to be like everyone else. To not be frightened witless of horses.”

Julianna reached over and squeezed her