in White’s.” He closed the door. “We can safely discuss the plan.”
“Is this something that’s already been decided, or are you discussing ideas on how to frighten Lord Roderick?” Aaron spoke up.
“I think I’ve come up with a good plan already,” Mr. Robinson replied. “I’m going to sneak into his townhouse and pretend to be a ghost.”
“Are you certain something like that will work?” Lord Davenport asked. “He doesn’t seem like the type who believes in apparitions.”
“I agree,” Lord Reddington said. “Besides, how can you prove you scared him unless one of us goes with you to verify this?”
Aaron shook his head. “Your bigger concern is running into one of his servants. Someone’s bound to find you.”
“He makes a good point,” Lord Powell said. “As much as I love the idea of you pretending to be a ghost, there are too many things that can go wrong. It’s best to pick something that doesn’t involve his residence.”
Mr. Robinson sighed but nodded. “Yes, those are all valid considerations. I suppose I’ll have to do something else.”
Aaron took another sip of his brandy. Since no one seemed to have an idea, he said, “Have a missive delivered to this establishment from a lady who claims she’ll tell everyone she’s having his child unless he pays her to keep quiet.”
The gentlemen glanced over at Aaron in surprise.
“Is that wise?” Lord Davenport asked. “His wife just had a baby.”
“That’s why the missive will come here,” Aaron replied. “Everything that happens here is never mentioned outside of these walls. No one else will find out about the missive.”
“So, the goal is for the missive to frighten him?” Lord Powell asked.
“I would be frightened if such a missive was delivered to me,” Aaron said.
“But he would know it’s not true,” Mr. Robinson replied.
“It doesn’t matter if he knows it’s true or not,” Aaron said. “What matters is that the missive frightens him. As long as he shows that it scares him, you’ll win.”
Mr. Robinson drummed his fingers on his chin for a few seconds. “It’s not as fun as pretending to be a ghost, but it might work. A lady threatening to blackmail him would probably frighten him. He places such a high value on his reputation.”
It would frighten Aaron if such a thing were to happen to him. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything that would scare him more.
“All right,” Mr. Robinson decided. “I’ll do it, but I think I’ll go with something more personal. I’m going to have the lady threaten to go directly to Lady Roderick.”
“I think it would be more effective to threaten that she’d tell everyone,” Aaron argued.
“I don’t know if he’d believe something that outrageous,” Mr. Robinson said. “I’m going to have it just be his wife.”
Aaron shrugged and sipped more brandy. This was Mr. Robinson’s plan. He might as well do it his way.
“When will you have this missive sent here?” Lord Powell asked. “I want to be here when it arrives.”
As the others debated on a good time for the missive to be delivered, Aaron’s mind wandered back to his marriage. He would have to give Kitty an allowance of some sort. The question was, just how much would he let her spend? She’d probably spend his entire fortune in a matter of days if she could.
The door of the room opened. Aaron’s first hope was that Roger had come here, but it was Benjamin who was heading over to him. Aaron glanced around the room and realized no one was discussing the wager anymore.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Benjamin told him.
Aaron shrugged. “I have nowhere important to be.”
Benjamin sat next to him. “What about home? You just got married.”
“The fact that I got married is exactly why I shouldn’t be at my townhouse.”
Benjamin’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t ask for the marriage. I was tricked into it.”
“By your wife?”
“No. By my wife’s brother. Don’t make any wagers with Lord Halloway. He doesn’t fulfill his end of the bargain.”
“I don’t know much about Lord Halloway. I know his sister. She’s friends with my wife.”
“Yes, I noticed that this morning at the wedding.”
“She’s a sweet lady,” Benjamin said as he settled back into the chair and crossed his legs. “You got fortunate. You could have ended up with someone who was a real shrew.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. How was it possible there were so many gullible gentlemen running loose in London?
“I love being married,” Benjamin said with a stupid grin on his face. “It’s the