A Deceptive Wager (Marriage by Design #3) - Ruth Ann Nordin Page 0,5
would have agreed with him, but Lord Halloway wasn’t stupid. He’d managed to pin him into marriage to his sister, and the more Aaron thought about it, the more he suspected the gentleman had been looking for a way to get rid of his sister the entire time. The wager had just been a ruse.
Aaron was the one lacking intelligence. He’d fallen for the trap. And a casual asking around London had revealed that prominent members of the Ton really were expecting him to marry Kitty. Lord Halloway hadn’t been bluffing. Aaron couldn’t bring himself to cause a scandal to his family’s name. His father was an honorable gentleman. Everything his father had done had been for him and his future. His father didn’t want him to be tainted by his mother’s scandals. The least he could do was honor his father by doing the same for the family legacy.
“The wager has to do with Mr. Robinson and Lord Roderick,” Lord Edon said. “Now that Lord Roderick is in London, Mr. Robinson is determined to frighten him. Do you want to place your bet on whether or not he can do it?”
“I don’t know. Does this bet come with a sister I’ll be forced to marry if I win?” He tried not to let the bitterness seep into the question since he was sure neither Lord Edon nor Mr. Robinson had a sister, but he couldn’t seem to rein in his bad mood no matter how much he tried.
Lord Edon’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment then understanding lit up his eyes. “Is that what Lord Halloway did to you?”
Aaron’s expression darkened. “Did you know the wager was a trap?”
“No, I had no idea it was a trap. He’s such a braggart that I thought he believed he could conquer Lady Richfield when other gentlemen have failed. The reason I didn’t make the wager with him is that it didn’t interest me. I don’t like wagers where the outcome is certain. I like the possibility of losing. It makes the game fun.”
“You’ve never lost a bet though.”
“Not yet, but one of these days, I will. I can’t win them all. It’s impossible.”
Aaron studied him. “Do you want to lose?”
Lord Edon shrugged. “I wouldn’t be devastated if I did.”
“So what is your bet in this wager? Are you putting your money on your friend or Lord Roderick?”
“I’m putting it on Lord Roderick.”
“Hmm… For a moment, I thought you would bet on your friend because you like him.”
“I do like him. Mr. Robinson is the gentleman I most prefer to talk to. The fact that I think he can scare Lord Roderick is really in support of him. All he needs to do is figure out something to scare Lord Roderick. Everyone has a weakness.”
“And your friend is all right with you betting on Lord Roderick solely for the purpose of losing a bet?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t he be? As long as he knows I think he can win, he knows he has my support.”
Aaron had to admit the two had a splendid friendship if they could be so forthcoming with each other. That, in itself, was enough to make him want to see Mr. Robinson succeed. He stood up. “I’ll wager that Mr. Robinson can do it, too.”
“Excellent! Come sign the book so we can mark you down.”
With a nod, Aaron followed him to the other room.
Chapter Three
“I can’t believe Aaron is going through with the wedding,” Lilly whispered to Kitty as she peered into the drawing room of Kitty’s townhouse. “He’s actually here.”
Kitty glanced into the room and saw that a very sour looking Aaron was sitting in a chair while her brother talked adamantly to the vicar. Nearby, Roger was pouring a brandy for himself and Benjamin. It was far from a festive occasion, which Kitty figured was fitting since neither she nor Aaron wanted this marriage.
Emilia peered around her until her gaze fell on Aaron. “He looks the way I felt on my wedding day.”
“I’m not excited to be marrying him, either,” Kitty whispered.
“I know, but you don’t look like you’re about to go to a hangman’s noose,” Emilia replied.
Perhaps she didn’t, but she was dreading it as much as he was. “I wish I didn’t have Willard for a brother.”
Emilia snickered. “I always thought his name was silly.”
“It’s silly because he’s such a cad,” Lilly said. “If he was a decent human being, it’d be just fine. He never should have manipulated Kitty into this union.”