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“You have sought out Miss Wells,” Lady Reid hissed, her eyes narrowing. “I thought you were a gentleman who had better taste in ladies than that, Lord Weston!”
A surge of anger rippled through him. “I think Miss Wells to be an excellent lady,” he informed Lady Reid, his brows furrowing together. “I have been glad to further my acquaintance with her.”
“You choose her acquaintance over mine?” Lady Reid asked, her eyes widening and her cheeks flooding with color. “Truly, Lord Weston? It cannot be that you have fallen in love with the creature, surely?”
The mention of the word “love” brought Thomas to his knees. His anger began to die away, heat climbing up his spine as he looked into Lady Reid’s beautiful face and saw the scorn there. He could not bring himself to admit to her or even to admit aloud that he cared for Miss Wells. It was too frightening a prospect to own.
“Of course I am not in love with her,” he scoffed, waving a hand as though Lady Reid talked nothing but foolishness. “It is a wager only.”
Lady Reid’s scornful expression changed in an instant. “A wager?” she purred, suddenly moving closer and putting a hand on his arm. “You have made a wager to capture Miss Wells’ attentions?”
“I mean to have her accept my courtship,” he told her, knowing that he ought to prevent himself from saying more but finding that his mouth was working of its own accord, such was his urgency to defend himself against the accusation that he was in love. “Then I shall win the bet, defeat Lord Wiltshire, and all shall be as it once was.”
Lady Reid seemed to purr, her eyes glowing gently as she looked up into his face. “Why did you not say so before?” she asked, her hand creeping up his arm towards his shoulder. Thomas tensed, his skin crawling as she brushed her fingers over the back of his neck. “Then I would not have grown concerned. You are still to be mine after all.”
“Yours?” Thomas repeated, wondering why he didn’t feel any delight at this prospect, but rather, a growing disdain for the beautiful lady before him.
Lady Reid laughed softly, shaking her head as though he were being ridiculous. “But of course,” she replied, running her hand down his back. “You did not think that I have permitted your attentions and forgiven your mistakes without having the intention of allowing you to further them.” Her lips curved, her lids lowering into a most alluring gaze. “I do hope you will accept, Lord Weston.”
Thomas opened his mouth to state that nothing would bring him greater pleasure, but the words stuck in his throat. He could not answer her. Blinking rapidly, he cleared his throat and tried to smile but even that proved much too difficult. His whole body was rebelling against the idea of going to Lady Reid for such pleasures, his mind filling with thoughts of Miss Wells.
“You are overcome, of course,” Lady Reid said easily, looking up at him coyly. “I shall leave you for a time, Lord Weston. I do hope the surprise will have worn off somewhat by the time I return to you.” She let her hand linger on his arm for another few moments before moving past him, letting him free to breathe more easily.
* * *
Thomas rubbed his hands over his eyes, struggling to get his thoughts into coherent order. It had been a good hour since Lady Reid had left him, but he had not been able to escape from his own thoughts to even summon a moment of enjoyment from the evening. The eagerness he had once had to seek out Lady Reid’s affections and attentions had gone from him completely, removed by the thought of Miss Wells. It was she that he wanted to pursue. It was she that held his every thought, and as much as he had been unable to say as much aloud, he was beginning to care for the lady very deeply. It was why he had been so tormented of late, struggling to know what was best for him to do. His own desires were muddled, his mind confused. What was it he wanted? Was he in love with Miss Wells, as Lady Reid had suggested? It could explain the strong reaction he had experienced when she had stated it, although he certainly should not have said anything about the wager. That had been foolishness in itself.
“Lord Weston?”
He looked up, surprised to see Miss Wells hurrying towards him. Her eyes were wild, her face pale, save for two spots of color in her cheeks. Her hands were clenched, her ringlets bouncing about her temples.
“Is it our dance, Miss Wells?” he asked, pushing himself away from the wall and inclining his head. “I must apologize. I–”
“A wager?”
Her words froze him in place, seeing the tears glistening in her eyes and feeling himself sinking slowly to the floor.
“You have a wager with Lord Wiltshire that I will accept your courtship?” she asked, blinking back her tears, her voice breaking with emotion. “That is why you have been seeking me out? That is why you gave me so much of your attention?”
“Miss Wells,” Thomas stammered, reaching out to her as though taking her hand would somehow assure her that he was not the ogre he now appeared to be. “It is not as it seems.”
She took a step back from him, preventing him from grasping her hand. “You are telling me that this wager is not as it seems?”
He could not answer that truthfully, his eyes downcast. “Lady Reid informed you of this?”
“She did,” Miss Wells whispered, her voice no longer able to speak with any force. “She warned me that if I continued to accept your attentions, then she would make certain that there were consequences for such a thing.” She lifted one shoulder, a single tear falling onto her cheek. “I presume this is what she spoke of.”
“Lady Reid did not know of it until only an hour ago,” he said rapidly, as though this would change her consideration of him. “I must tell you, Miss Wells, I have been in a quandary over what to do. I have this wager, yes, but I have found myself so drawn to you that I cannot pretend that I do not have a growing affection for you.” He took a step closer, his eyes fixed on hers so that he would not lose her attention. “Pray, do not turn from me now. The words I said to you in the park only yesterday are the truth!”
A harsh laugh ripped from her mouth. “You must think me a fool,” she told him, shaking her head. “You seek to keep up your pretense so that I will fall into your arms, accept your offer of courtship, and you, therefore, shall win your wager.” Dashing away her tears, she closed her eyes tightly and dragged in a deep breath of air. “I will not be so mistreated, Lord Weston. I will not allow you to use me as your plaything. How foolish I have been to allow you to do so thus far!”
His desperation grew steadily. He wanted to fall at her feet, wanted to beg her to listen to him and to believe what it was he said, only to see her anger and to feel himself fading away to hopelessness.
“You have no reason to think well of me,” he admitted, his voice low as his hands fell to his sides. “I have behaved appallingly. I have treated you as though you mean nothing, Miss Wells. I should have no expectation that you will believe my words now. If only I could prove to you in some way that you have changed me, Miss Wells. Where I was once selfish, cruel, and unkind, seeking the attention of others, I now only seek your attention, Miss Wells. I want to be your only consideration, and yet, despite this urgency, I have failed utterly. How much you must despise me and how much I deserve that scorn.” His eyes lowered to the floor, his heart aching furiously. “It will do no good to tell you of the truth of my affection, Miss Wells, for you have no reason to believe me, but I will say it regardless. My heart has begun to yearn for you in such a way that it has never done before. I did not know what to do with it, nor how to express it, especially when the foolishness of the wager hung over my head. I am utterly ashamed of myself, Miss Wells. I am a coward and a fool, but I will never pretend that what I feel in my heart is not genuine.” Looking up at her, he saw how she stilled, her tears drying on her cheeks. “I believe myself in love with you, Miss Wells,” he finished, the words bringing both pain and gladness to his heart as he finally told her the truth. A weight rolled off his shoulders as he continued to hold her gaze, aware of how pale and wane she now appeared. “But I
shall not pursue you, not for my sake. I will not seek your company again. I will lose the wager. I will give Lord Wiltshire the money and accept the consequences thereafter. And I shall do my very best to protect you from the shame of it all.”
Miss Wells let out a snort of disdain, her eyes still glassy. “I hardly think you will be able to do so, Lord Weston, since Lady Reid is already informing all she knows of what it is you have done,” she replied unsteadily. “It seems I am destined to return to the shadows of society, where I once was before. At least there, I know I shall receive a true welcome.”
