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“If I am to be married to the chit, she must be somewhat agreeable,” Sir John said, his nervousness making him sound cross.
“Certainly,” Lord Edward replied evenly, with a slight shrug, although he did not think that Lady Charlotte would be agreeable at all. He had been on the point of telling his friends that Lady Charlotte’s mother was a friend of his aunt. Earlier this evening, he had overheard the Dowager Lady Keegain discussing how concerned she was at her daughter’s disillusionment regarding love after she narrowly escaped what would have been a disastrous marriage to a fortune-hunter. Lady Charlotte was unlikely to fall for the same trick twice, but if Ashbrooke wanted a challenge, she was sure to provide one. Lord Edward smiled and decided to keep his information to himself.
“I think Lady Charlotte will do splendidly,” Sir John decided.
Not only was she beautiful and wealthy, but he knew that her elder brother would be more likely than most to approve of him as a suitor as long as he convinced Lady Charlotte of his sincerity. The opinion of a lady’s male relatives was sure to be the true difficulty in this endeavor, but the Earl of Keegain was known to be rather soft-hearted. He had married for love himself rather than fortune, and he had allowed another of his sisters to do the same; the eldest sister, if Sir John remembered correctly.
The earl could hardly object to Ashbrooke’s financial straits if Lady Charlotte was in love with him. Sir John was certain he could persuade her to such sentiment. With such romantic examples in her family, it should be an easy matter to turn Lady Charlotte’s head. He started for the stair that led down from the gallery, as if to begin his pursuit immediately, but his friends quickly intervened.
“So much haste, Ashbrooke,” Lord Weston said. “I, for one, wish to know more of your strategy. I am quite sure that Blakely does as well.”
“Indeed, I do,” Lord Blakely agreed fervently.
“We ought to pool our knowledge of the young lady, that you might have smoother sailing with her and all that,” put in Lord Henderson.
“That was not my meaning at all,” protested Lord Weston. “We bet that he could not make her fall in love with him as easily as he claims. I see no profit in helping him win the wager.”
“Other than the profit of seeing your friend succeed, of course,” Lord Edward suggested dryly. “I only think we need to define more clearly what constitutes a win and in addition, I believe we had best make an addendum to the wager right now that none of us may deliberately sabotage the blossoming relationship, or pursue Lady Charlotte ourselves, or the stake is forfeit. Otherwise, one of us might end up some day confessing to his wife that he only married her to spite a friend.”
“Heaven forbid,” added Blakely.
“If you are making addendums,” Sir John said hastily. “Pray make one about keeping this wager a secret in general. I should not like to have it bandied about Town that I married my wife to win a bet.”
“Certainly not.” Lord Weston assured his friends. “I was not suggesting sabotage.”
“Plus, if Keegain caught wind of the wager, he would be likely to call you out, Ashbrooke,” Blakely added. “There were rumors he shot a spy this December past, and that from horseback at a dead run.”
“I doubt that is so, “said Lord Edward. “Keegain is a fine chap.”
“True,” Weston added. “If a man was shot, I am sure the villain was deserving of the lead.”
Sir John looked a little pale as Weston clapped him on the back. “So we will keep the wager a secret and keep out of the way,” Lord Weston said. “I mean to give you a sporting chance, Ashbrooke. I only meant that I do not see why we ought to assist you, when you are the one who is tasked with proving a shockingly wide generalization of the fairer sex and simultaneously dazzling us with your skill in the art of love.”
“It is hardly the feat you proclaim it to be,” John laughed easily, the scowl finally lifting from his handsome face. “Ladies want to fall in love. And I am firmly convinced that I am utterly in the right.”
“Nevertheless,” said Lord Henderson decisively. “This is Lady Charlotte’s first Season. We know very little of her other than that she is a spirited dancer and seems quite lively and sociable. I heard her gown described by a rather envious-sounding young lady as the height of perfection in every way imaginable. Surely this tells us something about the lady?”
“It does,” Sir John said. “It is pink. That in itself tells a myriad of things about the young lady. I now know, she enjoys dancing, foolish chatter, and fashion,” He did not bother to hide his impatience. “That hardly makes her stand out from other young ladies.”
“Surely it makessomedifference,” protested Lord Blakely. “You know that she is sociable and enjoys merriment. You would surely approach her differently than you would, say, that retiring dark-haired beauty in the alcove. The one who seems to view the ball as only vaguely interesting and primarily a minor annoyance.”
“Did I not see you ask that particular dark-haired beauty to dance, earlier this evening?” Lord Weston asked Lord Blakely with amusement. “Yet I do not believe I saw you dancing with her. Are you attempting to find out what Ashbrooke’s approach might be, so that you can then apply it to your own very specific example?”
“What of it, if I am?” Lord Blakely muttered, flushing slightly.
“It hardly matters,” Sir John insisted.
“Ho ho,” interjected Lord Edward. “It hardly matters. Ashbrooke is a master of strategy, no doubt,” he teased.
“My strategy, as you call it, would not vary in the slightest because as I have so controversially stated, the hearts of women do not vary. The same things will appeal to all when it comes to affairs of the heart. The lively Lady Charlotte will appreciate that I can match her on the dance floor, yet by the same token Blakely’s more reserved young lady would appreciate that I could convince her to enjoy dancing. The crucial point in either case is to make the dance memorable and personal.”
“Yes, but how would you getmyexample to agree to the dance in the first place?” Lord Blakely persisted.
“Idle conversation and mild flattery, in both cases, of course. Such a shy miss only needs convincing to come out of her shell. She will brighten with a bit of effort. Surely you do not think to ask a lady to dance with no preamble whatsoever? Not if you have any designs extending beyond a momentary partner.”
“That is precisely what he did,” Lord Weston said, clapping Lord Blakely on the back with a vigor that threatened to send the gentleman’s lanky frame over the gallery railing.
“I obtained an introduction first,” Lord Blakely said, clinging to the rail.
