Of course, she was anxious about the double swindle they were about to attempt. She snorted lightly. Only Archie could come up with such a bold, mad idea. But the thing about Archie’s bold, mad ideas was they possessed a certain creativity and scope that infused their madness with possibility. They were just mad enough to work.
Archie… She took him in—gorgeous in the saddle with the midday sun glinting off his golden curls. He held such calm command and assurance.
Of course, he wasn’t the only mad one between them.
These last few days she’d been consumed with an utter madnessfor the man.Insatiable…hoyden…And last night, when he’d suggested anarrangement, she’d told himnowhen every cell in her body had wanted—demanded—she sayyes. How could she give him up?
And yet…
She must. Men like him—lords—didn’t enter into relationships with women like her—commoners—unless they were of thearrangementvariety.
This infatuation…
It would pass.
That was what she would keep telling herself until it was true.
The Epsom racecourse came into view—a brown dirt track surrounding an oval of lush green grass. A few riders were out, taking their horses through their paces. Valentina had never been to a racecourse or seen horses quite like these—coats sleek and shiny, dense muscles working just beneath the skin in tension and release as they went from trot to canter to gallop.
And Lord Nestor thought he would be leaving the track with one such animal?
He was in for quite the surprise.
The carriage slowed to a gentle stop, as if careful of not disturbing Miss Hiss’s slumber.
The time had arrived.
To secure her family’s lost savings.
To never see Archie again.
The carriage door swung open. She expected a footman’s hand to appear in the opening. Instead, Archie pushed inside and shut the door behind him. He sat on the bench opposite her and ran a hand through his hair. She knew him well enough now to understand it as a nervous gesture. She met his gaze and detected a storm in there. He’d left his usual smiling self outside.
“Are you ready?” he asked at last. She sensed that wasn’t what he’d come here to say.
“No…yes,” she said, waiting for the real conversation to begin.
“If it all goes sideways, you’re safe. I’ll keep my word.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll compensate your family, and the other families, too.”
“You don’t have to pay the price for another man’s transgressions.”
“I made a promise,” he said tightly. “And I will honor it.”
She let a moment pass, then asked, “Is that all you came here to say?”
She attempted to clear her mind as she waited for his response.
She wouldn’t let herself hope.
He nodded. “There is something else.”
Valentina’s heart kicked into a gallop. No horse on the track was moving faster. “What is it?”
Archie dug into the breast pocket of his greatcoat and pulled out a white slip of paper. A calling card. He extended it across the footwell.
