“You don’t have to read it, Lisbeth. It won’t do you or me any good.” He jumped down and handed the reins to a young boy. “Keep them safe and there will be a coin in it for you,” he said to the lad, before handing Lisbeth down. He guided her down to a bench where she dutifully sat with list in hand.
“I’ll be contemplating the plight of the ducks.” With that he walked off, down to the edge of the serpentine that ran through Hyde Park only a few feet away.
Lisbeth sat on the bench and watched him walk away. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She looked down at the folded list in her hand. Did she really want to know what was on it? Part of her yelled,No!The other half told her she must know, no matter the consequences. If nothing else, it might give her an insight into why Bellamy wouldn’t collect on his wagers as per their agreement.
She unfolded the list and read the contents with shaky hands. She read down the list, noticing that some were already ruled out with a line, where he had completed them. Her hands shook and her heart raced as she continued down the list.
My God!She was such a fool. Of course, the men who had placed these wagers would want to humiliate her. They always had. Why, two years later should it be any different?
She lifted a hand to her mouth in a quick involuntary move. He had tried to warn her, but still, the shock of finding out just how degenerate men could be had her gasping. Oliver had been right. She should not have read it, but she had now, and she would have to deal with it.
She gathered her breath and stood, looking around her. The park was filled to capacity, most likely due to the unusually fine weather. The sun may be peeking through but inside her it felt like it was cold and raining. A thunderstorm was brewing in her mind ready to strike out. How dare these men write such things about her, about anyone? She wanted to slap every man in sight but then she looked at Bellamy… and knew that she was wrong. Not all men were painted with the same brush. Some men held pride and honor above all else. Bellamy had tried to stop her from reading that revolting list of insults, but she hadn’t listened.
Lisbeth made her way to the stand of trees down near the water’s edge where Oliver was standing. He looked good, even from the back. The tails of his coat lifted slightly on the breeze, giving her a glimpse of his magnificent backside in buck-colored breeches. He was tall and so handsome gazing out over the water, his hat sitting at a slight angle on his head.
This man had loved her last night like she never knew she could be loved. He had opened her eyes to desire and pleasure so intense she thought she would go up in flames. He had offered her more than just his body last night. She had seen it in his eyes. Even now, he had tried to protect her, save her from hurt.
She saw now that she would have to find some other way around their arrangement, but how? He would never take money directly from her and yet she knew he needed this money. Whatever fool thing his brother Henry had done, besides put his money and his faith in her late husband, Oliver should not have to pay for it. Still, if he would at least collect on those wagers he had already completed…
She was so deep in thought she hadn’t realized she had made it to the river’s edge. She looked at Oliver and he looked at her. Was that pain she saw in his gaze?
“Are you satisfied now, Countess? Has your curiosity been fulfilled?”
She raised her chin a notch higher. “There are some wagers on this list I am willing to do,” she said.
Oliver gaped at her. “What?”
“You were right. Most of them are… repulsive, but there are a few I would consider.”
Now he looked astonished. She would have laughed at him under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances.
“Which ones in particular are you referring to?”
“Well, the waltz for one.”
He raised a brow at her.
She raised one back. “I know what I said, but that was before.”
He nodded. “All right, what others?”
“I will kiss you here, in Hyde Park and… and let you expose my ankle at the next ball.
“Really,” he replied. Apparently, not at all convinced. “Even the kiss?”
“I will not enjoy it, but I will do it.”
“Well no, we can’t have you enjoying my kiss, can we?”
“I meant the humiliation of the wager and the circumstances surrounding it. Not the kiss itself.”
He shook his head. “I feel so much better now.”
She ignored his sarcastic tone. “Now, shall we do it here or in the phaeton?”
Oliver laughed because it was all so ridiculous. “Stop,” he said, putting up his hand. “We are going to walk back to the horses, and then I am going to take you home.”
“But the wager,” she said, as he took hold of her arm and started dragging her back up to the path.
