“Well, Huntington?” Harley was licking his lips like a man who already tasted victory. “Are we to sit here all night while you ponder the vagaries of fate? Look at your bloody card.”
Finn turned over a corner of his card.
A five.
He flipped it face up, then tossed all his cards to the middle of the table. “Nineteen.”
Not a flicker of emotion crossed Wrexley’s face, but Finn could see right away his hand wouldn’t beat Harley’s. A man with losing cards didn’t wear such a gleeful smirk.
Harley slapped his cards down. “Twenty. Bad luck, Huntington.”
Finn frowned at Harley’s cards, scattered on the table in front of him. Well, that was it, then. Harley would snap up Lady Honora at once and get to work straight away on squandering her fortune.
“Well, Wrexley?” Lord Harley could hardly contain his delight. “Is Huntington to remain a bachelor until next season, or not?”
Lord Wrexley flicked a careless gaze over Harley, then Finn, and tossed his cards into the pile. “Twenty-two.”
“Damn shame, Wrexley.” Harley was more amused than sympathetic.
A shame, or potentially ruinous. The present Lord Wrexley, like every Lord Wrexley before him, had an inconvenient fondness for wagering, and his fortune hadn’t survived his latest run of bad luck. He still had his title, of course, but little else aside from his handsome face and charming manners to recommend him. He’d aimed rather high with Miss Somerset to begin with. If he’d had hopes of her, she must have encouraged him.
Not very discerning of her, particularly since Wrexley didn’t appear to return the sentiment. If he was devastated by his loss, his face didn’t reflect it. He merely shrugged, and pushed his chair back from the gaming table. “There are other heiresses. But you look glum, Huntington. Not at all like a man who’s just secured a chance at forty thousand and London’s most celebrated blue-eyed belle. Don’t say you’re in love with my cousin.”
In love, with Lady Honora? Hardly. If he was in love with the chit, he’d never marry her. A man didn’t want to lose his head over any woman, but especially not his wife. It would only complicate things, and Finn didn’t care for complications. “Love hasn’t got a damn thing to do with marriage.”
“Well, what’s the trouble, then?” Harley gathered up the cards and slipped them into his coat pocket. “One would think you were being forced to marry a lady with empty pockets and a face like a sheep. If you don’t fancy Miss Somerset, leave her to Wrexley. He seems keen to have her.”
Finn leaned back in his chair and studied Wrexley’s face. Losing a wager brought out Wrexley’s vengeful tendencies, and he’d never been as good at hiding them from Finn as he was the rest of London. “Is that so, Wrexley?”
“I only think it’s a pity to see such a lovely lady wasted on a man who doesn’t have a proper appreciation for her. But perhaps you’d care to make another wager on her, Huntington?”
Given that Finn had already wagered on Miss Somerset once, he didn’t have much right to be offended by Wrexley’s crass offer, but irritation made his lips tighten. “Make another wager on her? Now, Wrexley. That’s no way to talk about my future betrothed.”
Wrexley shrugged again, then shoved his arms into his coat. “Let me be the first to offer my congratulations, then.” He nodded at Harley and Lord Derrick. “I wish you a pleasant evening, gentlemen.”
Harley watched him go, then turned back to Finn. “A friendly word, Huntington. Wrexley can be vicious when he wants something, rather like a highwayman after a gold pocket-watch. If he’s made up his mind to have the lovely Miss Somerset, he might sink to questionable stratagems to get her. If you do decide to court her, you’d do well to keep an eye on him.”
Finn had long since made it a point to keep an eye on Wrexley, but he merely nodded. “I’ll bear that in mind.”
“You’d be a fool not to court her, you know. It won’t be a hardship to bed her.” Harley grinned like a man who’d given the matter a good deal of thought. “I’d wager she’s a spirited one.”
Lord Derrick, who’d remained silent during this exchange, slammed his fist down on the table. “No, you won’t. Haven’t you two disgraced yourselves enough for one night? No more bloody wagering.”
“Yes, if it’s all the same to you, Harley,” Finn drawled, “I’ll decline that wager, for Miss Somerset’s sake.”
“That’s good of you, Huntington, but it’s a bit late for chivalry now. I can’t help but feel sympathy for the lady, to be wasted on such an indifferent husband. Rather like being married to a block of ice, isn’t it? Once she’s done her duty and squeezed out an heir or two for you, she may have a mind to take a lover, and I’ll take care to be in her way when she does.”
Finn gave Lord Harley a sour look. “If you’re so enamored of her, why did you wager for the right to court Lady Honora?”
“Money, of course. What else? Besides, I don’t think Miss Somerset cares for me, despite my many charms. I have a suspicion she’d refuse me if I offered for her.”
“If she wouldn’t accept you as a husband, Harley, she won’t accept you as a lover.”
Harley laughed. “Marriage has a way of lowering a lady’s expectations in that regard.”
“A gentleman’s, as well.” Though if boredom was the only challenge he faced in his marriage, Finn would count himself fortunate enough.
Harley pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “That’s what mistresses are for. But you already know that, don’t you, Huntington?”
