Page 1 of Yule Be Mine

Chapter One

London, December 1, 1860

Despite losing an obscene amount of money this morning, Ulysses Quartermain, Yule to friends and family, was having the time of his life. Standing in a corner in his grandfather’s ballroom with his five cousins, celebrating his oldest cousin, Alex Bancroft’s victory in the boxing ring, Yule couldn’t imagine life being better. Well, not unless he had an inkling about which young lady he wanted to marry.

“Now we have two weddings down, who are we to wager on as being the next victim…er bridegroom?” Tom Weston, Yule’s youngest cousin involved in the marriage wager, looked around the circle of gentlemen brightly. “Don’t look at me, however. You can put me down in the book as being the last one to marry, Julius.”

Julius, Lord Boxtd, duly produced the family’s black, leatherbound wagers book and noted Tom’s request. “Any takers on that, gentlemen?”

“I’ll take some of that action, Julius.” Francis, Julius’s twin brother spoke up. “I plan to be the very last of us married. Tom will be an old married man by the time I tie the knot.”

“You’d all better take note of the time you have left.” Grandfather, the cause of all this marrying frenzy, took a long drink of something that looked a bit stronger than the champagne they were all drinking. “Alex and Sandy have done their duty handily. I salute you both.” He raised his glass to the first two of the six cousins to marry. As one, they all raised their glasses accordingly and drank to the two surprisingly happy men. Surprising, because neither one had had a long courtship with the ladies they had married.

Yule drank willingly to his cousins’ happiness, but secretly wondered how successful he would be in finding a lady he could love in the relatively short time allotted them to marry. Their grandfather had informed them in August that he’d been advised by his physician that he had only a year to live. To ease his mind that his eldest grandsons would do their family duty and marry, he’d proposed a wager that all six of them couldn’t marry within the year. The prize, should they do so, was an estate for each, ten thousand pounds, and a carriage with its equipage. The catch was that all six had to enter the wager and all had to marry within the time frame or none received the prize.

Most of them had readily agreed to the terms, not unexpected as all Quartermain males had a fondness for wagers that bordered on the obsessed. Only two of them—Francis and Tom—had needed some persuasion. Those two were now racing to be the last to wed. Yule might actually give them a run for their money if he couldn’t find the perfect woman to wed. The trouble was, he had no idea what he wanted in a wife.

“So are you going to be the next to fall, Yule?” Julius came over, drink in hand.

“I have serious doubts about it.” Yule peered into this glass of champagne, the bubbles rising furiously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

“About marrying?” Julius’s question was rather sharp. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be the first to renege on the wager? I’d have said Tom or Francis for sure, but never you.”

“Why not me? There is no particular young lady I’m interested in at the moment.” He cocked his head at his cousin. “I’d have thought you’d be the next one to say, ‘I will.’ You seemed awfully keen on Lady Augusta earlier this year. I heard rumblings about your match from my father even before Grandfather brought up the wager.”

Julius scowled and downed his champagne in a single gulp. “If I’d had my way, I’d have been married last spring, or at the very least, the first one of us to wed for the wager.” The man truly looked wretched. “I’ve wanted nothing but to marry Lady Augusta since we met last April. But she’ll have none of it. No matter what I say, or what I do, she simply isn’t interested.”

“Do you know why? I’d think given your family connections—a duke for a grandfather on your mother’s side and a title in your own right—Lady Augusta would be elated to accept you.” Yule peered at his cousin who, granted, was very reticent unless in the bosom of the family. “You did actually ask the lady, didn’t you, Julius?”

“Yes, I asked her.” Julius’s patience seemed to be wearing thin. “I’ve asked her, I’ve asked her father. I’d ask her butler if I thought that would do any good. I’ve done everything except have someone else woo her for me. She still says no.”

“Did you tell her about the marriage wager? Is that what put her off you?” Their newly married cousin Alex had insisted they all tell any prospective bride about the wager right away, so there’d be no issue arising from it.

“She knows, although I didn’t tell her. But she refused me even before we made the wager with Grandfather.”

“Does she say why, then?”

“She’s not in love with me.” The exasperated sigh from his cousin was obviously heartfelt.

“And that’s her only impediment?”

“It’s enough to make her say no each of the five times I’ve asked her to marry me.” Julius’s expression was the perfect blend of anger and misery.

“You have my sympathies, although my problem is quite the opposite. I have no attachment to any lady at the moment. I truly envy you and Alex and Sandy. You at least know what you want, and the two of them managed to find the perfect women with little effort indeed.” Yule knew himself better than to think he would be able to do that so easily. “It’s not as though I’m terribly fastidious about it. A pretty woman is always a plus, but I’m not set on finding a beauty. And my finances are such I don’t need to marry an heiress, thank goodness. Still I’m having the devil of a time finding someone who appeals to me. Now that most of the ton is going back home for the winter months, I likely won’t meet anyone new or be able to develop an interest in another lady until the spring. Then I’m going to be as rushed as Tom and Francis to find a bride.”

“Well, I wish you luck, cousin. Are you heading back to the estate in Hertfordshire for Christmas or staying in Town with Grandfather?”

“Mother and Father want to be here to be close to Grandfather. Just as well, I suppose. More people to meet in London than out in the frozen countryside.” Yule shrugged. He didn’t hold out much hope of finding a bride in either place.

“Are you planning to come to Herr Kastner’s Christmas party next week?”

“Fritz Kastner? From Oxford?” That was a name Yule hadn’t heard in years.

“The very one. His father is having a Christmas party to celebrate one of the Kastner sisters’ betrothal. Mother received an invitation a few days ago.” Julius looked eager for the first time that evening. “I’ve been assured Augusta will be there.”

“Don’t you think you should perhaps pay attention to some other young lady, Julius? Whatever you’ve been doing isn’t getting the desired effect. Perhaps if you show her you’ve moved on, she might become jealous. Begin to pursue you for a change.”

“That would be quite nice.” Julius didn’t look convinced.