Page 48 of Habibi: Always and Forever

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into Conrad and Freddie's post-marital escapades. Freddie has always been one of my favorite heroines and coming up with something wonderfully shocking and outrageous for her to do with Conrad acting as her partner-in-crime was a lot of fun.

As any fan of Regency romances knows, White's was considered the gentleman's club during the period and was frequented by the likes of the Prince of Wales ("Prinny") and, until his fall from grace, Beau Brummell.

It was also strictly for men—not just the members, but the staff as well—and to this day, the only known exception to that rule is Queen Elizabeth II, who was permitted entry to attend Prince Charles's stag party before his wedding to Diana.

(Aside: Okay, but who wants their mom at their bachelor party?)

I did play a little fast and loose with the nature of wagers at White’s.

To the best of my knowledge, pools like the one I imagined on Freddie’s activities were not a feature of bets made in the book at White’s.

Instead, members seem to have gone in for direct bets along the lines of “Lord X bets Mr. Y twenty guineas that Duke Z will marry Miss A by (date).” The most famous of wagers of this sort is probably this one:

November 18 th , 1817 Mr. Bouverie bets Lord Yarmouth a hundred and fifty that H.R.H the Duke of Clarence has not a legitimate child within 2 years of this day.

The Duke of Clarence is better known to Regency romance fans as Prinny and at his father’s death became King William IV. He also had no legitimate offspring, so Mr. Bouverie clearly won his wager.

Thanks again for reading about the people in my head!