Page 10 of King of Clubs (The Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society #9)

G wendolyn didn’t bother knocking, she just walked straight into her father’s study. He was at his desk, a pile of papers and assorted ledgers scattered around him. He looked up and then frowned.

“What is it, my sweet? Is there something wrong?”

“Yes, there is.” She strode straight up to his desk and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You! You told the world what my dowry would be, and now I am getting proposals of marriage left and right. Do you know that I just had to send away the third one in four days? Four days! Three marriage proposals! All from men who wanted nothing more than your money. Well, and one who wanted you to take him on as your business partner.” She took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

“Three? Is that all? I thought there would be a great deal more—but then, it is early in the Season, my sweet. And, hmm, one wanted to become a business partner? That’s different. Why didn’t he just come to me?”

Gwendolyn’s mouth dropped open. “Is that all you’ve got to say? That you thought there’d be more?”

“Well…” He spread his hands wide. “What do you want—”

“What I want is not to receive any more marriage proposals from men who don’t give a fig about me! What I want is a gentleman who is actually interested in me. Who likes me! Who might even love me! What I want is to be happy! And you have ruined that. You have destroyed any—”

“Now, just wait a moment here. I have not destroyed anything. These idiots who are coming now are clearly not the one you should marry. The fact that they’ve come forward so quickly shows their mercenary nature. You should be thanking me for pulling them out of the woodwork for you. You now know who is sincere and who is not.”

Gwendolyn clenched her teeth together to keep from screaming. “Thank you. I shall be packing my bags in that case.” She turned to leave.

“No you don’t, young lady!” her father bellowed.

She stopped.

“I have paid good money to present you this Season. I have gone to a great deal of trouble to be here with you. You are going to stay. You are going to dance. And you are going to find a husband from among the ton , do you hear me?”

She turned. “How can I find a husband when the only men who want to marry me—”

“Those are just the idiots who are after your money, just as you said. There are more fish in that barrel. There are those who haven’t come forward as yet because they don’t want your money. There are many more gentlemen out there. Do not let these idiots send you packing. Really, Gwendolyn, I thought you were more intelligent than that,” he scolded.

Gwendolyn swallowed hard. What he said made some sense, and she hated that. An idea tickled at the back of her mind. She came toward him again. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll stay on one condition.”

Her father crossed his arms and waited.

“I want… I want to open a club—for ladies.”

His hands dropped to his sides. “What?”

“You heard me. I’m bored. I have nothing to do but attend parties in the evenings. I’ve got nothing to do during the day.”

“You should be visiting other ladies.”

“Where? At their homes? Wouldn’t it be easier if I could visit with them at a club? You go to your club to visit with other gentlemen. Why can’t ladies have a club where they can visit with each other?

“The Ladies’ Wagering Whist Society plays cards each week at Lady Ayres’s home. Why don’t they have a club where they can play? Perhaps they would want to play with other women as well? I say there should be a club for ladies just as there are clubs for gentlemen, and I want to start it.”

This was the idea that had been nagging in the back of Gwendolyn’s mind for days. She’d never allowed it to come forward because she never thought she would be able to do anything about it, but now… now she might just have the opportunity to bring this idea to fruition. She waited for her father to say something.

He was clearly thinking about this.

“I met Lord Wickford,” she told him.

He frowned, trying to see the connection.

“You know he owns and runs his own club for gentlemen,” she said.

“Yes, of course. That’s where I met him and reminded him that you were waiting for him to call.”

“He told me that he has no problem both running his club and going to society events.”

Her father’s mouth formed an O. He now understood what she was saying. “So you believe you can do the same?”

“I do. And no one needs to know I am the one behind this new club for ladies. I will tell no one, and of course, neither will you.”

He nodded slowly. “If it did get out, you would be ruined.”

“I am aware of that. So we will do this quietly. You will be renting the building where the club will be housed, anyway. I will hire a majordomo who will be a front, a face, and a name.”

“We’ll have to find someone trustworthy,” he said, thinking it through.

“Of course.”

“And you will continue to go to society events and visiting when necessary?”

“No one will know I am doing anything but what a good society miss should be doing,” she promised.

“And you’ll find a husband,” he said. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.

“Yes, of course. That is why I am here, after all.” She spread her hands open wide.

He nodded. “Very well. You may start your club for ladies. I don’t think it will work, but I don’t mind dropping a little blunt to make you happy for the Season.”

She smiled. He didn’t think her club would be successful? Hah! Well, she would show him. She had a good feeling about this. This was precisely what the ladies of society needed, and she would prove it.

~April 20~

Gwendolyn looked yet again at the note that had just been delivered to her. The duchess had written to say she was feeling a little under the weather and that she would not be able to chaperone Gwendolyn to Lady Emmerton’s soirée that evening. This meant that Gwendolyn needed another chaperone.

She supposed she could just go with her father, but it would look better if she was with a lady.

“Excuse me, Miss, this has just come for you,” a maid said, handing Gwendolyn a note.

Gwen put down the one from the duchess. Goodness, she had never received so many missives all at once!

Urgent! Help! Could we meet tonight before Lady Emmerton’s soiree?

–Cassie

Gwendolyn jumped to her feet. Her friend needed help? She would be there! But where?

Of course! She needed a chaperone for tonight. Cassie needed help. They could all meet at Bel or Bee’s home and go together. That would solve everything.

She quickly penned notes to all three of her friends. Surely, one—or both—of the twins would be able to chaperone her this evening, and they’d all help Cassie before-hand. A simple solution.

Gwendolyn couldn’t believe her friend was still not dressed when she was brought up to Bel’s bedchamber that evening but instead sitting with her nose in a book. She was also, clearly, the first to arrive.

“A book? Bel, are you feeling all right?” Gwendolyn asked with a laugh the minute she walked through the door.

Her friend looked up guiltily. “It’s not just a book, Gwendolyn, it’s a novel. It is the most wonderful thing ever written and I just… I can’t put it down. I need to know what happens!”

“My goodness! What book is it?”

“Have you heard of this new author, Nathan Rice? It’s his latest,” Bel explained.

Gwendolyn could only shake her head.

“Well, it’s absolutely riveting.”

“Sadly, your sister and Cassie are going to be even more than riveting when they arrive and find you’re not even changed for the evening,” Gwendolyn pointed out.

“Oh, pish.” Bel waved an uncaring hand before returning to her book. “We have plenty of time. And we have to discuss Cassie’s urgent matter anyway—whatever that is.”

“Yes, I have to admit to being very curious,” Gwen admitted.

Bee walked in just then. She stopped just inside the door, staring at her sister. “Bel! Don’t tell me you’re reading another one of those awful Nathan Rice books?”

“I can’t help it. It’s so good,” Bel whined.

Bee walked straight over and snatched the book from her sister’s hands. When Bel screamed, Bee calmly stated, “When you are dressed, if you insist, I will give it back.”

Gwendolyn laughed. Clearly, they’d had this problem before.

Bel grumbled but got up and rang the bell for her maid while Bee turned to Gwendolyn.

“You’re looking beautiful as always,” she announced with satisfaction.

“She always looks good,” Cassie said, coming through the door. She stopped and looked at Bel for a moment. “You’re not dressed!”

Bel just sighed and started unhooking her morning dress.

“This is one of the new gowns I ordered a few weeks ago,” Gwendolyn told Cassie.

She nodded approvingly. “I can’t believe we’ve hardly seen each other since then. What have you been up to?”

Gwendolyn laughed. “You wouldn’t believe. I’ve received no fewer than three proposals of marriage!”

“Three?” Bel breathed as she stepped out of her gown.

“Three stupid men, none of whom are actually interested in me. One of them had the nerve to tell me outright that he was only proposing so he could go into business with my father.” She laughed and shook her head.

“My word!” Bee exclaimed.

“I can’t believe he actually said that,” Cassie said at the same time.

“After Lord Portland proposed the day before yesterday, I was ready to pack my bags and leave, I was so furious,” Gwendolyn told them.

“Well, I’m glad you decided to stay,” Bel said from inside of the dress her maid was pulling over her head.

“What changed your mind?” Bee asked.

“I made a deal with my father,” Gwendolyn said.

“Oh?” the three girls said in unison.

“If you promise not to tell a soul, I’ll tell you what it is, but truly, you can’t mention a word of this to anyone.” Gwendolyn looked between her friends and then pointedly at the maid.

“You can trust Mary, honestly,” Bel immediately vouched for the woman.

“Oh, yes, Miss. I don’t say a word,” Mary said.

“All right.” She gave her friends a little smile and said, “I’m going to start a club—like a gentleman’s club, only for ladies.”

All three girls just stared at her, so she explained further, “Instead of having to go to each other’s homes to visit, ladies can visit with each other in the tea room. Instead of having to go to another lady’s home to play whist, there will be a card room where they can do so.”

“So, just like a gentleman’s club,” Bel said.

“Only for ladies,” Cassie finished.

They were all clearly thinking about this.

“What do you think?” Gwendolyn asked.

“It’s a very different idea,” Bee acknowledged.

“I like it. It’s unusual,” Bel said, beginning to come around to the idea. “I wonder if many ladies would join.”

“I hope so. I may need to count on you to help me talk it up,” Gwendolyn admitted. “No one will know that I own and run it—that’s a sure way to ruin what little reputation I have.”

“Absolutely! No one must know that you are associated with it at all,” Bee agreed quickly.

“But if we talk about it and tell other ladies about it, maybe gently suggest that this would be something good, I’m hoping there will be enough members at the start. When other ladies see that people are joining, they’ll come and look into it as well,” Gwendolyn told them.

“But how will you run a club, first of all, without anyone knowing that you’re doing so? Second, while also going to parties—I assume you will still go to parties and take part in the Season?” Cassie asked.

“Yes, I promised my father that this would not impinge on my usual activities at all. I will still go to parties and look for a husband just as I promised him I would,” Gwendolyn agreed. “Lord Wickford does this—he runs his club and keeps an active social calendar. If he can do it, so can I,” Gwendolyn said with a shrug. “I’ll also have a majordomo who will be the face of running the club, so that no one knows that I’m involved.”

“That makes sense,” Bee said with a nod.

“I hope it works out. I think it would be a lot of fun,” Gwendolyn said, looking to her friends for some sort of acknowledgment. They seemed slow to wrap their enthusiasm around the idea, but Gwendolyn was sure they would. It was just too new as yet. She then turned to Cassie, “Now, what is your urgent problem?”