Page 80 of The Rogue’s Embrace

Lady Julia greeted him with unsurprising coquetry as her husband handed her out of her carriage. Stephen was part of the welcome party at the bottom of the steps to the house, in company with Hetty, Araminta and Edgar, whose eyes nearly popped out of his head as the vision of loveliness offered him her hand to kiss. He brightened for the first time in two days.

"The heir to The Grange himself,"

she tittered, cradling her hand as if to revere the spot he'd kissed before turning to Stephen. "Poor Mr. Cranborne,"

she said with mock sympathy. "What will you do now?"

Stephen contemplated her question without correcting her assumption that Edgar's position was as rock solid as before. "I have no money, of course."

He smiled. "Perhaps I shall have to resort to lightening the load of those who do…return to my old gambling days though I'd sworn off wagers following one I had no right to lose."

She cast an edgy little smile at the group in general before following the lady of the manor up the steps and into the enormous flagstone hallway, clinging to her husband's arm. Sir Archie had so far evaded Stephen's eye but was voluble in his brief private conversation with Lord Partington by the carriage. Stephen wasn't sure what the exact wording of his cousin's invitation to Sir Archie had been though he knew Lord Partington had hinted that it was connected with Sir Archie's recent position in the Foreign Office.

"Mary will show you to your room, Lady Julia,"

said Sybil, handing her guest over to the maid, following the requisite courtesies. "We will be waiting for you in the drawing room when you're ready."

It was clear Sir Archie and Lady Julia were not used to being entertained in such grand style. Their eyes darted to every fine accoutrement and Stephen harked back to their modest country manor, which he'd thought so fine.

He glanced at Lady Julia with her razor sharp prettiness, her pert nose and plump lips he'd once plundered—and the thought made him ill as he watched her surreptitiously run her hand over the plush upholstery of the fashionable Egyptian sofa upon which she sat, as if to assess its worth.

No doubt she imagined a thousand pounds was nothing to Stephen with such relatives. It's why Sir Archie and Lady Julia had entertained him, of course. Money. Or lack of it. They were punting on the River Tick and they saw him as fair game. He should have realized it when Lady Julia took him into the pantry with such determination upon such flimsy acquaintanceship.

It was why she tried her luck again when she accosted him in the passageway as the party broke up to dress for dinner. He mightn't be in line to inherit now but he was close enough and certainly plump enough in the pocket with possible connections her husband could trade upon. And he'd proved very easy to win over once before, hadn't he?

"Have you missed me?"

she purred, taking his arm as they rounded the corner into the older part of the house. Disused closets and bedrooms abounded, he realised fearfully.

But now, he was repulsed by her and the idea of trading in any form of passion unless it was with Sybil.

"Please don't be offended but if you wish the truth, I've enjoyed my time here too much, Lady Julia, to spare you a thought."

Her flare of outrage was quickly replaced by a determination to prove she was irresistible. Or at least that what she offered was irresistible.

They were alone. The passage was gloomy. Her hand darted to his crotch and her fingers curled around his flaccid member as she brushed up against him.

"You lie,"

she said, pretending coyness.

To his mortification, he felt himself harden, her soft, victorious chuckle compounding his shame. Quickly he stepped to the side, breaking contact at the sound of voices approaching.

"So you have missed me,"

she whispered over her shoulder, gloating as she disappeared around the corner. "I'll see you later this evening, Mr. Cranborne."

He didn't like the promise in her tone.

But there was no time for a rejoinder since Lord Partington was suddenly at his side saying in conspiratorial tones, "All's in order, lad. We'll show those upstarts that two can play at their game."

Stephen noticed the edge had been rubbed off His Lordship's usual sartorial elegance. Closer observation revealed that one of the buttons of his coat had not been done up but before Stephen could say anything, Hetty appeared round the corner, her plump face flushed as she cried, "Papa! Araminta and Edgar have had the most flaming row! I heard him accuse her of all manner of terrible things—all of which are quite true."

"You look quite gleeful, Hetty,"

Stephen remarked. "I daresay it's not often the lovely Araminta's perch is rattled. With all due respect, my lord."

He glanced quickly at His Lordship.

"True enough. I think young Hetty and that dandiprat Edgar are far better suited."

He patted his daughter's shoulder. "Now you go off and persuade him so."

Lord Partington raised his eyebrows at Stephen's obvious surprise once Hetty had gone, explaining,

"I once made the mistake of telling Araminta she'd be a better mistress of this place than her brother. George was like Edgar, though I hate to say it. Well, Araminta was young and she immediately elevated the idea to glory status. Truth to tell, Hetty would be a far better match for young Edgar. Araminta would go her own way and Edgar would simply turn to drink and cards, just like his father. Hetty, on the other hand, could manage him and this place a good deal better than I think anyone would credit."

"But if the child Lady Partington is expecting is a boy then Edgar is of no account."

Lord Partington harrumphed. "There's a long time between now and when that time comes."

He sighed and muttered, "Fact is, at this stage I have to assume Edgar will inherit and quite frankly I'd have more faith in entrusting the reins to my head stable lad than the bacon-brained nursling who is currently my heir."

Abruptly he changed the subject. "Now do we have all in hand for this evening?"

He fixed Stephen with a pair of bright, inquiring eyes as he bared his yellow teeth in a collaborative smile. "I'm sure everyone will thoroughly enjoy the entertainment I have planned."

However when the party assembled for dinner, the atmosphere heavy due to Araminta's tiff with Edgar and Edgar's obvious rebuff of a red-eyed Hetty, Stephen wondered how anyone could enjoy anything tonight. He was sure he must feel the most miserable of the lot, despite the possibilities of the wager. He'd be parting from Sybil tomorrow. Perhaps forever.

He also dreaded his next encounter with Lady Julia.

What if she forced herself on him? She was wily and determined and he was, quite frankly, terrified. Not of Lady Julia herself but of her underhanded tactics. That said, there was not a chance in hell Stephen would allow himself to be alone with the woman for even one minute.

It was Sybil he was most concerned about.

Several times, Stephen locked eyes with her, long enough to convey a silent message that he hoped she would interpret as solidarity.

She looked edgy and unhappy.

As well she might.

God, she loved him.

They'd shared so much during the past ten days.

They were lovers in the first throes of infatuation yet right now she'd be anticipating a visit from Humphrey to her bedchamber because she'd decided to play the duty card.

He understood it.

It was part of the reason he loved her.

But his mind and body revolted at the thought of his dearest Sybil succumbing meekly to the attentions of a man she did not love when the man she did was waiting, so willingly, and so desperately, just down the passage.

Once the ladies repaired to the drawing room, the gentlemen were left alone to their port and coffee.

Sir Archie appeared very much at home. The arrogant tilt of his weak chin and the way he pursed his small mouth as he smoothed the hair back from his receding hairline made Stephen physically ill.

Earlier in the evening he'd muttered under his breath in passing, "A bet's a bet, Cranborne. Don't think your benefactor can bamboozle me into going soft. He's full of juice."

His lip had curled as he raked Stephen from head to toe. "You, however, don't pass muster anymore now that you're rolled up. Tonight I'd better be assured I'll get my blunt. You thought you were a cut above but now you're on the rocks."

A less assured Stephen might have crowed that Archie's wife had been very happy for Stephen to dip his wick during their last encounter and showed every enthusiasm for repeating the experience.

Instead, he merely smiled. He'd provided Lord Partington the props but His Lordship, a legendary practical joker in his youth, had insisted upon managing the rest of the action.

Stephen had no great hope of success. It was highly doubtful Sir Archie would bet the same way, in which case the whole charade was useless.

He watched the servants clear the table, weighed down by the increasing sense of inevitability that this was not going to end well.

Now, as he drained his coffee cup while Lord Partington, Edgar and Sir Archie drained the port decanter, his cause seemed very hopeless.

"Gentlemen, the fairer sex has departed, but I wonder if we are any the better for it."

Lord Partington steepled his fingers and smiled expansively at them. "Edgar, you're looking very down in the mouth, boy. I think you're only too glad to see the back of a certain young lady. Have you been bested?"

Edgar glared and Sir Archie looked surprised. Lord Partington turned to him, the corners of his mouth turned up in a sardonic smile. "Poor Edgar has, I fear, been bested by my minx of a daughter, Araminta. But, Sir Archie, perhaps you think the male of the species the superior of the sex in every way and that it's not possible to be bested by a mere female, eh wot?"

Stephen chuckled and Sir Archie swung round to face him, his cheeks blooming. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but as an answer was required, turned back to Lord Partington, muttering, "Males are superior to females, there's no doubt of that, my lord."

"That glossy wife of yours looks like she leads you a merry dance."

Archie bristled though his eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was not the kind of talk he'd have expected from the ageing Lord Partington, no doubt. Pushing back his shoulders, he countered, "Lady Julia is spirited but she is biddable. She'd not dare do something not countenanced by myself."

"Good to hear. Like my Sybil. Can't allow these ladies too long a rein, can we?"

Although Stephen was grateful to His Lordship for helping him overcome his pecuniary difficulties, his hackles rose at these words and he was glad when Lord Partington indicated they should repair to the drawing room to join the ladies.

When they did they were met by a mixture of curiosity, excitement and revulsion, for, already lined up on a low table in the center of the room, were four glass domes, each containing a web with two spiders.

Sybil greeted the newcomers with pleasure. "I see you have some unusual fun arranged for us!"

she exclaimed, stepping forward, clapping her hands. "Stephen, didn't you collect these yesterday? Oh yes, and Hetty helped. Look! Aren't they quite superb? You won't find these in every drawing room but my husband is quite the man of science and I've become used to the odd things he likes to display. Do you like spiders, Lady Julia?"

Stephen wished he could hug his darling Sybil. Lady Julia had a greenish hue to her skin and her eyes skittered between her clearly uncomfortable husband, His Lordship and Stephen.

"No, my lady,"

Lady Julia replied with a shudder, following Her Ladyship back to their chairs at the other end of the room. "I wish they were not so prominently displayed. In fact…in fact…"

She put a hand to her forehead. "I don't feel at all well."

Lord Partington went to the table and picked up a glass dome, which he eyed with satisfaction. "We'll take them away shortly but first we're going to stage a little bet. Naturally I'd not have thought to do so in front of the ladies but Lady Partington thought it would be a lark. So please, indulge her just this once."

He fixed Sir Archie with a gimlet eye. "I know you're a betting man, Sir Archie. I am too. Who's going to come off second best? The large, glossy female? You agree that it is a female?"

He paused meaningfully. "Good, good. Or will the male display to advantage? You declared the male could never be bested."

Archie raised his chin. Clearing his throat, he declared, "I believe there are occasions. In fact, I'd bet the opposite tonight."

However, the smug grin plastered on his face soon disappeared as the double doors were opened to admit the young Earl of Barston.

Stephen, seated near Lady Partington, let out his breath in a low, admiring whoosh. The Earl of Barston's heir. Stephen had mentioned Barston's presence only in passing to His Lordship, knowing that Barston was an ally of Sir Archie's and would never champion Stephen. However, Lord Partington was obviously more influential than Stephen and had seen the main chance.

Now, here was Barston, looking very down in the mouth. He'd sat in on the supposed invincibility of the male spider wager when Stephen had been entertained by Lady Julia in a closet just up the passage, and it was clear that he was now here on sufferance. Had Lord Partington used threat or inducement? It seemed His Lordship was adept at having matters arranged just as he liked them, Stephen thought bitterly as he inclined his head in greeting.

Barston returned the civilities with a fair degree of incivility but he nevertheless took the seat he was shown.

Stephen cast his gaze about the assembled group of people with interest. Clearly, Lord Partington intended to use whatever means he had to hand that would see justice prevail and even though Stephen thought little of his cousin in many respects, he at least owed him some gratitude for what he was doing tonight.

"You'd declare the opposite of your recent vociferous protests, would you, Sir Archie? I don't think that's wise, do you?"

There was a warning note to Lord Partington's caution before he turned his attention to Barston.

"Stephen, I think you mentioned you were in company with young Barston at the home of Sir Archie and his fair wife the evening you wagered a large sum in similar circumstances. Now, Sir Archie, which way did you say you were going to bet? Surely you'll bet the same way you bet before? That the male is superior in all species. This will be most interesting. Stephen, you bet the opposite? The odds? A thousand? No, no, let's make it two. As for myself, I shall refrain. So it's just you two gentlemen for the best out of three. It couldn't be fairer, now could it? Another drink? It might be a long night."