Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Madeleine. Where are you running to in such a state?”
My heart pounded, and my tongue was thick from shock.
I blinked furiously, struggling to catch my breath. “Forgive me, please. I didn’t intend to run into you.”
“You needn’t apologize, dear girl.” Geraldine’s brow creased as she studied me with a concerned expression, her slight French accent easy to discern. “What’s happened?”
“Mrs. Wells ordered me into the card room,” I managed to explain, finding my voice.
“Another spill?” Shaking her head, Geraldine clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Such careless ways, those gentlemen. I suppose I ought not to be surprised, given all the spirits they’ve requested. We’ll be needing to haul out the Axminster after this house party, to be sure. They’ll be requiring more than just a sweeping or a beating with all these stains.”
I shook my head. “It…it wasn’t for a spill. The baron has wagered me to the Marquess of Wheaton.”
Geraldine’s gray brows snapped together. “Wagered you? What do you mean by that?”
I swallowed hard against a lump of rising panic. “The baron has offered me to Lord Wheaton, along with a piece of land and a sum of money.”
“Offered you?”
Geraldine was aghast.
It was a mercy that my father’s actions were still capable of astonishing her. But then, in my experience, I was alone in bearing the full brunt of his wrath.
I nodded again, incapable of answering.
“But the marquess is a gentleman,” Geraldine protested. “A fine lord, I’m told, with a good reputation. Surely he wouldn’t accept a maid as gaming spoils. Such a thing isn’t done.”
“If he were a fine lord with a good reputation, would he be at the baron’s table?” I asked, giving voice to the fears churning through me.
She faltered, clearly lacking an answer.
“I think not,” I said grimly.
“Oh, my dear girl.”
Geraldine startled me by taking me in an embrace. Displays of emotion were not tolerated in the baron’s household. If Mrs. Wells were to come upon us standing idle, putting our own concerns before those of Cliffwood, her rage would know no bounds. Geraldine did not deserve to suffer a punishment on my behalf.
But I selfishly clung to her anyway, holding her tightly. It wasn’t the first occasion upon which I had needed comfort, but it was the sole time in many years that I had accepted it.
I had endured much during my time at Cliffwood. The prospect of being taken away by a man I didn’t know, however, frightened me more than facing my father’s wrath ever had.
“Perhaps leaving this place isn’t as dreadful as it may seem, Madeleine,” she sought to reassure me. “From all accounts, the Marquess of Wheaton is a man of honor. If he were to take you from Cliffwood, at least you’d finally be free of Lord Barnett.”
I stiffened and slipped from her embrace. My father despised disloyalty. Any hint of it was ruthlessly punished. “You mustn’t say so, Geraldine. ’Tis wrong.”
“It isn’t wrong if his lordship doesn’t hear it. Even if the marquess were to take you as his mistress, it would be a far better life than the one you’re living here. Your dear mother would have wanted more for you than being reduced to Lord Barnett’s servant.”
“My father would not give me to the marquess with the intention that I should become his mistress,” I denied dutifully, although I had already considered the possibility.
I wasn’t sure which knowledge terrified me more, that my father was capable of anything, or that my entire future now depended upon a game of chance.
CHAPTER 5
ALEXANDER
“Impossible!” Barnett bellowed, pounding on the table and standing.
I lifted one eyebrow, looking confused and indignant. “How is it impossible, pray tell? My three kings beat your sequence.” I paused. “Yours is a good second,” I added, wanting to twist the knife a little.
“But—but you were not supposed to have a tricon,” he sputtered. “Your cards—” He stopped speaking, realizing he was talking himself into a corner.
“Cards you dealt. From your own hand. Cards you opened in front of everyone. Are you saying they are wrong?” I taunted.
“No, of course not.” He wiped his brow, clearly distraught. “Another hand. I insist.”
“What have you left?” I asked carefully, tempted beyond measure. “Surely you are not willing to risk this fine estate,” I mocked.
Edward narrowed his eyes at me, warning me not to push this.
“Milton Manor—the country estate next to yours. I have no use for it.”
I had to laugh. “It has been deserted for years, Barnett. The house, or what is left of it, is crumbling—even worse than the scrub brush you have on the table at the moment. The land you have not yet sold is dry and unusable. It has no value or sentimental reason for me to risk what I have earned here.” I ran my hands over the winnings. “As tempting as it is.”