Truly a Wife (Free Fellows League 4)

“I’m making an exception for Lady Garrison,” Jarrod replied.

“A major exception,” Griff said. “And what I want to know is why?”

Jarrod smiled. “Let’s just say that it’s time I stayed on your duchess’s good side by accepting her sister’s invitation.”

Colin glanced skyward and shook his head at Jarrod’s patently transparent prevarication. “Let’s just say that it probably has something to do with the wager entered into the betting books this afternoon.”

Although Colin rarely wagered except with his closest friends, his father was an inveterate gambler and Colin had made it a matter of habit to check the betting books at White’s in the morning and in the afternoon almost every day to see if his father had wagered on anything recorded on the pages.

“Damnation!” Jarrod swore. “He certainly didn’t waste any time recording it. I only had coffee with him this morning.”

“It was on the books by early afternoon,” Colin told him.

“Has anyone else taken the wager?”

“Of course,” Colin answered. “A wager that large is bound to attract attention.”

“Your father’s?” Jarrod asked.

“Thankfully no,” Colin replied, refilling his coffee cup and taking a sip of the brew. “But there are several others who can’t afford to lose that amount.”

“Who?” Jarrod demanded.

“Carville, Jackson, Munford, and several others.”

“For or against?”

“Those I mentioned are betting on you,” Colin told him. “The others are wagering against it.”

“I haven’t looked at the books lately,” Jonathan said. “So tell us, who wagered what?”

“Yes.” Courtland was fairly chomping at the bit for details. “Who did what?”

“Lord Dunbridge recorded a wager he made with Jarrod,” Colin answered.

“Dunbridge?” Griff scowled. Dunbridge wasn’t one of their contemporaries. And as far as he knew, Jarrod was barely acquainted with the man and didn’t like what he knew of him. “What sort of wager do you have with Lord Dunbridge?”

“A thousand-pound wager,” Colin answered.

“Jupiter!” Barclay exclaimed.

“Must be a sure thing,” Courtland added.

“Far from it, I’d say,” Colin replied. “Lord Dunbridge wagered a thousand pounds that he would marry a certain young lady at the end of the season.”

“At least he had the good manners not to mention her by name,” Jarrod said.

“Oh, but he did,” Colin told him. “I had the good manners not to mention her by name, but Dunbridge wrote it out for all to see.”

“I don’t believe it!” Jarrod was outraged at that breach of etiquette. One might mention a mistress or a widow or a woman of dubious character in wagers of this nature, but never an unmarried young lady of good family.

“Believe it,” Colin said. “It’s there in plain English.” He stood up, then walked to the bell and summoned a footman to bring the current betting book.

The footman returned moments later with the book in hand. Colin handed it to Jarrod.

The entry page was dated with the day’s date, time, and year. Several gentlemen had scrawled their names beneath the wager, recording wagers of their own on the outcome, including the three gentlemen Colin mentioned, all of whom were betting on Jarrod.

Jarrod read the recorded wager aloud. “I, Reginald Blanchard, fourth Viscount Dunbridge, do record this wager of one thousand pounds with Jarrod, fifth Marquess of Shepherdston: I wager that Miss Sarah Eckersley and I shall be married by His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey at season’s end. Lord Shepherdston wagers that I shan’t marry Miss Eckersley at season’s end or at any other time. The cash to be paid at the outcome.” Jarrod finished reading the entry and raked his fingers through his hair. “Bloody hell!”