Lady Allerton's Wager by Nicola Cornick Read Free Book Online

noticed. Seconds later she looked round and realised that her cousin was nowhere in sight. Marcus Trevithick was, however.
    He was leaning against a pillar just a few feet away from her, arms folded, as though he were prepared to stay there all night. His black gaze was watchful andfaintly amused. Beth felt her breath catch in her throat. For one moment it seemed as though the press of people would whisk her past him, but then he stretched out one hand in a negligent gesture and caught her arm, pulling her to his side.
    ‘Well, well! My mystery lady—at last! Have you any idea of the balls and routs I have endured these past few days in the hope of catching sight of you, ma’am?’
    There were prying eyes and ears all around them. Beth strove to keep her face blank and give nothing away, though her heart was hammering.
    ‘Good evening, my lord! I am sorry that you have put yourself to such trouble on my account!’
    Marcus gave her a look of brilliant amusement. ‘Thank you! It was worth it, however, for now I have found you again!’ He tucked her hand through the crook of his arm and steered her out into the corridor. The crowd had lessened now and they could stroll along without too much difficulty. Beth looked around for rescue, but none was immediately forthcoming.
    ‘I only wanted to speak with you, you know,’ Marcus said reproachfully. ‘I was utterly intrigued by your offer and wished to discuss the matter with you—’
    ‘Is that not why you employ a man of business, my lord?’ Beth asked, keeping her bright social smile in place. ‘To relieve you of such onerous tasks?’
    ‘Generally. But this would hardly be onerous.’
    Beth found the warmth in Marcus’s tone difficult to resist. She glanced up through her lashes and saw that he was smiling at her. It made her feel strangely hot and cold at the same time and she almost shivered. She made an effort to gather her scattered senses.
    ‘If you had but honoured your wager, my lord, such a situation would not have occurred!’
    ‘True.’ Marcus bent closer and she felt his breath stir the tendrils of hair by her ear. ‘But that would have defeated my object—of seeing you again, sweetheart!’
    Beth stopped dead and glared at him. ‘Do not call me that!’ she hissed. ‘You must know I am no…no lightskirt for your tumbling!’
    Marcus grinned. ‘Then why behave like one, ma’am? A dignified request to buy Fairhaven might have elicited a more dignified response!’
    Beth could have wept with frustration. What had started as a light-hearted idea—to visit the Cyprians’ Ball—had caused more trouble than she could ever have imagined. She wondered what on earth had possessed her to dance with Marcus Trevithick and to further the masquerade. At the time the opportunity to trick him out of Fairhaven had seemed too good to miss, amusing, clever even. She had congratulated herself on her ingenuity—and on her courage! Now she could see that the wager had been the product of too much wine and excitement. She tightened her lips in exasperation.
    ‘It was an impulse! Which I now bitterly regret!’
    ‘Understandably. If you are indeed the lady you pretend to be, what could be worse than a version of the events of that night circulating amongst the ton ? Dear me, ma’am, it does not bear thinking about!’
    Beth coloured up furiously. ‘You would not do such a thing!’
    ‘Why not?’
    Marcus’s tone was mild, but when she glanced up at his face Beth saw that he was watching her intently. It was exactly the problem that Charlotte had hinted at, the one that Beth had not even anticipated. If the Earl of Trevithick let it be known that he had had an encounter with a lady indecorously disporting herself at the Cyprians’ Ball, no one would believe in her innocence. And yet some instinct told her that he would not do that to her. Her troubled grey gaze scanned his face and she saw the hard lines soften a little as a smile came into his eyes.