Lord Ashford's Wager by Marjorie Farrell Read Free Book Online Page A

twenty-five. Seventy-five would stay untouchable. And he would win tonight, he was sure. And go on winning. After all, if fortunes were lost at the tables, they could also be won. And he didn’t see why he shouldn’t be the winner.
    * * * *
    He was lucky that night. He came home with a hundred and thirty pounds. Twenty-five went back in the bag and the rest would be his seed money for the next night. But the next night he lost all, and had to sign vowels for fifty-three pounds. Well, fifty-three guineas still left forty-seven. Except that he needed at least twenty-five to start winning again…
    By the end of the week he had seven guineas left in the leather bag, which lay there as shrunken as an old cow’s udder. He was beginning to feel desperate. He had already touched his friends for twenty pounds here and there and owed them as well as tradesmen all over town.
    He could ask Claudia for a loan, but he hated to do it. Their friendship was in the process of evolving into something more intimate. He had kissed her again, and her response was so gratifying that he was beginning to think he could be very happy as her husband. And from what he could see, she was already in love with him.
    If he hadn’t liked her so much, hadn’t been genuinely drawn to her ripe beauty, he would have felt like only another fortune hunter. But he did like her and was sure he could make her a good husband. Perhaps even give her a child, which Fairhaven had never been able to do. No, marrying Lady Fairhaven for the money to save Ashford did not make him feel guilty at all. But to ask her to clear up his gambling debts did. She didn’t really know the state of his pockets and he didn’t want her to.
    But if he proposed within the next few weeks and she accepted, then he wouldn’t need to return to 75 St. Jamesagain. After all, he had started that before he had met her, when he thought the only way to clear the estate was through the cards. He would assure her of that, obtain a small, one-time-only loan, and then make her his betrothed.
    It was only one, a bit early for a morning call, but Tony decided to take care of things right away, and so he dressed carefully, brushed his wayward curls into some kind of order, and set out for Lady Fairhaven’s.
    He was admitted by the new under-footman, a slim young man who hadn’t quite mastered the haughty demeanor of a town servant yet.
    “Would you please give my card to Lady Fairhaven and ask if she will see me, James.”
    “Yes, my lord.” Another visit to report, thought Jim, who had been there for over a week. A little early, but Jim had already reported that Lord Ashford was visiting almost daily. And that a few evenings he had escorted Lady Fairhaven home and stayed for longer than a nightcap called for, leaving Lady Fairhaven looking as though something other than brandy had made her cheeks flushed and her eyes slightly dazed.
    He announced Lord Ashford and watched his mistress’s face light up. “Thank you, James,” she said warmly. She was a nice woman, Lady Fairhaven, thought Jim, as he opened the door for her. One who seemed to care for her servants, even the newest ones. For the first few days, Jim had felt guilty indeed about his spying. Then, as he began to get to know her better and feel a real affection for her, he began to see himself less a spy and more her protector. After all, the whole reason for this was to make sure she didn’t succumb to the wiles of a handsome young fortune hunter like Lord Ashford. Who was even more badly dipped this week than usual, if downstairs gossip was to be believed.
    He led the way to the drawing room and opened the door for Lady Fairhaven. He saw Lord Ashford get up and approach her, taking her hands in his, and then had to close the door behind them and resume his post in the front hall.
    “Tony, what a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I was going to see you until tonight.”
    Tony dropped a kiss on the top of Claudia’s head and then