One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean Read Free Book Online Page B

in this game. But the truth, Lady Philippa, is that even odds would have had no bearing on your roll. It is impossible to wager against oneself.”
    “Nonsense.”
    He leaned back against the table. “There is no risk in it. If the outcome is what you desire, there is no loss. And if the outcome is not what you desire . . . you may simply renege. With none to hold you accountable, there is no reason to follow through on the results.”
    She straightened her shoulders. “I would hold myself accountable. I told you. I dislike dishonesty.”
    “And you never lie to yourself?”
    “Nor to others.”
    “That alone proves that you are in no way prepared for that for which you would have wagered.”
    “You find honesty to be an impediment?”
    “A wicked one. The world is full of liars, Lady Philippa. Liars and cheats and every sort of scoundrel.”
    “Like you?” The retort was out before she could stop it.
    He did not seem insulted. “Precisely like me.”
    “Well then, it’s best that I remain honest, to offset your dishonest balance.”
    He raised a brow. “You do not think that affecting your own secret ruination is dishonest?”
    “Not at all.”
    “Lord Castleton does not expect you to come to his bed a virgin?”
    Heat washed over her cheeks. She supposed that she should have expected the frank words from him, but she’d never had this specific topic raised in conversation before. “I still intend to . . .” She looked away. “To do that. I simply intend to be more knowledgeable about the act.”
    He raised a brow. “Let me rephrase. Lord Castleton does not expect you to come to your marriage an innocent?”
    “We’ve never discussed it.”
    “So you’ve found a loophole.”
    Her gaze snapped back to his. “I have not.”
    “Dishonesty by omission remains dishonest.”
    It was a wonder he had a reputation as a charmer. He didn’t seem at all charming. “If he asks, I shan’t lie to him.”
    “It must be lovely to live in black and white.”
    She shouldn’t ask. “What does that mean?”
    “Only that in the real world, where girls are not protected from every bit of reality, we are all cloaked in grey, where truth is relative.”
    “I see now that I was wrong in believing you a scientist. Truth is truth.”
    One side of his mouth twisted in a wry smile. “Darling, it’s nothing close to that.”
    She hated the way the words rolled off his tongue, utterly certain. This had clearly been a mistake. She’d come in the hopes of gaining experience and knowledge, not a lesson in male superiority.
    It was time to leave.
    He didn’t say anything as she crossed the room, headed for the exit. He didn’t speak until she had pushed back the curtains and opened the inner door, suddenly eager to leave.
    “If you’re going to wager, you should do it honestly.”
    She froze, one hand holding a heavy length of velvet. Surely she had misunderstood him. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder to where he stood, tall and slim. “I beg your pardon?”
    He slowly removed one hand from the pocket of his coat and extended it toward her. For a moment, she thought he was beckoning her.
    For a moment, she almost went.
    “You’ve come all this way, Pippa.” It was the first time he’d called her by the nickname, and she was struck by its sound on his tongue. The quick repetition of consonants. The way his lips curved around it. Teasing. And something more. Something she could not explain. “You should have a real wager, don’t you think?”
    He opened his hand, revealing two small, ivory squares.
    She met his calculating grey gaze. “I thought you did not believe in luck?”
    “I don’t,” he said. “But I find that I believe less in making a wager with oneself, thereby forcing the outcome to accommodate your adventure—”
    “Not adventure,” she protested. “Experiment.”
    “What’s the difference?”
    He couldn’t see? “One is silly. The other is science.”
    “My mistake. Tell