Lord Ashford's Wager Read Online Free PDF Page B

one.
    She was also a very pretty woman and hardly looked five years his senior.
    He wasn’t quite sure what her feelings toward him were. Their liking was mutual. But he suspected from a few unguarded glances that she might be more romantically inclined than he. He had much to offer her in exchange for her fortune: affection, companionship, youth…but not passion. And he suspected that rich as her first marriage may have been, it had probably lacked that. But the only passion Tony was capable of right now, he admitted to himself, was for the cards. Well, of course, not the cards themselves, but for what they could do for himself and his family: restore Ashford and give Ned’s death meaning. But it was time to discover if his affection for Lady Fairhaven might include the physical.
    * * * *
    That night at the Faradays’ ball, Tony secured two waltzes and Claudia’s hand for supper. After their first dance, he let his hand stay around her waist for a minute or so after he escorted her off the dance floor, and Claudia made no move to step away. He delivered her to her next partner and sought out Joanna, who was standing on the sidelines with her parents.
    “Not dancing tonight, Joanna?” he teased.
    “My card is empty for this dance, Tony,” she replied blandly. She would not look either arch or pleading. Not that Tony would notice anyway. He seemed to have eyes only for Lady Fairhaven.
    “Lord, but Fairhaven is stiff,” muttered Tony, for Claudia was dancing with Mark.
    “He is not at all a good partner for Lady Fairhaven,” agreed Joanna, watching Claudia’s graceful movements. She was petite and pretty, with a delectable figure: everything the tall and average-looking Joanna was not. No wonder Tony was interested.
    “No, he is not a partner I would recommend, on or off the dance floor,” continued Tony.
    “I must confess, I had not thought of that,” said Joanna. “Do you think that there is any possibility of a match? It would be to both their advantages, after all. He would get her fortune and her son, if she had one, would inherit the earldom. Not that he really needs her money,” Joanna added. “Managing the late earl’s business enabled him to become very comfortable.”
    Tony frowned. It was true. Halesworth was rich enough on his own, although it was nothing compared to what Claudia had inherited. But if Fairhaven was as greedy as he was cold, then he might well be thinking of pursuing Claudia. In that case, his own pursuit of the lady could almost be viewed as an act of chivalry. Surely she deserved a better second husband than Mark Halesworth.
    “I doubt that Mark would appeal to her,” said Tony, turning and smiling at Joanna. “Perhaps she will be looking for something more in her second husband than a good head for business.”
    Joanna’s heart sank. She knew Tony well, and that gleam in his eye meant that he had one more reason to pursue Lady Fairhaven. He would not have hinted at all, were he not interested.
    “There is some gossip that you are interested in the lady, Tony. Everyone has noticed your attentions to her. Has someone conquered your heart at last?” she asked, keeping her voice light. She knew it would hurt, but she had to know.
    “I am sure that the gossips are not claiming that my heart is in her hands.”
    “No,” Joanna admitted. “They are saying that you have lost so much at the tables that you must marry Lady Fairhaven or lose Ashford. Is that true, Tony?” she asked quietly, dreading the answer. Somehow, no matter how much it would hurt, she would rather Tony have lost his heart than his integrity. She thought she could bear his falling in love with another woman, for she had almost given up hope that he would ever feel that way about her. But she did not think she could stand losing all her respect for him. She knew his weaknesses better than anyone, but she had not thought they included complete lack of control over his impulses, or cynicism so deep that he