The Courtesan's Wager Read Online Free PDF Page B

rains let up.”
    As it was April and had been raining for two days straight, Blakes might be in residence for another week or another month; it was impossible to predict. Cranleigh felt the urge to stand on a ship in the middle of the ocean rise up like a wave inside him.
    “And until then?”
    “Until then, we shall amuse ourselves as married folk do,” Blakes said. “What will you do to amuse yourself, Cranleigh? Or should I ask, upon whom?”
    “No, you should not ask,” Cranleigh said, shoving his brother off the sofa until his arse hit the floor.
     
     
     
    “I must ask, Lady Dalby, if this is some rare jest?” Amelia said softly past her rolling nausea.
    “About men? Never,” Sophia said. “Certainly, they are quite amusing, but this business of marriage must be approached soberly and with great care. I am more than confident that you agree with me, Lady Amelia, or why else would you have shown such wisdom in seeking my counsel and advice? Most wise of you, most prudent. I only find myself wishing that you had come to me sooner. Yet, things are still quite manageable, and by things I mean men.” At which point Sophia smiled slyly.
    Amelia allowed that being sly was precisely the reason why Sophia could manage to get her married.
    “I confess, Lady Dalby, that I don’t quite comprehend what you mean by an interview process,” Amelia said as calmly as could be expected.
    “I mean, Lady Amelia,” Sophia said, “that we shall advertise for a husband for you. Only dukes and heir apparents may apply, naturally. We shall make that very clear. It will come as a surprise to no one, which is precisely why we must boldly state both your intentions and your goals. It will have quite a good result, I should think. Men do so appreciate a forthright approach.”
    There was only one thing to be done in the circumstance. Amelia rose to her feet, her vision gone a bit gray about the edges. She slowly and very nearly gracefully slipped down to the floor in what appeared to be the most ineffectual faint any woman had ever endured.
    “But darling,” Sophia said, staring down at her, “you’ve fainted? Are you given to faints? Not a bad thing, in certain circumstances. We might make some use of it.”
    It was then that Amelia knew she had made the worst possible choice in coming to Sophia Dalby for aid. The woman was as cold-blooded as an eel.
    “Fredericks!” Sophia said, still staring down at her while she called for her butler. “Find Lord Hawksworth. I’m quite certain that he’s wandering about down the street or some such. The women of his family do like to keep him cooling his heels. I think Lady Amelia needs her brother now. And he wouldn’t want to miss this, would he?”
    It was then that Amelia knew that she had made the worst possible choice in coming to Dalby House.
    Amelia was sitting up when Hawksworth ambled into the room. One would think he might have hurried, but no. Sophia greeted him with a smile. He smiled in return. No one seemed particularly concerned that she was sitting on the floor. In fact, it might be said that no one even noticed, except for Fredericks, Sophia’s American butler. Fredericks winked at her.
    Oh, bother it all.
    “Not feeling quite the thing, Amy?” Hawks said, when he could pull his attention away from Sophia for the barest minute. “Perhaps you should be bled.”
    Hawks leaned down and helped her to her feet. She rose with considerable charm, considering. Once she was in her chair again, her hands fussing with her mussed hair, she said stiffly, “I’m quite all right.”
    “No bleeding then?” Hawks said. “Pity.”
    Amelia cast him a look that was as sharp as glass and said, “I’m fine, Hawksworth. I simply had a start, that’s all. A shock of sorts.”
    Upon which they both looked at Sophia, for who else could be responsible for shocks that resulted in faints if not Sophia Dalby?
    “I’m afraid, Lord Hawksworth, that I am responsible for that,”