A Wager Worth Winning: A Saints and Sinners Novella by Nadine Millard

Author:Nadine Millard [Millard, Nadine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-02-19T16:00:00+00:00

“Have I always been this bad at it?” Will scowled at the chessboard on the table between he and Fitz.

“Probably,” his friend countered easily. “Honestly, you’ve never paid attention long enough to be particularly good at it.”

Will couldn’t argue with that because it was true. The game had never held much appeal for him. Now though, he was determined to learn it and equally determined not to examine too closely his sudden interest in the game.

“So, how goes it with Miss Langton? You haven’t exactly been forthcoming with details.”

Will swallowed a measure of brandy, buying himself time to answer his oldest friend’s question.

He had no idea why he found the idea of sitting here and discussing Beth in terms of the wager that he had insisted upon so distasteful, but he did.

“There aren’t any details to be forthcoming with,” he answered, keeping his tone as casual as possible. And that was true in terms of that damned bet. But not true at all in a very real sense. Today, the time he’d spent with her, it had floored him. How much he’d enjoyed her company, how easy he found it to open up to her, how fascinating he found every aspect of her life. And that didn’t even begin to take into account the white-hot, savage desire he felt for her.

If her damned nannies hadn’t arrived on the scene, he was sure he would have kissed her. And he was equally sure that it would have had nothing to do with the wager that he was starting to regret.

It didn’t seem possible to be so affected by one woman after two days. But he was. Tonight, he’d managed to seat himself beside her at the dining table. And when the gentlemen had joined the ladies in the drawing room after their cheroots and port, he’d even managed to nab a seat beside her while some of the guests showed off their proficiency with the pianoforte.

That hadn’t lasted long, however, since she was called upon to play and sing. Something she did so beautifully that he was utterly captivated. Which was how he’d failed to notice Montvale and Barnbury taking up the chairs either side of him whilst he’d been riveted by her performance.

After that, she’d been swept from the room and only a conspiratorial smile let him know that she would join him at breakfast tomorrow. He’d been as giddy as a bloody schoolgirl ever since. And that simply would not do.

“But what of your morning together. Surely there was ample time to begin the seduction?”

Will knew that Fitz was just teasing. Knew that Fitz was good to his very core and would never be purposely disrespectful to Beth or any other lady. Yet Will still found himself gritting his teeth against cursing his oldest friend out for even mentioning Beth in such a fashion.

What the hell is wrong with me, he wondered a tad desperately. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t this man.

“These things take time,” he managed to drawl though even he could hear that the words didn’t ring true.

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