All's Fair in Love and Scandal by Caroline Linden

Author:Caroline Linden [Linden, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-04-21T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Douglas thought his campaign was going beautifully on both fronts.

Albright was proving a first-rate conspirator, throwing himself into the deception with relish. Under the guise of regular boxing matches, they planned what to say and when. Albright expressed growing doubt to Spence that Madeline could be Lady Constance, while Douglas told Spence he was more and more convinced she was. He freely padded his accounts with reports of how many times he’d called on her, how welcome he was in her home, and every evening that he left a party or soiree with her on his arm, for all to see, bolstered his credibility. Both he and Albright could see Spence was coming to believe Douglas, and after several days, they agreed it was time for the key play: making another wager with Spence.

“How much should I ask?” Albright asked as they left the boxing saloon after a sparring bout.

“How much do you want?”

Albright considered. “Two hundred would be splendid.”

“Good.” Douglas nodded. “Not so high he’ll be suspicious, not so low to be immaterial.”

They both felt Spence deserved to lose some money, but at the moment he had nothing at stake. Without proof of Lady Constance’s identity, he would simply sit back and wait. Douglas’s goal was to goad Spence into some public declaration, which he could then counterattack and destroy, squashing any suspicion that fell on Madeline. By wagering that Madeline Wilde was not Lady Constance, Albright would prod him along; Douglas planned to push him still further by intimating that he saw no reason to split the bounty after all. Keen to win Albright’s money and determined not to let Douglas cut him out, Spence would fall right into the trap. Not only would he look like a complete cad, accusing an innocent woman of scandalous behavior, he’d be out two hundred pounds to Albright, without a penny of Chesterton’s bounty in recompense.

“I’ll approach him tonight.” Albright’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “And you?”

“I have plans to take the lady driving tomorrow. I’ll be sure to let him know.”

His companion laughed. “Well done. I hope you make progress on all counts.”

Douglas winked and took his leave. He headed toward home, thinking very pleasurable thoughts about tomorrow.

He had succeeded in getting Madeline to call him by name, and allowing him to do the same. He was welcome in her house, and she seemed happy to see him when they met in society. He made her laugh regularly. Oddly enough, by ceasing all the usual ways of indicating interest in a woman, he seemed to have warmed her feelings toward him. It was a revelation. In his experience women wanted to be charmed and flirted with; they liked the chase as much as he did. But by not pursuing her as hard as he normally would have, Douglas found he knew fascinating things about her.

She hummed when she walked. He thought his ears were deceiving him on one of their strolls through the park, but no—and with a start he recognized a mildly bawdy tune popular in some of the more boisterous taverns.

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