Anthony smiled at his friend’s words, so innocent yet so clear, and declared, “Those are noble pursuits. Solomon. May your wedding be long, cheerful, and full of nights more pleasurable than this one – though that may be hard to achieve!” Mr. DeLancy and the other gentlemen had accepted his toast with Mr. DeLancy glancing gratefully at Anthony, and before he knew it, Anthony had acquired three new partners.
“Good evening, My Lord,” the one to his left breathed saucily. “Might we keep you company tonight?” Anthony looked round at the three beautiful faces surrounding him and simply nodded, making room in his lap for two of them and leaving the third to stand behind him. Admittedly, he had no designs for them this evening, but felt he must adhere to his rakish reputation, lest he cease to have control of the group as its leader. And, though Anthony would never admit it, he did not wish to offend the three women hovering around him, for they were simply doing their jobs.
“There! You see, Mr. DeLancy, even Mr. Grayson has found some girls,” Mr. Laughton pointed out, jostling Mr. DeLancy’s shoulder with a big, unsteady palm. “You simply cannot be the only one here without entertainment, especially since you are to wed a lady soon. God knows how exciting they can be.” Mr. Laughton finished his tirade with a sarcastic sigh and downed the rest of his drink, giving Anthony ample time to assuage his best friend’s stormy expression.
He offered Mr. DeLancy a comforting smile then announced to the table, “Let the man enjoy himself as he pleases, Mr. Laughton! I agree with much of what Mr. DeLancy is saying – I myself only have these women around me that I may be spared your lessons in seduction!” Mr. Laughton, and the gentlemen who Anthony now considered to be his two goons, fixed their drunken stares upon him.
Anthony continued, checking his watch, “I am simply not in the mood for anything other than cards and your company tonight, gentlemen. And I am afraid that I grow weary of this place. Shall we not step outside and see where the night shall take us?” Mr. DeLancy looked at him with admiration as Anthony shooed the women away and stood, prompting the other men to do the same.
They seemed slightly displeased about leaving the establishment and stood just outside of it to argue with Anthony and Mr. DeLancy in the biting cold. “Is this what we get?” Mr. Laughton asked, clearly irritable. “For wanting to take our dear friend, Mr. DeLancy, out for some fun before his wedding? Good Lord, man, I have never seen someone such as yourself so uncomfortable in the presence of the fairer andcheapersex.” Anthony watched as Mr. DeLancy’s cheeks burned pink, embarrassment flooding his features as it mixed with the bloom of alcohol in his blood.
Anthony answered for his friend, “As I said, gentlemen, Mr. DeLancy and I have no need of female attention tonight for our own reasons. To mock Mr. DeLancy for wanting to do well by his wife-to-be is absurd! Come, gentlemen, where is your good spirit? Why must we stand about jabbering like old wives when the night has only just begun?” He tried to keep his tone light, but Mr. Laughton would simply not let him be.
“What’s your reason?” the persistent man inquired, leaning close enough that Anthony could smell the liquor on his breath. “After all, you make yourself and the future groom here seem so good-natured compared to the rest of us.” Mr. Laughton shrugged rudely. “I simply wish to know why we went to a club, and you did not indulge.”
Taking a deep breath through his nose, Anthony squared his shoulders and straightened his posture. His mind raced with some sort of an excuse to give to Mr. Laughton, so he would drop the matter altogether, and he smiled brightly when he found one. “Mr. Laughton, my friend,” Anthony began, “one gets tired of constantly entertaining women. I had my fill of flirtations at the ball and only wished to drink and be merry. Is that such a crime?”
Mr. Laughton pulled back, slightly abated, before snickering, “Then we must find a challenge for you, Mr. Grayson. If your good looks and charm are boring you, perhaps we ought to put them to the test.” His goons chuckled while Mr. DeLancy put a hand on his shoulder as though to stop him from making a less-than-favorable wager. Anthony shook him off and met the cold stare of Mr. Laughton with his own, icy-blue one.
“I’m intrigued,” he said, lips curling in a smirk. “Name the terms, Mr. Laughton, and I shall fulfill them.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” Mr. Laughton warned, sneering at Anthony. “I propose that you seduce a lady of my choosing before the wedding ceremony. If you are able to do so, you win, and we will never mock you or Mr. DeLancy again. But if you aren’t, you must forever renounce your rakish ways.” It seemed an odd wager, but Anthony was not about to call a drunken man’s terms into question.
He nodded confidently, watching as Mr. Laughton turned back to discuss potential candidates with the men behind him. Anthony grimaced at several of the names mentioned – namely women who were entering their first season and those already with husbands – but breathed a sigh of relief when they moved on to ladies with whom Anthony already had a reputation. “Wait!” Mr. Laughton exclaimed, raising his hand triumphantly. “I have just the perfect lady.”
He faced Anthony again like a trickster in a fairytale and with a smile suggested, “Miss Beatrice Ivanry. She is the quietest and least approachable of all the ladies we know, so you will certainly have to exhaust yourself to win her over. And I heard from a reputable source that her new guardian – the Baron, Lord Eric Ivanry – has been seeking potential suitors for the young lady for financial reasons. So, if you present yourself to the American, perhaps he will just give you the girl!”
The wind carried a familiar gasp past Anthony’s ear, and he turned to know its owner but recognized no one. He grimaced at the cavalier way Mr. Laughton spoke but was happy with his selection. To hide his eagerness, Anthony scoffed, “I have no interest in Miss Beatrice; she is much too shy and timid. Please, choose someone who is pleasing to the eyeandthe ear.”
Mr. Laughton shook his head, ecstatic that he had seemingly found a challenge for Anthony. “No, that is the lady I will choose. Remember, you must seduce her or never act as a rake again. Do you accept? Or are you a coward?” They were definitely bold words to say to another gentleman, but Anthony shook his hand, convinced that he would win this little wager and Miss Beatrice in the process. Mr. DeLancy sent him a worried smile which Anthony returned with a firm pat on the back.
“Now that that has been settled,” Anthony announced, “where shall we go next?”
* * *
Beatrice and Minnie could not believe their ears nor their luck. Both of the young ladies were about to leave and content themselves with only the knowledge that this was what gentlemen did, right or wrong – Beatrice thought it positively ghastly, but Minnie tried to be apathetic. But then, to their surprise, the gentlemen suddenly ventured outside, and the ladies were forced to cower against the building to keep from being noticed.
They listened, suppressing gasps, and some of the foul language they had heard uttered on this very street seemed apt to repeat at the moment. Miss Saumon was glowing at the praise her intended unintentionally bestowed upon her; though they were not sure what the men had said inside the establishment, the other men’s mockery of him surely meant that Mr. DeLancy had refused to join in on the festivities.
Beatrice, however, was far from happy with what came out of Mr. Grayson’s mouth, especially when it came to the five of them discussing her like she was cattle. When they finally left, Beatrice and Minnie slumped against the brick wall they leaned upon and tugged off their disguises, exhausted from cowering like children to avoid the gentlemen’s eyes.
“Oh, Beatrice! I am the happiest lady in London right now!” Miss Saumon shrieked in a most unladylike manner. “There were times tonight where I was not sure of Mr. DeLancy’s affections, but this has proven them true and just!” Beatrice listened to her friend’s happy prattling with a distant smile, unable to tear her thoughts away from how indifferently Mr. Grayson had referred to her.
Perhaps their kiss was not as good as she thought? Or perhaps he was ready to move on now that he had completed his conquest and had no other use for her? But then, why would he consent to such an egregious wager, other than to expose Beatrice and what he had come to learn about her this evening? Minnie noticed her best friend’s downcast expression and lackluster behavior, quickly placing a hand on Beatrice’s shoulder to ask, “Whatever is wrong, dear Beatrice? Surely the trifling words of some unfortunate gentlemen are not enough to ruin your mood.”
Beatrice leaned into Minnie for comfort. “Rest assured, they are not, Minnie. Though I find myself unable to understand why they would talk of me in such a way. Have I not been respectable and brought goodness upon my family name?” Her posture slumped significantly. “Although, who is to say anymore? We have both snuck out of a ball in your honor tonight to follow a rake and his friends to this place” – there was a wrinkle in her nose of disgust – “and eavesdropped on a conversation we have no part in.”
Minnie shook her head fondly at Beatrice, proud that her best friend was a lady of such character and grace that she would question herself before others. She kissed her forehead and said, “Had our actions not been warranted this evening, then we would most certainly be to blame. But I think most people we know would agree that it is important to be aware of a man’s faults before you marry him. So no, they were not right about you, my dear friend.”
Beatrice smiled tearfully up at her and asked, “How shall I go about what Mr. Grayson has planned for me? I fear I shall make a fool of myself if I am to be a puppet in his hands, used for sport and not love.”
Miss Saumon thought for a moment and then regarded the upset young lady. “We shall do everything in our power to make Mr. Grayson lose this wager. No matter how many tokens of his affection he presents you with or visits where he calls upon you, you will not succumb to his advances.” She frowned. “I know it will be hard, given his reputation and his grandfather’s standing in society, but you must hold firm, Beatrice.”
They slowly stood up together, and Beatrice’s countenance grew serious. “I swear I shall not give in, Minnie, no matter what the rogue does. This is excellent counsel, and I could not have asked for a better lady to give it.” She took her friend’s hand in her own and said, “Let us return to your ball! We shall say that you were feeling ill, and that I was keeping you company to avoid suspicion. After all, if Mr. DeLancy is determined to enjoy himself this evening, why should you not as well?”
Minnie giggled, and Beatrice found herself grinning until she thought of Mr. Grayson again. How was she ever going to stick to her word and their plan when he had so easily claimed her lips just hours ago?
* * *