A Gentleman's Wager by Madelynne Ellis

She managed to get a glimpse into the room over the shoulders of the two men who left. The interior was dingy and full of curling pipe smoke that seemed to hover like low clouds over the heads of the occupants. Even on the threshold, the thick woody taste stuck in her throat, making it dry and ticklish. No wonder they drank so much brandy.
    ‘Do you think you could move over? You’re blocking the door.’
    Bella turned sharply to find Marquis Pennerley eyeing her suspiciously. If he hadn’t brushed past her so rudely earlier, she’d have moved aside, but she didn’t feel she owed him that courtesy. At least not until he said please. She stood her ground, returning his haughty stare until she saw his lip curl.
    ‘What are you, captain of the guard?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Then please move aside.’
    Bella lifted her foot as if to acquiesce, but paused mid-step. ‘If you’ll do something for me.’ She glanced over her shoulder, then back at Vaughan, who drew his dark eyebrows together. ‘Lucerne’s inside; he asked me to meet him here. Would you tell him I’m here?’
    ‘If I must,’ he said coldly. Bella stepped aside and let him pass.
    ‘It’s hardly a hardship,’ she mumbled to his back. ‘Annoying prig, strutting about like a peacock.’
    Lucerne emerged from the smoke. ‘Bella,’ he said, throwing a concerned expression in her direction. ‘Is something wrong?’
    ‘No, but you promised to spend some time with me this evening.’
    The concern faded from his face and was replaced with a smile. ‘So I did, but I saw you with Louisa a moment ago and didn’t want to intrude.’
    ‘She’s gone outside to find Frederick.’
    Lucerne pursed his lips again. ‘Right,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘Then I’d best keep my promise. Do you want to dance, or shall we find a quiet corner?’
    Louisa followed the narrow path through an archway cut in the hedgerow, towards the sound of voices and splashing water up ahead. She turned a corner to find hanging lanterns spilling warmth over the ground by the fountain, lighting the faces of cheering onlookers and making rainbows on the slippery wet cobblestones. Many of them were soaked; one buxom young lady’s dress was so wet it was transparent and drew more competitors than the apple-bobbing. She spotted Frederick and hurried towards him. His hair was wet at the front, and he was drying his face on a towel.
    ‘I won,’ he said, and handed her his apple. ‘Where did you go? I couldn’t find you anywhere.’
    ‘You’re the one that vanished.’
    ‘Only into the hall. Someone told me you were outside.’ He passed the towel on to another contestant and then drew her further into the shadows. ‘Let’s go down to the river, we can be alone there.’
    Louisa opened her mouth to refuse – this was just the sort of thing her aunt constantly warned her about. Then she remembered nobody was watching her. ‘All right,’ she agreed as her pulse began to quicken with anticipation. Frederick took her arm and escorted her across the lawn. Louisa stepped warily into the tree line, conscious of him treading patiently behind her. They emerged on to the river-bank just as two swans glided past. Frederick clasped her about the waist and pressed his lips to the nape of her neck.
    ‘At last,’ he murmured as she twisted in his arms and looked up expectantly at him for a kiss. ‘I’ve been waiting all week for this chance.’
    Louisa met his tongue with a sudden hunger as his hands moved possessively over her bodice. Beneath the satin her skin felt incredibly sensitive, so that her nipples rasped against her stays, begging to be kissed, just as they had the night she’d watched Joshua and Emma in the old green armchair. But twinned with that thought came the memory of Joshua’s rampant phallus dipping mercilessly between Emma’s thighs, and suddenly the eager pulse that had started between her thighs seemed like a warning. The apple she held fell to the ground with a soft