With His Ring (Brides of Bath Book 2) by Cheryl Bolen

ours is not to be
a real marriage, but really you can hardly expect me to discuss so
delicate a subject with you." Frowning, he added, "Nine in the
morning." Then he spun on his heel and departed.
    * * *
    Once he left the hotel, Blanks angrily
stormed the two blocks to Mrs. Starr's establishment, where the
twins and Appleton were just walking up.
    "I say, Blanks, we've made a wager which
involves you," Appleton said.
    Gregory came abreast of them and stopped,
lifting a single brow.
    "Elvin wagered five quid you could sample
the new dealer's charms this very night."
    Gregory leveled a gaze at Appleton. "And
you?"
    "I said fleeting trysts weren't your style.
Always concerned about disease you are."
    That much was true. One unpleasant
experience at Oxford had taught him to be careful. "I cannot
possibly answer your challenge until I see the lady in
question."
    "She's blonde. You used to be partial to
blondes before. . . Mrs. Ennis."
    "Have you not noticed my affianced is
possessed of red hair?" he asked with a smile.
    A liveried butler let the four of them into
Mrs. Starr's parlor, where play took place at five different
tables. Elvin elbowed Blanks and spoke softly out of the side of
his mouth. "She's at the faro table."
    "Then it's faro I play first," Gregory said,
strolling up to the table, where the buxom dealer was playing with
an older, bald-headed gentleman. While Gregory watched and waited
for the hand to end, a servant soon brought brandy, which
Gregory—like his friends—consumed quickly. Mrs. Starr, apparently a
wise businesswoman, made sure her servants kept her customers plied
with liquor.
    Gregory used the idle time to study the
dealer. Though she was fair like Glee, she was a good bit larger
than Glee—especially in her bosom. He decided the woman must have
had the neckline of her gown cut even lower than the current
fashion in order to display her most notable feature. Or
features.
    Substitute purple for the peach dress color
and view her only from the neck down, and there was no difference
whatsoever between her and Carlotta.
    He thought back over his meeting with
Carlotta that afternoon, remembering her words. Because I
allowed myself to be your mistress, I've lost your respect. He
had vehemently disagreed, but now he wondered if there was some
truth to her charge. Carlotta was not a woman he would choose to
marry. He would never wish to bring her home to his father, were
his father still alive.
    Yet she had been the perfect mistress. He
even cared about her as one would a friend. And he would see to it
she received a generous settlement.
    Perhaps the dealer would make a good
mistress. Her face was pretty. Her voice was melodic, though not
quite cultured. Her taste in clothing suggested she knew quality.
Though she was pretty, she was not as pretty as Glee. And for some
unexplainable reason, that bothered him.
    Why had he gone and thought of Glee? He had
the rest of his life to be saddled with her. Damn it!
    When the game was finished, Gregory pulled
out a chair and sat down in front of the dealer. She looked up at
him and smiled coyly. "I'm Sheila. I don't believe I've seen you
here before."
    "Nor have I seen you. You cannot have been
here long."
    She seductively lowered her lashes. "This is
my fourth week here."
    "I can see I've been away far too long."
    She shuffled the deck and put it into the
faro box, turning up the top cards.
    Faro wasn't Gregory's favorite game. In
fact, it held little interest for him. He was far more interested
in the vingt-un being played at the next table, where Appleton sat.
Then why had Gregory come here? For Sheila . What a fool he
was being. All to prove to his friends his forthcoming marriage
would change nothing.
    Now he would have to play up to Sheila.
Because he had been blessed with good looks and large fortune, his
friends thought there was no woman in the kingdom immune to his
charms. A heavy burden, indeed.
    His friends would be proven right once
again. First, Sheila