Read Online An Improper Lady (The Powder and Patch Collection) by Jane Godman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jane Godman
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I, a decidedly improper lady, will dance at his wedding and wish him happy. Besides, I have, on several occasions, offered to become his mistress, and he has categorically refused me! Following hard on the heels of your rejection of me, Jack, I might almost descend into a decline!” It was reminder of the night she had propositioned him, and, instead of succumbing, he had confided his feelings for Rosie to her.
“ The circumstances are hardly the same!” Jack reminded her, amused at her candour. “I was in love with someone else, whereas Perry, I am quite convinced, loves you to the point of madness!”
“ Well, I will not allow him to be mad,” Bella declared prosaically. “So I will lose this foolish wager and we may all be easy!” Her fascinating smile dawned. “Come now, Jack, do you not agree that I will make him a vastly entertaining mistress? Sir Peregrine will soon, I am sure, come to appreciate his good fortune and his narrow escape!”
Chapter Nine
Harry and Rosie elected not to join them, retiring instead to the library to play, with fierce sibling rivalry, a game of backgammon. Jack was appointed both referee and scorekeeper. He positioned himself so that he had a clear view of the whole table. He outlined the game to Bella, explaining that a shot was considered a foul if the cue ball did not strike both object balls. Points were deducted for a foul. They agreed that the first person to score twenty points would win each frame.
With a courteous bow, Sir Peregrine allowed her to take the first shot. Bella’s cue barely connected with the ball and stopped several feet short of the object ball. With a rueful laugh, she watched as Jack wrote a negative score against her name. Her competitive spirit did not relish the prospect of a humiliating defeat, even if losing was her avowed intention!
Sir Peregrine scored five points in quick succession and then, unaccountably fluffed his cuing action and missed. Jack cast him a questioning glance, but he merely smiled urbanely in response.
Bella’s next shot was tricky and Jack explained the rules. She must keep one foot on the floor at all times, but she could strike any pose as long as that rule was observed. He demonstrated the best way to take the shot in question, rising up onto the tip of one toe while bringing his other knee up onto the table.
“ I am not a contortionist!” Bella remarked caustically, regarding the height of the table with some misgivings.
Sir Peregrine’s lips twitched. “What a pity!” he murmured, when Jack was out of earshot. “It would have made the outcome of this wager even more enticing!”
Surprising herself, as well as her onlookers, Bella managed to hit the cue ball squarely and it obediently kissed first one object ball then the other. In spite of herself, she gave a little crow of delight. Bella, it seemed, had a knack for the game. Although Sir Peregrine won the frame, she ended it with a creditable score of eight points.
The next frame was much closer. The luck was with Bella and, despite his superior skill and deliberation, several of Sir Peregrine shots narrowly missed their mark.
“What are you playing at, Perry?” Jack asked in an urgent undertone. “You could have taken that last point with your eyes closed!”
His friend returned a bland smile, before arching his tall frame low over the table to line up his next shot. He missed the object ball by a hairsbreadth. Watching him with hawk-like suspicion, Bella could not detect anything other than determination in his gaze. Against all the odds, she won the frame by one point.
“The decider, my lady,” Sir Peregrine bowed, and Bella narrowed her eyes.
“ I thought you were a gentleman, Sir Peregrine!” she protested, convinced now that he had deliberately lost the frame.
“ I, on the other hand…” He leaned close again, so that only she could hear. “…have never done you the injustice of thinking you a lady!”
The game
“ The circumstances are hardly the same!” Jack reminded her, amused at her candour. “I was in love with someone else, whereas Perry, I am quite convinced, loves you to the point of madness!”
“ Well, I will not allow him to be mad,” Bella declared prosaically. “So I will lose this foolish wager and we may all be easy!” Her fascinating smile dawned. “Come now, Jack, do you not agree that I will make him a vastly entertaining mistress? Sir Peregrine will soon, I am sure, come to appreciate his good fortune and his narrow escape!”
Chapter Nine
Harry and Rosie elected not to join them, retiring instead to the library to play, with fierce sibling rivalry, a game of backgammon. Jack was appointed both referee and scorekeeper. He positioned himself so that he had a clear view of the whole table. He outlined the game to Bella, explaining that a shot was considered a foul if the cue ball did not strike both object balls. Points were deducted for a foul. They agreed that the first person to score twenty points would win each frame.
With a courteous bow, Sir Peregrine allowed her to take the first shot. Bella’s cue barely connected with the ball and stopped several feet short of the object ball. With a rueful laugh, she watched as Jack wrote a negative score against her name. Her competitive spirit did not relish the prospect of a humiliating defeat, even if losing was her avowed intention!
Sir Peregrine scored five points in quick succession and then, unaccountably fluffed his cuing action and missed. Jack cast him a questioning glance, but he merely smiled urbanely in response.
Bella’s next shot was tricky and Jack explained the rules. She must keep one foot on the floor at all times, but she could strike any pose as long as that rule was observed. He demonstrated the best way to take the shot in question, rising up onto the tip of one toe while bringing his other knee up onto the table.
“ I am not a contortionist!” Bella remarked caustically, regarding the height of the table with some misgivings.
Sir Peregrine’s lips twitched. “What a pity!” he murmured, when Jack was out of earshot. “It would have made the outcome of this wager even more enticing!”
Surprising herself, as well as her onlookers, Bella managed to hit the cue ball squarely and it obediently kissed first one object ball then the other. In spite of herself, she gave a little crow of delight. Bella, it seemed, had a knack for the game. Although Sir Peregrine won the frame, she ended it with a creditable score of eight points.
The next frame was much closer. The luck was with Bella and, despite his superior skill and deliberation, several of Sir Peregrine shots narrowly missed their mark.
“What are you playing at, Perry?” Jack asked in an urgent undertone. “You could have taken that last point with your eyes closed!”
His friend returned a bland smile, before arching his tall frame low over the table to line up his next shot. He missed the object ball by a hairsbreadth. Watching him with hawk-like suspicion, Bella could not detect anything other than determination in his gaze. Against all the odds, she won the frame by one point.
“The decider, my lady,” Sir Peregrine bowed, and Bella narrowed her eyes.
“ I thought you were a gentleman, Sir Peregrine!” she protested, convinced now that he had deliberately lost the frame.
“ I, on the other hand…” He leaned close again, so that only she could hear. “…have never done you the injustice of thinking you a lady!”
The game
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