The Double Wager

She had won her wager, but the victory had come so easily and so unexpectedly that it seemed unreal. If she refused him now, how would she ever get Douglas-or even Giles-to believe that the Duke of Eversleigh had actually offered for her? Would she even believe it herself the next day? But how could she accept? It was all so sudden as to be ridiculous. They had met only the evening before. They were total strangers. Henry knew very little about the ways of the ton, but surely, she thought, courtships usually took a lot longer than this.

There was something very strange about the duke's proposal. He was fabulously wealthy, he was astonishingly handsome, and he held one of the highest ranks in the country. He must be into his thirties already. Why, suddenly, had he decided to offer for a little nobody that he did not know? She could not quite accept his explanation that he found her amusing. There had been nothing amusing about her gauche behavior of the night before. Anyway, she had nothing really to recommend her. She was only passably good-looking; she had no feminine graces; she was not wealthy. She would, in fact, make a quite deplorable duchess. Henry a duchess! She had to stifle a giggle for a moment.

And what of her own feelings? Henry could hardly believe that she was even giving consideration to his proposal. She certainly did not wish to be married. She knew that a married lady became the property of her husband. The idea was totally abhorrent to her. The only type of husband that might be acceptable would be one that she could manipulate at will. And yet, even as she thought it, she realized that it would be intolerable to be married to someone whom she could not respect. And what of Eversleigh? There was something about him that made Henry shiver. She remembered the hardness of his body when she had run against him the night before. But, his whole person seemed like that-like a brick wall in which she would not be able to make even the smallest dent. "I am a man," he had just said, and the remembered words made her shiver again. Why, then, did she feel so inclined to accept his proposal? It was just as she had thought last night. He seemed to exert a power over her Will without any visible effort.

What was she to do, then? Finally, Henry turned back to the room, an idea in her mind. She would throw the decision back to him. She crossed back to her chair and sat down without looking at him.

"Well, Henry?" Eversleigh prompted. "What is to be my fate? I can see by the jut of your chin that you have made a decision."

"I shall be your wife, your Grace, under one condition,".lie declared firmly.

"Indeed!" he replied haughtily. "Do I dare ask what that one condition might be?"

"In addition to me, you must take Philip and Penelope, Miss Manford, Brutus, and Oscar," she said in a rush.

Eversleigh had his glass to his eye again. "Dear me," he said, "is that one condition? And are these persons all members of your family, Henry?"

"Philip and Penelope are my twin brother and sister," she began. "They are twelve years old. Miss Manford is their governess. She was mine and Giles', too. Giles is my older brother."

"Quite so," he said. "The one of the black eye. And the one who warned you not to talk of bosoms."

"Oh," she said, nonplussed for the moment.

"And Brutus and Oscar?" he prompted.

"The twins' dog and parrot," she explained, watching him warily.

"Why do I get the feeling that there is more to say about the twins' dog and parrot?" he asked softly, his eyes beneath the lowered lids watching her closely.,

"Well," Henry said uncertainly, "Brutus looks like a small horse and he likes to eat things he is not supposed to cat. And he is… playful. Oscar was taught to speak by leis previous owner. His language is rather colorful."

The gleam was back in Eversleigh's eyes. "I see," he said. "And why, Henry, would it be necessary to transfer all these personalities to my household in the event of our marriage? Do you feel that you would need protection against me?"

"Oh, no, it's because Peter is quite horrid to them all." she cried. "Brutus and Oscar have been banished to the stables and Miss Manford has been dismissed. And the twins have been sent to their rooms for the whole of today." Henry got to her feet in her agitation and found herself telling Eversleigh all that had taken place that morning.

"You would not have sent the poor child away without doing something to help him, would you, your Grace?" she asked as she finished the account.

"Indeed I would not," he said decisively. "I should first have had the little beggar chained to the gatepost and whipped for his impudence."

Her eyes flashed and then she looked at him. "Oh, no, you would not," she said. "I know you would not."

"No, I would not," he agreed quietly.

"Miss Manford has nowhere to go," she said, turning away from his piercing eyes. "She has been with us forever. We are her family. And she is too old to get another position, I fear. She must be fifty, at least."

"Henry," Eversleigh said softly, also rising to his feet, you will agree to marry me if I take your family, too?"

"Yes," she whispered, eyes wide with apprehension.

"Then, my dear, I shall have the a

Henry just gaped again.

"Will you go now, please?" he directed. "Ask the butler to send your brother back to me. I shall call on you and your sister-in-law tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps you would drive with me in the park afterward?"

And Henry, in a trance, obediently followed his directions.

**********************************************************************************

The marriage of Marius Devron, Duke of Eversleigh, to Miss Henrietta Tallant was undoubtedly the sensation of the Season. It was amazing enough that Eversleigh had decided to marry, but his choice of bride and the hastiness of the event (the wedding took place only three weeks after the betrothal a

Eversleigh bore up under the ordeal with his usual fortitude.

"Ah, James," he said to his secretary on the same afternoon as he had proposed to Henry, "still at work? Am I really such a slave driver, dear boy?"

"I am just finishing your speech for the House on Friday; your Grace," James Ridley replied, lifting his head.

"Ah," said Eversleigh, "did I not speak a few weeks ago, James? Did I know I was to speak again?"

Ridley gave his employer a long-suffering stare. "You did, your Grace," he said. "You asked me last week to write this speech for you."

"Quite so," Eversleigh agreed. "Some scintillating topic like the effect of the enclosure system on tenant farmers, was it not?"

"Yes, your Grace."

"I do hope you have not made it an impassioned speech," the duke said doubtfully. "That would not be my style at all, you know."

"I have merely tried to show that you care, your Grace," said Ridley. "And you do care, as I know very well."

"Do I, James?" the duke said, looking steadily at his secretary from below lowered lids. He turned to leave the room, then stopped as if something quite insignificant had crossed his mind. "You might write out a notice for the Morning Post for me, James."

"Yes, your Grace?"

"A

Ridley was speechless.

Eversleigh raised his quizzing glass to his eye. "Are you not going to congratulate me, James?" he asked.