A Perfect Groom Read Free Page A

should estimate…oh, perhaps half are ensnared. Enamored. Entranced, falling at her feet and declaring themselves instantly in love with her. The other half are here at White’s” — Gideon waved a hand — “seeking to slip beneath her skirts, as you can hear.”
    Ever the cynic, Justin quirked a brow. “You sound quite besotted yourself,” he observed. “Have you fallen beneath her spell, too?”
    A laugh was Gideon’s only response. But almost before the sound emerged from his lips, Gideon’s eyes slid away for a fraction of a second. Justin had known him too long and too well not to see what Gideon chose to hide. Justin gazed at him, in truth no less than shocked. Gideon was hardly the sort to embarrass easily.
    “Never tell me,” he drawled, “that you were among the buffoons paying court to her.”
    Judging from his glower, Gideon did not take kindly to his jibe.
    Justin couldn’t resist teasing. “Set you in your place, did she?”
    “Don’t be so damned smug,” Gideon snapped.
    Justin took a sip of port. “Why, I wouldn’t dream of it.” He contemplated the brew, his mind stirring. He was nor fond of red-haired females, and for good reason. They put him in mind of —
    “You’re looking vastly annoyed, Justin. What is it?”
    “If you must know, I was just thinking about a female who gave me a set-down some years ago.”
    “What, you?”
    Oh, but the incident playing in his mind was not one he cared to remember. She’d dealt quite a blow to his pride; granted, it had been a bit inflated at the time. Why the girl had singled him out for her mischief, he had no idea. Of course, Sebastian persisted in reminding him of the minx’s little scheme whenever he could. Child or no, he’d never quite forgotten — or forgiven! — that wild little hoyden’s attempt to demean him.
    He offered a tight smile. “Suffice it to say that perhaps we’re not so dashing as we think, either of us.” He didn’t divulge that the female had been a mere child — though he had been a mere youth himself. God knew Gideon would have gloated to no end.
    He steered the conversation back to the subject at hand. “She must be quite something, this chit known as The Unattainable, to send you sniffing about her skirts — and you the most notorious rake in Town.”
    “Oh, but I do believe that honor is solely yours.” Gideon had regained his aplomb and proved himself fully up to par. “However, if you think you would fare better, perhaps you should put yourself into the running.” He nodded toward the group where The Unattainable was still being discussed — and in ever more bawdy terms.
    Before Justin could answer, Bentley’s voice rang out again. “Three thousand pounds to the man who succeeds in deflowering The Unattainable!”
    “Ah,” said Gideon. “The stakes are rising.”
    Justin gave a shake of his head. “Good God, Bentley’s drunk. Someone should get him out of here before he goes back to the hazard table and loses the very clothes on his back.”
    “Who is in?” There was a flash of hands, five in all — McElroy, Brentwood , Lester Drummond, William Hardaway — a lad barely out of the schoolroom! — and Gregory Fitzroy.
    “ ‘Tis done,” came the shout. “Three thousand pounds to any man among the five of us who claims The Unattainable!”
    There was a raucous cheer, a flash of banknotes, and a footman was sent scurrying for the betting book. Justin was hardly shocked by the subject of the wager, for when it came to the matter of wagers, nothing was sacred here at White’s — or any of the gentlemen’s clubs, for that matter. They were rakes one and all, he decided with more than a hint of self-derision, and he and Gideon perhaps the worst of the lot.
    Yet almost in spite of himself, Justin found himself pondering what it was about The Unattainable that everyone found so captivating.
    His gaze returned to Gideon. It was disconcerting to discover Gideon’s eyes already locked on his