Free A Gentleman's Wager by Madelynne Ellis Page A

across the front and with a high M-cut collar.
    Bella watched the captain cautiously. He hadn’t ignored her, but he was definitely keeping his distance. Well, hang it, if he wasn’t feeling guilty then she certainly wouldn’t, and Louisa’s blissful expression made it clear that she hadn’t found out. She drifted closer to her brother’s party, who were muttering furtively.
    ‘I know a girl who’s game for a guinea,’ said Joshua.
    ‘I know a lass who’s game for a shilling,’ grumbled Charles.
    ‘Yes,’ retorted Vaughan in a mocking tone, ‘but will she pass for a lady? We’re after a peach, not Granny Smith.’ He glanced sidelong at Louisa, giving Bella the distinct impression that they were plotting something.
    ‘Ahem!’ Joshua coughed loudly, and the other two noticed Bella eavesdropping. ‘Bella, why don’t you show Lucerne around?’
    Bella was about to protest, but Lucerne had heard his name mentioned and nodded to signal his pleasure at the idea. They’d had no time alone together since the ball, with the exception of a few odd moments when they passed in the corridors or on the stairs. Very well, she would be bought off this time, but she still wondered what their game was. Lucerne waved to the group, but the only response was a scowl from Vaughan.
    ‘You’re rather solemn,’ he remarked, turning his attention to her.
    Bella inclined her head in acknowledgement. ‘The church holds no interest for me. I’ve seen it a hundred times before.’ She surprised herself with her own jaded tone.
    ‘Of course you have. Please accept my apology for inflicting it upon you again.’ He smiled winningly as he aped her delivery, and offered her his arm to take. ‘Will you indulge me for a hundred and first? I should like to see the inside if it’s open.’
    ‘If you like. But there’s little enough to see,’ she replied, and accepted his arm.
    At least it was a chance to be alone with him.
    He led her down the broad steps and opened the door to dimness and cool air. Bella pulled her wrap tight around her shoulders as they stepped inside. It was much colder within than out in the bright sun. She wrinkled her nose at the dank earthy smell, then perched on the end of a stone pew to watch Lucerne, who was peering up at the seraphim on the vaulted ceiling. The church always made her think of mouldering corpses and decay, and today was no exception. The gloomy interior made her hunger for the light open spaces beyond the oppressive walls, and the wild hilltops. Lucerne seemed to her more divine than the rapturous painted angels, for all their golden halos and beatific smiles. She hoped he didn’t take much longer; the stone pew was beginning to chill her behind.
    ‘Is the church really sinking?’ he asked, and his voice echoed slightly off the stone walls.
    ‘I don’t think so. Too many corpses in the graveyard, is what I’ve heard. Joshua used to tell me that the ground would get so waterlogged that they’d float to the top whenever it rained heavily, and that the channel around the outside is to stop them coming into church for the service. He was always trying to frighten me.’
    ‘Truly?’ Lucerne responded with a smile. ‘That’s a pretty horrible story.’
    Bella shrugged her shoulders, dislodging her wrap. ‘I’ve read worse,’ she admitted as she pulled it tight again.
    ‘You’ve read Mysteries of Udolpho ? What about The Monk ?
    ‘Uh-huh.’ She nodded. ‘That too.’
    ‘Scandalous! I had no idea you were fond of such things.’ Lucerne shook his head, then crossed to her side and offered her a hand up. The sensation of his soft leather gloves against her skin felt strange. They seemed to lend an air of deception to their wearer, as though the leather were a thick skin he could use to disguise his true nature.
    ‘Shouldn’t we rejoin the others?’ she asked.
    ‘Why? Are you afraid of me?’
    He pulled her close to his chest and slid his hands down the curve of her back to