Page 56 of The Wager and the Wedding

“No, he won’t. He may be bigger and stronger than me, but I’m twice as cunning. I’ll make him pay for this.” He strode to the door.

Isabella caught his arm. “Please don’t. Stay. We’ll find another way out of this. You don’t have to confront him.”

Except that he did. He had to prove to the woman he loved that she hadn’t married a coward. And he had to put that stinking midden heap of a man in his place.

“What of Adelaide and me? Do we mean nothing to you? Will you risk our futures on your thirst for revenge?” Her eyes were wide, and her voice shook as she said it. It was so easy to think her fearless as she faced down challenges that would make a grown man blanch, but this had brought her low. He couldn’t storm out and leave her fearing for her and Adelaide’s futures.

“What do you have in mind?” He planned to separate the man’s head from his neck at the earliest opportunity, but he needed to at least hear her out.

“He’s a gambler.”

He narrowed his eyes. “A cheating gambler.”

“What of a wager? We offer to comply and annul our marriage if he wins, and if he loses, he leaves us in peace and lets us leave freely.”

Did he dare gamble on their future? The urge to seal the other man’s fate by running him through was almost overwhelming.

Though, he supposed, he could always do that after trying Isabella’s plan.

“And what form of wager would you propose? We know he cheats at dice. I wouldn’t trust him at cards.”

“Then we pick something he can’t cheat at. Something where you have the advantage.”

The first thing that came to mind was combat. It was what everything in him desired at that moment, but she clearly wanted a more peaceful option. “What do you propose?”

“An archery contest, a game of chess, a mast climbing competition… Anything but combat. Please. I’m begging you.”

A game of chess. That could work. Martin was certain he could outsmart that oversized cretin.

“Very well. I’ll propose chess. There’s no cheating in chess. It’s just his skill against my own. I’d crush him like a fly. But he’ll probably refuse. He knows he’s no match for me.”

He didn’t want her to get her hopes up for a peaceful resolution. Frankly, he hoped Lord James would turn down the chess game. Fury still simmered beneath the surface, though for the moment, Martin was keeping it in check for Isabella’s sake. He longed to unleash it on the object of his ire.

“Stay here. I want to know you’re safe in case this plan of yours fails. I’ll be back as soon as it’s over,” he said, kissing Isabella swiftly before striding out of the room.

All his life, people had underestimated him, especially in comparison to his not-so-little brother. Lord James was no different. He would show that prick the error of his ways if it was the last thing he did.

Storming into the great hall, he found Lord James deep in conversation with Lord Christopher. At his arrival, both men looked up, Lord Christopher with surprise and Lord James with a smug smile, the bastard.

“Lord James, I have a wager for you.”

There was no point in prevaricating. He wanted to finish this and return to Isabella as quickly as possible.

“A wager?” Lord James raised an eyebrow. “Why would I gamble with you? You have nothing that I want.”

“Ah, but I do, and we both know it.” Martin held the earl’s hostile gaze for a long moment. “Don’t bother to deny it. I have a proposal to settle this once and for all.”

Lord Christopher looked back and forth between the two of them. “What is going on here? I don’t understand.”

“What do you propose?” Lord James leaned forward, ignoring his vassal. “I do like a good wager, and the thought of humiliating you is too tempting to pass up.”

“I propose a game of chess.” Now to see if the earl would take the bait.

Lord James laughed. “I’m not playing chess with you, you little piglet. Go squeal somewhere else. I have business with Lord Christopher.”

He turned away and started talking of tax collection. It was a clear dismissal. The man couldn’t even be bothered to engage.

Blood thundered in Martin’s ears. He’d tried a peaceful route. Isabella couldn’t say he didn’t try. Now it was time to take matters into his own hands.

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