Page 2 of Never a Bride
Of course Edmund wasn’t bored—he hadn’t grown up among the nobility. He was one of those rare men who’d worked hard since childhood to achieve success, and had been knighted for his efforts.
Alex almost envied him.
“We need to enliven the evening,” he continued. “I propose a wager.”
Edmund rolled his eyes. “You know you can outdrink me.”
“No, something new.” He met the bright gaze of a lady and gave her a smile. “We seem to have the attention of several young women this evening.”
“Until their mothers see where they’re looking,” Edmund said dolefully, folding his arms across his chest.
“Andthereis our challenge. I wager that I can get one dewy-eyed innocent to kiss me before you can find one who’ll kiss that face of yours.”
“A virgin? I’d be beetle-headed to accept such a thing!” Edmund scoffed. “You’ve stolen kisses from half the girls here.”
“Not the challenging ones, I haven’t,” Alex said. “To make this interesting, I shall pick out the girl for you, and you shall pick out mine.”
A slow grin eased Edmund’s deceptively hard face. “I’ll wager five sovereigns. But what happens if an angry father decides that one kiss compromises his daughter?”
Alex shrugged. “We have to marry sometime, do we not?”
“As if you would ever be trapped against your will,” Edmund said. “Very well. I’ll be magnanimous and allow you to choose first.”
They turned to look out on the great hall. Couples whirled about, and women were lifted in the air by their partners. Crowds of people talked and ate and laughed. Who to choose for Edmund?
Then he saw her—blond, pretty, and not ranked highly enough to look down upon Edmund, who’d begun manhood as a common soldier. Due to her overly protective family, it would be difficult for Edmund to get even close to her.
Alex cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. “I have the perfect girl. Elizabeth Langston.”
Edmund looked doubtful. “Her name is not familiar.”
Alex pointed to where she stood alone with her parents.
“She is quite beauteous,” Edmund said. “But surely you had a specific reason in choosing her?”
“I shall just warn you to beware her father—and her brothers.”
Edmund sighed and continued to search the crowd. Finally, he displayed a triumphant smile. “Ah, nowthereis a woman who’d be a challenge for you.”
“Who?” Alex asked, feeling a pleasant sense of anticipation.
Edmund inclined his head toward the merry dancers. “Lady Blythe Prescott.”
The younger daughter of the Marquess of Kent. When the crowd parted he saw her laughing face, her shining hair the color of the finest chocolate from the New World. Though he’d never conversed with her, he had often noticed her loveliness and her musical laugh.
He was almost…disappointed.
Oh, she was pretty, but the flirtatious glances she bestowed on every dance partner suggested a woman easily kissed.
Edmund laughed. “Do not be so disgruntled, my friend.”
“She will be no challenge. Is there something you are not divulging?” Alex asked, his interest returning as Edmund smirked.
And then he saw another woman, an older, paler imitation of Blythe, approaching the girl while wearing a censorious frown. Blythe gave her partner an apologetic look, slid her arm into the other woman’s, and walked away.
“And who is that?” Alex demanded.
Edmund grinned. “That was Lady Emmeline Prescott, Blythe’s sister.”
