Page 56 of The Wager of a Lady (The Beautiful Barringtons 4)

Jacob Rutherfordfinallyhad a son to shape into his image.

Mother’s displeasure had been shown in her refusal to leave her rooms and her instruction to Cook to serve fish at dinner for the remainder of the week.

Father detested fish.

Ben whistled as his eyes trailed over her attire. “Quite a gown, George.” His eyes were tilted up at the corners like a cat’s, turning more green or brown depending on his mood. The unusual hazel color must have been inherited from his father, the unknown Mr. Cooke, for no one in Georgina’s family possessed eyes like Ben’s. “Red is definitely your color, George.”

“Crimson,” she informed him. “A shade darker than scarlet.”

“I stand corrected. Cordelia is bound to faint at the sight of so much of her widowed daughter...exposed.” He tipped his chin in the direction of her plunging neckline.

“Mother swoons. She doesnotfaint. In any case, I’m sure she’ll have smelling salts tucked away somewhere on her person. Or Bradt will carry them. I’m sure he’ll serve as her escort tonight since Father is out of town once more.”

“Business, George,” Ben said in a mild tone.

“Luckily, Bradt is always available to fill in for Father.” Mr. Piers Bradt was the scion of one of the city’s oldest founding families. The gentleman her mothershouldhave married. But Jacob Rutherford had pushed Bradt aside with his enormous wealth and determination to marry Cordelia. Bradt hadn’t stood a chance against her father. “Do you think they’re lovers?”

“George.” Ben gave her an exaggerated, scandalized look. “Cordelia wouldneverstoop to such a thing.”

Georgina’s parents had what was considered to be a successful partnership. There was a mild amount of affection between them. Mutual respect. But little else. Father had a mistress in Baltimore, a widow whom he kept in fine style. Ben thought Georgina and Lilian didn’t know, but it was Lilian who’d told her.

“Ithink Mother and Bradt are lovers. He’s always sniffing about her. Hovering over her shoulder at events when Father is out of town or offering his escort. I’m sure his help with the opera house was only to win more of her affection.”

Ben shrugged. “Even Cordelia deserves happiness. Besides, Bradt will fade into the background once she sees you in that gown. I really do hope he’s carrying her smelling salts.”

“My gown isn’t that scandalous.” It was. It really was.

Annoying her mother was something she excelled at. Just yesterday, Mother had sent a list of approved, eligible gentlemen for Georgina to peruse.

“Don’t breathe too deeply. I beg you.”

“I’m laced far too tight for that.”

“Are you sure you haven’t taken your mother’s direction and are looking for a husband among Manhattan’s upper tens? Because in that gown, you’ll attract dozens of proposals, both proper and improper. I suppose it’s fortunate I have a pistol tucked in my pocket, should I need to defend your honor.”

“A pistol? Really, Ben, I’ve little honor to protect, as you well know. And the most danger I’ll face tonight is a rogue champagne cork hitting me in the eye.” She looked down at her decolletage. “Or elsewhere.”

“Still, it isn’t wise to go about the city unarmed.” A glint of ice shone in his eyes. There was a coldness in Ben, dark and frigid, like the waters of a pond in January. Georgina only ever saw flashes, but among those who did business with Rutherford Shipping, it was well-known. Ben wasn’t a man anyone wished to cross. His connections stretched across Manhattan, encompassing all of New York City. Contacts not formed by his association with her father.

“It never hurts to be prepared. The city is dangerous. You know that.”

“Even an opera house?” Her smile felt strained.Or on the ferry.

Georgina debated mightily over relating the incident that had occurred earlier on the ferry to Ben but decided to remain silent. She was sure it had all been an accident. And Ben had a tendency to be overprotective. He’d be sure to insist she never visit Lilian without his escort.

Still, the incident on her return trip from Brooklyn had been terrifying. She’d nearly been pushed into the East River, a fall that would surely have led to her demise. Georgina wouldn’t have stood a chance in the frigid water, with a heavy cloak acting like a weight to pull her beneath the waves. An accident, she was sure.

“Especially at an opera house. The entire building will be filled with well-dressed wolves hiding among the sheep.”

Georgina smiled back at Ben, her mind still on the ferry. At first, she’d been confused, even startled, to find herself suddenly dangling over the railing, staring at the black water of the East River. The stranger’s hand at her back had knocked her forward. Georgina’s toes had scraped against the deck as she tried to gain her footing before the man had suddenly grabbed her cloak and jerked her back, which was why she was sure it had been an accident. In her brief experience with assailants, most tried to kill you. The next thing Georgina knew, she had been sprawled on the deck near the rail with a young couple hovering over her, asking if she was well.

“What is it, George?”

She had the oddest sensation Ben knew about what had happened on the ferry and was only waiting for her to confess.

“Just envisioning my mother and Piers together. She would have been much better off married to him, I think. Happier, to be sure.”

“And much poorer.”

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