Barons Always Win Wagers (Forbidden Kisses Book 3) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Forbidden Kisses Series

  Newsletter

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Epilogue

  Other Books

  Barons Always Win Wagers

  Forbidden Kisses

  Book 3

  Catherine Mayfair

  Copyright © year 2020 Catherine Mayfair

  All rights reserved.

  Rogues Always Wear Black

  Rakes Always Kiss First

  Barons Always Win Wagers

  Thank you for reading this story. If you would like to sign up for my newsletter, you can do so by going to the link below:

  Catherine Mayfair Newsletter

  http://eepurl.com/gkdd5t

  Chapter One

  Miss Emma Shepherd gazed down at her hero from her bedchamber window at Sweetspire Estates. Beside the man who had won her heart through his many wondrous deeds stood his sword, its point thrust into the ground. On his lips was the handsomest of smiles as he gazed upon her, eyes filled with love only for her. Though it was winter, and therefore cold, he did not shiver, nor did he complain. Instead he spoke words of affection and devotion as if summer were upon them.

  “There is nothing I will not do for you,” he said, his words carrying up to her like magic. “A woman of such beauty and intellect is a rarity, indeed, and I will journey a lifetime to tell you this one thing: I adore you!”

  That all too familiar ache in her heart had Emma breathless as she listened to the words she had always hoped to hear, always prayed to hear. She touched the window and whispered, “I…I love you.” And she did love him, for he was the wisest and bravest man in all of England.

  Yet, it was not only those traits that she admired in him but also his handsomeness, as well. She could not tell him as such for fear of his pride swelling, but no other man possessed his finely chiseled chin and dark eyes.

  Another man appeared, and she recoiled. Lord Aylmer Oswald was a man she did not love - in fact, she despised him - but the man had purchased the right to her hand in marriage. The silver hair of the old man contrasted with her love’s black, and his cold blue eyes met Emma’s.

  “Not even your hero will save you,” Lord Oswald growled.

  Fear gripped at Emma, and her hearing began to fade as Lord Oswald approached her. “No!” she cried out to her love, who faded in the background.

  “Emma?”

  With a shake, Emma pushed the daydream from her mind. It had felt so real!

  “Is everything all right?” Sally, lady’s maid to Emma’s sister Constance and a very good friend to them all, asked, her face filled with concern.

  “I’m well,” she replied, forcing a smile and hoping her heart would return to its normal pace. “I was just imagining that a man was waiting to call on me.”

  Sally smiled. “You’re not still having bad dreams, are you? Even waking ones?”

  Emma shook her head. She had told Sally of her nightmares but never gave the woman the details about them. Whether it be night or day, Emma worried Lord Oswald, the man to whom her stepfather had sold her hand in marriage, would come for her.

  “I was thinking of a kind gentleman calling on me,” Emma replied. At least she could speak the truth. “Though I’m starting to wonder if that will happen. I may have to settle for Lord Lentshade.”

  “Have you no interest in him?”

  Emma let out a small laugh, the tension from the daydream gone - for now. “He is not what I want in a gentleman,” she replied. “Nor was Lord Stanhope, nor any others with whom I have had the obligation to speak.” She gave a heavy sigh. “Constance has Stephen, a hero of legend. Mary is now wed to a man who rescued her from a house of ill repute in London and therefore also a hero. I fear the man I eventually wed will own sheep or run a butchery and nothing more.” She said the last with frustration, for she did not believe she was asking for much in terms of her requirements for a husband. If her sisters were fortunate enough to have such men, surely she would meet the same fate.

  “Give it time,” Sally said, laying a hand on Emma’s arm. “I’m sure the right gentleman will come your way.”

  Emma returned her friend’s smile. “You are right.” She wrapped her arms around the woman. “Have you ever been in love?” Sally winced and Emma regretted asking. She did tend to speak without thinking. “I’m sorry for asking such a personal question.”

  “No, it’s fine. Yes, a long time ago, I was in love with a very special man.” Sally turned toward the window. “We were to be married, but then his father learned about us.”

  “His father did not approve?”

  Sally laughed. “Most dukes do not wish their sons to marry a servant,” she replied as she turned back to Emma. “I was dismissed, and he was forced to marry a woman his equal.”

  “I’m so sorry to have brought up such painful memories.”

  Sally gave her a small smile. “I’ve already said it was fine. Besides, his father was right; it wouldn’t have done him any good to marry me and ruin his name.”

  Emma stuck out her chin to show her disagreement and defiance at such a statement. “I think his father is wrong,” she said. “You would make a fine wife for any man, titled or not.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” Sally said with a wave of her hand. “Now, we’d better go to the office. Stephen is waiting for you.”

  With a nod, Emma followed the woman out the room and down the stairs. Though she felt horrible that she, herself, had never been in love, she could not imagine loving someone and being told she could not spend her life with him as what had befallen Sally.

  When they arrived at the office, Emma’s brother-in-law Stephen and her sister Constance greeted her with a smile.

  “You wished to speak with me?”

  “I did,” Stephen replied. “I’ll be leaving to call on Lord Michael Bracken. Have you heard of him?”

  Emma nodded. “From what I understand, the man is a recluse and is said to have murdered his own wife in a drunken rage. I’m unsure whether or not to believe it.”

  “His wife is gone,” Stephen replied. “Whether by his hand or not, I do not know. What I do know is much of the man’s property is in disarray due to financial problems. I’m hoping to purchase it, thus, extending the land holdings of Sweetspire Estates for Charles.”

  Emma smiled at the mention of Charles, for he was the son of Lady Louisa Dewhirst, a woman who gave her life to save Emma and her sisters. The boy, the current Marquess of Blackwell and now thirteen years of age, had been attending a fine boarding school in London. Emma missed him dearly, for he was as much a part of their family as any of her sisters. In fact, he had said that Emm
a and Mary were his sisters and Constance and Stephen were his parents. Granted, the boy’s assigning of family places only made sense to him, but they had accepted it as readily as they had him.

  “It will be good to increase his holdings,” Emma said. “Does the land hold significant importance?”

  Stephen nodded. “As a matter of fact, it does. A beck runs through it that will enhance the value of this land two-fold.”

  What Stephen said made sense. What did not make sense was why he found it important that she be given this information.

  As if hearing her thoughts, Constance said, “I would like you to accompany Stephen when he calls on Lord Bracken. The man is a drunkard and well-known for his reluctance to engage with anyone, especially in matters of business. It is my belief, and Stephen’s, that a smile from a woman may sway his willingness to engage in negotiations.”

  Emma let out a laugh, which brought a frown from Constance. “I’m sorry,” Emma said with a shake of her head. “I will go with Stephen, but I cannot help but laugh at the types of requests my sister makes of me.”

  Constance walked over and took Emma’s hand in hers. “A simple smile to the man if he boasts or speaks of anything will cause his pride to swell. A happy man will be much more eager to listen and, if all goes how we wish, he will make an agreement to sell the land.”

  “And you truly believe my smile will change the outcome?” Emma asked, shocked that straitlaced sister would make such a suggestion. Yet, she was pleased, as well. They would finally trust her to be included in something important.

  “Indeed,” her sister replied. “For you have a smile as beautiful as your heart.” She leaned in and added in a whisper, “And no man can resist it, so be very careful with whom you share it.”

  Emma giggled. She would be saving her best smiles for that hero who would earn her admiration, that much she was certain.

  “Now, you should be going. The sooner you take care of this, the more time I will have to spend with you before we leave for London.”

  Emma looked at her sister with sadness. She and Stephen would be away for several weeks, and it would be Emma’s responsibility to watch over the house - and Mosley, the old butler. The poor man’s mind was going, and it would not be fit to leave him alone for such an extended period of time.

  “I would like that,” Emma said concerning time together.

  Worry etched Constance’s features. “You will be careful while we are away? With no one else here…”

  “She is a capable woman, Constance,” Stephen said, giving Emma a wink. He treated her so much like the older brother she never had, and he trusted her in every way – much more than Constance seemed to. With the amount of training Emma and her sisters had received over the past two years, it should not have been surprising. They were not like other women of the ton; they did not have to rely solely on men to protect them.

  “Well, I fear for her as I do everyone,” Constance said, clearly annoyed.

  “I will be fine,” Emma said. “Mosley will keep me company, when he is not sleeping, and I have books I wish to read. It is not as if I’m truly alone. We do have a gaggle of servants here, as well.”

  “Oh, very well, you are right,” Constance said, giving Emma a quick embrace. “Now, you had best be on your way before I start worrying all over again.”

  With a laugh, Emma followed Stephen to the foyer, where Mosley waited with their outer garments - for Emma a flowered wool-trimmed pelisse jacket with white lace and for Stephen a dark blue overcoat.

  The sky was gray and the wind so cold it seemed to ignore the wool lining of her jacket. Once they were seated in the carriage, each with a lap blanket spread across their knees, the vehicle lurched forward.

  “Do you think he truly killed his wife?” Emma asked.

  Stephen sighed. “It is more than likely rumor, and though it does not give cause for spreading gossip about people, it does not help his cause that the man has gambled away much of his holdings and has lost more business connections than anyone I know. Not to mention his hermit-like behavior. All of that put together makes a ripe midden heap for trouble.”

  Emma frowned. “If he remains hidden, how does he gamble?”

  “Hidden from the ton is what I should say,” Stephen replied. “But not from some of the scandalous parties that take place all over this country.” He said this with a scowl that reflected his distaste for these types of affairs.

  She had heard of such parties though she would never attend one. Apparently, men and women not married to one another openly showed affection. In fact, often men took their mistresses to such places while they spent the night in debauchery.

  A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of meeting a man who may have attended such gatherings and perhaps killed his wife. Such a man was vile and dangerous, and she knew that smiling at him may prove harder than she thought.

  ***

  Emma watched the passing of rolling hills long yellowed by winter as her thoughts turned to the adventure on which she currently found herself. She and her sisters had partaken in many over the last two years, but their lives had not begun in such a way.

  When their father died many years earlier, their mother remarried. Lord Phillip Burk had been a tyrant, and when their mother died, he could not wait to rid himself of the three daughters left in his care. A greedy man, Phillip had sold the three girls’ hands in marriage to friends of his, all old men his age or older.

  Rather than resign her and her sisters to such a plight, Constance, the oldest of the sisters, had spirited them away. Not one of them had any experience with traveling the thick expanse of woods, and soon they were lost. When a highwayman attempted to rob them and take Constance hostage, Stephen had come along and saved them. That was how Constance and Stephen met one another, and they shared a love that few would ever enjoy.

  As to Emma, she knew she was beautiful. It was not vanity that told her so but the way men smiled at her. Plus, she had been told often enough to believe it to be true. Even with the number of men showing an interest in her, none approached her who were to her liking.

  The truth of the matter was, she attracted the most boring of men. Men who pained her ears with stories of academics, business, or even games of sport. Where were the men who craved adventure? Who threw caution to the wind?

  Was it her quiet demeanor that kept this type of men away? It was not that she would not participate in conversation, for she did enjoy a good discussion, but many times she preferred to listen or to sit with her own thoughts rather than speak. A person learns so much more by doing so.

  The carriage jostled, and she glanced at her brother-in-law. The man was a hero, a handsome man who lived a life of adventure of which Emma and her sisters were a part. Surely another man such as he was out there waiting for a woman such as she?

  “Alas, we have arrived.”

  Emma had not realized the carriage had stopped, and she glanced out the window just as the driver placed the step outside the door.

  “It is worse than I imagined,” Stephen said as he alighted from the carriage. He handed Emma down, and she looked around in shock. What he said was true. The place was in utter ruin.

  The stables had missing planks of wood and it tilted to the right, perhaps too stubborn to collapse. The shrubbery, though barren of leaves, was wild and unkempt as if it had not been pruned in years. The portico was layered in dirt and debris set upon a backdrop of faded white paint on the house. Four windows were cracked, and the casings were so rotted, Emma wondered how the panes remained in their frames.

  Well, the sale of the land should not be a problem, she thought.

  “Remember to smile and I will do the rest,” Stephen said and then knocked on the door. “We should be here no longer than an hour. I cannot imagine needing more time to close this deal – or to be rejected.”

  Emma nodded just as the door opened. The man who stood in the doorway was not dressed in livery, so she could only assume it was the baro
n himself. The man had unruly dark hair and stubbled cheeks and chin. His suit, though made of the best material and by the deftest of hands, looked as if the man had slept in it. For several days, at that.

  Yet, despite these offensive attributes, the man was wickedly handsome. His blue eyes were as rich as any sapphire, and the smile that crossed his lips caused Emma to swallow hard to work moisture back into her mouth. For a moment, her head felt light and her legs weak, and she feared that perhaps she was falling ill.

  “Chambers,” the man said, the odor of brandy strong enough for Emma to detect even from this distance, “I had almost forgotten you were calling over today. Please, come in.”

  “Thank you,” Stephen replied as he stepped back to allow Emma to enter first.

  The foyer was sparse with no more than a single table in the middle of the room that held a thick layer of dust. The walls were bare and in need of paint, and several tiles were missing from the flooring.

  “May I introduce Miss Emma Shepherd, my sister-in-law.”

  Lord Bracken bowed. “An honor,” he said.

  His feet shuffled as if he struggled to keep his balance, but Emma ignored it and replied with a curtsy. This made the man’s smile broaden. So, Constance had been right; her smile did hold power over men. Well, she would use it this day to help Stephen.

  “Thank you, my lord,” she said. The man was openly ogling her! His eyes did not rake over her, but he did continue to stare to the point her cheeks had to be red.

  Stephen cleared his throat. “I have come to speak of matters of business…”

  The man jumped as if startled and then let out a laugh. “Of course. Would Miss Shepherd like to sit in the drawing room while we speak? I do not have any embroidery for her or other items to keep her amused.” He said the last with a chuckle, and Emma clenched her skirts to keep from slapping him. Did he truly believe she was the type of woman to enjoy such a frivolous activity?

  “Thank you for the kind offer,” Stephen replied for her, “but I believe it would serve Emma well to listen to our discussion of business.” Emma could have kissed him!