A Viscount's Love Bet, page 1
A Viscount's Love Bet
A REGENCY ROMANCE NOVEL
BRIDGET BARTON
Copyright © 2022 by Bridget Barton
All Rights Reserved.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
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A Viscount's Love Bet
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
The Duke's Secret Letter
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
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A Viscount's Love Bet
Introduction
Miss Bianca Haddington knows she only has this one chance to find someone she can love. With her heart full of hope and courage, she sets out on her journey to the bright lights of London, determined to find a man who will cherish her for who she truly is. When she meets Hugh Mowatt, a charming Viscount, it feels like fate has finally smiled on her…
Will Hugh be the one to capture Bianca’s heart and make her dreams come true before her Season comes to an end?
Viscount Hugh Mowatt has given up on love after the woman he once cared for abandoned him for a more prestigious man. However, when he meets Bianca, the walls around his heart start to crumble. Little did he know that his best friend would also want to claim a future with Bianca. Will Hugh find the courage to risk his feelings again and find the happiness he deserves?
A wounded soul and a woman who can brighten his world…
It will not take a lot for Hugh and Bianca to realise how much their affection for each other is turning into a great love. That is until Bianca finds out that Hugh had made a bet with his friend on who will win her hand. Will Bianca be able to forgive Hugh, or will all of the trust between them be irreversibly lost, with the past being a barrier to their future together?
Prologue
London, England
1813
“Go!” Hugh leaned forward on the wooden railing that was painted a stark white. He could smell the freshness of the paint, but did not care if it smeared on his coat sleeves. He was too enthralled by the race to focus on any trifling matters. “Go, Jinx! Go!” he shouted, urging his horse toward the finish line.
“Never!” Ewan, his best mate, who stood at his side, cried. “Lady Luck! Lady Luck!” he shouted as he jumped up and down. Both gentlemen watched their horses closely as the pair edged each other out. With each stride, one or the other took the lead, and in just a matter of seconds, the entire race would be decided.
“Faster! Faster!” Hugh urged as he pumped his arm in the air, gesturing for the animal to get moving, and at that prompting, Jinx surged forward.
“They’re in the home stretch,” Ewan said quietly, then he rocked back on his heels, as Jinx was going to edge out Lady Luck. “Blast!”
“Ha-ha!” Hugh yelled triumphantly as Jinx crossed the finish line, with Lady Luck slipping into fifth place.
“I had you…” Ewan said scornfully. He shook his head ruefully and fished in his front coat pocket for some money. “Right until the end. Lady Luck was looking fit today, and I was certain she would…”
“Ah, but she did not,” Hugh cut him off as he held out his hand, palm up, waiting expectantly for his friend to pay what he owed. “I told you Jinx would win and I was right.” Ewan counted out several bank notes and placed them in Hugh’s hand begrudgingly.
“Yes,” Ewan grumbled. “Jinx emerged victorious. But what do you say you give me a chance to earn my money back? Shall we bet on the next race? I understand there’s a thoroughbred in the heat that came from Lord Packston’s stables and…”
“No, thank you,” Hugh returned as he folded the bills and tucked them into his pocket. “I must be getting along soon. My mama insisted I be home at a reasonable hour, so I might accompany her to some soiree tonight.” He paused and exhaled deeply. Several strands of his dark brown hair hung in his eyes and this practised move helped brush them aside.
“Ah, yes, the dowager is convinced that this will be your Season. You must find your bride or else…” Ewan waggled his fair eyebrows in a teasing way.
Hugh shuddered. “Please do not say it like that. You know my mama. She only wants what is best for me and she says that it is high-time I find a lady and make a match.” He patted his coat pocket where he’d just tucked the bank notes. “And what about you? Your mother is making you go to Lord Betton’s card party later, is she not?”
Ewan shrugged lightly. “That may be, but my mama is not nearly as determined as yours. If I marry this Season, it will please to her, but if not… that will be fine, too. I say…” He nudged Hugh in the ribs using his elbow and straightened up, gazing at someone across the way. “See that man just to our left? I bet you he is about to spill his drink.”
Hugh guffawed loudly. “That’s not a bet worthy of my time, for it is one you will win. Look at the way he is holding his cup and jumping about riotously.” He shook his head. “Should you wish to entice me into betting further, you will have to do better than that.”
His friend pivoted, swishing his long, sleek, silvery blonde ponytail behind him. “Let us see.” He clucked his tongue as he scanned the crowd. The next race was not set to begin for another few moments, and this was the usual way Hugh and Ewan occupied their time in between events.
“Ah, do you see that gentleman over there?” Hugh questioned as he nodded across the field at a man dressed in a royal blue overcoat and a pair of tawny-coloured trousers.
“Mr Beaumont?” Lord Duncan Reid asked. He was standing with Ewan and Hugh but behaving in a much more reserved fashion. Lord Reid did not bet on sporting events, as a general rule, but he did often accompany his friends while they partook in the activities.
“Yes,” Hugh drawled, “Mr Beaumont. Look at him. I bet you he will walk only ten paces before he trips and falls flat on his face.”
Lord Reid sucked in a shocked gasp, but Ewan just laughed boisterously. “There is no way you could know something like that. I will take that bet, my friend.”
“Reid?” Hugh asked gently. “Would you like in on this action, too?”
Lord Reid shook his head. “No,” he said crisply, but there was no mistaking the fact that his eyes were glued to Mr Beaumont, as he was just as curious to see if Hugh’s prediction would prove correct.
“One…two…” Hugh counted aloud as Mr Beaumont turned on the spot, took several steps, and then, his knees gave way and he tumbled to the ground.
Lord Reid’s large brown eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “How did you know that was about to happen?” He gestured wildly to the place where Mr Beaumont kneeled. “I know Mr Beaumont. He is not an ungainly fellow, given to stumbling about, and falling regularly. How did you know he would take a spill just now?”
Ewan leaned forward. He arched one eyebrow in an inquisitive fashion. “Yes, Mowatt, do tell.”
Hugh chuckled drily and shook his head. “I will never give away any of my secrets. That would be cheating.”
“Hardly,” Ewan scoffed. “Cheating would be keeping your secrets cloistered. Come now, I wish to know what made you think Beaumont would trip and fall.”
Hugh allowed neither of his friends to sway him. Instead, he once more held his hand in a supine position, waiting for Ewan to pay him. “Thank you,” he murmured as Ewan handed over several more bills.
“Well, I’ve lost a packet today,” Ewan said moodily as he dug in the pockets of his hunter green jacket. “Shall we leave then gentleman, or do you spy a way you can possibly take more of my money, Mowatt?”
“Oh,” Hugh admonished softly, “Try not to be a sore loser, Vaughan. I bet you could—”
He was cut off in the placing of his next bet by a strident laugh from Lord Reid. “The two of you will bet on anything.”
“Not just anything,” Hugh assured his friends. “It may seem that way to an outsider, but trust me, gentlemen, I only make wagers I intend to win.”
Chapter 1
“I am so glad you have finally arrived. Do come in!” The Dowager Countess of Reid cooed. Bianca Haddington and her parents, Sir Joshua Haddington and Lady Sarah Haddington stood in the foyer of Norman House at 24 Grosvenor Street in Mayfair. Bianca could not remember the last time she had visited her auntie and cousins in the city, but already, she was enjoying the adventure.
Norman House was a gorgeous, four story, reddish-orange brick building. When they entered, the doorway was draped delicately by light lavender wisteria blooms and the smell wafted after them as they trailed into the house. The foyer was a lovely place to stand. The floor was made of a glistening white marble and with every small step Bianca took, her soft heels made a clacking sound.
“Cousin,” Lady Madeline cried as she surged forward to envelop Bianca in a hug. “It has been too long.”
“Yes,” Bianca returned. “I was just trying to remember when we last were here.”
“I believe it was seven years ago,” the Dowager Countess interjected. “I had just commissioned the portrait in the great hall, and you kept asking the master all sorts of questions.” She moved forward and her large, warm brown eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled. “You were always such an inquisitive one, my dear. Tell me, do you still spend all day with your books?”
She was teasing, Bianca knew that, but what her auntie said was true, for the most part. “I do hope that while I am here at Norman House, I will be permitted to peruse the library, but I also wish to engage fully in this Season, Aunt.”
“Splendid!” The Dowager clapped her hands as she let go of Bianca. “That was precisely what I wanted to hear.” She shot a wink at Bianca’s mother. “I knew that a trip to town was exactly what you needed.”
“Huh,” her father said. “A trip to town…” He shook his head in an aggrieved fashion. “Seems like nothing but a bit of nonsense to me.”
The Dowager Countess swept her hands out broadly. “Come now, let us all go into the drawing room. I will ring for tea, and we can discuss this Season more fully. I have made so many plans already.”
Madeline looped her arm through Bianca’s and gently tugged her down the hall. “Do not let Mama scare you. She has already accepted a great number of invitations, but I have tried to temper her whims. We shall not have you going out and about every night.”
“But I thought that was why I was here,” Bianca countered. “In your letters, you said it was typical for young ladies to make their debut and then spend nearly every evening engaged in some formal event or other.”
“Well, we did not wish to overwhelm you,” Madeline explained as they walked into the drawing room. It was beautifully decorated. Four large, rectangular shaped windows faced the street. The wispy white curtains were thrown aside so that the people sitting within might have a view of any passersby who were coming and going.
There was a pianoforte in the far corner, far away from the windows, and there was a small, round table in the middle of the room with six chairs pulled up to it. There were several other seats in the room, clustered together in small groupings, but the Dowager gestured for them to sit at the table, so Bianca followed her lead.
“I am sure I will adjust,” Bianca assured her.
“Yes, of course you will,” Madeline replied as she slid gracefully into her own seat. “And as soon as Mama hears you say as much, she will enthusiastically continue with her planning.”
“What was that?” The Dowager Countess asked. She waited primly for Bianca’s father to pull out her chair before she sat. The Dowager carried herself regally, moving elegantly, sweeping her full maroon silk skirts about her, before she dropped into the chair. Her lovely brown hair was done into a series of pin curls and the slippers on her feet had small jewels on them. Bianca gave a sigh, just gazing at her aunt.
She is so lovely… so exquisite… exactly the kind of lady I wish to be someday.
“Bianca was just telling me how she wishes to see and do a little of everything in town,” Madeline said as she ran her fingertips down the length of her cranberry-coloured dress, smoothing the folds. Her cousin was an almost identical copy of her mother, the Dowager Countess. She also had full and bouncy brown curls and her eyes were lit with a warmth that could only come from being a genuinely affectionate person.
Her lips were drawn into a pleased smile and the apples of her cheeks were rosy. Lady Madeline had lately announced her engagement to the Viscount Seton, and so Bianca was given to understand that Madeline’s smile was not just gracing her face because she was delighted to see her cousin again, but because she was deeply in love.
Ah… and that… I wish for that, too.
“Fol-de-rol,” Bianca’s father huffed. He had just helped her mother into her seat in a most gentlemanly way, but his scowl was fixed firmly in place. “I dislike this idea of going here, there, and everywhere.” He pulled out the chair next to his daughter and sat with a weary sigh. “It would be better if Bianca came home with her mother and me. At least when she is in Northwood, we can keep an eye on matters.”
“But Papa,” Bianca cried softly, “You said I could spend this Season… this one Season… here in London.”
He glanced about the room surreptitiously, as if he suspected others of spying on them and eavesdropping on their conversation. “I said that, dearest, but I have my reservations about the whole thing.”
“Try not to worry, Joshua,” her mother said as she patted his hand with her own.
“How can I not worry?” He gestured at the open windows where people were going about their own business. Then, he leaned toward his daughter and lowered his voice, “You must be mindful of your manners and keep a close guard over your heart.”
“Papa,” Bianca said softly, using her most soothing voice, “you need not worry about me. You know I am here because I want to fall in love. I will not just give my heart away to anyone.”
“It is not you I worry about, dear girl,” her father returned. He sat up in his chair stiffly and fussed with the white collar of his shirt. He ran a hand through the light, airy fair locks that sat atop his head. He was balding in some patches, and he styled his hair in a fashion to cover that fact. He did his best to smooth his hair over those spots now.
“The men in town, they will be wily. I truly wish you would rethink this whole thing and just return home to Northwood. I can call round for the carriage, and your mother and I can have you packed away back home before the end of the day.”
