Page 5 of To Wager with Love

She drank this one a little slower but remained where she was. Jasper’s attention had been taken by Matilda and he was trapped in the doorway. It was only a temporary respite, however, as Harriet couldn’t leave the room without going straight past him. Whatever Matilda was saying to him, Jasper didn’t look best pleased.

Good, she thought. Perhaps his brother was up to his usual tricks and Jasper would be forced to sort him out.

Heavens, but it was hot tonight. Harriet sighed and wished she’d brought a fan. Instead, she drained her glass and filled it again. Perhaps if she eased her way around the edge of the room, she could slip out behind Jasper without him noticing.

Her progress was slow and not entirely steady, and Harriet leaned against the wall for a moment to catch her breath. She felt a little giddy. No doubt the heat was making her feel faint. Fresh air, that was the thing….

Sadly, she made it to the doorway just as Matilda left Jasper alone. He turned to her at once, as though he’d been perfectly aware of her attempt to escape the whole time.

“Oh, go away, Jasper,” she said with a sigh. “I’m too hot and I don’t have the energy to fight with you.”

“Good,” he said, his expression rather fiercer than before. “It’s about time. Come along….”

Jasper grasped her arm, towing her behind him as Harriet held her drink aloft, trying not to spill it. Irritation simmered under her skin.

“Jasper!” she protested, too annoyed not to use his given name. “Leave me be, you obstinate wretch.”

“Not on your life,” he shot back. “Not tonight. Tonight we’re going to talk.”

What?

Oh no.

That sounded like a dreadful idea.

“Let go of me, you… you elvish mark’d, abortive, rooting hog!”

That got his attention.

He stilled, turning back to look at her with amusement. “What did you call me?”

“A rooting hog,” she replied with dignity. “Among other things.”

“Yes, that’s what I thought you’d said.” His lips twitched. “Hmmm, Richard the Third, if I remember correctly. How many other Shakespearean insults can you remember?”

Harriet sighed, impressed that he was correct and wishing she’d kept her blasted mouth shut. It had been a game they’d played together as children, she and Jasper and Jerome and Henry, each of them abusing each other with the worst insults they could dig up. Harriet had astonished them all with her inventive curses until they’d discovered what she already knew, that Shakespeare was a marvellous source of material.

“All of them,” she said darkly.

Jasper chuckled and carried on his way, his grip on her hand firm and unyielding.

“Let me go,” she said in a harsh undertone. “People are looking.”

“They wouldn’t look if you weren’t making a scene,” he replied, perfectly cheerful.

Harriet gave up and followed him out into the garden. Perhaps she could escape him outside.

To her annoyance, he didn’t stop at the terrace but carried on, dragging her into the gardens.

“Jasper Cadogan, if you don’t let me go I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” he demanded, stopping at last in the seclusion of a dark corner. “Hate me forever? Never speak to me again?” He gave a huff of laughter. “I’m not sure how else you can punish me, Harry.”

There was something soft and bruised in the way he spoke, and Harriet acknowledged a stab of guilt. Perhaps Kitty had been right. Perhaps this had gone on long enough.

There was a taut silence as Harriet didn’t know what to say next. She was too afraid to give him an inch, to invite any kind of friendship between them. He was her weakness, her Achilles’ heel, and the only way she’d ever kept him at bay was to stay angry with him, to build an impenetrable wall of ice around her that he couldn’t cross. If she let that go, she’d be at risk, vulnerable, and she couldn’t allow that. Still, soon enough she’d be gone, and she’d not have to see him anymore. She could put him from her mind, and from her heart, for they’d hardly mix in the same circles then. She’d be safe.

Harriet let out a breath. She’d apologise, assure him she didn’t hate him, and then she’d go up to her room and write a letter. The sooner she was safely away from here the better. Her carefully made plans would have to be brought forward, that was all.