Chapter Two

S tartled by the lady's request, Julius stared first at her, then shot a glance over to the others hoping to gauge their reactions, only to be met with foolish grins. "You play chess, my lady?"

"From time to time." Her smile continued, although it seemed to be masking some other emotion as well. Humor, perhaps? She moved to the small table where the chessboard sat and began resetting the pieces. "My father taught me to play when I was quite young."

Though it was not unheard of for ladies to play chess—his own mother had been known to play occasionally with his father—Julius still was startled at the notion of playing against Lady Augusta. Another glance at his cousins and brother showed their faces filled with mirth at the idea that the lady proposed not to simply play him in chess but actually to beat him. If it didn't seem rude to refuse, Julian would have declined the offer. However, the lady had declared her wish for a wager, and that he could not refuse.

"Then I shall be happy to accept your wager and play with you." He moved back to the table and indicated the chair opposite him. "Please be seated."

She finished setting up the chessboard, then sat in the chair Harry had vacated. Julius took his seat and looked at her expectantly.

"What do you wish to wager, my lord?"

"The first dance at tomorrow night's ball, my lady." The notion of that bet had occurred to him as soon as the lady had mentioned the word "wager."

A chorus of groans arose from his audience, Harry's voice being the loudest.

Lady Augusta peered at them briefly then returned her attention back to the board. "That is if you win or I take longer than ten moves to win." She looked up, that puckered smile back in place. "I think if I best you in less than ten moves, I should not pay a forfeit."

"Of course not, my lady." The idea that she would win in less than ten moves was rather charming.

"And what will you forfeit in the event you lose, my lord?" Her intense blue eyes were on him, and suddenly Julius found himself swallowing hard.

"Um…" He couldn't look away from her penetrating azure gaze. "I lose the first dance with you?"

"Perhaps you should lose all chance of partnering me tomorrow evening." Her even tone coupled with the power of her regard unnerved Julius to no end.

But he nodded just the same. "I will accept that wager, Lady Augusta." Now he certainly had an incentive to win, as if he'd needed one. "Will you begin the play?"

Lady Augusta nodded, then without hesitation moved her pawn. "King's pawn to king four."

"King's pawn to king four." Julius countered, interested to see her next move. It would tell him so much about her level of skill.

"King's bishop's pawn to king's bishop four."

Julius stared at the board. Was the lady going for the King's Gambit opening? Or simply moving the pieces? Time to find out. "Pawn takes pawn."

"King's knight to king's bishop three." She moved the piece so quickly it seemed to fly.

That settled one thing. This was definitely the King's Gambit opening. And Lady Augusta was apparently very familiar with it. Julius pulled his tumultuous thoughts back to the board and considered his options. "King's knight's pawn to king's knight four."

"Queen's knight to queen's bishop three." Lady Augusta moved the knight then sat back, gazing at him evenly.

What a random move on her part. She'd started out well, but that move had left her vulnerable on several fronts. "Pawn to king's knight four." He smiled and began to think of a popular waltz tune in his head. Perhaps he could make certain the orchestra played a waltz for the first dance tomorrow night.

She moved her knight and he countered by bringing his queen into play threatening her king.

Holding Lady Augusta closely in his arms would be oh so satisfying. She really was quite a stunning wo—

"Queen to king's knight four."

The tune in his head halted abruptly as the board came into focus and Julius stared uncomprehending at the white queen that now threatened his queen. He shot a surreptitious glance at his opponent, whose face stared serenely back at him.

This lady was a worthy opponent indeed. But he could recover. "Pawn to king's knight seven." She would obviously then take his queen but he would get it back when his pawn took her rook and he would threaten her bishop and king.

Two moves later her queen's knight took his bishop's pawn and Lady Augusta sat back, a smile on her lips once more as she announced, "Checkmate."

A stunned silence emanated from his brother and cousins.

In shock, Julius stared at the board and immediately realized his error. Almost all his pieces remained in the first two ranks of his side of the board. He'd neglected to develop his attack because he'd been too busy trying to decide if Lady Augusta understood the tactics of the game to worry about his own strategy. Neither had it helped that he'd allowed himself to become distracted by the thought of enjoying his spoils rather than actually winning them. He'd underestimated his opponent grossly, something he'd not done since his earliest days learning the game. There was nothing left to do save take his defeat like a gentleman.

"Indeed it is, my lady." He met her amused gaze with a rueful smile. "Congratulations on a well-played game."

"Thank you, my lord." She rose, bringing him to his feet. "Perhaps we can play again sometime this weekend."

"I will look forward to a rematch, Lady Augusta." At least next time he would know his opponent's strengths and try to guard against his own weaknesses. And he'd get to spend some more time with her.

"Allow me to congratulate you, Lady Augusta." Harry had stepped forward, breaking the silence of his equally stunned audience. "And as your first dance now is quite free, I'd like to request the honor of it at tomorrow night's ball."

Leave it to Harry to swoop in and take advantage not only of Julius's humiliating defeat, but secure their earlier wager as well.

Lady Augusta sent Julius a sympathetic glance but nodded to his cousin. "As I have not promised it elsewhere, my lord, I will be happy to grant it to you."

Harry's look of triumph galled Julius to no end, but he couldn't fault his cousin for taking advantage of the situation. He'd have done the same thing had their positions been reversed.

"Might I have the second dance then, Lady Augusta?" Yule stepped closer, a twinkle in his eye. "I wouldn't want you to be in danger of becoming a wallflower."

"Neither would I, my lady." Francis eagerly came up on the lady's other side. "May I solicit the third dance of the evening?" He looked pointedly at Julius. "I'm afraid you will need to seek other partners after that, although I for one will be happy to partner you any time during the evening."

"I applaud your enthusiasm, Mr. Price," Lady Augusta looked around the small circle, from one gentleman to the next, until her gaze finally rested on Julius. "But I fear I must spread my favors in a wide circle to include the many gentlemen here this weekend." Her intense blue eyes captured Julius once more. "Although unfortunately not all of them."

There were snorts of suppressed laughter from his companions.

"But if you will excuse me gentlemen, I must find my mother and see if anyone else has arrived." She curtsied and turned to the door, her hooped skirts gracefully tilting as she left the room.

Julius turned a glowering frown on his cousins, then deepened it as he took in his brother's grinning face. "Et tu, Brute?"

"All's fair in love and war, Jules," Francis chuckled. "I suppose this could be considered both."

"You all certainly lost no time looting and pillaging Lady Augusta's dance card." Julius fought hard to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He had no one but himself to blame for being excluded from dancing with the lady.

"To the victor go the spoils, old chap." Harry beamed at him. "You can wait until we return to London to settle our earlier wager." He gave Julius an innocent look. "Who knows but that you may lose more wagers before the end of the weekend."

"I'd nobble you Harry, if you weren't grandfather's heir." Julius glowered at him, and sighed deeply. So much for his plans to charm Lady Augusta.

"The billiard room is free now. Let's go before someone else nips in." Yule was already halfway out the room.

Harry downed his brandy and followed suit.

"You coming, Jules?" Francis paused at the doorway.

"In a minute. I want to reset the board." He kept his eyes on the chess pieces as he set them one by one on the black and white squares. More black pieces to be righted than white unfortunately.

"Sure." Francis lingered however—Julius could feel his twin hesitating in the doorway. "You won't be long?"

"Not at all." Julius righted his king. Hubris, thy name is Julius .

His brother left and Julius sat back in his seat, the white queen clasped in his hand. Lady Augusta had been a worthy foe and he'd gotten what he deserved for underestimating her. He'd not do that again this weekend. And as he was banished from her dance card, he'd have to devise other ways to become better acquainted with the lady. Not only did she possess the dark beauty he was always attracted to, but she clearly had an exemplary mind with pinpoint focus. These points of her character intrigued him to a degree he'd never felt before.

Odd that he'd had no idea of actually looking for a wife this weekend. When he and Francis and their cousins had received the invitation, it had been more of a lark for the four of them. A way to get in some early hunting before the heat of the summer drove all thoughts of shooting or stalking out of their minds until the Glorious Twelfth.

Now however, Lady Augusta had piqued his interest. So it would become his mission this weekend to get to know her better, develop the Lady Augusta Gambit to assure that he gained back the advantage as quickly as he could.

*

Augusta hurried down the corridor, back toward the foyer, ostensibly looking for her mother, but actually hoping to find her father. More than anything, she wanted to tell him about her match with Lord Boxted, to garner his praise for besting a very worthy opponent. The whole episode had left her quite giddy.

"There you are, my dear." Her mother scurried out of the large receiving room, now crowded with more arriving guests. "Come with me a moment. I must introduce Lords Bude and Bideford to you."

With a sigh, Augusta followed her mother into the receiving room and was duly introduced to two more young gentlemen she would likely dance and converse with this weekend and then never see again. Once they had taken their leave, she leaned toward her mother and whispered, "How many eligible gentlemen have you invited for the weekend?"

"Twenty-six."

Augusta gasped, appalled that she would have to be obliging to so many young men over the course of the next four days.

"However, only eighteen accepted the invitation." her mother continued, and Augusta gave up a prayer of thanksgiving. "Lords Winkleigh and Silverton were otherwise engaged, Lord Tadley was taken ill at the last minute, poor man, Sir Joshua Noonan's uncle died last week and he's in mourning, Mr. Simon Farquar and his brother, Mr. John Farquar are now betrothed to Miss Mary Simmons and her sister, Miss Grace Simmons." Her mother paused and pursed her lips. "I do so dislike when brothers marry a set of sisters. It strikes me as being in bad taste for some reason."

"I am certain that is your own prejudice, Mother, and not a usual censure of Society." Scarcely paying attention, Augusta glanced around, still looking for her father.

"Mr. Coleman's mother is ill and he must attend to her. And of course, Mr. Burton is out of the country."

That brought Augusta's attention back to her parent and the daunting idea that she would be almost the sole focus of eighteen gentlemen's devotion for the next few days. She'd have preferred to meet them in smaller groups or not at all if Mr. Burton was not among their number, although she must say, she'd enjoyed her encounter with the Duke of Welwyn's four grandsons. Hopefully, if she simply must engage with the rest of the gentlemen, they would make as good an impression on her as those four had.

At last she spied her father. "Mother, I must go speak with Father. A matter of some importance."

"What kind of—"

Before her mother could detain her, Augusta hurried into the foyer and joined the circle of gentlemen that included her father. "Good afternoon, gentlemen."

They all murmured "good day" and bowed. Before they all turned their gaze on her and attempted to begin a conversation, she smiled at them all, but took her father's arm. "Father, I wonder if I could have a word with you. Something rather extraordinary has happened."

Her father's eyebrows rose, but he nodded. "Gentlemen, if you will excuse us."

Augusta grasped his arm and steered him toward the only quiet spot she could think of, the formal dining room. The servants had already begun laying the table, but their presence was of no matter. She drew her father into one of the room's corners, and smiled up at him. "Father, you will never guess what just occurred."

"Have you received a proposal already, Augusta?" His eyes were filled with mirth. "I admit, I did scoff when your mother told that was the purpose of this house party, but if her scheme has worked this quickly, I fear I will have to apologize to her forthwith."

"Truly, Father, this is no time for your questionable sense of humor." She shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. "No, there has been no proposal and as Mr. Burton is not to be among the guests this weekend, I can tell you I do not expect to receive, nor do I intend to accept any proposal offered me."

"Then what, pray tell, is this extraordinary thing that has happened?" Her father crossed his arms over his chest but seemed ready to listen to her.

"I had wandered down the corridor to see who was in the billiards room, but when I got to the end of the hall, there was animated conversation coming from the study. I stepped in there and found the Duke of Welwyn's four grandsons holding a series of chess matches." Augusta was almost breathless by the time she'd set the scene for him. "Lord Boxted had apparently beaten all of his cousins by the time I arrived and I asked if he would allow me to play."

"From the look on your face, my dear, I assume he was amenable to that request." Father's lips puckered in a smile.

"He was." Augusta sighed with satisfaction just thinking of the moment.

"Did you use the King's Gambit?"

"I did." Her grin spread as wide as possible across her face.

"How many moves did it take for you to win?" Her father's tone said it was a foregone conclusion, which made her fill with pride.

"Eight."

"Excellent, my dear. Well done." The glowing praise meant more to Augusta than the actual victory had. Her father cocked his head. "How did Lord Boxted take the loss?"

"In a most gentleman-like manner, Father. I'm certain it hurt his vanity to be bested by anyone, much less a lady. But he congratulated me warmly." Augusta remembered the steady look in his dark blue eyes. "And is prepared to abide by the wager he lost."

"What did you wager?" Her father's eyes narrowed.

"If he won, he'd have had the first dance at tomorrow evening's ball."

"But as he lost…"

"He will forfeit dancing with me entirely for the evening."

"A rather harsh penalty, I'd say." Father shook his head, but there was approval in his eyes. "I'm certain it will be a thorn in his side all evening."

"I suppose so." Augusta was almost wishing that hadn't been the wager. She'd rather come to like Lord Boxted. A dance with him tomorrow night could have been quite pleasant. "I'm certain we'll partner one another during the Season, though."

"Most likely." Then, as though dismissing the event, he turned to go. "Congratulations on your win, Augusta. I am very proud of my protégée."

"Father." Augusta grasped his arm before he could leave. "Mother told me that Mr. Burton is in America. Do you know when he plans to return?"

Frowning, he turned back to her. "Richard has not made me privy to that information, Augusta. And I warn you again that the man has never expressed an interest in courting you. Likely because he's been betrothed for years to Miss Arundell." The harsh lines on his face smoothed out and he grasped her hands. "I understand his allure, my dear. You are not the first young lady to become infatuated with him. But I beg of you, seek out the acquaintance of the young men here this weekend and all during the Season. They will serve you better in the long run than losing your heart to Mr. Burton."

"But if Mr. Burton did ask for my hand, you wouldn't refuse him, would you?" Augusta gripped her father's hands, willing him to agree to this much at least. If she could just get that assurance from him, she was certain she could persuade Mr. Burton when the time came.

Father sighed deeply but nodded. "I would not deny his suit, Augusta, however I cannot believe you will manage to get him to propose."

Triumphant for the second time that afternoon, Augusta rose on her tiptoes to kiss her father's cheek. "Never mind about that, Father. All I need is your promise to permit the marriage." She smiled merrily as they headed for the door. "Leave the rest of it to me."