“I thought,” Jasper said, raising one eyebrow, “the object was to seduce the woman, not marry her.”

“I vote that we name Miss Katherine Huxtable as the lady to be seduced, then,” Hal said. “It cannot be done, of course. Only matrimony will tempt females like her. And even that might not tempt her if you were the one offering, Monty, no offense meant, old chap. But you do have a reputation that scares off innocents. For once I will feel quite confident of making something back on my bet. It will be a veritable investment.”

“By seduction,” Sir Isaac said, “we mean full intercourse, do we?”

They all looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head.

“Stealing a kiss or pinching her bottom would hardly be a challenge worthy of Monty,” Hal said, “even if the said kiss and pinch had to be willingly granted. Of course we mean full intercourse. But not ravishment, mind. That goes without saying.”

“Then why say it, Hal?” Jasper raised both eyebrows and realized that they were all very, very drunk and were going to regret this tomorrow-or whenever after tomorrow their minds were restored to sobriety. He also realized that none of them, even when sober, would back off from the wager that was about to be made and would soon be written formally into a betting book at one of their clubs and opened to bets from any other gentleman who cared to risk his money. It was not in any of their natures to back off from a dare once it had been made and accepted.

Least of all in his.

They seemed to possess, he thought in a rare moment of moral insight, a somewhat skewed notion of honor.

But to the devil with conscience and with honor too for that matter. He was too drunk to be burdened with any notion that might further addle his brain.