“Thou mayest make good on the wager.”
“That’s wrong. That can’t be right! Who decided that order?”
“As a duchess to a baroness, so a flush to a straight. The former outranks the latter by tradition and convention–if not, in this case, God’s will.”
“Screw tradition and convention!”
“It is also recorded on yon parchment: the rules to which we agreed. A merest glance would confirm it.”
“It doesn’t make sense. If I’d known, I would have–”
“I will wait as patiently as is necessary. Make good, milady.”
Sighing, but secretly smiling, Vivian reaches up to undo her bra.