The Inheritance Games, #4
The Brothers Hawthorne
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 43: JAMESON
Overview
Jameson tries to turn Devil’s Mercy’s betting system into a way to draw the Proprietor’s attention and secure a Game invitation. By wagering that Rohan will not become the Proprietor’s heir, and then implying that the Proprietor is dying, Jameson transforms private suspicions into public pressure.
Rohan’s reaction confirms that his status is not secure, giving Jameson a possible opening. When the bartender shuts down the most dangerous wager, Jameson pivots toward short-term bets, refusing to let the night end without making a stronger move.
Summary
After surviving the ring, Jameson goes to the bar at Devil’s Mercy with Avery close behind him. The bartender offers soup or spirits, but Jameson, unable to eat and focused on earning a Game invitation, asks for the betting book.
The bartender produces an old leather-bound tome containing long-term wagers dating back to 1823. Jameson learns that this room is for outcomes at least three months away and that members may wager on anything with a willing taker, provided the bet can be enforced.
As club members watch, one man publicly bets that Jameson will get himself killed before age thirty. Jameson ignores the provocation and studies the room, suspecting the Proprietor may be watching through the bartender’s ring or a mirror behind the liquor.
Rohan enters and taunts Jameson by saying he would wager that Avery breaks up with Jameson within a year. Avery bristles, but Jameson stays focused and places a bolder bet: fifty thousand pounds that the Proprietor will choose someone other than Rohan, his Factotum, as heir.
Rohan’s reaction tells Jameson that he has guessed correctly: Rohan has not yet been named heir and is still being tested. Jameson escalates by offering another fifty thousand pounds that the Proprietor is already dying and has two years left. The bartender says no one will take that bet and asks if Jameson is finished, but Jameson, feeling time running out, asks about the shorter-term betting book next door.
Who Appears
- Jameson HawthorneSeeks a Game invitation by using Devil’s Mercy wagers to provoke the Proprietor and Rohan.
- Avery GrambsSupports Jameson while deliberately sitting out the bet he needs to make himself.
- RohanFactotum who taunts Jameson and reveals, through reaction, that his heir status is uncertain.
- The bartenderDevil’s Mercy attendant who controls the betting book and refuses Jameson’s dying-Proprietor wager.
- The ProprietorUnseen power at Devil’s Mercy whom Jameson tries to impress, threaten, or expose.