The Double Wager

Eversleigh squeezed her hand, but continued to look politely at his brother-in-law.

"I had given Miss Manford notice before she came here, Eversleigh," Sir Peter stated, aggrieved. "Now perhaps you will see for yourself that she is totally incapable of controlling the twins and quite incompetent as a governess."

"Perhaps I shall," Eversleigh agreed soothingly.

"It is time Philip was sent away to Eton," Sir Peter continued. "I shall begin to make arrangements immediately. Penelope must have a stricter governess, one who will train her to be a lady. You have only to look at Henrietta to see how incapable Miss Manford is of accomplishing that goal. I shall look to it, Eversleigh."

Eversleigh's fingers had tightened imperceptibly around Henry's. His gaze, under the half-closed lids, sharpened. "Pe

Within seconds, only three people were left in the room. "Have a seat, Tallant," Eversleigh directed, leading his wife to a sofa and seating himself beside her. He still held her hand on his arm. "Now," he said, fixing his brother-in-law with a sleepy stare, "I believe you owe her Grace an apology, Tallant?"

"What?"

"Forgive me," the duke continued, "perhaps in all the excitement of the last few minutes my hearing became defective. I thought I heard you declare publicly that my wife is not a lady."

Sir Peter's jaw dropped. "Those were not quite my words," he said, "but we all know that Henrietta is not exactly everyone's ideal image of a lady of quality."

"She is mine," Eversleigh replied softly.

Henry stole a startled look at his hard profile. She could hardly believe her ears. All her life she had been labeled a tomboy. Her family had always lamented, if in a loving way, her lack of feminine charms. Could the very correct and sophisticated Duke of Eversleigh be seriously claiming that she was his ideal lady? But of course he was not. He was merely a proud man protecting the honor of his property. She sighed.

"I was not offended, Marius," she said, pulling her hand away from his at last. In fact, I would hate to be the typical lady. I should have to plan the pianoforte and sing and embroider and simper. Ugh!"

"Tallant?" Eversleigh asked, momentarily ignoring his wife.

"Well, of course I am sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings," Sir Peter blustered. "I was merely using a brother's privilege of speaking his mind."

"Ah," said Eversleigh, "was that what you were doing too when you pla

"I am their legal guardian," Sir Peter said stiffly. "I have a responsibility to them."

"Ah, but it is a responsibility that you largely abdicated to me when we made an agreement prior to my marriage," the duke replied.

"It seems that you did not realize what a burden that task might be," Sir Peter commented.

"Tallant," Eversleigh said, raising his quizzing glass and viewing the other lazily through it, "as I see it, there is room for only one master in my home. It may be unreasonable of me, my dear fellow, but I have always insisted that that master be me. Now, I really ca

"Am I then to stand idly by while my brother and sister frolic around London without restraint and make perfect asses of themselves?" Sir Peter asked, shaking with anger.

"Ah, but you see, my dear fellow," Eversleigh replied, "they were not without chaperonage, had you not snatched them away. And are children to be labeled asses merely because they behave as children?"

Sir Peter rose to his feet. "I felt rather sorry for you, Eversleigh," he said, "when you paid your addresses to Henrietta without any close acquaintance with her. I thought you would soon discover your mistake. Now I believe you have gained only what you deserve."

"Quite so," Eversleigh agreed amiably. "I believe you might be right, dear fellow."

The "dear fellow" stormed out of the room and down the stairs, ignoring the growls of Brutus, who was still stretched across the doorway of the room.

Henry jumped to her feet and clapped her hands. "Marius, I could hug you!" she cried, her eyes glowing at him. "I have wanted all my life to hear someone give Peter a set-down like that."

"Could you, my love?" Eversleigh asked, also standing, so that he was very close to her.

Henry stood spellbound, a strange churning feeling low in her stomach- Her eyes locked with her husband's. "Marius," she said at last, almost in a whisper, "are we a terrible burden to you? We always get into such scrapes, you know, and I think Peter was right-I am not really a lady. "

"Ah, but you said yourself that you do not really wish to be," he said.

"But I do not want to be an embarrassment to you, Marius," she said wistfully.

"You would have to try very hard to be that, my dear," he said, the familiar gleam in his eyes. He reached up a hand and stroked her cheek lightly with one knuckle.

"Why do you put up with us, Marius?" she asked.

"For the reason I mentioned before our marriage," he replied. "You amuse me." He continued to stroke her cheek.

Henry was confused. She wanted to move away from him; she did not like being within his aura of power and masculinity. And yet she found herself involuntarily leaning her cheek into his knuckle. She wanted him to have no binding claim on her, and yet she felt a sinking of her spirits at his last words. What did she want? She did not know. She only felt overwhelmingly grateful that he had taken her part against her brother and won a victory for her. Yet, even this feeling a

Henry's confusion was suddenly multiplied tenfold when Eversleigh quite unexpectedly drew her into his arms and covered her lips with his own. She was so surprised, in fact, that it was several seconds before she realized that she had put her arms up around his neck and arched her hips and thighs against his. She felt the heat rise in him and the kiss deepen before she began to push furiously at his chest.

"Don't do that!" she demanded breathlessly as they drew apart. "You know I dislike it."-

He stood, seemingly relaxed, a laugh in his eyes. "Poor little Henry!" he said. "When will you realize that you are a woman?"

"Oh!" she said crossly. "First my brother says I am not a lady, and now you say I am not a woman."

"And I say that Phil will be reaching the far stages of boredom downstairs in the library with nothing to do but look at books," said Eversleigh. "Come, my love, do not be cross with me. I promise to try to curb my animal instincts. "

And he strolled from the room, leaving Henry's mind and body in turmoil.

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In the library, Eversleigh was soon offering an indignant Philip a choice: either to spend three days indoors doing extra tasks in the schoolroom, or to receive a thrashing there and then.

"But I did not do anything so very wrong," the boy protested. "Pen and I knew how to get back to Ma

"It is not for any of those things that I propose to punish you," the duke explained, strolling over to his desk and perching on the end of it. "It is your behavior to Miss Manford that I take exception to."