Sherbrooke Twins

“This was what you wished to speak to me about? Whatever is wrong with Devlin? Surely he isn’t one of these fortune hunters who would hunt me down like a rat? Why, he’s the heir to a dukedom.”

“Well, yes, but it’s Devlin himself that’s the problem. He is not the sort of man you want all that close to you, Corrie.”

“Well, he hasn’t gotten all that close. Yet.”

“Very well. You force me to be blunt here. He keeps mistresses-not one, but several, and he likes to compare them, and a

“Goodness.” She sat forward, eyes alight with curiosity. “That is quite the oddest thing I’ve ever heard. What do you mean by comparisons? Like this girl has blue eyes and this one has brown eyes?”

“Never you mind that.”

“Perhaps this girl wears her gown cut too low and that one-”

“Be quiet.”

“Do you know of any ladies who keep several misters?”

He gritted his teeth until his jaws ached. “There isn’t a male version of mistress.” He shook his head. “Damnation, ladies can have lovers, and yes, I understand that some ladies have a string of lovers. But lovers are a different matter from mistresses. Devlin has kept as many as three mistresses at a single time. Three!”

Corrie rose, pulled a rose out of a vase, sniffed it, and said, “It sounds to me like you’re jealous.”

“No, I’m appalled.”

Her brow went up as she stared at him.

“Well, maybe a bit jealous, but that’s neither here nor there. Three mistresses is more than a surfeit, Corrie, it’s wasteful, and it would be immoral if he were married.”

“Do you think he’ll continue to keep mistresses when he’s wed?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”

“Well, good for him, I say. The more mistresses the better. Next time I see him, I will inquire about this. There must be rules and-”

He spoke over her. “You’ve distracted me again. Dammit, forget his bloody mistresses. Why did you disobey me and see him?”

Another su

He looked to the heavens, only to have her bring him crashing back to earth when she said, “I can now swear that Devlin isn’t a vampire. The sun was bright overhead and he didn’t get burned up. I think rather than seduce me, Devlin wants me to amuse him. He certainly laughed a lot after he got all the details of your rescue out of me. He allowed that if he were felled he would like me to minister to him as well as I did to you, even though I was going to have to pay for it. He wouldn’t tell me what he meant by that.” Now Corrie struck a pose. “Ah, James, I was thinking a bit about taking care of Devlin and the thought intruded-do you think Devlin is as pale as a specter all over or just his face?”

“Yes, he is.” That said, James leaned back against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest. He crossed his feet at the ankles and finally, he closed his eyes. It felt wonderful, but he knew he couldn’t go to sleep yet. He had too much to do.

“I think I can imagine Devlin lying there naked, on his back, like you. He would be so pale that if the sheet was well washed, he might disappear into it. I think a darker complexion is more interesting, say a more golden skin color, like yours.”

“Jason and I have our father’s swarthy skin,” he said, and wondered when his mouth had detached itself from his brain.

“Yes, that’s it, you’re swarthy, only that word doesn’t sound as golden as you are, it sounds more like a sunburnt pirate. Now, to be honest here, James, I believe there is no more beautiful a man than you. On the other hand, to be objective about this, you are the only naked man I have ever seen.”

How had she gotten off on this? He nearly moaned when he realized that he was hard as the leg on his father’s desk. He had to get back on track here. He opened his mouth, but she was off again. “Naturally,” Corrie said, “I didn’t tell him I was an heiress.”

“No, you told him everything else.” He slammed his fist onto the desktop, making the inkwell jump. What came out of his mouth then was unpla

“Of course. I thought about it carefully and then decided that if everyone in London knows exactly what happened to you, everyone will be looking out for not only your father, but for you and Jason as well. You know, Devlin leaves his hat on to keep the sun off his face. And he did today as well. There, I admitted it. Such a lovely pallor. At least his face.” The witch shuddered.

There was no hope for it. He said, all indifferent, “I don’t suppose Devlin told you that your adventure with me was the cause of some, er, consternation?”

“Consternation? Actually, when I mentioned to him that Mrs. Cutter and Lady Brisbett had cut me, he just laughed and patted my hand and told me that it didn’t mean anything and not to concern myself about it. He said, if it was all right with me, he would like to visit with my Uncle Simon.”

No, James thought, Devlin wasn’t going to offer for her, his parents would disown him if he offered for a girl whose reputation was in shreds. Besides he’d only just met her. And he didn’t know she was an heiress, she was right about that. She was just a girl who amused him. What was Devlin up to? Why had he told her she would have to pay?

Better to get things straight right this instant. “We had an adventure, Corrie, didn’t we?”

“It was a splendid adventure if you hadn’t gotten so ill that it fair to scared the spit out of me.”

He gri

“Whatever do you mean by that?”

The estate room door suddenly opened and the earl walked in, saying to James, “This smuggler who briefly captured you and Corrie, I’ve been wondering who he could be, wondering if I’ve played cards with him. I’ve a hankering to go look at that cave, see if there’s any clue as to what he’s smuggling. You said he sounded familiar?”

“Yes, sir, sort of.”

“Whatever is the matt-?” Douglas turned slowly to see Corrie sitting there on the lovely brocade sofa that Alexandra had known he liked and given to him. “Corrie,” he said. “You’re looking quite lovely, my dear.”

“Thank you, sir. James was telling me about Uncle Simon muttering about me being hunted down like a rat.”

“It would be best if you simply forgot about that, Corrie. I must see to something now. You will both excuse me.” He turned in the doorway. “James, ten more minutes, then I want you back in your bed.”

After Douglas had left, closing the door quietly behind him, Corrie rose, smoothed down her skirts. “Well, James, I was thinking about our smuggler too. I agree with your father-when this is all over, let’s go take a look at that cave. I think you should take a nice rest now. You’re looking a bit on the vampire side. Not quite as pale as Devlin, but still too pale for your swarthy complexion to look anything but weedy.”

He rose slowly, his palms on the desktop. “If you attempt to leave, I will put you over my lap and smack you good.”

Her chin went up. “I don’t think you’re strong enough to hold me down, much less raise and lower your hand with any force at all. I think it likely that if you take one step toward me, you will fall on your face.”

“I could beat you in my sleep.”