Sherbrooke Twins

It occurred to Alexandra that such talk of mating horses wasn’t all that appropriate in the drawing room. She smiled at A

Hollis said, “After A

A

Jason said, “Speaking of travels, Mother, did you and Father ever visit The Coombes in western Ireland? That’s where Judith hails from.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard of The Coombes,” Douglas said.

“I’m going to write her cousin, see if I can’t pay him a visit. Oh, Father, would you like to come riding with me later? I think exercise would calm Bad Boy down.”

Alexandra said, “If you really wish to, Douglas, then I will get my gun and ride beside you.”

Douglas patted his wife’s hand and said to A

Hollis cleared his throat. “I have told A

“Er, thank you, Mrs. Trelawny,” Douglas said quickly, seeing that Jason was regarding the lady with something close to awe.

“Yes,” Alexandra added, “we are grateful for your perceptions.”

Ten minutes later, Alexandra was left alone with A

“Oh no, that doesn’t really worry me,” A

Alexandra said, “Blessed hell-er, excuse me-but how very amazing this all is.”

“Well, perhaps I shouldn’t be pouring out all this vinegar, but the fact is, if Miss Plimpton had lived, she would have made the poor man miserable.”

When Hollis came back into the drawing room a few minutes later, the ladies merely exchanged a glance and that was that. A perfectly pleasant conversation followed among the three of them, about nothing and everything. A

Hollis hurried around the chair to assist her, although she didn’t need any assistance at all. By visual reckoning, Alexandra thought she was at least fifteen years Hollis’s junior. Was his name really William? But, the odd thing was, they looked very natural standing side by side, and when Hollis took her arm, he gave her such a sweet smile that Alexandra thought it matched hers, and hers was potent indeed.

When Hollis reappeared that evening at the di

“What sort of gratitude could Mrs. Trelawny show Hollis?” Jason wanted to know as he watched Hollis glide in his stately ma

Jason was hard-pressed not to hoot with laughter, but one look at his mother’s face stilled him. He cleared his throat. “Judith and Lady Arbuckle have finally agreed to come for a visit. I believe they will arrive tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” Jason’s mother said. “I have this feeling that we should perhaps get to know Judith McCrae a bit better. What do you think, Jason?”

“Oh yes,” Jason said. “Oh yes,” and he left the dining room, whistling.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

JASON LOOKED LIKE a proud parent as the girl he pla

How did she know that?

“It’s true,” Douglas said slowly, his eyes on his son, who looked so besotted he was in danger of drooling. “He found an injured marten when he was five years old. The marten allowed Jason to wrap him in his coat and bring him home. He kept it in his bedchamber for two weeks. There have been a long line of creatures for him to tend since then.”

Judith saw that Jason wanted to know how she knew this and said simply, “Lord Pomeroy told me. He said he should know, since you burped up milk on his shirt when you were eight months old.

“I also heard it said that you even train cats to run in the cat races.”

“Who told you that?”

She lowered her eyes just a moment, a maneuver Douglas recognized and admired. “Why, I believe it was Corrie’s vampire who told me that. Devlin said he’d always wanted a racing cat, but there was some sort of approval that had to be granted. Is this true?”

Her dark eyes twinkled outrageously as she added demurely, “Devlin also told me that the cat races were held during the day, so what was he to do?”

“He should sod off,” Jason said under his breath.

Douglas said, holding his grin back, “The Harker brothers, old now, but still in charge of all racing rules, demand to know the bona fides of anyone who wishes to race cats. Jason here, even though cats don’t treat him to infinite trust as do other animals, still race well for him.” Douglas arched a black brow. “You spoke of Corrie’s vampire. Did you know that Devlin’s grandfather, the old duke, never left his house for the last five years of his life? Kept all the windows covered, not a hint of sun did he allow in. So Devlin is evidently following in his path, is he?”

“He does wear a hat when the sun is strong,” Jason said. “I think James wants to drive a stake through his heart, a rather black heart, according to James. With his bare hands, I believe I heard him say.”

“Oh dear,” Alexandra said under her breath and stared helplessly at the open doorway where the dowager countess of Northcliffe stood, those bright old eyes of hers glued on Judith.

No hope for it, she thought, and rose, sorry that she hadn’t had the time to warn Judith. “Mother-in-law, this is Miss Judith McCrae, here with Lady Francis Arbuckle, her aunt. Judith, this is Lady Lydia.”