So Christmas wasn’t goingto be so dismal after all, Brat thought as he strode along the corridor festooned with be-ribboned battleaxes.Who would have thought stodgy Uncle Charles would have such a delightful morsel living under his roof, just ripe for the plucking?She hadn’t seemed any too impressed with him, which wasn’t surprising.Governesses tended to look askance at black sheep, and he was the blackest of the black.She would be starchy, disapproving, herding her charges out of his way with stern determination.
That was going to be easier said than done.Hortensia and Penelope were very fond of him, and he found them a great deal more tolerable than most young women he was forced to socialize with.Though there was safety in numbers, she’d be forced to play duenna, and he could work on her while entertaining the twins quite handily.
She had the most delightful mouth.Full-lipped and sensuous, even as she tried to draw it in with prim disapproval.He would taste that mouth.There was no guarantee he would get any more than that—his mother would strongly disapprove and he didn’t want to ruin her Christmas.But Jesus, the woman was tempting.
He needed to remind himself that he didn’t care for virgins.Not that he’d ever had one—he avoided them like the plague.He believed sex should be a battle among equals, mutually satisfying.He didn’t want to tiptoe into bed.
Still, the delightful Miss Lancaster might almost be worth it.With the added benefit of it enraging the stuffiest of his uncles, though Benedick and Brandon were surprisingly censorious given their own wild upbringing.His randy old grandfather would probably applaud him.
“Where are you going, Brat?”His father appeared in that damned sneaky way he had, materializing between the hallways.
“Stretching my legs.”
“Your mother has put her in the south wing along with Charles and family.She’s well out of your reach.”
Damn his father’s all-seeing eyes.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, the picture of innocence.
“She’s a guest in our house and as such under my protection, and you’re to keep away from her.”
He drew himself up to his full height, several inches taller than his father.“Do you think I’m so desperate that I’d lust after a proper young governess?I prefer my bed partners more jaded.”
“She isn’t going to be a bedpartner.”
“Of course she isn’t,” he said, trying to hide his regretful tone.“But there’s no harm in a little flirtation, is there?”
“Your mother wouldn’t like it, and your mother’s happiness is of paramount importance to me.You are to leave Miss Lancaster strictly alone.”
“I’ll do my best,” he said, the vague answer satisfying neither of them.
“There will be plenty of other things to entertain you.We’re going out shooting tomorrow, much to your mother’s displeasure, and she has all sorts of activities planned.You can choose to take part or not.”
“Why shouldn’t I?”Brat said.
“I can’t quite see you ice skating.”
“I’ll have you know I was very adept in my youth.”
“And you’re such a graybeard now,” the Scorpion said.“Just behave yourself, or I’ll send you packing, no matter what your mother might say.”
“Almost I might leap at the chance, but town is a little uncomfortable for me at the moment.”
“That business with the Merrick heir?”his father asked shrewdly.
Brat didn’t pause to wonder how his father knew everything about his life.“It was hardly my fault he blew his brains out after losing his estate to me at the card table.After all, I lost it the very next night.But apparently the new Lord Merrick is most upset with me.”
Lucien shook his head.“You’re almost as bad as I was,” he said.
Brat bowed slightly.“Such an encomium humbles me, Father.But I like to think I’m worse.”
Lucien smiled then, his full devil’s smile.“You’re better off not knowing the extent of my crimes.Suffice it to say you’re just lucky your mother chose to forgive me, else you might not exist.”
“Nor my seven brothers and sisters,” Brat said.“Anyway, it’s not a contest.”
“Isn’t it?I trust you to behave yourself with the innocent Miss Lancaster, or I’ll toss you back to the new Lord Merrick without hesitation.”
He changed the subject.“A bird shoot tomorrow?Killing helpless songbirds should keep me well entertained.Your governess is safe from my vile machinations.”
His father just looked at him, and Brat had the feeling he didn’t believe him.Since he didn’t believe himself, that was to be expected, so he tossed out an olive branch.“I promise not to go wandering around the south wing.I might run into Uncle Charles or Aunt Annis, God help me, and even the governess wouldn’t be worth it.”
