“Never a truer word!” Lord Sinclair, the Duchess of Raven’s brother, gritted out.
“Pull, Plunge. For once in your life, be a man!” the Duchess of Yardly shrieked.
“That’s harsh!” Theo whimpered.
“But true!” several of the spectators called.
Theo’s thighs bunched in their trousers, and his wide shoulders were back. In shirtsleeves, he was quite something to look at.How is it the women of society have not noticed?
“Do you know I’ve decided Plunge could be considered handsome when he is not speaking?” a woman to Iris’s right said as if she’d heard her thoughts.
“I can’t believe you said that,” another replied.
The battled raged on, and sweat glistened on foreheads as no one gave an inch. They were clearly well matched.
“You do realize that we could still be standing here at midnight, don’t you?” Beth said. “They are a stubborn lot, and no way will any of them concede. In fact, were one of them to drop dead, the other would simply roll them aside with a booted foot and carry on.”
“All true,” Dimity said. “Perhaps we should have brought refreshment?”
“The tent is not far,” Beth added. She then sighed. “My husband is rather wonderful.”
Iris studied Nathanial. His jaw was gritted, and he had a matching fierce expression on his face.
“My Deville is the handsomest,” Freya said.
“I will get the refreshments and see if Henry is all right while you debate,” Iris said. “Come, Oscar, you can accompany me.”
No one answered, so she walked away. They kept their eyes on the battle.
“Place your bets here!” These words had come from the Duchess of Yardly, who was clearly in need of more entertainment or short on money, which Iris doubted.
She looked to where the children played, her eyes finding Henry, who was now running with Ella in a large circle with several other children.
“Well, Oscar, our boy is happy, as are you.” She stroked his soft head. “Welcome to our little family.” He made a rumbling noise, which she took as thank you.
Returning to the refreshments tent, Iris looked to the tug-of-war and saw the Devilles seemed to move backward slowly, and then she was being jerked sideways suddenly.
“Struggle and I’ll make your son pay.”
The angry words came from her former brother-in-law, who was walking and dragging her with him.
“Release me or I will scream.”
He turned, gripping her arms and pulling her in close. She knew no one had seen him because they were all watching the tug-of-war.
“Let me go or you will be sorry,” Iris gritted out.
“We have things to discuss.” The words were growled into her face. “My brother wanted me to oversee your son’s tuition and teach him how to be a lord. I must have access to his things to do that.”
Iris laughed in his face. “You? What could you possibly teach my son? How to be a man with no moral compass or scruples? How to mistreat a woman?”
His scowl grew more menacing. “You need a firm hand too, and I’m going to see you get it.”
“You will never touch me again, and if your brother wished for you to teach my son anything, he would have given you guardianship of Henry. He didn’t. In fact, he left no instructions, only that my son inherited everything upon his death.”
“He died before he made the stipulation that—”
“Let me go!” Iris tried to pull free, but his hands bit into her shoulders.
