“Four and twenty. Six minutes older than my brother.”
He lifted a curious brow. “You’re twins.”
He didn’t phrase it as a question but she answered him nonetheless. “Yes. Does that make a difference?”
He wanted to laugh at the mocking lilt to her voice but he hadn’t dared to try in so long he wondered if he still had the ability. Instead, he narrowed his gaze sharply. “It matters not to me if you are siblings, cousins, or related at all. The only thing I want is what is owed to me.”
“Again, I ask, how much does he owe you?” She clenched her jaw mutinously and with the way her green eyes flashed and the waning light hit her black hair, Drake found himself temporarily transfixed by her sensual allure.
He quickly pushed any interest aside as his exploits were dedicated to the ladies of the brothels, women who wanted the same things he did, pleasure and money.
“Six hundred pounds.”
He had to applaud the lady for not falling over in a dead faint at the sound of the small fortune. It was a pittance to Drake these days but to someone in poor condition like the Davies’ twins, it was easily a year’s wages.
“I see.” She seemed to consider her options but he couldn’t imagine she would find any solution that would benefit them both. “Are you staying at the Coach and Horses, Mr. Porter?”
“I had not yet secured lodgings for the night. I didn’t think I would be doing much more than passing through.”
“It’s a shame you didn’t follow through with your original intent,” she noted primly. “If you give me your direction, I will call on you tomorrow to discuss this matter at length. I will need to speak with my brother when he is properly coherent.”
Drake wondered what she might be thinking in that lovely head of hers but he decided to humor her because he didn’t have anything better to do. “Very well. You can find me there in the morning. Nine o’clock?”
“That suits me.”
With that, she turned and entered the cottage, leaving him standing alone.
Drake turned on his heel and headed back for the heart of the village. Miss Davies had given him something to ponder for the evening. Herself.
He regretted that he didn’t catch her name but it wouldn’t be a large hurdle to overcome. He was confident that he could gain the information from the innkeeper. Although Mr. Evans had appeared to be friendly with the Davies’ siblings, he hadn’t done much to stop the gambling match. No doubt the extra income he’d earned from the eager patrons had swayed his conscience to allow it to continue.
Whistling a jaunty tune to himself, Drake decided that he wouldn’t mind getting to know Miss Davies a bit more. When he considered the curves that were lurking just beneath the worn clothes and those green eyes that he pictured darkening with passion, he almost smiled.
* * *
“Get your things.We’re going to London.”
Flavian looked at her with a puzzled expression. The drink was still working on him. “What are you rambling on about?”
Fleur lost what was left of her patience. She walked over to her twin and poked him roughly in the chest with each point she made. “First, you directly go against my plea to cease and desist your excesses.Second, I don’t have the money to recoup your losses, so we are going to have to flee.Third, you might have just made one of the worst enemies we could possibly imagine.”
Thinking of those glittering silver eyes now made Fleur want to hide beneath the bed.
Flavian blinked. “How much did I lose?”
“Six hundredbloodypounds!” she hissed. She didn’t wait for that to sink in before she stomped into her room and started gathering as many of her personal effects as she could. Her brother followed her and as she tossed things onto the bed, she continued to rant about his behavior. “You see, unless you have managed to find a way to marry a rich heiress, there is nothing else to be done. We had a good life here, Flavian. I liked teaching at the orphanage. But, as usual, you have made it impossible for us to enjoy a simple existence. If I hope to gain any funds to keep us afloat then we are going to have to make some drastic changes. If you won’t do it then it appears it is up to me.”
He snorted, as if she was being nonsensical. “That’s impossible. I don’t have six hundred pounds.”
Fleur’s teeth gnashed together. “You didn’t listen to a word I just said, did you? I am going to have to do the one thing I vowedneverto do because of your inability to restrain yourself.”
He crossed his arms and went to lean against the doorjamb. He nearly missed and stumbled to regain his footing before he let his arms go lax at his sides. “I find that particularly insulting?—”
“Good!” she nearly shouted. Stuffing her things into the valise, she slammed it shut and faced off with him once more. “I have reached my limit of tolerance with your bad habits. I love you as my brother but I am tired of taking care of your mistakes. If you want to go with me or not it’s your choice. But I am not going to stay here and try to explain how I might come up with enough money to pay off this man. I have been a fool to imagine I could live a proper life until this point. I can see now it was only a dream.”
She brushed past Flavian and headed for the door. She knew that she could secure a horse from the pub but she would have to be stealthy about it. The way her luck was going at the moment Mr. Porter was likely to show up unexpectedly.
“Fleur, wait.”
