“I’m ashamed of you. Your brother—” She stopped, her foot tapping violently on the carpet. “A prank of this magnitude is unacceptable.” What was she really angry about? The duke believing her a wanton in having children out of wedlock with no thought to her own children’s future? Not that she’d ever had a chance with Ryleigh. She had no desire to marry, besides. “I want your word you will never pull anything so dangerous again.”
“I-I promise.” Two fat tears sat on Oliver’s lush lashes.
She grabbed them both in a long hug. “All right,” she said on a sigh. “But I shall hold you to that, young man.”
~~~
“Gabriella, come away from the door,” Sebastian said. He couldn’t quite get over the fact of Rebecca lying to him about the children being her own. It was the most idiotic, irresponsible—perhaps not so irresponsible. Nothing she did made any sense to him.
“What happened to my sons?” Thomas demanded. “And what does Lady Rebecca have to do with this?”
“That is the question,” he responded thoughtfully, staring at the closed door. “I ran across them on the road outside London. Her carriage suffered a broken wheel and she introduced the boys as her sons.”
“Her sons!”
“Oh, this is delicious,” Gabriella murmured.
Sebastian pulled his gaze from the door and addressed his cousin. “By the way, you have a dog now. His name is… Duke.”
Gabriella giggled and Sebastian lifted one brow in her direction. She grinned back.
The door opened to the drawing room and the twins filed out followed by their “Mother.”
Rebecca strode over. “Thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Lynnwood. I don’t anticipate any more trouble where your children are concerned,” she said with a stern look at the boys.
They nodded quietly.
“So, your names are not Percy and Peter.” Sebastian’s mouth quirked. He couldn’t believe the three of them had so thoroughly hoodwinked him. But, of course, with Lady Rebecca at the helm, he shouldn’t be surprised, and he hadn’t seen the boys since their christening as infants. He hadn’t even remembered their names. Still, it irritated him that he’d been had by an Amazon and two small children.
The one he believed Peter shook his head.
“Which one are you?” Sebastian asked him.
“Oliver, Your Grace. My brother’s Owen.”
“You should let Owen answer for himself,” Rebecca said. “He needs to get used to speaking again.”
“What is this about his not speaking?” Thomas said, frowning.
“I shall let Owen enlighten you,” she said.
“Yes, of course. Thank you for seeing them home. Ryleigh said he found you outside London with them.”
“That’s true. My carriage had broken down when he happened upon us.”
Her words reminded Sebastian that he needed more information about what or whom they’d been running from.
“I should like to invite all of you for supper. For my thanks,” Thomas said.
Gabriella clapped her hands. “What a splendid idea.” There was a decided slyness about his younger sister that set Sebastian’s teeth on edge.
He cleared his throat. “I think it’s time you got those boys home, Thomas, and do try to keep a closer eye on them.”
“Of course.” He turned back to Rebecca. “Again, my thanks.” Thomas bowed over her hand.
Sebastian opened the door himself. “Don’t forget your dog,” he told the boys.
Thomas frowned. “Come along, boys. You shall have to muck out the stables for the next two weeks…”
