“Exactly like my brother.” He took another long sip.
Danielle turned to face him, propping her elbow against the back of the settee. Her other hand swirled the wine in her glass. “Why are you and your brother so different?”
Cade laid his head back against the settee and squeezed his eyes shut. “Ah, that is the question worth a hundred-thousand pounds.”
“So much?”
He opened his eyes again and turned his head to face her. “Yes. That and more. No one knows, my dear girl, but everyone asks.”
“Doyouknow?” she asked, studying him with an intensity that made him uneasy.
He faced forward again, staring into the shadows beyond the candlelight. “Yes.”
“What’s the answer then?” came her soft voice.
He forced himself to relax his grip on his wineglass. It wouldn’t do to crack the thing in his fist. More blood. A mess to clean up. And he’d already got this far with the beautiful maid. Only why was she asking him about his brother of all bloody topics? “It’s… complicated.”
She took another sip. “Complicated things make the best stories.”
Cade scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Rafe and I… We didn’t grow up like this.” He flourished his hand in the air to indicate the room.
“A house like this, you mean?”
“A house like this. Mayfair. Servants. He didn’t inherit the title, you know.”
“Yes. Mary said something about it.”
“Rafe joined the Navy when he was young and worked his way up. He worked hard, honestly, and fought for every single thing he has. He’s earned every bit of it, viscountcy and all.”
“And you?” She nodded toward him.
“Me?” He smiled a humorless half-smile. “I’m just the good-for-nothing brother, leeching off my twin’s good fortune.”
Cade had the distinct impression she could see through him, that she could tell he wasn’t being honest with her. “Est-ce vrai?” she said so softly he almost didn’t hear her.
“Yes, it’s so.” He stood, cleared his throat, and took her glass. Then he moved back to the sideboard to refill both glasses.
“Is that where you were tonight? Out leeching off your brother’s good fortune?”
He hesitated, then turned to her with a grin. “Of course.”
“And what does your brother think of you?”
“Our relationship is strained to say the least.” Why had he just told her that? Why was he telling her any of this? He never discussed his business with anyone, not even his two closest friends. He made a point of it. Granted, no one ever asked but he never told, either.
“I always wished I had a sister,” Danielle said. “It sounds foolish, but I used to pretend I was twins when I was a girl.”
He wrinkled his brow. Pretended to be twins? She’d surprised him. Again. He found himself looking forward to the next words out of her mouth. That never happened with women he attempted to woo. “How did you do that?” he asked.
“In the looking glass,” she replied. “It was ridiculous but also quite amusing. I cannot tell you how often I wished it wasn’t just a game. I wanted a sister to play with, to talk to.” She sighed. “And to have a sister who is the exact same age, who looks like me? Why, I can only imagine how close we’d be. I can’t imagine how different my life might have been if I’d had someone else to rely on. Or someone else to worry about.”
Cade snorted. “You have no idea how wrong you are.”
“Wrong?” She shook her head.
Cade moved back over the settee to join her again. He handed her the refilled glass. “Careful what you wish for.”
She took another sip. “Why do you say that?”
