“I know what the two of you are thinking.” Rath’s gaze swept from Hawk’s to Griffin’s. “And you’re right. I have no sister and the wager was my idea.”
“We all agreed to do it,” Griffin stated without hesitation. “None of us is any more or less to blame.”
“He’s right,” Hawk said. “We were all too foolish to think of others at the time.”
“Too young, too arrogant, and too wealthy for our own good,” Griffin finished.
“The way this story has lived far past most scandals is still a mystery to me,” Rath complained.
“It didn’t help that the gossip sheets decided to revisit it just as my sisters came of age.”
“Damnation, how old were we? Eighteen? Possibly nineteen. There’s not a father, brother, or cousin out there who didn’t do stupid things when they were that young.”
“But most of them didn’t get caught in the middle of their mischief,” Hawk reminded him. “We did.”
“It’s not like we laid a hand on any of the young ladies. Or that there was any real harm done. When all was said and done the only thing we did was prove that every young lady, no matter how good or how poor her prospects for a match are, no matter how lovely or unpleasant or how shy or companionable she is, wants a secret admirer.”
“And is willing to meet him—in secret,” Hawk added. “I supposed their fathers and brothers didn’t like knowing that.”
Rath blew out a disgruntled sigh. “No, but we accomplished what we set out to do. Prove that whoever wrote that drivel about how a gentleman woos a lady was wrong.”
Hawk brushed the rain droplets off the sleeve of his coat. “There is no use in our rehashing that. We can’t change the past.” He looked at Griffin. “What do you want us to do now to help?”
Griffin gave them a rueful smile. “I’ve been waiting for one of you to ask that all-important question.”
Leaning forward, Rath rested his elbows on his legs, stared at Griffin with his dark intense eyes, and said, “Tell us what it is you want and consider it done.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” Griffin said. “You can marry Lady Sara, and you, Hawk, can marry Lady Vera.”
“Wait,” Rath said, holding up his hands and leaning back against the seat cushion again. His gaze swept from Hawk’s to Griffin’s. “That’s not what I had in mind.”
Of course not,Griffin thought.
“Me either,” Hawk immediately agreed while shifting his tall frame in the small seat. “You know we can’t do that.”
Griffin deliberately hesitated and searched the eyes of his friends. It wasn’t often he had the opportunity to see these two men squirm like worms in hot ashes. He wanted a few moments to savor their worried reaction before asking, “Why not?”
“It would be like marrying our own sisters,” Rath argued, running his hand through his long black hair again.
“You know they adore both of you.” Griffin continued with his ruse. “And would marry either one of you tomorrow if you’d only ask. It would solve the problem quickly and effortlessly. No one would dare try anything if they were engaged to the two of you. And, I might add, they bring a very handsome dowry with them.”
“Lady Sara and Lady Vera are beautiful,” Hawk said, rolling his shoulders and shifting uncomfortably once again. “They will be without question the most sought after young ladies thetonhas to offer this year.”
“And they are truly sweet, desirable, and all the rest.” Rath paused. “But I won’t go into the rest since they are your sisters.”
“That’s best, Rath,” Hawk chimed in quickly. “All you need to know, Griffin, is that we can’t marry them.”
“So when you said you’d be willing to do anything, you didn’t actually mean ‘anything’?”
“No, no,” Rath defended firmly. “That’s not true. We did and we still do. But you have to agree that we would not be saving them by marriage to us.”
“We would not make good husbands for your sisters,” Hawk added. “And you know it.”
Griffin did know. So he chuckled and said, “You two are such cowards, but you’re right. I don’t want the two of you marrying my sisters. You don’t deserve them.” He laughed again when he saw relief wash down their faces.
“When it comes to thinking about marriage,” Rath said with an amused smirk, “I willingly admit that it scares the hell out of me to think of a wife to protect and one day having a son like me. However, though I dislike attending all the balls of the Season, I will this year so that I can help you keep watch over Lady Sara and Lady Vera and make sure they come to no harm.”
“I think we all feel that way about the parties. There’s so blasted many of them,” Hawk grumbled. “And while I have no desire to attend all of the parties either, I will. I’ll do all I can to facilitate getting to the bottom of whoever is behind this foolish notion of ruining Lady Sara and Lady Vera’s Season.”
