Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you mean St. John’s?”
Oh,botheration.I kept my face neutral and let out an airy laugh. “St. John’s, Trinity, it’s all the same, isn’t it?”
Goodness, this was starting to unravel rather spectacularly.
“You of all people know that they’re not at all the same,” Blake said frowning. “Didn’t you just tell me how unfair—”
Not even thinking of how it would look, I shoved Blake’s arm off Will’s shoulders and grabbed Will’s free arm even as he squawked in surprise. “Come along. It’s time for our dance.”
“Our d-dance?”
I pouted prettily as I turned, after manhandling him to the ballroom floor. “I thought we could, but I understand if you don’t wish to.” I stared at him earnestly, feeling Blake’s smirk boring into my back as if heknewI’d run away. “It will help you settle in, I promise.”
Will nodded, acknowledging the boon I was offering him. “No, of course I want to. Thank you, my lady.”
As the strains of music started, I let out a slow exhale. That was close.Tooclose.
Blake was going to be a problem. I could feel it.
“Your cousin is delightful.”
Distractedly, I glanced up from the book I was trying to finish reading in the next hour before my meeting with St. Clair while simultaneously stuffing my face with food and squinted at Will. Sadly, I hadn’t won the wager for our race, which meant no reprieve from reading. “My who?”
“The beautiful Lady Rosalin,” Will announced, plopping down into the chair beside me in the dining hall. “She was at a ball that I was invited to, one you missed, might I add. Was everything well with your uncle? It was a pity you had to miss the fun.”
The twins immediately perked up. “You met the cousin?” Klaus demanded in a loud whisper. “Do tell, Will! What’s she like, and more importantly, what does she look like?”
“Yes,” Kristof urged, his wide smile much too devious for my liking. “Give us specifics,” he said, moving his hands in an hourglass shape. “Dimensions. How are her—?”
I cleared my throat and narrowed my eyes. “Oy! She’s a lady, and I’ll thank you to keep your unflattering misogyny to yourselves.”
“We don’t hate them,” Klaus cried in affront. “Weloveall ladies.”
Kristof nodded sagely. “We are devoted philogynists.”
“Admiration and lust are two different things,” Harold pointed out, cramming his mouth with a piece of roasted chicken. “You don’t even know her, so how could you admire her?”
Klaus rolled his eyes. “That’swhywe are asking Will his opinion.”
Will flushed when the curious focus of four pairs of eyes, not including mine, was back upon him. “She was fine,” he muttered. A chorus of boos from the twins had him shaking his head. “Long black hair, dark eyes. Nicely dressed. Pretty. Looks a bit like him”—he cleared his throat, with a jerk of his chin in my direction—“but without the excellent brain.”
I almost chortled at that but kept my head buried in my book. At least my tactics were working to keep my identities separate.
“The best kind!” Klaus remarked and pretended to swoon. “Beautiful but brainless.”
I scowled at him. “Did you just call my cousin stupid?”
“Ididn’t. Will did.”
Will chose that moment to choke on his mouthful of split pea soup, the contents flying everywhere. Staring at the splotch of green sludge on the corner of my sleeve, I made a gagging noise and reached for my napkin. But when I glanced up, both the twins, who were sitting directly opposite Will, had pea spatter all over their faces, looking equally sickened and speechless.
I couldn’t help it—I started laughing. And then everyone else burst into laughter, even poor Will, who seemed mortified and could not stop stammering his apologies between snickers. The amusement died down as a long shadow cut across the table.
“Lord Ansel, you’re late.”
Still swiping at my stained cuffs, I blinked up at St. Clair owlishly and craned my neck to peer around him at the clock along the far wall at the end of the dining room. He was right.It was past two o’clock! How had that last hour disappeared so quickly?
His lips tightened at my lack of movement. “Library. Now.”
