Had Miss Cilla been there? Did she know about her sister’s mischief?
He was almost certain he could talk Lady Marple into giving him and Bane invitations to Miss Cilla’s debut ball. The Marples and the Sandersons had long lived in the same neighborhood, and he’d known her and her daughters since he was knee high to a grasshopper. She was a pleasant lady, though somewhat high in the instep.
Talking Bane into going with him might be a different matter, but that he was also determined to do. He needed his brother to watch his back in alien territory.
He continued upstairs to the room they had taken for the night after their carriage back to London broke down. Bane was lounging in a chair by the window, once again studying the diagrams of the engine that was now carrying a fair chunk of their hopes and dreams.
“The carriage wheel is an easy fix, the wheelwright says,” Drake reported. “He’ll have it ready for us to carry on in the morning.”
“That’s good. I’ve ordered dinner for us both. It should be here any minute. The innkeeper must have links with the coast—the brandy is excellent.” Bane pointed toward the bottle.
As Drake poured himself a drink, he said, “I bumped into a Miss Wintergreen on the stairs. She is on her way to London for the season.”
Bane straightened. “Lady Misrule?”
“Her sister. Miss Lucilla.Cilla, her maid called her. I gather her sister is with her. Lady Marple is holding a ball for Miss Cilla. And, I must suppose, the Marple sisters, since they are also making their debut.”
“Lady Misrule is going to London,” Bane said. His choice of words and the flat delivery indicated a level of interest that surprised Drake. Perhaps Bane would be easy to persuade into the ball, after all. Drake wished he could see his brother’s face, but Bane was still wearing his hood, conscious that a servant would soon be here with dinner.
Sure enough, there was a knock on the door which proved to be a maid with a heavy tray.
Drake said nothing further until she’d left, the door was locked, and Bane had removed his hood. They had served themselves and begun eating before he commented, “I told Miss Lucilla that I’d like to dance with her at her debut ball.”
“What is the chance of that?” Bane said, dismissively.
“Quite good, actually. I think if we make a call on Lady Marple we might be able to come away with an invitation each.”
Bane’s hands stilled over his food, then he finished loading his fork and took the mouthful. He looked up from his plate then, saying nothing until he had swallowed. Drake refused to be spooked into filling the silence. He took a mouthful of his own. Bane would speak when he had thought through what he wanted to say.
And he did. “Is she pretty?”
“Miss Cilla? Lovely. Eyes like stars and curves to die for.” Watching Bane carefully, he added, “Nothing like her sister.”
“Miss Wintergreen is lovely,” Bane snapped back, with an edge of indignation on the lady’s behalf. Interesting.
“Indeed,” Drake agreed, peaceably. He had noted her looks in an academic kind of a way before she drugged him, but he had not been attracted to her. “Lovely in a warrior queen kind of a way,” he explained.
She had intimidated him, to tell the truth. “Miss Cilla ispetite, almost a head shorter than me, and I am not a tall man, as you know. What else can I tell you? Her hair is dark, her eyesblue, and her complexion like porcelain. Except for something about the shape of the face, one would not believe them related.”
“Miss Wintergreen is a very good height, brown hair suits her, and her eyes are an intriguing shade of silver.” Bane sounded as if he had given the matter some thought. Very interesting.
“A good height for a giant like you,” Drake retorted without heat. Bane had always been big for his age, and had shot past Colin in height when he was only twelve and Colin was fifteen. It was, in Colin’s opinion, another of Bane’s sins.
“So, you want to go to this ball?” Bane asked.
“Yes.” Even if he wanted to prevaricate, it wouldn’t work with this closest of brothers.
“Then you should go.” Bane paused. Drake tried to think of a convincing argument, but Bane continued, “I’ll come too, if you like. If Lady Marple doesn’t refuse me.”
Extremely interesting! The Amazon might not be to Drake’s taste, but apparently, she suited Bane. Drake wished him every success!
