The Bedding Proposal Part 5

"Only with you, curiously enough." He smiled with roguish amus.e.m.e.nt. "I never did get that neckcloth you promised me. Perhaps I shall have to demand another sort of recompense while we are here together. A dance perhaps?"

"Will there be dancing? In that case, I shall have to make sure my card is completely filled."

He grinned. "Come now, I thought we'd laid down arms last week. I like to consider us a good way along the path to being friends."

"Then you must have a much shorter path in mind than I do."

"I did give the Meissen box to you, if you'll recall. You are the one who decided to refuse it."

"Because it was vastly improper of you to give it to me in the first place."

He gave her another slow, wicked smile. "Have you not yet realized, dear Lady Thalia, how vastly improper I am? Just say the word and we can be vastly improper together."

She stared for a long moment, unable to decide whether to toss another flute of champagne in his face or just laugh.

Humor won the day.

She gave a wry laugh. "What an amazing optimist you are, Lord Leopold."

"I'm a fatalist as well. Only see how providence keeps setting us in each other's path?"

"Providence has nothing to do with it."

"Are you sure?" he insisted. "How else do you account for us finding ourselves here together?"

"Invitations from Lord and Lady Holland perhaps?"

"Touche," he said, awarding the point to her. "Still, this party does give us another opportunity to further our acquaintance."

"And what makes you think I have any wish to know you better? Find another woman on whom you can work your wiles. One who will be dazzled to receive your attentions."

He gazed into her eyes. "Ah, but therein lies the rub." His voice deepened, pitched for her ears alone. "I don't want anyone else. I have my sights set squarely on you."

Her heart beat faster, unwanted tingles racing over her skin, though she was careful to let none of her reactions show on her face.

"As for my attentions," he went on, "I think you are far more receptive to them than you care to admit."

"Then you are delusional as well as overly optimistic."

He leaned closer, his height causing her to tip back her head. "Agree to spend time with me and we will see which one of us is deluded," he said. "Why do we not begin now? Let me take you in to dinner, where we can continue this highly illuminating conversation."

She shook her head. "I'll grant you one thing, Lord Leopold: you do not lack for confidence. What a pity for you that I am promised to accompany someone else to the dining room tonight."

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me who it is and I shall make certain he relinquishes his seat to me."

She shook her head again. "Lady Holland wouldn't allow it. Now, shh, the gentleman approaches."

Thank heavens for her hostess, Thalia thought, Lady Holland having already chosen a gentleman to accompany her in to dinner. In addition to the usual protocol concerning such things, she was attending the party alone and had need of a reliable escort. Having a prearranged partner made everything so much easier, particularly now that she knew Lord Leopold was one of the guests.

"Mr. Hetford," she said, putting far more enthusiasm into her greeting than she would normally have done. "His lordship and I were just talking about you and here you are."

Hetford sent her a mildly surprised look, his rounded features and bushy brown eyebrows putting her in mind of a grouse. "Good things, I hope?"

"Only the best." Thalia gave Hetford another fulsome smile that caused him to blink repeatedly as if he'd looked directly into the sun. She slipped her arm through his. "I see that Lady Holland is leading the procession into dinner. Shall we follow?"

"With pleasure." Hetford smiled widely.

Perhaps rather too widely.

She resisted the urge to sigh, aware she would have to be careful not to encourage him further during the meal. She certainly didn't need Hetford chasing after her too.

Looking up, she met Lord Leopold's eyes.

Rather than glowering, however, he looked amused, as if he was fully aware of what she was doing. Somehow the knowledge disturbed her more than if he'd simply been jealous.

"If you will excuse us, Lord Leopold," she said in a deliberately lighthearted voice.

"Indeed, Lady Thalia. You may be excused." He angled his large body so that his mouth was near her ear. "For now."

A shiver trailed down her spine.

Ignoring the reaction, she turned her back and let Mr. Hetford escort her from the room.

"Still winning her over, I see," Leo heard a voice say, one that sounded remarkably like his own. "You've got her trotting at your heels like an adorable Yorkshire terrier. Is Lady Thalia from Yorkshire, do you think?"

Leo swung around to face his twin. "Don't be such an a.s.s."

"I believe there is only one of those in the room tonight and I'm looking at him."

"If that's the case, then find a handy mirror. You'll be able to see him again."

Lawrence laughed. "When you said you had business at Holland House, I ought to have known she was involved. And here I was hoping you had decided to take an interest in politics after all."

"Everyone is going in to dinner," Leo said, ignoring his brother's last remark. "We should join them."

Lawrence nodded. The two of them started forward.

"Since you aren't making any real progress with Lady Thalia," Lawrence said after a minute, "maybe I ought to try my luck with her. If she doesn't care for one twin, perhaps the other will do."

Leo stopped and grabbed hold of Lawrence's arm. "Don't you dare. She's out of bounds to you, do you understand? I am not sharing."

His brother's eyes widened. "Here now, there's no need for that. I was only joking."

Leo forced himself to loosen his grip. He wasn't sure where the sudden burst of fury had come from, but without warning, the emotion had burned through him as hot and quick as a fireball. A curious sensation, really, since he wasn't used to being jealous, especially not of his own brother.

"Yes, well, I knew that," he said stiffly.

"Good." Lawrence beat a hand over his abused coat sleeve to remove the creases. "I wouldn't want to have to hurt you."

"As if you could." Leo made a disdainful noise. "Remember the black eye I gave you when we were ten?"

"Remember the bruised ribs I gave you?"

His side twinged for a moment with ghostly pain. Yes, he remembered, along with various other rough-and-tumble brawls they'd had over the years-most of them nothing more than good-natured horseplay.

"Thalia wouldn't have you anyway," Leo said.

"Oho, so she's Thalia now, is she? Are you making more progress with her than I thought?"

"Enough. These things take time."

"True, but how long are you prepared to wait? At the rate you're proceeding, it may take an eternity."

Leo cuffed him. "I should never have told you I was going to be away for a few days. I ought to have packed my bags and departed without leaving so much as a note."

"That would have been most unbrotherly of you. I would have worried."

"No, you wouldn't. Not for a week at least," Leo stated.

"Four days. Even if you're off carousing, you always manage to surface long enough to send word that you're still among the living. After four days, I'd feel obligated to start a search."

"I'd do the same for you, though I wouldn't wait more than two. You're far too responsible not to leave a note. Must be the barrister in you."

Lawrence's step slowed and he moved to one side to allow a last trickle of guests to funnel past them into the dining room. "I do have one more question, though."

Leo arched a brow. "Oh, only one?"

Lawrence brushed off the sarcasm. "How many favors did you have to call in to get Lady Thalia invited to this party?"

Leo stilled. "Why do you think I had anything to do with it? Maybe she was already on the guest list."

"Do give me some credit. The Hollands have a cadre of regular guests who visit and she isn't one of them. Which leaves your mark stamped all over the matter. Does she realize?"

"No." Leo's jaw tightened. "And you aren't going to tell her."

"What do I get for staying silent?"

"Continued good health. Promise you'll hold your tongue."

Lawrence shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know. Seems there ought to be something in it for me."

"You're a b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you know that?"

"Guess that makes two of us, then, seeing as we once shared a womb."

"Fine. You can name your price later."

Lawrence grinned, his arms falling to his sides. "I'll hold you to that, you know."

Leo glared at him. "Come on. If we're any later, we'll cause a scene."

"It wouldn't be the first time." Still chuckling, Lawrence followed Leo into the dining room.

Chapter 5.

Over the years, both before and after the divorce, Thalia had endured the watchful gazes of a great many people-most particularly men. But never in her life had she found herself the focus of two individuals who looked exactly alike, down to the last eyelash and dimple. Even their mannerisms were the same!

Yet there they sat opposite her, the Byron twins, one at either end of the Hollands' long, magnificently decorated dining table. Neither man was impolite enough to stare directly at her, of course, but still she felt their unique gazes on her at all too frequent intervals.

Clearly one brother is as impertinent as the other, she decided as she stabbed the tines of her fork into the excellent fillet of beef on her plate. Really, they ought to keep their eyes to themselves.

But why was she letting the Byron twins bother her? It wasn't like her to be troubled by such things-or rather such men.

Inclining her head, she nodded at something Mr. Hetford was saying. She had discovered that maintaining a conversation with him didn't require much work; the man never seemed to stop talking except to draw breath.

The gentleman on her left wasn't much better, but for the opposite reason. Despite being a poet of some repute-she actually owned a copy of his latest book of sonnets-he had curiously little to say for himself. It would seem he preferred to let his verse do all his talking.

As a result, she had plenty of time to watch the Bryon brothers when they weren't busy watching her.

At first, she'd puzzled over which man was which. After all, they truly were identical twins. But the longer she studied them, the more confident she became that she could distinguish the one from the other.

Lord Leopold's brother-she still didn't know his given name-seemed the quieter of the two, taking more time to listen to his dinner companions than did Lord Leopold. He also had an interesting habit of running the tip of one finger along the table edge in between courses. Yet it was his eyes that had given the game away. They weren't quite as green as Lord Leopold's-with rings that were more the golden hue of a stalking cat. And unlike his brother, he didn't look at her with desire, but with curiosity instead.

As for Lord Leo, his green-gold eyes gleamed with a sensual hunger every time they fixed on her. In those moments, she found the force of his gaze almost shocking in its intensity. It was as if he would much rather be feasting on her than on his dinner.

A fine tremor ran just under her skin at the thought, her fingers tightening on her fork again.

"This might seem an impertinent question, Lady Thalia, but is there some . . . well . . . connection between you and Lord Leopold Byron?" Mr. Hetford asked, his question abruptly riveting her attention.

She met his gaze. "No. Why would you imagine that?"

Unless he had noticed the way Lord Leopold and his brother had been watching her. And if he had, then who else had?

"Well, it is just that . . ." Hetford's words trailed off.

"Yes? Just what?"

Why didn't he simply come out and say what he was thinking instead of all this hesitation? It was amazingly annoying.

"I did wonder why Lady Holland asked me to take you in to dinner."