Loving Lord Ash by Sally MacKenzie

Author:Sally MacKenzie [MacKenzie, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2014-01-12T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Your family will always discover your secrets.

—Venus’s Love Notes

“. . . but do you think—” Ned broke off as soon as the study door opened.

Hmm. Ash noted his brothers looked quite guilty. What were Ned and Jack doing here? They were newly married men; he’d expect them to be spending time with their wives instead of each other and Shakespeare and Fluff. The dogs got up to greet him; his brothers did not.

“Should my ears be burning?” he asked as he patted the animals. They were both slightly damp; Shakespeare must have joined Fluff in his bath.

Shakespeare went back to stretch out by Jack’s chair, but Fluff stayed with him.

“Yes.” Jack held up the brandy bottle. “Want a drink?”

Ash was tempted to claim some just-remembered engagement that required his immediate presence elsewhere, but his brothers would see through that ruse in an instant. He’d just got to London; he could have no appointments. And with Jess upstairs drying her long, lovely black hair in front of the fire, he couldn’t retreat to his room. It was too late to bolt for White’s, not that he wished to spend time at that gentlemen’s club with strangers who would only gossip about him. And if he wandered the house, he might encounter Mama, which would be much, much worse than facing his brothers. Mama was extremely skilled at prying uncomfortable information out of her sons.

A dose of brandy might be just the thing to steady his nerves. “Yes, thanks.” He took the glass from Jack and sat on the sofa. Fluff put his head on his lap.

“Well, at least you’re getting along with Jess’s dog,” Jack said.

Ash took a healthy swallow of brandy. He did not wish to discuss Jess. As the proverb said, attack was the best form of defense. “Yes, but you are the one with real news, Jack. Tell me how you find yourself with a dog and, more importantly, a wife. I don’t believe either one had yet entered your life when last I saw you.”

“That’s right,” Ned said, frowning. “Can you believe Jack first met Frances at the Crowing Cock the night he left the castle? She was traveling to London disguised as a boy.” He scowled at Jack. “It was an incredibly dangerous plan.”

Jack scowled back at Ned. “Yes, but she had what she thought was a good reason for her masquerade, Lord Worry, and nothing dreadful happened to her.”

“Except she was compelled to wed you.”

“She did not have to marry me.”

Ned sniffed. “It was the only way to repair her reputation.”

“It was not.” Jack had lost his customary good humor. “Mama and Lady Rothmarsh had addressed the issue, as well you know.”

Ned shrugged. “They’d done their best, but I still think if you hadn’t married her, Frances would have had an uncomfortable time of it.”

Shakespeare and Fluff started to whine, clearly unsettled by the harsh voices. Jack looked like he was on the verge of throwing his brandy into Ned’s face. From there the “discussion” would undoubtedly degenerate into fisticuffs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.