Page 26 of The Duke of a Thousand Desires

11

Simon debatedwhether he should face the formidable beldame or rocket off like a quail while Ravenna had diffused her aunt’s palpable agitation. From across the lawn the snowy-haired Welshwoman skewered him with a stare that penetrated to his marrow. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, however. She might not have recognized him.

“Don’t stand there like a target,” Rhys whispered loudly, waving to him from behind the shrubbery. “Take cover. She’s got smoke coming from her ears and scales rising on her back. She’s heard about your engagement.”

“I can’t leave Ravenna alone to deal with her.”

“I can,” Rhys said.

Well then, perhaps Simon could too. Over the years he had developed a fondness for Glynnis, and he thought the woman cared for him. But Rhys had a point. Simon was better off staying out of sight until Ravenna explained the situation. Presumably, once Glynnis understood that Simon’s intentions were honorable, she would not strangle him with her shawl.

“This is rude,” he muttered as he joined Rhys behind the hedgerow.

“It’s a matter of survival,” Rhys said. “None of the tactics I learned in the cavalry are effective against the Welsh witches in the family.”

“That isn’t a kindly way to describe your aunts.”

“I use the term in reference to their powers of intuition, not to their temperament.”

“This only makes me look more suspicious.”

“If you can’t hide quietly, don’t give me away.”

Simon ducked his head, grinning involuntarily. Their undignified concealment reminded him of the afternoon he had spent years ago with Ravenna in Glamorgan. He had been fishing from an old stone bridge, waiting for Rhys, in fact, when Ravenna came flying at him from the castle.

Breathless. One slipper missing. Oddly compelling as she pled for his help in a crinkled white muslin gown. At least he thought it was white. The closer she came, the more dusty gray the frock appeared.

“Hide me, Simon! Don’t give me away!”

He lowered his pole. He hadn’t had a nibble in an hour. “Who are you hiding from?”

“Liam, Griff, and their hideous friends. They’ll kill me.” She bent at the waist to catch her breath, her long black hair brushing his boots. “Simon, please. Don’t ask questions. I’ll teach you how to catch a fish with a fork in the shallows.”

He stared down at her. He didn’t particularly care about fishing. She smelled like rose soap and a cough remedy. Pretty as ever, even if she was a trouble-prone mess. He wondered if it was his imagination that she often darted in the opposite direction when he came into view.

“What have they done to you?” he asked, pleased that she had sought his help.

“Nothing yet.” She yanked off her remaining slipper and tossed it over the bridge. “It’s what I did to them.” She pulled herself upright. The appeal in her blue eyes rendered a refusal impossible. “I poured a bowl of Aunt Primrose’s foot soak on Liam’s head from the gallery while he was undressing his new mistress.”

He burst out laughing. “I might chase you down for that myself.” Then again, Liam kissed anyone in a skirt and had no concept of discretion. He had also been influential in Simon’s discovery of the opposite sex.

Simon admired Liam’s ease with the ladies but not his absence of finesse. “There are countless places in the castle to hide,” he said. “Your aunts would order him drawn and quartered if they had wandered into the gallery in the middle of his antics. It’s a pity you had to be offended, but better you than Primrose or Glynnis, I expect.”

“He didn’t offend me. I’ve caught him with girls plenty of times. And my aunts are in Swansea.”

Simon suspected he’d taken the wrong side. She was a young lady, rather a mighty one, pitted against three boisterous brothers, although she was secretly his favorite. “Then why did you douse him?”

“I asked to ride his new mare this morning. He refused and said I couldn’t manage her.”

“The horse that hasn’t been trained? You sound like a proper brat in need of a spanking. I agree with Liam.”

She backed up a step, knocking over his pail with her skirts.

“I shouldn’t have asked. You’re one of them.”

“I’m not sure I should betray your brothers.”

She stared up at him in such innocent disappointment that he was aware of his towering height, the birthmark on his cheek, and the realization that he came off like a rogue. He hoped he hadn’t ruined the chance to prove what he felt for her had gone beyond friendship. She was eighteen, after all, and he was three years older. He knew he’d never find another girl like her even if he was inclined to look.