Part 5 (2/2)
”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.”
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