"Absolutely not."

"But you heard it mentioned tonight that he's going to look for something permanent that they can all use when they're in London, so it wouldn't be for very long."

"No."

"Then I'll just have to move to the Albany to keep him company."

"Now, George--was

"I mean it, James."

He gave in abruptly. "Very well, invite him. But he'll refuse, you know. He won't want to spend any more time with me than I do with

him."

She grinned and snuggled closer. "While I'm getting concessions, why don't you help me figure out the perfect woman to tame my hot-tempered brother? He doesn't want to marry, but the right woman could--was

"Forget it, George, and I do mean forget it. I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy."

"I honestly think marriage could change him for the better, James."

"Not bloody likely."

"But--was

"Could you contemplate living with him for the rest of your life?"

"Well, no, not the way he is now, but--James, he's drowning in unhappiness."

"So let him drown. It couldn't happen to a more deserving fellow."

"I mean to help him," she said stubbornly.

"If you can be that cruel to some poor, unsuspecting woman, suit yourself."

"That's not funny, James Malory."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Chapter 22

"What the deuce are you doing here?" Anthony asked in surprise as he came up behind James on the fringes of the ballroom floor.

"I might ask you the same thing."

Anthony made a disgusted face. "My little love has a fondness for dancing, wouldn't you know. Don't know how she does it, but she drags me to one of these things every so often. What's your excuse?"

"Amy," James said in answer, nodding toward the eggshell-blue ball gown that just twirled past them.

"The little minx decided at the last minute that she'd like to attend this ball, and there was no talking her out of it."

"And with Eddie boy and Charlotte out of town, yours truly got stuck with chaperoning? And all on your lonesome, too. George not up to it yet?"

"Not quite, but she was up to trotting out words like duty, responsibility, and practice, so what was I to do? But if I'd known you'd be here, I would have delegated the pleasure to you. In fact, since you are--was

"Oh, no." Anthony laughed. "I did my fair share of keeping an eye on the little darlings with Reggie.

'Fraid it's your turn."

"I'll remember this, you bloody ass, see if I don't," was James's surly reply.

Anthony put his arm around James's shoulders. "Buck up, old man. At least he's here to amuse you."

James followed his brother's nod toward the tall American on the opposite side of the dance floor.

Warren looked quite different, decked out formal--almost civilized. It was heartening to note he was enjoying himself no more than James was, but that didn't improve James's mood. He'd much rather be home with his wife.

"I'd already noticed," he said disagreeably. "And here I thought my luck had changed when he was absent from the family visits most of this week."

"You can thank me for that, don't you know. I daresay he's dropping into bed each night with moans and groans, I've had him on such a grueling schedule."

"So he did agree to let you train him?"

"Did you doubt it?" Anthony replied. "He's quite dedicated to improving his skill, and with his longer reach ... Don't be 235 surprised, old man, if he knocks you on your arse next time you tangle with him."

"You, dear boy, have gone on too long without being knocked on your own arse," James shot back. "I'd be happy to remedy that for you."

Anthony merely laughed. "Let's hold off a bit more, shall we, till the wives understand us a little better.

Ros gets downright testy when she disapproves of my actions, damn me if she don't."

"I hate to mention it, but you're only making me more eager."

"And what would George say?"

"She'd probably thank me. You're not one of her favorite people, you know."

Anthony sighed. "What'd I do now?"

"You offered to train her brother."

"And how'd she hear about that?"

"I may have mentioned it."

"Well, I like that," Anthony complained. "Don't she know I'm doing the chap a favor?"

"We both know who you're doing the favor for, and I appreciate it even if she don't."

Anthony suddenly grinned. "I hope you

remember that when it's over, because he's not bad, you know. 'Course, he hasn't got bricks for fists like you do, but he packs quite a wallop when he finds an opening. I've gone home with a few pains myself this week."

James wasn't worried. "So how soon before he feels he's ready?"

"I'd say a month, but with his impatience, I'll be hard pressed to convince him to wait that long. The chap really is a powder keg of boiling emotions, and though I daresay he'll be pleased to take them out on you, I'm not so sure you're solely to blame for them."

"Oh?"

"I've caught him staring off into space a few times with a besotted look, and we both know what's usually responsible for that."

"Poor girl," James replied. "Someone ought to warn her off."

"I'd be happy to if I knew who she was, but he won't fess up. Gets downright furious when I rib him about it. By the by, I'd say that's going to be your only advantage by the time I'm done with him, his anger."

"I'm well acquainted with it and his inability

to control it." 237

"Yes, I suppose you are. But I wonder who it's directed at just now."

James again followed Anthony's look across the room to see that Warren was most definitely scowling at someone on the dance floor. There were too many couples presently dancing to figure out who that someone might be, but James's curiosity was assuredly pricked.

"D'you think it's his lady love?" James wondered aloud.

"Damn me if I don't." Anthony grinned. "This ought to be interesting."

"If he does anything other than scowl."

"Where's your faith, old boy? The night is young. He'll dance with her eventually--or attempt to throttle whoever she's with."

James suddenly sighed. "I hate to say it, but we're probably wrong."

"The devil we are," Anthony protested; then: "Why are we?"

"Because we've both assumed that's jealousywe're witnessing, but according to George, the man's feelings don't run in that direction."

"Absurd."

"Jilted and never recovered."

"Ah, that explains a lot. But then, what's he so bloody ticked off about? Or have you already had words with him tonight?"

"'Fraid I can't take the credit this time. I've spoken with a few of his brothers, since they're all here, but Warren has steered clear of me."

"Smart man, considering your own mood."

"I notice you haven't run for cover."

Anthony grinned unrepentantly. "So I still like to live dangerously."

"More probably you're tired of living."

Anthony chuckled. "You like my wife too much to damage her favorite husband."

"I hate to disillusion you, dear boy, but if I'd trounce my own wife's favorite brother, what makes you think--was

"Why don't we save this, James?" Anthony cut in, his attention drawn elsewhere. "Our friend seems to be making his move."

They both watched Warren weave his way through the dancing couples toward the front of the ballroom. They were able to keep sight of him because of his height, but they had less luck seeing whom he was

interrupting when he stopped. A moment 239 later, a young dandy left the floor looking none too pleased.

"Well, can you see who the unfortunate lady is that he's so interested in?" James asked.

"I can't see a bloody thing other than his head, the floor's so crowded. But have patience. They'll twirl past us in a--bloody hell, I'll kill him!"

James caught sight of the eggshell-blue gown at the same time Anthony did. Anthony started forward.

James pulled him right back.

"Now hold on," he said reasonably and with some amusement. "Before you jump to conclusions, dear boy, kindly recall that our Amy is too young for the blighter. Good God, d'you really think he'd turn his wicked designs on such an innocent?"

"You're defending him?"

"Disgusting, isn't it?" James concurred. "But according to George, he may treat women with the greatest indifference, but he picks those who can take it, not vestal virgins. Much as I'd like to think he's that depraved, he's not."

Anthony was only slightly mollified.

"Then what's he doing dancing with Amy?"

"Now why wouldn't he, when she's probably the only other female he knows here besides your wife?"

"So why couldn't he wait until the dance had ended?" Anthony asked.

"I would imagine because he couldn't get anywhere near the darling girl between dances. Or hadn't you noticed that she's got as many if not more young swains flocking around her skirts than before, and she's been out on the floor ever since we got here."

Anthony sighed. "Well, hell, that does make sense, doesn't it?"

"More sense than what you were thinking."

"I suppose we could even allow that whoever the chap was glowering at before, he must be a bit more than just mildly interested in."

"You're flying high with assumptions tonight, dear boy. What's this one?"

"Well, it's bloody well obvious, ain't it? He's using Amy, who's clearly the prettiest girl here--next to my wife, of course--to make the woman he's after jealous."

"I hate to keep shooting you down, Tony, indeed I do, but it don't have to be a woman or jealousy to set that chap off. He lays 241 into his brothers as often as anyone else. It could have been any one of them he was so furious with."

"But they ain't on the dance floor. Three are in the card room, and the other one's over there talking to one of Eden's ex-mistresses."

"So he is." James frowned thoughtfully and once more tried to find Amy and Warren among the dancers.

"Now you've got me curious again. I'm about ready to go ask--was James didn't finish. He caught sight of Warren finally, and the Yank's scowl was even blacker than before and directed at none other than Amy. In a quiet though no-less-expressive voice, James said, "The man's dead."

Anthony saw what James did. "So it's Amy he's been shooting daggers at? But whatever for?"

"What the bloody hell do you think, you ass?"

"You mean I was right? Now wait up." Anthony did the pulling back this time, not to save Warren's hide, but to save some of that hide for himself. "I'd say that gives me first crack at him, Brother."

"You can have what's left."

"Bother that; you don't leave anything," Anthony pointed out. "And come to think of it, we can't very well rip him apart here. Someone might object to blood on the dance floor. Besides, as you've hated to mention a number of times this evening, we could be wrong."

"The Yank better hope we are," James said grimly.

Chapter 23

"Dare I hope you're dancing with me because you want to, Warren, and not because you've got some bone to pick with me?" Amy asked.

He didn't answer her question, or rather he did, indirectly. "Do you have to flirt with all of them?"

She laughed delightedly. "With you watching? 'Course I do. It's to show you the difference, you see."

"What difference?"

"Of how it is now, before you've claimed me, and how it will be after, when I flirt only with you. You'll like the after much better, I assure you. And stop scowling so. People might notice and think you're angry with me. Are you?"

"I am perfectly indifferent 243 to whatever you do," he assured her.

"Rubbish," was her reply, accompanied by a very unladylike snort. "But that's all right. I can tell the truth for both of us, and I'll start with mine. I've missed you terribly. It was too bad of you to turn a few days into four, just to prove a point."

"But it was proved, wasn't it?"

"Don't sound so smug. All that was proved is how stubborn you can be. The truth is, you missed me, too. Would you make me happy and admit it?"

Make her happy? Incredibly, he felt the urge, quite powerfully, to do just that. Christ, this was madness.

So what if he had missed her, or at least thought about her too much while he'd stayed away? She was amusing--when she wasn't ripping him up inside with her seductions. But tell her so? In good conscience, he couldn't deviate from the stand he'd taken to discourage her.

Then why in hell was he dancing with her?

Because she was exquisite tonight in her finery. Because, decked out in pearls and shining silk, she looked so much older. Because he'd felt like killing

her last partner for holding her too close. Because he couldn't help himself.