Free Lady in Red by Karen Hawkins Page B

take very little time to realize it was an impossible idea. He’d be damned if he’d pay so much for so little. “But while I am considering the idea, you will not sell the ring and will keep it safe.”
    Her lips pursed absently. “I suppose… Very well. But I will not wait forever. One week should do it.”
    He bowed, glad to have won that concession. “One week it is, then. Until then, good day, Miss Baker-Sneed. And thank you for the incredibly tasty…” His gaze lingered on her lips. “… pastie.” With a bow, he turned on his heel and left, already working through a variety of plans that might give him back his ring as well as prolonging his contact with the thoroughly amusing Miss Baker-Sneed.
    Perhaps this day hadn’t been so wasted after all.
    Chapter 5
     
     
     
    What did I do while Albermaryle was out of town? I, ah, well, I—I moved the bed. Yes, I moved it from one end of the room to the other and oh, it looks much better now! You know, that’s what I do every time he’s out of town; I just move that bed all over the place.
    Lady Albermaryle to her mother-in-law, the rather imposing Lady Southland, while waiting for Lord Albermaryle’s return
     
     
    White’s Gentleman’s Club was one of the more stolid bastions of male society. It was an amalgamation of dark paneling, large leather seats, excellent port, and all of the other comforts necessary to men in general. To secure this masculine paradise, no daintily slippered females were allowed within its hallowed halls.
    Anthony pushed back his plate and sighed. Roasted duck with mint jelly was usually his favorite, but somehow, without Anna and the children, his meal had seemed rather tasteless. The sad truth was that he missed his family. They had all gone north with Anna’s grandfather for a tour of the lakes, and here he was, feeling like a pebble in a very empty box.
    He took a drink of port and wondered if he could hurry his business in town and then join his family. They would be surprised and pleased, especially Anna. He pictured her face, her remarkable gray eyes and the rich shimmer of her red hair. A faint ache filled his heart. Somehow, over the course of the two years since they’d wed, he’d become rather addicted to seeing her face across his dinner table. How strange that happened.
    A stir arose near the door, and Anthony watched as Marcus made his way toward the table. Everyone bowed or nodded, and Anthony reflected that it was strange how people just naturally seemed to defer to his oldest half brother. Marcus carried himself with an unconscious air of command… but it was more than that. It was a streak of unequivocal integrity. One knew just by looking at Marcus that not only was he strong and capable, but he was honest and forthright as well.
    “The man’s a bloody angel,” Anthony murmured to himself. A dark angel, one given to a snappish temper, but an angel nonetheless.
    Marcus reached the table. “I thought I’d find you here.”
    Anthony gestured toward an empty seat. “Have you eaten?”
    “No, but I’m not hungry. However, I will have some of that port.”
    Anthony took an empty glass and splashed a small amount into the bottom from the flagon that rested by his elbow. “Here you are.”
    Marcus took a slow drink. “Excellent.”
    “So I thought, which is why I ordered more to be brought as soon as this was done.” He eyed his brother, wondering what mood he might be in. Lately, one could never tell. “Well? Did you retrieve Mother’s ring?”
    A flicker of a smile crossed Marcus’s face.
    “Ah! You did!” Anthony sighed happily. “Finally we can put that—”
    “You misunderstand. I found the ring but it is not in my possession.” Marcus swirled the port in his glass, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. “Yet.”
    Anthony lowered his glass, wondering what to make of that. Marcus had been deadly set on getting that ring back. Yet now his brother sat across from him, seemingly unmoved by his