Free Invitation to Scandal by Bronwen Evans Page B

Strathmore and then across to Jamieson. The ground seemed to pitch and roll as if she had drunk to much brandy. “My brother knows?”
    “Not exactly. I guessed who you were and what you were up to from their comments this evening. It was not hard to put it all together.”
    Her hands unclenched as she felt the ground revert to level, relief sweeping over her. Daniel must never know. He had threatened to sell her mares once before when she had been caught riding White Lily half undressed in the sea. The swim had not been Daniel’s concern; his concern was the fact she’d been indecent. Unclothed for all to see.
    But she was swimming at their secret cove. The cove could not be reached except by the private path down through the cliffs. The path was well hidden on de Winter land, camouflaged as a steep cliff face; the beach below was impossible to see. It had always been her and Daniel’s private place.
    She had swum there almost every day of her life, thousands of times. Only this time Daniel decided to join her, without telling her, and he’d brought a visitor. Luckily, it was only Lord Hale, and he seemed more amused than embarrassed by her nakedness. Lord Hale always indulged her “quaintness,” as he called it.
    Daniel, on the other hand, had been livid. More than livid. She’d thought he was going to explode with rage. To this day he did not let her forget it.
    If her brother got wind of what she had done tonight he might finally do as he’d threatened and sell her mares, even though the horses had been gifted to her. Daniel, being young and the baron, was trying to find his feet in his manhood. He was getting very tiresome of late, trying to take over from her and be head of the household. At the moment, he was beginning to think he controlled and owned everything on the estate, including her mares. Being a woman was so unfair.
    Tonight’s escapade might just push Daniel past reason. His unconventional, willful sister had again drawn attention to herself and tarnished the de Winter name—that was how Daniel would see it anyway.
    She glared up at the one man who had ruined everything. Why couldn’t he have stayed in the house with the other guests? How she hated his calm, smug face. What annoyed her even more was that his male beauty still made her blood gallop through her veins.
    “What do you plan to do now?”
    Wryly, his lordship answered, “I’ll think of something.”
    “I don’t have any money.”
    “I am well aware of that. If you had money you would have simply asked to buy Caesar’s services instead of stealing them.” He paused and gave her a sensual look that started a flicker of heat smoldering in the pit of her stomach. “As I recall, you had something infinitely more valuable to offer the last time you owed me payment for a service rendered.”
    She gasped—their kiss. “How dare you!”
    “I dare! How dare you, helping yourself to Caesar? He could have been hurt by your mares. Do you know what you would have owed me then? Being my mistress for a year would not even begin to cover the cost.”
    Jamieson stepped forward. “Now see here. Lord or no lord, you will not speak to Miss Kerrich that way.”
    Lord Strathmore ignored him. “What do you think your brother will say about all this?”
    Her hands came to her hips. “I know what he would say to your suggested payment. It would be pistols at dawn.”
    “Are you sure? If you were my sister, I could not wait to get you off my hands. Your brother should have seen you married off years ago. Why are you not at home with babes at breast? No takers for a hoyden like you?”
    “For your information, you imbecile, I have had plenty of offers. I’m simply not stupid enough to let any man gain control over me.”
    “You certainly need a firm hand.”
    “No man I have met is worthy of such a role.”
    “Wouldn’t a prudent marriage make tonight’s events redundant ?”
    “Not necessarily. I don’t simply want wealth and security. I