Free His Mistletoe Bride by Vanessa Kelly

from being so close to . . .”
    Aunt Georgie grimaced. “Hatred? Only the oldest and most foolish reason known to man. They fell out over a woman.”
    Phoebe’s mind went blank for a moment. Then, startled, she stared at Meredith.
    Meredith threw up her hands. “No, it wasn’t me. But that makes it all the more ridiculous for Silverton to hold a grudge. He adores me and our twins, so why he should remain angry at Lucas over such an old dispute defies reason.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Sometimes the stubborn man needs a good slap. They both do.”
    Phoebe’s eyes widened. Her Stanton relatives did seem to be a combative lot. Fitting in with them threatened to be a considerable challenge, one she was not sure she wished to take up.
    Meredith took one look at her face and broke into laughter. “I’m joking, Phoebe. Forgive me. I assure you, no Stanton would ever raise a hand to anyone, except in self-defense.”
    â€œExcept for Lucas and your husband, apparently,” Phoebe could not help adding.
    Meredith sighed. “Yes, except for them, but they’re just being stupid. The strange thing is, if Lucas ever needed Silverton’s help—I mean, really needed it—Silverton would climb mountains to do it.”
    â€œAnd Lucas would do the same,” Aunt Georgie said. “That’s why this entire situation is so absurd. But it’s been going on for so long I don’t think either of them knows how to get around it.”
    Phoebe nodded. That she understood. If an injury was left untended it always festered, and that included injuries to the spirit.
    â€œWho was the woman?” she asked. “Does Lucas still love this person?”
    Meredith and Aunt Georgie exchanged glances, and Phoebe wanted to bite her tongue. What matter if Lucas loved another woman? Even though he had in essence asked Phoebe to marry him, she had no intention of doing so. After what she had seen today, she could hardly believe they would suit, and she found his anger and barely repressed aggression disconcerting, to say the least.
    â€œNo, dear,” Aunt Georgie replied. “This tawdry little situation happened many years ago. Silverton was twenty-three. Lucas had just turned twenty-one and had recently taken up his commission in the Dragoon Guards. They remained the greatest of friends, but life was beginning to pull them in different directions. Silverton was a marquess and had many responsibilities, while Lucas was embarking on what he perceived as a grand adventure.”
    The old woman’s eyes warmed with memories. “They were both determined to make their mark in the world. And,” she added ruefully, “both were rather spoiled and too proud for their own good.”
    â€œHow very surprising,” Meredith said dryly.
    Phoebe could not hold back a giggle.
    â€œWell,” said Aunt Georgie, “they were both only sons, and much cherished by their families. Not to mention that both were ridiculously handsome from an early age. Women practically threw themselves at their feet.”
    â€œThey still do,” commented Meredith, taking her aunt’s teacup and refilling it.
    â€œBut Lord Silverton is a married man,” Phoebe exclaimed, scandalized. “How can women still pursue him?”
    â€œYou have a lot to learn about the ton, my dear cousin. Many of our acquaintances would never let something as trivial as marriage vows hold them back.”
    Phoebe grimaced. The more she heard about the London aristocracy, the less she wanted to have anything to do with them. What she did want, though, was to hear more about Lucas and his cousin.
    â€œWho was the woman who caused so much trouble?” she prodded.
    â€œThe woman in question was Esme Newton. She was a diamond of the first water,” replied Aunt Georgie.
    Phoebe cast a puzzled look at Meredith, who nodded in understanding.
    â€œThat means she was a great