Lady Amelia's Secret Lover Read Free Page B

you can do it again.”
    “I had your help then.”
    “And you shall have it again. Although not in the same manner,” Harry added quickly.
    “No, you pretending to be me wouldn’t work at all now. She knows me too well. Court her, you say.” Robert considered the idea. He didn’t have a better one at the moment, and Harry’s suggestion did make a certain amount of sense. He had won her heart once; surely he could do it again. “She suggested you, you know. As a potential lover, that is.”
    “Robert.” Harry straightened in the chair. “I would never. Not with Amelia. Not with your wife.”
    Robert smiled wryly. “It’s good to know you have some moral standards.”
    “Indeed I do.” Indignation sounded in Harry’s voice. “I never have, nor do I foresee a situation in which I ever would, seduce the wife of a friend, and definitely not the wife of my brother.”
    Robert bit back a grin. “My apologies.”
    “Accepted,” Harry muttered. “I can’t believe my own brother would think me capable of such a thing.”
    Robert studied him for a long moment. “Four?”
    “It might have been three.” Harry shrugged. “I really don’t remember.”
    Robert considered his twin. In their youth, he and Harry had been somewhat competitive when it came to the favors of lovely young women and not above impersonating each other in pursuit of whatever lady had caught their eye. A lady who, as often as not, ultimately preferred Harry. He chose his words with care. “Even so, I can’t help but wonder—”
    “Blast it all, Robert.” Harry rose to his feet and met his brother’s gaze directly. “If I had wanted Amelia, Iwould have pursued Amelia. I would never have let you win her hand unopposed.”
    “Regardless.” Robert’s gaze narrowed. “I would have won.”
    “Without a doubt.” Harry’s voice softened. “As appealing as I found Amelia, and I admit she was and still is remarkable, there was never any question about which brother had claimed her heart. I knew it from the beginning. You were the one she wanted.”
    “It wasn’t obvious to me.”
    “Well, you were a blithering idiot, remember? A man in love.” Harry grinned. “And you were the one she loved.”
    “The one she loved,” Robert said under his breath, and shook his head. “The question now is: Am I still?”

Chapter 3
    “W ell, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Edwina, Amelia’s younger sister by barely a year, shifted on the chaise in her parlor in an effort to find a comfortable position. Winnie was in danger of giving birth at any moment.
    “Why ever not?” Beatrice’s eyes widened. “I certainly am.”
    Bea was a scant year younger than Winnie, and one would have thought, as the youngest of the three Bannister sisters now gathered to discuss the crisis confronting Amelia, she would be the least likely to be shocked by anything untoward. Amelia wondered, if they had included their youngest sister, Cordelia, in this summit, whether she would be as shocked as Bea. Probably not. Even at sixteen, Cordelia had an air about her, a rather independent way of looking at life. Amelia suspected their parents would have theirhands full with the youngest Bannister daughter if they didn’t already. Cordelia was a full seven years younger than Bea and, as much as Amelia regretted it, neither she nor Winnie nor Bea knew Cordelia well. It did seem rather a shame as, regardless of age, they were sisters, but perhaps one day they would be closer. After all, while there was a vast disparity between a sixteen-year-old girl and a woman of twenty-three, there was scarcely any significant difference between a woman of thirty and one of thirty-seven.
    Bea fastened a hard look on her oldest sister. “I’m shocked that you would even consider such a thing. Are you not the least bit concerned about scandal?”
    “She’s not worried about scandal because she’s not considering anything,” Winnie said mildly, shifted again, and grimaced.