Her Secret Fantasy Read Online Free PDF

been, secretly, something of an idol to him.
    Derek had spent months tending him day in and day out, especially after infection invaded the wound, praying as he had never prayed before and wondering how he’d go on if Gabriel died for his sake. God knew he did not give a damn about inheriting his father’s fortune in his elder brother’s stead.
    In the ensuing months, thank God, iron-willed Gabriel had gradually made it clear that he had no intention of crossing the River Styx quite yet, but the whole ordeal had raised dangerous questions in Derek’s mind. Was it worth it, this soldiering business? What was it really doing to him at the end of the day?
    They were questions he refused to ponder in any greater depth, now that the whole ugly business was behind them.
    Best forgotten.
    Ignoring his doubts with a vengeance, he took another big swallow of the velvety libation, then turned to his brother. “How are you feeling today?”
    Gabriel shrugged.
    Derek waited, tilting his head expectantly.
    His brother gave him a flat look. “As well as can be expected for a man who shouldn’t be alive.” Then he changed the subject, as unwilling to admit to physical pain as Derek was to admit to the mental sort.
    “So, what happens next?” Gabriel asked.
    Fair enough.
    “The navy will assemble a flotilla to escort all that shiny silver off to India, where it belongs.”
    “Then that means you’ll be leaving us soon.”
    Derek gazed at his brother, saying nothing.
    “You do still plan to be aboard one of those navy transports when they set sail, don’t you?”
    Why was he asking? Derek wondered. He already knew the answer perfectly well. Same school, same regiment. They had barely been apart a day in their lives.
Uncomfortable
was discussing their impending separation.
    “You know, we all wish you’d stay,” Gabriel mumbled. “Father and Georgiana and I.”
    “Can’t.”
    “It’s a bad business, man. We were lucky to get out of it alive.” Gabriel paused with a mild wince, pressing a hand vaguely to that section of his middle where the arrow had gone in.
    “Are you all right?” Derek asked quickly.
    “Fine.” Gabriel ignored the twinge. “It seems to me we’ve been given a second chance. Why risk it?”
    Derek studied him. If it were any other man, he’d have suspected that the brush with death had made him lose his nerve, but with Gabriel Knight, that was impossible. His brother had long been known as one of the most feared warriors in India, rather famous for his motto of
“No mercy.”
    Derek was considered the nice one.
    “Need I remind you, brother, that you are the firstborn?” he finally answered, adopting his favorite breezy tone to deflect the seriousness of the question. “
You
will inherit Father’s fortune. As the mere younger son, the soldier’s life is my only route to fortune and glory. Surely you would not have me doomed to obscurity?”
    “Better doomed to obscurity than just—doomed.”
    “Have you lost all your ambition?”
    “I’m just glad to be alive.”
    “Naturally. All the same, let’s not forget who we are. You and I were not made for mediocrity, brother, and that is all civilian life can offer.”
    “Hang your ambition!” Gabriel started forward, a flash of the old temper darkening his rugged countenance. “There is more to life, Derek, than fortune and glory.”
    “Pardon?”
    “You always blame it on the fact that you’re the younger brother, but we both know your trust fund is perfectly adequate for you to try some other mode of life, if you were so inclined.”
    “Like what?” he retorted.
    “I don’t know—you could buy land. Farm or something!”
    Derek laughed none too kindly at his brother’s advice. “Me? In a cow field? Sorry, mate, you’ve got the wrong man. Good God, oats and barley! I am hardly the agrarian sort.”
    “How do you know for certain? You’ve never tried anything else.”
    “I cannot turn my back on the men.”
    “But you’ll