Lady in Demand Read Online Free PDF Page B

ago.”
          “We no longer gamble, Finn, you can be assured of that if nothing else.”
          Finn nodded at Ben’s words. “Then I fail to see the problem, because unless you ravished some poor innocent…Ah.” Finn could see the twin looks of guilt.  
          “But there was no ravishing. More’s the pity,” Ben added.
          “My mind is at peace,” Finn drawled.
          Alex was designated speaker after a shared look, and he began to tell a convoluted tale that Finn took several minutes to decipher.  
          “So let me see if I have this correct. You coerced two respectable young ladies to my hunting lodge where you intended to ply them with wine and then seduce them.”
          “No!”
          “We’d never do that!”
          “They had their maids with them and it was merely going to be a picnic outside. The problem arose when we realized that neither lady had told their parents…”
          “More importantly, their fathers,” Ben interrupted, his face suddenly anxious as he remembered the incident.
          “We were cast in a dark light, Finn, as the fathers believed we were about to engage in nefarious activities,” Alex said.  
          “Which you were not?” Finn added. Had he ever been this young? He felt extremely old, even though he was only six years their senior, as he watched them start shoveling large quantities of food into their mouths again. Obviously, the trauma of the moment had passed now they had unburdened themselves.
          “Absolutely not, and I’m insulted that you would think otherwise, seeing as it is you who has thumped manners into us for so many years I’ve lost count,” Alex looked indignantly at his older brother.  
          Finn held up both hands as he laughed. “I just needed to clarify everything in case a large Scottish gentleman or two knock on my front door. What?” he then questioned as his brothers stared open-mouthed at him.
          “You just laughed. Did you see that, Ben? Finn laughed in the most natural way.”
          Ben nodded, his eyes focused on Finn.
          “I laugh.” Finn felt moved to defend himself. Surely he had laughed in the presence of his brothers before?
          “Not really, not spontaneously. Usually when you are telling us off you have what we term your menacing look,” Alex said, refilling his cup.
          “Yes, it’s more a scowl, wouldn’t you say, Alex?”
          Tilting his head to one side which made his hair flop into his eyes, Alex studied Finn.
    “Am I such an ogre, then?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about his brothers descriptions of his character. His life had been full of responsibilities since his father’s death and his mother’s move to France with her new husband. There had been no room for fun and laughter, he supposed, but Finn had always believed he could enjoy a joke when warranted and even make one himself if he felt the urge.  
          “Not an ogre precisely, brother,” Ben said. “We understand you have responsibilities, us included.” He looked at Alex, who nodded back encouragingly. “But you are a very serious chap. In fact, we had this conversation just a day ago, didn’t we, Alex, about how surprised we are that Will is your best friend considering his humorous disposition.”
          “I can be humorous.” Finn could hear the defensiveness in his tone. His brothers wore identical expressions of skepticism. “I bloody well can!”
          “There!” Ben pointed at Finn’s head. “That’s the menacing look.”
          Finn gave up then; after all, his brothers were not the only ones who had alluded to his serious demeanor. Both Will and Phoebe had made many remarks to that end.  
          “Good God, is that a secretive smile?”
          “What?” Finn glared at Ben.
          “You just had a secretive smile on your face.