Page 307 of Desires of a Duke Collection

“My goodness, Miss, you are in a good mood this morning,” Yvonne commented as she pinned up the last few tendrils of CeCe’s auburn masses.

CeCe looked at herself in the mirror. Indeed, she was in a good mood, and it showed: her eyes were bright and merry, her cheeks were flushed with a pleasing rose, and her mouth was curved in a slight smile.

“All’s right with the world, Yvonne,” CeCe said, grinning and standing up to add a bit of perfume to her neck and décolletage.

“You must have heard that Master Elias arrived late last night,” Yvonne commented as she began to straighten up the dresser.

“Eli’s here!” CeCe squealed and raced out of her chambers and straight to the breakfast room.

“Nobody is here yet, drat!” she muttered while holding her side and breathing heavily from her run.

From behind her, she heard, “You know, the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself.”

“Eli!” CeCe threw herself into her twin’s outstretched arms. “Eli, I am so very happy that you are here! Do tell me everything that you have been up to in London, and please tell me that you plan a long visit.”

“I will, you nutter. But first, you’ll have to release me,” Eli teased, looking down into his sister’s face. “It really is so very nice to be home. How is Mother faring? I’m afraid that I arrived quite late last night and wasn’t able to check in on her.”

“You may see for yourself, Elias; your old mother is quite on the mend,” the Baroness quipped with a smile from the doorway, looking happily at her dear children together.

“Let’s not let this delicious feast go to waste. Come along and make up a plate. I will get one for Mother,” Eli said to CeCe after greeting his mother with a hug and kiss on her cheek.

As they approached the sideboard, their mother added, “Nothing too much for me, dear.”

Eli sent a worried look to CeCe, as if to say, how is she really doing? CeCe shook her head and smiled, reassuring her twin that their mother really was doing much better. They had always communicated without words, even when they were very little.

Eli selected a few things for his mother and then took his heaping plate over to the table. After Eli helped both ladies with their chairs, they began to break their fast.

“What brings you out here, Eli?” their mother asked, buttering a thick slice of toast.

“Only my two most favorite ladies in the world. I could hardly stay away,” he replied with a grin, and both ladies rolled their eyes.

“What a bouncer!” CeCe giggled.

“Probably running from a creditor,” the Baroness teased.

“I’m wounded!” Eli rejoined, and they fell into an easy conversation about what the women had been missing in London. Eli was sad to inform his sister that her dear friend, Lady Maddie, had lost her aunt shortly after her wedding to their friend, Christian. Eli told the women that the Earl and Countess of Saxton had gone into the country to pay their respects and meant to stay there for a while.

CeCe was sad that she wouldn’t be seeing Maddie for another extended period. The girls had just met at the beginning of the season, but they had forged a bond stronger than a mere friendship. “I must write to her today, Eli, and express my deepest condolences. I know that she was very close to her aunt, who raised her after Maddie’s mother passed away.”

The Baroness smiled at her. “I know that would be just the thing to brighten her day. You are so thoughtful, CeCe.”

“Speaking of the Earl and the Countess,” Eli began. “Don’t you owe me for a wager, Sister dear?”

“Children, please,” the Baroness interjected. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you two not to gamble with each other. I did not raise hooligans.”

“What is a hooligan?” CeCe asked her brother, ignoring her mother’s little outburst.

“Troublemaker,” he replied, ripping into a piece of bacon. “Anyhow, you owe me ten pounds.”

“Yes, well, about that,” CeCe began. “I was speaking with Charles and had a brilliant notion.”

“Does it involve me doing anything?” Eli asked while taking a sip of tea.

“Not in the slightest!” CeCe reassured him. “I thought that it might be interesting if we extended the wager, say... double or nothing.”

“I’m listening,” he replied.

“No one is listening to me,” the Baroness huffed, looking at the sideboard, still clearly hungry. Noticing that her children weren’t paying the least bit of attention to her, she got up and began to fill her plate again. She figured it was no use playing the invalid if no audience was looking on.

“If I go until the end of the season without getting married, you owe me twenty pounds,” CeCe smiled at him.

“Why would I take that bet?” Elias smirked. “You have already turned down nine offers and are holed up in the country.”

“But I might have found someone,” CeCe said loftily.

The Baroness nearly fell off her chair.

“Mother, are you alright?” Elias asked, sending CeCe and questioning gaze. “I believe Mother is much too ill to be downstairs. Where is Crane?”

The Baroness, flushed with embarrassment, snapped. “I hardly need to be abed. We were discussing your terrible penchant for wagering. Please don’t tell me you are about to enter another agreement?”

Eli looked back at his sister suspiciously. “Men fall at your feet. They just can’t seem to help themselves. They seem to come out of the woodwork, even locked up here in the country. Are you sure, C?”

CeCe’s smile was rather smug. “You never know when someone might sweep me off my feet. Do you believe I can be induced to try the holy bonds of wedlock?”

“I’ve no doubt you will one day marry, Sister dear. It’s just these terms of yours. What time frame are we talking about? The end of this season or the next?”

CeCe shrugged. “I will give you the benefit of the doubt. You have until the end of next season. If I remain unattached, I win the wager. If, for some reason, I lose all control of my senses and get caught in the parson’s knot—you win. Do we have a deal?”

Eli eyed her speculatively. “Sister, we have a deal.”

The twins shook hands, and the Baroness lamented ever coming down to breakfast.

**

Later that morning…

“Eli, what are your plans for the day?” CeCe asked as he joined her in the blue salon.

“I thought I would take a nice long ride and then perhaps swim in the lake,” Eli replied lazily. “Can I count on you to join me?”

“Capital! Give me just a moment to change into my riding habit. “ CeCe said, already racing back to her room. Over her shoulder, she called out, “I’m so happy you’re home!”

Eli grinned and shook his head as he headed out to the stables. He had seen the way his sister had looked at their neighbor, Charles Rotherford, in complete adoration for almost twenty years. Winning this bet would be easier than taking candy from a baby.

With a whistle, he strolled out of the manor into the morning sunshine. His baby sister just may have bitten off more than she could chew.