Page 4

London, England Eight years later

“I thought by now you would finally comprehend that it is beyond foolish to place a wager when you do not possess the coin to pay if you lose,” Lady Meredith Barrington admonished forcefully. “Nor the legal means to obtain it.”

She had hoped her lecture would inspire regret or remorse or even repentance. Yet that seemed unlikely.

With a forlorn sigh, Meredith admitted her younger brothers were no longer a pair of lanky youths who grew still and quiet when she raised her voice.

Those skinny, boyish limbs were now muscular arms and wide shoulders, clothed in the finest garments Weston could produce.

And when they were not being lectured by their older sister, she knew those brilliant green eyes burned with youthful zeal and a passion for life.

It did not, however, disguise the fact that her younger twin brothers, Jason and Jasper, were without question the most mischievous, irritating, frustrating, and charming men in all of England.

Meredith was also firmly convinced they were responsible for the gray hairs she had discovered in her hairbrush this very morning.

“I don’t understand why you are getting so distraught over this matter,” Jasper grumbled. He leaned back and casually rested his left ankle atop his right knee. “It is not an overly large wager.”

“Nor have we lost it,” Jason added in a deliberate tone.

“Yet,” Meredith said in her sternest voice.

She huffed dramatically, folded her arms across her chest, and used her considerable height to her advantage.

Unfortunately, neither man was looking directly at her, so the effect of glaring down upon them was lost. “I told you most emphatically two weeks ago I would neither intercede on your behalf with father’s man of affairs to advance your quarterly allowance, nor would I make you a loan from my own meager funds. ”

“Meager!” Jasper hooted. He shifted position swiftly, placing both booted feet firmly on the carpet. “Saints above, Merry, you’ve got more money than anyone else I know, male or female. I’d wager you could lend the Bank of England funds if it was needed.”

“The Bank of England?” Jason rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“A solid, reliable institution, with sound collateral and a sterling reputation. I know Merry has a pretty bit of coin put aside, but it can’t possibly be as much as the bank.

Or could it? An interesting notion. I believe I shall accept that wager, brother. ”

“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, will you both stop it?” Meredith nearly stamped her foot in frustration. This was ridiculous. Would they never stop, never learn? She loved her brothers to the extreme but was hardly blind to their faults, the principal one being their overzealous enthusiasm for gambling.

At twenty-two years of age, the twins were a pair of spoiled, privileged gentlemen, reckless, overindulged, and self-centered.

Meredith’s parents were of little use when it came to controlling their sons.

The earl and his wife were often out of the country, pursing some archaeological find or scholarly relic that had captured the earl’s fancy.

They were, for the most part, blissfully unaware of their sons’ extreme antics.

Yet even when they were in town, they did nothing to curb the twins’ wild behavior.

The earl was of the opinion his sons would eventually grow out of their high spirits.

Consequently, he allowed them to live their lives entirely as they wished.

No matter how outrageous the circumstance, the earl gave no censure to his sons.

Initially Meredith had tried to follow her father’s lead, but she soon discovered that, left to their own devices, the twins would run totally wild.

She had tried to be a steadying influence on them, but more and more that task was requiring stronger measures.

They no longer easily followed her direction nor listened to her advice or opinions with solemn, wide-eyed regard.

As they grew older, it seemed the harder she tried to control them, the more they resisted. Each time Meredith vowed she would not intercede at the next crisis, yet she found it impossible to follow her own advice.

She partly blamed herself for the current state of affairs, admitting she had bailed her brothers out of so many scrapes over the years that they no longer fully considered the consequences of their escapades before acting.

They knew if things went awry, she could be counted upon to somehow set everything to rights, for she had taken the task of watching over them very seriously.

It was a role she did not relish, yet she knew she must often seem like an avenging angel, refusing to let any real harm come to her wayward siblings, especially when it was within her means to prevent it.

Despite everything, she loved her brothers deeply and knew they held her in equal regard. However, at moments such as these, that was occasionally difficult to remember.

“It never ceases to amaze me that given the vast amount of time you waste with your endless gaming and wagering you are both so exceedingly poor at it,” Meredith said tartly. “One would think you could at least improve over time.”

“ ’Tis just a run of bad luck,” Jasper declared stoically. He was the older twin by several minutes, and thus the heir to his father’s title.

That gave him a distinct advantage over his brother, for as the future earl he was afforded more privileges and considerations. Chief among them was a larger line of credit from merchants, moneylenders, and his gaming partners.

“Why, only last week I won a shockingly fine pair of matched bays from Lord Darby,” Jasper continued, “at the turn of a single card. It was the talk of the club for several days.”

“And I won them from Jasper only three days later,” Jason said in a cheerful tone.

“You cheated.” Jasper flicked a small bit of lint off his breeches and glared at his brother. “Though I cannot prove it, I am convinced you marked those cards.”

“Sore loser.” Jason smirked. “You are loath to admit it, but my skill at piquet exceeds yours. It always has.”

“It never has,” Jasper stated emphatically. “The only possible way you could have won was by foul means.”

Jason shrugged his shoulders. Her brother’s total lack of offense at the suggestion he had cheated had Meredith convinced there might be some truth in the charge.

She only prayed he practiced such foolishness with his twin and not with other gamesters.

Cheaters often came to a swift and unpleasant end.

Though her brothers were nearly identical in face and form, there were distinct differences in their personalities.

Jason was by far the more congenial of the twins, quick with a smile, always eager for a new experience, a new challenge.

Yet Meredith had recently begun to notice a reckless streak in Jason that worried her greatly.

“If the horses are as prime as you say, then you should sell these magnificent beasts to cover your current gaming debts and wisely hold aside enough coin to make good on this latest wager,” Meredith said, as she diverted the conversation back to the current problem at hand.

“If you lose this newest bet, of course.”

“I’m afraid that is impossible.” Now it was Jasper’s turn to smirk at his brother’s expense. “Jason lost the bays only last night. In another game of piquet.”

“Good lord.” Meredith collapsed onto an upholstered chair. “Those poor animals are being shuttled all over London as half the bucks in town win and lose them. Have you no conscience at all for their well being?”

Both men gave her an equally puzzled expression.

“They are fed the finest grain, housed in the cleanest stables, exercised in the choicest fields,” Jasper said. “I daresay those less fortunate souls in the East End of London would envy the treatment these horses receive.”

“A most pitiful comment on the state of our society,” Meredith said dryly, but the blank expressions on her brothers’ faces told her it was pointless to continue in this vein.

This was most definitely not the time for her to begin a lecture on the responsibilities and duties of a privileged man in Society toward those who were less fortunate.

“We can discuss your ideas for political and social reform later, Merry,” Jasper said smoothly. “But first we would like to talk about a more pressing problem. Of a personal nature.”

Meredith’s brows arched upward. Perhaps she had underestimated her brothers’ shrewdness.

At least they were aware of her opinions, even if they did not share them.

“I have already told you I will not lend you any money, and I have no intention of changing my mind, no matter how eloquently you state your case. Therefore, we have nothing to discuss.”

Meredith regained her feet and strode restlessly to the other side of the room, deliberately keeping her back to the twins. When they turned pleading, sincere eyes toward her, it was much harder to stand firm, and Meredith was determined not to relent in this matter.

“We are not asking you for money,” Jasper said in an indignant tone. “You have obviously misunderstood the entire situation.”

“We have come to ask your help in winning a wager that could restore those long-necked bays to us,” Jason added in a righteous voice. “Won’t you at least do us the courtesy of listening to our plan before you dismiss it?”

Meredith sighed as her shoulders sagged.

“Jasper initially won these poor horses from Lord Darby, then Jason won them from Jasper, and last night Jason again lost them in still another card game.” She rubbed her temples in an effort to ease the steady pounding in her head.

It was not successful. “I fail to see how I can assist you in the matter. I don’t even play piquet. ”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Merry.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Oh.”