Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (150 page)

Paine didn't seem inclined to pursue the conversation, so Julia forged ahead on her own. 'What's your brother like?'

'Which one? I have two you know. Peyton, the earl, and

who is also older. I imagine it's quite possible that they'll both be at home.

despises the

Season and Peyton won't come up until the end of June.

He puts it off as long as he can. At least he used to.'

Julia experienced a moment of fear. What if they'd come all this way and the earl wasn't home? 'Is there a chance your brother has already left for London?'

Paine shook his head. 'No, a note I'd sent earlier to the town house was returned and my footman said the knocker wasn't on the town-house door. I'd sent out two notes, just to be sure--one in town and one to the country.'

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Her momentary fears were eased. But other concerns presented themselves. 'So, I am going to a bachelor estate and setting up house with three brothers.' Julia tried to make light of it. She felt ridiculous for suddenly worrying about propriety at this late date. Technically, she'd broken every rule a

could break. It was

entirely illogical to be concerned over such a little thing now. Still, old habits died hard.

Paine laughed. 'Peyton has convinced our Cousin Beth to take up residence. My Aunt Lily tells me that Beth runs the house these days and Peyton finds the ment much more amicable than finding a bride to do it.'

Julia thought of the tall, poised older woman Paine had been escorting the night she'd seen Paine from a distance at the ball. That must be Aunt Lily. She and Paine had the same raven-dark hair and had looked congenially at ease with one another. 'Why doesn't he marry? Cousin Beth can run the house, but she can't provide him heirs.'

Most men she'd encountered put a supreme importance on producing a successor for the family.

But Paine dismissed the concern. 'Perhaps Peyton hasn't met the right woman yet. No matter, is

an admirable heir in that case. The family will go on.'

Paine leaned forwards and pulled back one of the curtains, assessing the growing light. 'We'll be able to stop soon and refresh ourselves,' he said, clearly changing the subject. Julia had to content herself with what she'd learned, although the answers he'd given had spawned more questions.

Other than Aunt Lily, he'd apparently not made any

Scott

contact with his brothers in the months he'd been in England. She wondered why. It was obvious he held them in affection and he was interested in what his family was doing. Was this lack of contact reciprocal?

Had the earl tried to contact Paine? Surely he knew Paine was back. It seemed unlikely to Julia that Aunt Lily would let such a thing go unnoticed even if the earl didn't make a habit of coming up to town.

The sun had been up for two hours when they stopped at an inn to break their fast and change the horses. Paine reserved a private room for them so they could eat in quiet and with as little attention as possible.

Julia's gown was wrinkled, but the

and cut would

still stand out. At Paine's suggestion, she kept her dark wig on. At least now the innkeeper and his wife could deny in all truth that a cinnamon-haired woman had passed that way with a man of Paine's description.

Julia felt better after washing her face and hands and eating. She saw to the

of a hamper in the

kitchens while Paine dashed off another note and sent it with a rider.

'Who's the note to?' she asked coming up at Paine's side in the stable yard.

'My brother. I thought we'd better tell him we were coming. He doesn't like surprises.' Paine smiled and tried to tease her, but Julia missed nothing. There were lots of reasons beyond the obvious why Paine would want his brother on the lookout. If Oswalt's men caught up to them and they failed to arrive on time, Dursley

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Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

would come looking for them. That could hardly be what Oswalt's men preferred.

Julia hoped it wouldn't come to that. She her eti-quette well enough to

that Paine was a mere mister,

the title of 'Honourable' only applying as a written heading. Tangling with him was one thing. Engaging in a violent act against the Earl of Dursley was another.

Paine handed Julia into the coach and took his place on the top of the box to give the coachman a break. They couldn't afford the luxury of stopping for sleep and the coachman couldn't drive for ever.

man could be

pushed no more than a team of horses without risking the safety of the journey. Such action would be complete folly. It would do no good to outrun Oswalt's minions only to be caught by the side of the road with a broken carriage wheel.

Paine clucked to the team and slapped the reins. It would be a tiring two days on the open road. Part of him longed to be inside the coach with Julia to distract him.

He would have given a monkey to know what she'd been thinking about so hard this morning. Her eyes had been shut, but he could practically have seen the wheels of her fast-moving mind whirling at top speed.

While he was flattered to think those thoughts might have been about him, he hoped they were not. He was dangerous for Julia. Usually he limited his relationships to women who understood the game, women who were satisfied with the temporary pleasures he could give them, women who knew that, like all games, theirs would come to an end. Julia Prentiss was a different