Gabriel drew a slow breath.“You could have said that the first time.”
“Forgive me for lacking the charm of one of London’s most beloved rakes.”
Against his better judgment, Gabriel chuckled.“I think that’s what angered your sister most…” He paused, then decided to disclose what had likely been the turning point with Lady Peregrine.
“Yes?”
“Henley, your sister was furious because I charmed my way into her head so well she began to question if I was the rake to reform.Then I turned on her—showed her how shallow the charm could be, how easily discarded.I hope it frightened her.And that is what you’re asking me to use against her.Do you fully understand?”
Henley chuckled dryly, glancing down at his boot.“That makes a lot more sense.Yes.I understand.Use it if you must.But for the love of heaven and earth, don’t put her in a compromising position.You know my reputation as well as I know yours.”
Gabriel glanced at Henley’s hands, remembering the infamous right hook that had once ended a man’s life.The message was clear.“Understood.Now, if we’ve come to a conclusion, I must rest before this evening.”
“Of course.”Henley bowed and moved toward the door.“I’ll send word of where we’ll be this week, in case you wish to take on the ton.”
“I’ll wait with bated breath,” Gabriel retorted, earning a laugh as Henley departed.
Sinking back into his chair, Gabriel closed his eyes.If he was a devil of a rake, why did it feel as though he had just made a deal with the devil—one that looked remarkably like Henley Rosewood?
“Reform a rake,” he muttered to the empty room.“I’d sooner reform the weather.”
Chapter Five
“Ihate him.”
“No, you dislike him because he bested you at your own game.”
Pere’s attention snapped to her friend.“Pardon?”
Anna sighed dramatically as she fluffed a rose in the bouquet she was arranging.“You heard me.”The bloom trembled under her fingers, a flash of crimson against the pale morning light.
“Whose side are you on?”Pere grumbled, sinking back into the couch in Anna and Henley’s parlor.
The cushions sighed with her, as if even the furniture were weary of her theatrics.
“Yours, odd since sometimes I wonder if you are on your own side.Peculiar, that.”
Pere gave an exasperated grumble.“You sound like Henley, which is also strange because I rather thought you’d rub off on him, not the other way around.Disappointing.”
Anna cut her a glance and then started across the room and took a seat beside Pere.“That, my love, is why you must marry a man worthy.It goes both ways; Henley picks up little traits from me, and I him, so it would be a very terrible thing if the man I married wasn’t as honorable as your brother and didn’t love me as deeply.When you spend so much time with another, it’s bound to happen, the trading of traits.”She tucked a loose curl behind Pere’s ear, the gesture tender, almost sisterly.
Pere watched her friend as she spoke.Light and adoration swirled in Anna’s eyes as she talked about Henley, and for once, Anna seemed far older, more mature—even though they were of the same age.It was sobering, confusing—especially since the man she adored and loved was the same man who had put frogs and tadpoles in Pere’s bed.Brothers were such a bother.
“I have a mother, you know,” Pere quipped back, her own frustrations lashing out.
Anna’s brow pinched, hurt flickering across her light features for a moment before hardening into a stony resolve.“You do.And she’s a little preoccupied at the moment, so you get to deal with me, it looks like.”Anna gave a saucy grin and stood, walking over to the rope and tugging, ringing for a maid.
“Is it exhausting?”Pere asked after a maid came in and was given directions to bring tea up.
“What?”Anna asked, returning to her flowers.
“Being right, all the time.How does Henley deal with you?”Pere couldn’t bite back the grin that teased her lips.
“I’d call it exhilarating, not exhausting, and as for your brother…” She gave a secretive smile.“He has no complaints.”
Pere groaned.“And I regret asking.”
Anna giggled softly.The sound was bright, like birdsong after rain.
