Twin brothers and twin sisters create the scandal of the Season.
Miles Prestwich is in love. The object of his desire is Lady Guinevere Northwicke who is, unfortunately, the daughter of a powerful duke-who also happens to be a very loving and protective father. Believing his suit to be unworthy, he tries to forget and limits his interaction with her. Then his twin brother arrives in Town.
Darius is everything that Miles is not. He drinks too much, gambles too much, fights too much, and doesn't care a rap for Society or its strictures. When the lovely Lady Genevieve Northwicke catches his eye, he ignores the warnings fired at him from all corners, resulting in the death of that lady's reputation. Rather than facing the consequences of his actions, he flees.
Miles must resolve the situation the only way he knows how: offer marriage to the sister of his beloved to rescue her from scandal. But will his action actually solve the problem? Or cause more misery than anyone could possibly imagine?
Excerpt
(This excerpt is taken from the end of chapter one. An interesting scene between twin brothers who have not seen each other in years...)
Making another turn, Dare faced a closed door. He was willing to bet he faced the study, as it was farthest from the noise of the street and house traffic. He pushed it open and walked in.
Miles looked up with a guilty flush, thinking it was Bri who had caught him daydreaming. He frowned when he saw his wandering twin.
Dare grinned, his face looking even more handsome than normal. “Please, Miles, your excitement over seeing me again after all these years is unbecoming in a man. Restrain yourself.” He crossed his arms over his chest and advanced into the room, gazing about in interest.
Miles frowned even more heavily at his brother’s levity but remained silent for the moment. Then he noticed Dare’s choice of garb. “What the devil are you wearing?”
Dare looked down with an expression of feigned wonder on his face. “Oh, dear father in heaven! I’m wearing clothes! I left my room naked. Where did these come from?” He pulled at his shirt, making it billow out away from his muscular chest. His look of bafflement was something to behold.
Miles almost smiled at Dare’s playacting. Instead, he gave him a stern look. “You are dressed far too casual for London and our cousin’s house, Dare. What if someone calls on Bri and sees you dressed like that? You could ruin all of our social cache in just one sitting.”
“What if, shwat if,” remarked Dare carelessly. “I will wear what I want until I am forced to go about in Society. And if the ladies who visit will be frightened by my dress I will simply hide until they go away.”
“Will you cut your hair?”
That wiped the grin off Dare’s face. “Why should I?”
“You look like a pirate, Dare. All you lack is the eyepatch.”
A gleam of interest lit Dare’s expressive face. “Indeed. I’ll look into that.”
Miles released an exasperated breath. “As you will,” he muttered, wondering why he even tried to change his brother. It was a thankless task and never successful.
“I’ve often wondered the same, brother,” Dare uttered softly. “Trying to change someone who is equally determined not to is ever frustrating.”
Miles shook his head, a trifle aghast at his twin’s unnerving perspicacity.
Several minutes passed with Miles once again poring over his paperwork and his twin prowling around, poking his fingers into everything like a curious child. Miles felt like a father sometimes when he was with Dare and it was not a feeling he enjoyed considering he was the younger of the two—by twelve minutes.
“If you are going to hang about, Dare, do something productive, please.”
Dare stopped prowling and stared at Miles. “What do you suggest?” He moved across the room and stood looking over his twin’s shoulder. “Do you have party invitations that need addressed?” he asked impudently, knowing this was not an activity that fell under Miles’s jurisdiction. “I assure you, should I do so, all the invitations would go astray resulting in some unsavory characters arriving for the ball…or rout…or breakfast…or whatever.”
He paused, one finger on his chin in a pose of thinking that Miles knew was feigned. “Why do they call it a breakfast, by the bye? They never start until three in the afternoon and go until all hours.” The look he bestowed on his brother positively begged for an answer.
Miles managed to contain his annoyance. He had a difficult time dealing with Dare’s lackadaisical way of life. The man was twenty-eight years old. It was time for him to grow up and stop acting like life was a game.
Dare knew how his attitude annoyed Miles and secretly reveled in it. Their relationship was a constant struggle between comedy and drama, Dare preferring to laugh at the bumps in the road of life and Miles preferring to analyze and configure everything life tossed in his path. The very thought of taking life seriously wearied Dare to the point he was afraid he might have to retire to his room for a two-week nap.
The elder of the two identical gentlemen resumed his place behind his brother’s shoulder, shamelessly perusing the paper currently on the top of the stack. He was intrigued to note that a lady’s name seemed to be scrawled across the page with many flourishes. Did his brother have a tendre for someone?
“Dare, do you mind?” snapped Miles. He jerked the paper out of the other man’s line of sight. He was more annoyed with himself than his brother but the way Dare was hovering made him edgy.
Dare’s ready grin flashed again. “No, I don’t mind.”
“Get out!”
Laughing, Dare left Miles to his papers. He crossed the hall and went back upstairs. As he moved past the drawing room, Lady Prestwich stepped out. He stopped.
“I wondered if perhaps you were lost,” remarked Bri with a smile. “Then I heard Miles yell and I assumed it was a little brotherly squabble.”
“You were right,” replied Dare. He looked at his cousin’s bride. “So tell me all the news. I have not heard anything to date.”
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