She gasped, even as she grabbed his arms to steady herself. “My goodness, that man looks just like you!”
“Ah, I believe it’s my brother. James, Lord Hammersmith, this is Miss Judith McCrae from Cornwall and Ireland.” Jason looked pointedly at the young lady who was breathing heavily next to James, her face shiny with perspiration, her mouth still smiling. She looked familiar, and those green eyes of hers, she-
“Jason, don’t you recognize me? You lout, it’s me, Corrie.”
For the first time since Jason had seen Judith, he forgot his lust and stared at the girl who’d dogged his brother’s heels from the age of three. “Corrie?”
She nodded, grinning at him. “I creamed myself down, unsmashed my bosom, and put my old hat on the shelf.”
“Will you pound me if I tell you that you look quite acceptable as a young lady?”
“Oh no, I want you to admire me. I want every gentleman in this room to admire me, to metaphorically fall at my feet like dead dogs. James doesn’t want to fall, much less be a dead dog, but I’m trying.”
“Like she said, buckets of cream and unsmashing have much improved her,” James said. “As for admiration, she laps it up.” Because James had exquisite manners, he turned immediately to Judith. “Miss McCrae, you are new to London?”
Judith was looking back and forth between the brothers. “Even though Aunt Arbuckle mentioned that you were twins, I didn’t realize that you were really such complete and utter twins,” Judith said, “as in how nicely you’re duplicated in each other.”
“Actually,” Jason said, “we’re not at all alike. James here is a devotee of the planets and stars, while I am an earthbound creature.”
Corrie said, “Jason swims like a fish and rides better than James, although James would never agree with that, and regularly beats James in footraces.”
“I swim as well,” Judith said. “In the Irish Sea in the deep of summer when you won’t freeze your toes off.”
Jason wanted to ask her what she wore when she swam. Surely a young lady couldn’t swim naked, like he did.
Judith turned those dark eyes of hers on James. “Stars, my lord?”
Corrie said, “Oh yes, on fine nights, you can find him on this particular hilltop, lying on his back, looking up at the heavens.”
Jason grinned. “He even knows all of Kepler’s laws.”
“Twins,” Judith said, looking yet again from one to the other. “How very convenient for you. Do you change places often?”
Jason said, “No, not since we were young.” Actually not since James wanted to prove to him that Ann Redfern wanted him and not Jason, and so traded places and found himself in the barn with a naked girl, and Jason outside the stall door. However, to this day, neither of them really figured out who Ann preferred for the simple reason that she couldn’t tell them apart.
“If I had an identical twin, I should practice until I could have fooled our mother.”
Jason laughed. “Sorry, Miss McCrae, no matter how hard you tried, you would never fool our mother.”
“Or our grandmother, who is so old that she shouldn’t have such sharp eyes anymore, but she does.”
Judith looked at them once again. “A challenge,” she said. “I have always loved challenges. I believe I can see one in the making.” Judith turned to Corrie. “Are you a twin as well?”
“Oh no,” Corrie said, staring at the exquisite girl with her porcelain skin and those brilliant black eyes and wondered if she saw a bucket of cream she’d even know what to do with it. As for her bosom, she was well-endowed very likely without using stays to hoist her up. “I’m just me.”
“Thank God,” James said. “Two of you would drive me mad.”
“James, I will see you at home,” Jason said, smiled at Corrie as if she was still someone he couldn’t quite place, and waltzed away.
James stood staring after him a moment before he turned, looking thoughtful, and said, “The waltz is ending. No, Corrie, not a third waltz. It wouldn’t do your reputation any good.”
“Whatever do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t you read the deportment book my mother, er, Jason gave you for your birthday?”
“I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the Racine plays. You know, James, the birthday present you gave to me, with all the lovely pictures. You know, the pictures I could look at if my brain ached from all those big French words?”
“Naturally I remember. It was thoughtfully selected for you. Now listen to me, brat. You don’t dance more than two dances with a gentleman or you’re nearly as good as engaged.”
“But it wasn’t two dances, at least two full dances. Jason interrupted the last third. Can’t we dance the first third of the next one?”
James shook his head.
“But why? How silly that sounds. You’re a good dancer, the best of all my gentlemen tonight. You’re perhaps even more accomplished than Devlin, maybe. I wouldn’t mind dancing with you all evening.”
“Thank you, but it isn’t done even though I’ve known you forever, and you’re very nearly my sister.”
She felt the punch of those careless words and sighed. She touched her fingers to his cravat again, pushing it this way and that. “That’s it then. Very well, if you’re not available, then I’ll dance with Devlin. I wonder where he is.” She looked up at him. “Uncle Simon is really keen on me finding a husband now. The dear man really doesn’t want to come back to London in the spring for another come-out. He says one month should be enough to do the trick.”
“Look, Corrie, it’s not really possible so don’t think you’re a failure if you’re not standing in front of a vicar by the end of the month, this poor sod you’ve yet to meet shackled to your side. An offer now, I suppose that’s possible. At least you’re looking fine now, so there should be some unattached young gentleman ready to leap into your cage.”
“That’s an interesting image. James, what do you think of when you think about the jewel of Arabie?”
“The jewel of Arabie? What the devil is a jewel of Arabie?”
“I think it’s a magnificent diamond that everyone coveted over the years.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Well, perhaps nothing at all if you fail to see any obvious comparisons.”
“Listen to me, Corrie. Don’t dance with Devlin Monroe. I strongly advise you to avoid him.”
“He looks like a vampire until he smiles, then he is quite nice-looking indeed.”
“Vampire? Devlin? Oh, you mean his pallor.” James looked thoughtful, rubbed his chin. “Yes, he’s known for his pallor. A vampire? Come to think of it, perhaps, I haven’t ever seen him during the day.”
“Really? Oh goodness, James, mayhap-oh, you sod, you’re teasing me.”
“Of course I’m teasing you, Corrie. But Devlin-listen to me now-he’s got a reputation for being involved in very different sorts of things-”
“What kind of different sorts of things?”
“You don’t need to know that. Just obey me and you’ll be all right.”
“Obey you? You?” She threw back her head and laughed, just couldn’t help it, and many female heads turned to see the source of that laughter-if they weren’t looking already, their focus James, naturally.
“I nearly raised you. Yes, pay attention to me. I’m older, I’ve had more experience, and most important, I’m a man, and thus I know about other men and their base-well, never mind that. Just avoid Devlin Monroe.”
“Base what? You mean wicked? You’re saying that Devlin Monroe is wicked? Doesn’t it take a man many years and a lot of concentration to attain true wickedness? Devlin is young. How can he possibly be wicked?”
James wanted to take that lovely white neck he’d never seen before, he’d swear to that, between his hands and gently slide his fingers around that neck and squeeze.
“I didn’t say he was wicked. He likes different sorts of things.”