“I will to Alex but no one else.”
“You don’t mind that he’s a Scot, do you?”
“No, why should I?”
“Thomas Mannerly had a touch of scorn in his voice, called him a barbarian, that kind of thing.”
“Thomas had a father who believed to the soles of his viscount’s feet that a true gentleman must be born breathing the fine, just air of England. It appears that Thomas has adopted his departed sire’s absurdities.”
“Thank you, Douglas.” Sinjun leaned down and kissed his cheek.
As he watched her leave the library, a thoughtful frown settled on his forehead. He tapped his fingers slowly together. The only thing he had against a Scot was that if she married one, she would live very far away from her family.
He followed his sister upstairs not long thereafter. He walked into the bedchamber to see Alex brushing her hair, seated at her dressing table. He met her eyes in the mirror, smiled, and began to take off his clothes.
Her brush stilled. She put it down and turned to face him.
“You will watch me all the way to my bare hide?”
She just smiled and nodded.
“You are staring, Alex. Are you concerned that I have gained flesh? You wish to see that everything is still lean and all my parts are in good working order?”
She just smiled more widely, and this time she just shook her head and said, “Oh no. I suspect you are quite perfect. You were last night and this morning and—” She giggled.
When he was quite naked, he walked over to her, picked her up in his arms, and carried her to their bed.
When he was able to speak coherently again, he stretched out beside his wife and said, “Our Sinjun is in love.”
“So that’s why she’s been behaving so oddly,” Alex said on a huge yawn and came up on her elbow beside her husband.
“His name is Colin Kinross.”
“Oh dear.”
“What is it?”
“Someone pointed him out to me the other evening at the musicale. He looks very forceful, Douglas, and stubborn.”
“All this from just a viewing of the man?”
“He’s quite tall, perhaps even taller than you. That’s good, because Sinjun is very tall for a woman. Ruthless, that’s what I meant to say. He looks quite capable of doing anything at all to get what he wants.”
“Alex, you can’t tell all that about a man just by looking at him. Now, I will take away your clothes for two days if you don’t stop speaking nonsense.”
“I don’t know anything about him, Douglas.”
“He’s tall and he’s tough-looking. He’s ruthless. A fine place for me to start.”
“Yes, and you’ll see I’m right.” She laughed, her breath warm and soft against his shoulder. “My father despises the Scots. I hope you don’t feel that way.”
“No, I don’t. Sinjun hasn’t yet met him, she told me.”
“She will, very soon, I doubt not. She’s very resourceful, you know.”
“In the meantime I’
ll endeavor to find out all I can about our Scottish gentleman. Ruthless, hmm?”