Page 76 of Legacy of Roses

Something passed over her face as she said it, and he wanted to ask if there was more to her comment. But he couldn’t help glancing around the entryway before speaking. Were they really alone? How was he going to speak freely—let alone get changed or bathe!—if there might be invisible people lurking everywhere?

“Ralph!” Rosalie suddenly shouted, making him jump. “Vernon! Oscar! If any of you are there, you had better say something right now or else you’ll never have a peaceful night’s sleep again when I get home! I’ll make sure your blankets never cover your feet, your shirts are always slightly damp, and every one of your socks has a hole. On a different toe. Some on two toes.”

“Does that make it worse?” Dimitri whispered.

She nodded solemnly. “It means you can’t ever get used to the feel of it.”

He laughed. “I’m starting to appreciate not having an older sister.”

A throat clearing from the edge of the room made them both swing around.

Rosalie’s eyes narrowed. “Who is it?”

“Vernon.”

“And Oscar,” a second voice added quickly.

Quiet footsteps sounded, and then a third voice said, “What’s this? Are we telling them now?”

“And there’s Ralph.” Rosalie sighed.

“Apparently Daphne told her everything,” Vernon said in complaining tones. “And now she’s making all sorts of dire threats.”

“Short blankets. Holes in the socks,” Oscar said woefully.

“Whatever for?” Ralph protested. “What did we do other than slave to make their food and light their fires?”

There was the sound of a whack, followed by an irritated cry. Dimitri had no idea who had whacked who, however.

“No more sneaking around!” Rosalie said sternly. “The Legacy might make you invisible, but that doesn’t mean we want you lurking around unbeknownst to us. From now on, you announce yourself whenever you get near either of us. And let us know when you leave too.”

She glared in the direction of the voices. “And don’t you dare say you’re leaving and then hang around and eavesdrop.”

“To what?” Vernon asked disgustedly. “Do you think we want to listen to our sister flirting all day?”

“I was not!” Rosalie flushed bright scarlet.

“You can’t blame us,” Oscar said. “We’re yourbrothers. Of course we don’t want to hear it.”

“But don’t think we’re going to leave you two completely alone,” Vernon said heatedly. “Did you really think we’d send you off to live with a strange man on your own?”

“Dimitri isn’t strange,” Rosalie protested.

“He’s a stranger to us,” Ralph said. “Or, he was. I think we all know more about him than we want to now.”

Dimitri drew back, his hands rising instinctively to cover his chest. Just how much had they seen?

“Relax.” Vernon snorted. “We’re in and out to tend your fire and deliver your breakfast tray as fast as humanly possible. And Daphne always did your room, beloved sister.”

“Don’t think you can flatter me into forgetting about this,” Rosalie said darkly. “How did you even know I was coming here?”

“You must have thought we were babies if you thought you could send Daphne to us with the debt money, and we’d just accept it without question,” Vernon protested.

“So you forced her to tell you the truth?” Rosalie frowned. “I hope you weren’t unkind.”

“Force her?” said Ralph. “Hardly. We already knew all about it by then. She told us as soon as she got back from picking the rose.”

Rosalie’s mouth fell open. “All those times I had to chase you away from her that night? You were all plotting together? Talk about betrayal!”

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