Page 67 of The Baron Takes a Bet
Holly pulled a dress on over her undergarments. It was a striped blue and cream day gown Gavin had never seen before. One of her new gowns, he supposed.
“You forgot?”
“I was distracted,” he said with a pointed stare, which made her blush.
“Oh. Well,” she said, remembering the night she had gone to his room. She observed him up and down. “Might I suggest some clothes?”
Remembering that he was naked as the day he was born, Gavin gave her a tight nod and stalked back to their joining door. Back in his room, he dressed in grey trousers, white shirtsleeves, and a diamond-patterned vest as quickly as he could. Grabbing his coat, he pulled it on as he exited his bedchamber, half expecting to see Holly waiting for him, but she hadn’t.
Frowning, he guessed the worry for her brother had been too much. Hurrying down the steps, he came around the railing and headed for the parlor. Upon entering the room, he found that Katrina, Holly, Jasper, and Aunt Marnie were all there, bickering with one another.
“What do you mean you left school—”
“—there’s another one of you Smyths—”
“—I have every intention of paying him back—”
“—you’re going to ruin my debut, Jasper!”
Gavin searched the room, wondering if most families argued like this. It was indeed a new phenomenon for him to be a part of, and while it was certainly noisy, he found it rather interesting to watch, despite his concern for Holly, who no doubt would blame herself for whatever problem Jasper currently found himself in. Leaning against the edge of a marble-topped credenza against the wall, he folded his arms and watched until Holly spotted him.
“Gavin, can you please come here and tell Jasper that he must return to Eton?”
“I don’t need your faux husband acting as my keeper, Holly,” Jasper said.
“You’re going to ruin everything, Jasper!” Katrina whined. “Why must you cause such trouble?”
“My, what a colorful family you’ve married into Gavin,” Aunt Marnie sneered. “A troupe of uneducated, bickering country fools.”
Sighing, Gavin pushed off the credenza. Although Aunt Marnie’s snarky remarks would usually earn her a sarcastic comment or two, Gavin was currently in far too good of a mood to let her bother him. He gave her a contemptuous smirk.
“Aunt Marnie, if you please.” He made a gesture for the door.
She stomped her foot.
“I’m not going anywhere. This concerns me just as well as anyone. If you’re emptying coffers to pay off this young derelict’s gambling habit—”
“He’s not a derelict,” Holly argued. “Not yet anyway.”
“What a dazzling recommendation, sister,” Jasper said sarcastically.
“She’s not wrong,” Katrina said, earning her a scowl from Jasper.
“That’s it,” Gavin said, holding his hands up, trying to stop the squabble before it could go any further. “Jasper, can your sister and I please speak to you, in private?”
Appearing apprehensive, he gave Gavin a long glare before shrugging.
“Very well,” he said, dropping to a chair as Holly nodded.
“Good. Now, Aunt Marnie—”
“I’ll not be tossed aside, Gavin!”
“You’ll be tossed out forever if you don’t do as I say. Now, go on and show Katrina the portrait gallery or the gardens or something.”
The old woman made aHumphsound and stalked out of the room. Though Katrina seemed to want to do anything but go towards the picture gallery with the old woman, she knew she was being dismissed. They left without another word, and Gavin turned back to focus on Jasper.
The young man was a tall fellow if not completely filled out, as he was still young. He was a handsome lad with hair the same color as Holly, though the resemblance ended there. Jasper haddark eyes, a square face, and an angry air about him that Gavin couldn’t quite understand. There was something bitter in the boy’s face that seemed vaguely familiar to Gavin.
