Page 21 of The Moonstone Pirate
Draco smiled, liking how good these sisters were to each other. Too bad he and his brothers had never formed any such attachment. He might have done with Rafael, but his brother had joined the army while fairly young, and Draco, being a mere boy at the time, had seen very little of him throughout the years.
“She is a lady in every way,” Imogen continued, as though her sister’s reputation needed defending. As far as Draco was concerned, it did not. He never paid attention to gossip, since it was often distorted and maliciously spread. “Always kind and protective of me. She is not only a beloved sister but my best friend.”
Imogen’s eyes began to tear.
She blamed it on the sun and turned away from him to stare at the manor house. “I miss her terribly, so it was nice to have your cousin’s company. Deandra is a lovely girl, and I think we shall become good friends.”
“I’m glad, Imogen.” He gave Parrot a last pat, and then strode into the house with her. “Do you know where my uncle happens to be?”
“I expect we will find him in Uncle Cormac’s library. My uncle and Phoebe are down on the beach with their boys andDeandra. Parrot and I were with them, but he began whining, so I assumed he was hungry and came up here to feed him. Then he got distracted by that stick he wanted me to toss for him and forgot about eating for the moment.”
“Listen to him. He is whining again.” Draco chuckled. “He is always hungry.”
Despite her attempt to remain aloof with him, Imogen emitted a soft trill of laughter. “I figured that out rather quickly. Tending to him is like tending to an infant. Not that I’ve had much practice, but I did help Ella with her newborn.”
“You have the softest expression on your face. You must have enjoyed it.”
“I did, even though her little boy had us up at all hours. Parrot did the same, always pleading for food and drink. Tugging the sleeve of my nightgown to stir me out of my sleep. Then he wanted to run outside at the crack of dawn to chase birds and squirrels.”
“Forgive me, Imogen,” he said with a groan. “I thought he would protect you, not be an additional burden for you.”
“No, not at all. He is delightful. I enjoy having him with me.”
“He obviously enjoys being with you.” Draco cast her a tender smile. “Where is your kitchen? I’ll take him out back and feed him some scraps.”
“Oh, Melrose will manage that.” She turned to the butler who had greeted them as they walked into the house. “Do you mind terribly, Melrose?”
“Not at all, Lady Imogen,” the kindly butler said before summoning a footman to take over attending the front door, and then motioning for Parrot to follow him. The dog scampered after Melrose without a fuss, since he sensed there would be delectable scraps for him once they reached their destination.
“Let’s find your uncle,” Imogen said, her smile dazzling. “You seem eager to speak to him. Did those horrible lords revealanything useful? I know you intended to question them this morning.”
Draco was about to give her a polite but dismissive answer, then thought better of it. Imogen was clever. She had been helpful in this investigation so far. “Walk out onto the terrace with me a moment. Can we talk in private there?”
She nodded. “Yes. Follow me.”
She led him through the elegant parlor that was decorated in shades of summer, lots of greens and floral fabrics tastefully interspersed throughout, and then took him through the open glass doors that led onto the terrace. They stood beside the balustrade that happened to be in partial shade at this hour and stared at the magnificent view of the cove with its azure waters. The quaint village of Moonstone Landing was also visible in the distance.
“What have you learned, Draco?” She gasped. “Forgive me, Lord Woodley.”
“Draco,” he corrected her. “I know I must endure being called Woodley by others. But not from you, Imogen. Draco will do whenever we are not in polite company and required to be formal.”
“Very well,Draco.”
He stopped admiring the view and turned to her, liking the sound of his name on her lips. It was a stupid thing to think about right now, but Imogen was quietly overwhelming his senses. He was not used to feeling this way about anyone.
That’s what it was—a knot of feelings all wrapped in a tight ball he dared not unwind.
He wanted to kiss Imogen and wanted to protect her, but he did not want tofeelanything serious just yet.
Perhaps it was already too late.
Blessed saints. He had only met her yesterday.
“When you and I spoke last night, I mentioned that I had not invited Driscoll or his friends to the masquerade ball. I checked my lists again first thing this morning, and they were most definitely not on them. However, Lord Hawes told me they had each received an invitation with a little note tucked inside that mentioned my brother, Nolan. The note said the invitation was in honor of his memory.”
“Of course, that makes sense.” Her eyes rounded as though she had just realized something important. “Draco, did you know that Nolan died while attending a house party at Lord Driscoll’s country estate?”
“At Driscoll’s?” He frowned. “How do you know this?”
