Some where, at the bottom of one of her trunks, she'd had Pansy pack the disreputable old riding habit she had brought with her from Staffordshire. She had ensured it survived every single one of her aunt's culls of her wardrobe, and now she could hardly wait to don it again!

She was just wondering if it was safe to enter her room yet, to get washed and changed in readiness for the earl's visit, when she heard a hesitant scratching noise at the main door.

When she opened it, she saw two identical small boys, dressed in nankeen breeches and rather shabby jackets.

'You must be Monty's brothers!' She beamed down at them. 'You look so much like him!' And they did, in spite of what he had said about them possibly having different pa rent age. Both of them had his thick, fair hair, startlingly green eyes and dimples in the centre of very determined chins.

One of them dug the other in the ribs with his elbow. 'She means Vern.'

The other nodded. 'Spec so.' Then added, 'We aren't supposed to be here.'

'But we wanted to take a look at you.'

'And show you Skip,' said the first, looking down at the front of his jacket which was filled out by a ma.s.s of some thing squirming. The corner of a dog's ear promptly flipped out over the edge of the boy's lapels.

'Oh, is it a terrier?' she asked, warmed by the first sign of anything approaching informal behaviour since setting foot in the house.

The twin with the bulging jacket nodded. 'Best ratter in the county,' he declared.

Midge bit back a grin. The boy was probably only allowed to use his dog under the strict super vision of a game keeper, within the bounds of his own park. But the fact remained he was immensely proud of his pet and wanted to show it off to his new big sister.

She pulled the door open wider to let the boys and their dog in. The twins scanned the corridor behind them rapidly, then ex changed a look with each other, before darting into the formal sitting room.

The minute the door closed behind them, the boy with the dog undid his jacket, and a very excited tan-and-white terrier dropped onto the rug. Tail up, nose down, it embarked on a rapid exploration of the room. Its little paws scrabbled frantically on the smooth surface of the floor boards when it left the safety of the carpet, but it had been running so fast it was unable to slow its skid by much, and landed against the wainscot under the window with an audible thud.

Midge stifled a giggle as, with a doggy attempt at non cha lance, Skip put his nose straight down and began to sniff determinedly along the wainscoting, as though this was exactly where he had decided to be.

'Looks like he's got the scent of a rat,' said his owner knowingly.

'I am sure there are no rats up here,' said Midge. There were so many staff, and the house hold appeared so strictly ordered, she was quite sure no rat would find a home behind the woodwork.

'Do you-' the second twin took a deep breath '-do you like animals?'

'Yes, I do.'

He brightened up immediately, reached into his own jacket, and extracted the sinuous body of a ferret. 'This is Tim. I use him for rabbitting.'

Skip's head shot up. He looked straight at Tim, pulled back his lips and snarled in the manner of one greeting an old adversary. The ferret shot out of the boy's grasp, the dog bounded back onto the carpet, and for a few seconds, the floor about Midge's feet was a blur of fur and teeth and tails.

The ferret emerged from the melee first, streaking across the rug and straight up the curtains where it found a precarious perch on the curtain rod.

The terrier started jumping up and down on the spot, yapping furiously for a few seconds, then, balked of its prey, sank its teeth into a fold of velvet and worried at the curtain as though killing a rat. The action made the curtain pole, on which the ferret was balancing, rattle in its moorings. Tim promptly abandoned it and ran along the picture rail, scattering items of pottery as he went.

Uttering a cry of alarm, Midge flew across the room in time to catch a bud vase, a cup and a plate in rapid succession while Skip, who seemed to have temporarily for got ten that it was the ferret he had been after, re doubled his ferocious attack on the curtains.

When the ferret reached the chimney breast, instead of swarming round its edges, it ran straight down the silk wall pa per, landing on the tea table, where it used the vase as a spring board to launch himself into his master's waiting arms. The vase wobbled, rocked, then pivoted towards the edge of the table. Midge dived to catch it, at the exact same moment that Skip's hind legs found purchase on the carpet and he finally managed to make some headway. Just as Midge's hands closed round the vase, the curtain pole parted company from its moorings, bringing yards of green velvet slithering down on her.

From within the smothering folds of the curtains, Midge heard the crash of breaking crockery, a yelp and the clang of the bra.s.s curtain pole landing on the floor.

It was hard to breathe. Even harder to find a way out of the heavy curtaining wrapped round her body. Eventually, she found a c.h.i.n.k, through which she saw that the sound of breaking crockery had come from the doorway, where a maid had dropped the promised tea tray. The vase, she noted with a feeling of triumph, was lying cushioned by a fold of velvet, the plate, cup and bud vase beside it. She pushed the curtain off her face and sat up.

'Not a single thing broken!' she crowed, flushed with success.

There was no sign of the dog or the ferret, but the twins were standing before the hearth, clutching each other's hands as they stared, aghast, at the slender, fair-haired gentleman who had paused just beyond the wreckage of the tea things.

Monty was there, too, sauntering across from his own quarters, and bowing politely to the fair-haired gentleman.

He cleared his throat, then waved one arm in the direction of the cascade of curtaining, from the depths of which Midge was still struggling to emerge.

'Allow me,' he said, 'to present my wife.'

The fair-haired gentleman's eyes swept the length of Midge's legs, which had emerged from the curtaining minus her skirts. Then, his nostrils flaring in a fastidious expression of distaste, he turned on his heel and stalked away.

Chapter Eight

'We didn't mean any harm, Vern!'

The twins were having a hard time keeping up with Monty as he strode out of the house and through the stable yard to the kennels.

'We just wanted to see what she was like!'

'That had better have been all it was,' snapped Monty, as he produced Skip from inside his jacket. 'I hope it was not the kind of devilment you have employed in the past, to rid yourself of every governess who has dared to set foot in your school room.'

'We never meant-'

'Oh, didn't you! Well, even if you did not humiliate her on purpose, that is what you have done, with your wilful disregard of the rules. You know you are not supposed to bring animals indoors! You were lucky I heard Skip barking and got to him before father came in,' he growled, stuffing the wriggling bundle of fur firmly into his cage.

'You ain't...you ain't gonna put Skip in a sack and drown him, are you?'

Monty turned to his woebegone younger brother in surprise. 'Why in G.o.d's name should I do that?'

'Piers would've,' said the other sulkily, extracting the ferret from his own jacket, then thrusting his pet into his hutch.

'I am not Piers!' he grated, filled with loathing for the man who would have deliberately inflicted so much pain on two defenceless children. 'I hope to G.o.d I am nothing like him.'

The Earl of Corfe's first born had been spoilt from birth, and grown into a cruel and selfish young man. Every time he had come home from school, Monty had been the b.u.t.t of his s.a.d.i.s.tic sense of humour. As, in their turn, had these two.

'The earl says you ain't,' declared Jeremiah.

'Says it all the time,' said Tobias.

And Monty could just hear the tone of voice in which his father said it. With a rueful grin, he leaned down and ruffled the boys' hair.

As one, they stepped back, out of his reach. But then Jeremiah glanced at Skip, snuffling happily round his pen, squared his shoulders, and declared, 'We'll tell her we're sorry.'

'Yes, we'll make it up to her!'

'I hope so,' said Monty. 'Because she is your sister now. And she is here to stay.'

Two sombre footmen came to the sitting room, armed with stepladders, to re-hang the curtains.

'I slipped on the floor boards,' said Midge, red-faced, as one of them climbed to remount the curtain pole. 'And grabbed the curtains to prevent myself from falling.'

The two men ex changed meaningful glances as they re-positioned the set of ladders by the chimney breast and care fully began to replace the delicate ornaments in their correct positions.

Knowing she had done all she could to prevent the boys from getting into trouble, Midge re treated to her bedroom to get changed for dinner.

She did not see Monty again until just before it was time to go down stairs. He emerged from the door to his own room, strode across to her and took both her hands in his.

'Are you angry with me?' he said.

'Me? Angry with you?'

If anything, she would have thought Monty would have been furious with her for having made such a spectacle of herself.

'It was imperative I got the dog out of here before father realized what the twins had done,' he explained. 'When I got down to the kennels and learned their punishment for breaking the rules would have been to see their pets drowned, it made me sure I had done the right thing. But the h.e.l.l of it was, I did not have time to ensure you were unharmed.'

'Oh, never mind that!' ex claimed Midge, horrified to think of anything so dreadful happening to that dear little dog. 'I was not hurt. Only embarra.s.sed.'

He smiled with relief. Then linked his arm with hers, saying, 'Come on, time to go down and face the music.'

Oh, Lord, she swallowed. However was she going to look her new father-in-law in the face? The last time he'd seen her, she had been lying on her back on the floor, completely covered with curtains. Apart from her legs, which, she recalled with chagrin, had been waving around in the air.

The earl was sitting on a com fort able chair by a roaring fire, in what was otherwise quite a chilly reception room. He accorded Midge a cool nod of recognition when he saw them enter the room, but did not deign to rise to his feet. At first she was somewhat taken aback by such a lapse of manners, but then she remembered he was reckoned to be some thing of an invalid.

Though as she eyed him more keenly, a frown gathered on her brow. He had a spare frame and a weary look to his eyes, but his fair hair was still abundant and his skin, though pale, not unduly lined. In fact, he did not look in the least ill to her.

Then he turned to Monty, and the temperature in the room dropped by several degrees, the look he accorded his son and heir was so frosty. Monty returned the look with equal froideur froideur, took her arm and led her towards an ascetic-looking cleric, who had had got to his feet. got to his feet.

'Allow me to present my father's personal chaplain, the Reverend Nor ring ton,' said Monty as the cleric made his bow. 'And my father's private physician, Dr Cottee.' A rubicund gentleman, who had been taking a gla.s.s from a salver held out by one of the footmen, nodded to her affably.

'Now that you are here, we shall go in,' announced the earl dryly, getting to his feet with a fluidity of movement that was surprising for a man she had been told was an invalid.

The menu gave her pause, though. Every dish that was presented seemed designed to tempt the appet.i.te of an elderly, sickly man. A delicate, trans parent consomme in which she could just detect the flavour of chicken, was followed by steamed fish and a selection of boiled vegetables, and rounded off with an a.s.sortment of milk puddings.

Not that she managed to eat much of anything. She had been a bundle of nerves before even coming down. Now, the coldness of the earl, the haughty demeanour of the footmen and the bland ness of the food completely robbed her of her appet.i.te.

Worse still, n.o.body talked! Not that she would have dared say anything, had anyone at tempted to strike up a conversation. She was quite sure that if she opened her mouth for any reason, she would only give the earl an even worse impression of her. And her hands were shaking so badly that, when she reached for her wine gla.s.s, she decided she had better not attempt to drink anything either. She was bound to spill her wine over the pristine white drapery! She withdrew her hand and tucked it in her lap.

'We are not used to entertaining females at Shevington,' remarked the earl as he discarded his napkin and signalled for the removal of the cloth.

It took Midge a few seconds to realize that this was the signal for her to go to whatever drawing room was designated for use for the rest of the evening.

But as she got to her feet, he added, 'You will retire to your own rooms.'

Midge couldn't help herself. She just gaped at him as she realized she was being dismissed! Not that she was not relieved that her ordeal in the earl's company was at an end, but still, it was not pleasant to think he could not tolerate one second more of her company either.

There was a sc.r.a.ping of chairs as the other gentlemen got to their feet, expecting her to meekly quit the field.

'W-well, good night then,' she stammered, blundering towards the door.

'I shall come with you,' said Monty, flinging his napkin onto the table. 'I wish you you to remain here,' snapped the earl. 'I have several matters I wish to discuss.' to remain here,' snapped the earl. 'I have several matters I wish to discuss.'

'I don't think that would be wise, do you Dr Cottee? Considering the delicate state of my father's digestion.'

The doctor's smile froze as his eyes darted from one implacable aristocrat to the other.

'Oh, if your father wants you to-' Midge began. Monty grabbed her by the elbow and propelled her towards the door.

'Silence!' he hissed into her ear. And then, with a cold smile at his father, 'I a.s.sure you, my response to those matters you wish to discuss would be bound to give you indigestion. Far better to talk in the morning.'

'As you say.' The earl's thin lips twisted into a sneer. 'Run along after your wife, then, boy.'

Monty marched Midge to their rooms in silence. Only when he had kicked the door shut behind him did he round on her. 'Do not argue with me in front of my father, ever again!' He spun away from her, running his fingers through his hair.

'I...I did not mean to. I just thought-'

'Well, don't think! Just follow my lead. And for G.o.d's sake, let me do the fighting in future.'

Midge was sorely tempted to sketch him a salute. She settled for merely saying, 'Yes, Major! Any further orders?'

'Dammit.' He seized her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. 'I am trying to defend you, here. Keep you out of trouble! Can't you see that?'

The trouble was, she could. She had not been here five minutes before she had demonstrated how out of place she was. Dinner tonight had con firmed he had not made the wisest of choices in her. His father had obviously been dying to get him alone, and give him a tr.i.m.m.i.n.g for bringing home a girl who was so gauche and awkward and clumsy. Leave alone being a daughter of scandal.

'I fear that task is even beyond you, Major Claremont,' she said, her whole body drooping with the realization of how badly she was bound to let him down.

'No,' he growled. 'It is not. It must not be.' Some thing like desperation clouded his features before he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

There was some thing about the way he kissed when he was angry that thrilled her to the core.

Her despondency vanished as she poured back all her own hurt and loneliness and wounded pride into the kiss. She clamped her hands behind his head when he would have broken away. For she had been waiting for him to kiss her all day. Ever since he had set her ablaze by merely lifting her out of the coach. And now that she had him exactly where she wanted him, it felt as though, somehow, she had to...beat him at his own game!

His hands swept down her sides, paused to measure the span of her waist, then slid round and down, squeezing her bottom hard.

Midge felt a victorious thrill as he ground his hips against her stomach, for he was definitely, hugely, aroused.