Charming the Snake

by MaryJanice Davidson, Camille Anthony, Melissa Schroeder

  Once the manager seated Alicia, Chassy accepted the chair held out for her. Leisurely removing her gloves, she tucked them in her reticule before picking up the cup of steaming tea and plunking two cubes of sugar into the fragrant mixture. “We are seeking Lord Rotham. Has he been here today?”

  The man wrung his hands, a nervous motion noted by both cousins. “The earl is a great reader. He was here earlier, as he is most days. However, I fear you’ve missed him. He left shortly before your own arrival.”

  “What a pity,” Chassy purred, sipping her weak tea. “We were desirous of meeting with him.” She unobtrusively slid a large-denomination pound note under her saucer, leaving the corner exposed.

  “Perhaps one of your servers overheard his direction and can inform us of the next stop on today’s travels?” Her fingers played with the bill, edged it closer toward the man.

  The proprietor’s eyes grew large and avid with lust for the money. She could almost see the wheels turning as he tried to figure out a way he could earn that amount of cash. “I will ask around right now. If anyone recalls something, you may be sure I will return and inform you immediately.”

  “Thank you,” Chassy murmured.

  “So kind...” Once the manager left, Ali sat back and sipped at her tea. “Well, so much for that. What shall we do while we wait?”

  “Lady Chastity Tilson?”

  Chastity looked up with a smile. A woman stood over her. She looked familiar. The smile left Chassy’s lips while she tried to recall where she’d seen her before. Oh, heck, the short, chubby woman from last night... what was her name, again? “Yes, I am Lady Chastity. Lady... er... ah...?”

  Ali came to her rescue. Rising, she dropped a perfunctory curtsey and extended her hand in greeting. “Why, Your Grace, how lovely to see you. How are you this afternoon?”

  Oh, right! Chassy recalled now. She was the pleasant-natured duchess with the rude husband. Pettibone, hadn’t it been?

  “Please, Lady Avondale, call me Lucynda.” The sweet-faced woman turned her head and her soft green eyes hardened as she focused her attention on Chastity. “I had hoped to receive an early morning visit from you, my dear.” Her voice chilled. “I knew your father... well.”

  Chastity’s mind sprang to attention. This was the second time this woman had alluded to a meeting between them. What could she possibly have to discuss with her? Unless... perhaps...? No!

  On the face of it, it didn’t seem possible that the mild-mannered, pudgy duchess of Pettibone might have information -- or somehow be involved with -- the person or persons unknown who had tried to kill Chassy’s father. What else could she conclude, though?

  “How well did you know my father?”

  “Very well. We were... childhood sweethearts. I wanted the opportunity to, well... reminisce with you.”

  Cold spread through Chassy as she looked at this small, nondescript, grandmotherly woman and wondered if she’d been the force behind the blow that brought her father low. She fought to maintain her composure.

  ... this is not the place to let others see your pain...

  The grand duke’s words of last night echoed in her mind, gave her the strength to hold on to her control.

  “Forgive me, madam. The wound is too new. I am barely out of mourning.”

  “I understand, my dear.” She patted Chassy’s arm. “Take your time coming to me, but remember that every day, the time grows shorter.”

  Chassy exchanged a shocked glance with Ali as the little duchess glided away.

  “Your jaw is sagging.” Ali couldn’t keep the smirk off her face.

  Chassy didn’t respond, too busy trying to unravel the mysterious pronouncements Lucynda Pettibone seemed so fond of spouting.

  She locked gazes with Alicia. “What was that about? Take my time, but time grows short?”

  Ali shrugged. “Very strange mumblings, if you ask me. I feel like the patron who comes to the play in the middle of the act, incapable of catching up with the action or making any sense of the plot.”

  Chassy snorted. “You did notice she didn’t give me a choice about coming, only a choice of when I came.”

  “And are you planning to go?”

  “Oh, I really think I might.” Chassy brought her cup to her lips and took a long drink. She didn’t set the cup down until she’d drained it. “Let’s get back to the flitter. I’d like to --”

  “My ladies,” the proprietor interrupted, “one of my waitresses overheard Lord Rotham saying he would be stopping over to spend some time at the Landing Museum. If you like, I can send a servant after him.”

  “That won’t be necessary, thank you.” Chassy stood and tugged her gloves back on. “The museum is a neutral place where we can accidentally bump into Lord Rotham. Your assistance will not be needed.”

  The man’s whole posture fell. Chassy hid a smile. She’d forgotten the money she’d offered as incentive for his help. “The tea was quite delicious.” She gestured toward the bill still sticking out from under the edge of her plate. “Please accept this token of our appreciation.”

  Stammering a grateful “Thank you, madam!” the proprietor whisked the plates, saucers, and cups off the table and wiped the top down. When he finished, the money had disappeared.

  Chapter Seven

  “Why, Lord Rotham, fancy meeting you here! I hope we are not intruding upon your contemplation of the antiquities housed here.”

  A wry smile widened C.C.’s mouth as he bowed over Alicia’s outstretched hand. “Good afternoon, Lady Avondale. The intrusion of beautiful women is always a pleasure. Chassy...” He bowed again, deeper.

  “C.C.”

  She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It hurt to see her bright beauty. Hurt to know she would never love him or shine for him, never light up from inside at the sight of his face. Not like she’d lit up for Darian the night before. The light in her eyes had been like a thousand incandescent candles, hot and vibrant and burning with lust and something deeper.

  “How may I be of service to you, ladies?”

  Chassy cleared her throat. “Dare.”

  C.C. lowered his eyelids, hiding the resentment he knew would be visible if he met her gaze right now. When he opened them again, he caught the cousins exchanging a speaking glance.

  “You want Darian.” His voice sounded gruff even to his own ears.

  “To know his direction, yes,” Chassy whispered.

  “You want Darian.” He repeated his statement, his voice grown hard and implacable. She would admit the truth to both of them, all three of them, if she would have his help.

  “Yes.” She met his gaze, her brown eyes direct and clear, and no shadows of deceit darkening the smooth surface. “I want Darian.”

  The lights turned on within her, almost blinding him with her need.

  “I will take you to him. But first we will escort Lady Avondale home.”

  * * * * *

  “C.C., why did you insist on Alicia going home?”

  He didn’t respond for a long time. She was about to ask again when he sighed, then tugged on the reins to turn and slow the celebeast-drawn carriage. He pulled over to the side of the busy street and came to a complete halt.

  Turning toward her, he propped an elbow on his knee and cocked his head. “You want the truth?”

  “Please and always.”

  “I didn’t think you needed an audience when you met with Dare. I don’t know what you told Lady Stanton, but you and I know you aren’t going to be taking afternoon tea with my brother.”

  Shock roared through her. Ignoring his sarcasm, she latched onto the one item of information she never would have expected. “Darian Acer is your brother?”

  C.C. shifted impatiently. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Chassy, how could you not know? Open your eyes and really see. I thought you were more observant than most. You certainly stared at him enough last night to memorize his features.”

  She blinked. When she looked again, she saw Dare in C.C
.’s long limbs and bone structure. The broad forehead and strong jaw, the length of arms and legs, even the shape of the eyes, though the color was different.

  One hand covered her mouth. “Oh, my god!”

  “No, our father.”

  She couldn’t stop gazing at him, searching for and finding more similarities. “Who else knows?”

  He ticked them off on each finger. “Let’s see… our mutual father, my mother and deceased father, and most assuredly Dare’s mother, the poor thing.”

  Curiosity swamped her. “Darian is the elder?”

  “Between us, yes. I am the younger indiscretion, the unadmitted sin. Darian and his other brother were the classic example of the heir and the spare. Darian was the spare. Only, it wasn’t Dare’s mother who wandered after the spare was secured, but our lordly father.” The sneer in his voice clashed with the playboyish aspect he usually projected.

  She nodded her understanding. In most good families, the partners married dynastically. Love rarely came into the equation. After the wife gave her husband two sons, the unspoken tradition allowed her to seek love elsewhere. Her mother and father -- well, her mother, anyway -- had suffered through the same type of marriage. Society never held the husband to the same standards.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Congratulate us. We have wrested victory from the defeat and ignominy heaped upon us by a common enemy.”

  A half-smile stretched her lips. “Congratulations.”

  C.C. nodded and flicked the ribbons over the celebeasts’ backs, setting them back in motion. “I hear congratulations are in order for you, also.”

  She bowed her head, finding it hard to meet his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I hear you are in the market to acquire a new mistress.”

  Her face flamed. “He told you.”

  “Yelled is more like it.” The laugh that rumbled in his chest held no amusement. “I’ve never seen him angrier. Or more hurt.”

  The heat of embarrassment burned so hotly, her flesh felt inflamed. His eyes when they met hers were a hard, clear blue, fanning the heat to a higher blaze. “You don’t approve of my offer to him, do you?”

  “I don’t approve of you hurting my brother. You are hard on a man’s heart, Chastity. I find myself grateful you did not choose me.”

  Chassy gasped. “You’re being mean, C.C.”

  “You’re right. That was unworthy of me, milady. My apologies.”

  Her heart sank. “Oh, C.C., I don’t want to lose your friendship over this.”

  “We’re here.” He pulled up on the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt. He jumped down and came around to help her down from her high perch.

  He looked too much like Dare. And though he was not his brother, being rejected by him was like taking a knife in the chest. Panic choked her, froze her forward momentum, and scattered her resolve. “I can’t do this. Take me home. Take me back.”

  His hands were on her shoulders, shaking her. “Calm down! Listen, Chassy. Listen to me. My brother cares for you. In all the years we’ve known each other, he’s never refused me anything, but last night he refused to back away from you, knowing how much I wanted you for myself.”

  He released her and stepped back. A gamin smile lit his handsome face. “So I sulked a bit. What can I say?” He splayed his open hands, lifted his shoulders in a rueful shrug. “I’m used to getting my way, but you haven’t lost my friendship, and you won’t.”

  She hugged him tight. “Thank you. You cannot know how much I appreciate that. You’re about the only man I know who doesn’t expect me to simper and bat my eyelashes like the usual run of silly debutantes. You don’t belittle me for trying to better myself.”

  Chezann laughed low and shook his head. “If I am such a paragon, how can you not love me?”

  She placed a gentle hand on his cheek and he rolled his head into the palm of her hand, pressing against her skin. “I do love you, C.C. I just don’t lust after you. One day --”

  He raised a cautioning hand. “Please don’t tell me some day I’ll find a woman who will love me as I deserve. I couldn’t stand that right now. Just make me one promise.”

  “Anything.”

  “If this thing between you and Dare doesn’t work out, don’t overlook me as a possible replacement.”

  Chassy closed her eyes and thought about that, thought about missing Dare, needing him, and finding his phantom echo in the lines of Chezann’s lithe body. Her soul rebelled against the notion, knowing it would kill her as surely as a knife through the heart. She raised a hand and rubbed the skin between her breasts, feeling the ache on a spiritual plane.

  She wasn’t aware of shaking her head so frantically her hair broke loose from its moorings and tumbled about her shoulders. Cognizance came back when C.C. rocked her against him, a hand smoothing from shoulder to waist and returning in a calming pattern.

  “Bad idea, huh?”

  She shuddered, buried herself closer for a moment as she fought to regain her equilibrium. Her hesitant words, when they came, were forced from a constricted throat. “You are so alike... it would be an abomination.” She raised her head and looked at him, courageously meeting his deep blue gaze. “It wouldn’t be fair to you. Every day, I’d be cheating you because when I touched you, loved you, I’d be touching Dare, loving Dare. It would make you a substitute... and you’re worth more than that.”

  “I wouldn’t care --”

  She placed a finger across his lips. “Yes, you would. Eventually, you would. We’d end up hating each other. You’d hate me because I used you. You’d hate yourself for allowing me to do so. I’d hate you because you wouldn’t be him. And I’d hate myself for hurting my best friend.”

  C.C. sighed. His chest rose and fell under her head. She could feel the slow, resigned beating of his heart. “Best friend, huh?”

  “The best.”

  He sighed again. His arms squeezed tight for a moment, before he released her and took a step back. “I guess I can live with that.”

  Chapter Eight

  Chastity stood on Dare’s doorstep, rubbing her aching knuckles and wondering what had brought her to this state. A small, icy snake of fear curled low in her belly, hissing in warning each time she banged on the door. Bold as she usually acted, she’d surprised even herself by showing up on a man’s doorstep in broad daylight, determined to apologize for hurting his feelings, only so she could try to talk him into becoming her personal fuck toy.

  She didn’t want just anyone. Her reaction to C.C.’s advances had proved to her she only heated up for Dare. And right now, the heat within her threatened to burn her to cinders. It wasn’t just about fucking. Not really. She hadn’t even done that, yet, so it wasn’t as if her entire life revolved around sex.

  “Hey, lady, you can knock on my door anytime!”

  She whipped around to find a crowd gathering. People passing by eyed her with knowing gazes and sleazy grins. Beginning to feel self-conscious, she shifted, hiding her face, and again beat on Dare’s door.

  Where was he? Why didn’t he answer? C.C. had assured her he was inside, yet she’d knocked twice -- to her knuckles’ detriment -- and had received no response.

  Hurt welled up; tears threatened to spill. She gasped as chills rippled across her chest and spread down her arms. A lump of ice formed in the pit of her belly, freezing her all the way to her soul. Was this his way of rejecting her... again? Please, no!

  “Darian Acer! Darian Acer, you open this door! I’m not going away until I speak to you,” she yelled at the top of her voice, banging on the door with both fists, determined to get a response. He wasn’t going to get away with ignoring her.

  The door opened abruptly and her hands, already in motion, landed against a firm, broad chest. Arms grabbed her and yanked her through the portal. “What the hell are you doing here?” Dare stuck his head out and scanned the street both ways before slamming the door shut. Turning to face her, he leaned against the door, his
hands tucked behind his back.

  “What were you trying to do... ruin your reputation and blacken mine even further? You know better than to show up at a bachelor’s digs without a chaperone.” He saw her mouth open and raised his voice, continuing before she could get a word in edgewise. “Chastity, you need spanking. Your behavior is unacceptable.”

  His displeasure scalded her, hurt in a way her father’s frequent scolding never had. Her pain quickly gave way to anger. How dare he pass judgment on her when he was no angel himself? “You didn’t find it so last evening, when you begged me to come back with you so I could... presumably... come again.”

  He had the grace to look shamefaced. “Don’t remind me. That was your fault --”

  “Mine!”

  “Yes, yours,” he accused. “You had me out of my mind with lust.”

  Her lip turned up in a fine sneer. “Trust a man to blame the woman in these situations. I suppose I tied you down and had my wicked way with you until I rendered you totally under my control.”

  Long fingers raked a furrow through thick black hair. “Something along those lines, yes,” he mumbled, flicking a guilty glance down at her.

  “You lie!” Chassy wagged an accusing digit in his face. Stalking over to him, she stabbed her stiff finger at his chest, emphasizing each point.

  “First, if I had been in control, you never would have left me last night. Second, I wouldn’t have been standing outside begging for you to let me in. Third, I wouldn’t still be a virgin... and a hungry one, at that!”

  Dare straightened away from the door and loomed over her. His eyes gleamed with a growing fire, an intimate flame that seared the tips of her stiffening nipples and twanged the cord that ran between her breast and her vagina.

  “You know, I wasn’t going to see you again. Then I thought better of it. Why the hell not? If you want an affair, I’ll give you one. After all, I come out ahead in this win/win situation.”