Read Amelia Grey - [Rogues' Dynasty 06] for Free Online Page B

you for giving me my first kiss.”
    “Your first? Really?”
    “Yes,” she answered, wondering why he seemed so surprised.
    His eyes narrowed for a moment as if indicating he wondered if he should believe her.
    “Not even a buss on the cheek from a distant cousin?”
    She shook her head.
    “Well then, perhaps I should give you another.”
    She moistened her lips. “Perhaps you should.”
    “Good evening.”
    Sophia turned and looked down the corridor to see a tall, lanky gentleman with unusually big eyes walking toward them. Sophia had been introduced to Lord Waldo Rockcliffe earlier in the evening. Sir Randolph had made a point of telling her later that Lord Waldo was the younger brother of the unwed Duke of Rockcliffe, but that the duke was a man she could not encourage. The duke was known to cheat at cards and, according to Sir Randolph, that made His Grace an unacceptable match for her.
    “Good evening, Miss Hart, Mr. Brentwood,” the man said.
    Brentwood?
    Sophia felt as if her heart slammed against her chest. She tried to hide her shock at hearing his name but wasn’t sure she had.
    Could her handsome stranger be one of the Brentwood twins? The gentlemen who were connected to Sir Randolph by a long-ago secret love affair and slanderous gossip? The twins she’d heard about for years? He had a thin beard and much darker hair, so she hadn’t seen the resemblance to Sir Randolph that the scandal sheets had talked about. Now that she knew who he was, she could see a resemblance.
    As Lord Waldo neared them, Mr. Brentwood whispered softly enough so only she could hear, “I think we can declare that Lord Waldo just introduced us, Miss Hart.”
    Sophia searched his face. He gave no indication that hearing her name told him she was Sir Randolph’s ward. Surely that would have at least caused his eyebrows to go up in recognition.
    She cleared her throat and just as softly answered, “I believe you are right, Mr. Brentwood, and we can thank the angels watching over us that he didn’t witness our kiss.”
    “Indeed we can.”
    Sophia searched her mind for things she’d heard about the Brentwood twins and their shipbuilding company while she’d lived with her father in Baltimore where he took treatments for his lungs. At the time, Sophia wasn’t old enough to attend the parties and balls, so she had never met either of the brothers, but she had read plenty.
    She knew the twins had been very successful in their business strategy. To the public, it appeared that one twin was more aggressive and daring in his approach to business dealings than the other. But, according to what Sophia had gleaned from her father’s assessment of the brothers and from what she’d read, it was the more even-tempered twin, the one who was slow to act, who had been the success behind the business. Her father had considered Mr. Matson Brentwood a reasonable, approachable, and resourceful gentleman who efficiently and successfully made all the decisions.
    The twins had only recently moved to London, and the stir they caused was still being felt. Even their older brother, who was a viscount, had caused a big scandal when he’d been caught in the park with a duke’s daughter late last year. Everything must have worked out for the viscount, because Sophia read not long ago that he and the lady had married.
    Sophia continued to stare at Mr. Brentwood. So which twin did she have standing before her now: Mr. Matson or Mr. Iverson Brentwood?
    “Lord Waldo,” Mr. Brentwood said coolly as the man stopped in front of them.
    “Good evening again, Lord Waldo.” Sophia greeted the man only a little more friendly than Mr. Brentwood had.
    “I hope I’m not interrupting a private tête-à-tête here in this darkened section of the corridor.”
    “Not at all, Lord Waldo,” Mr. Brentwood said.
    “Ah, wonderful. I’m glad I found you, Miss Hart. I was having a conversation with a couple of gents a few minutes ago, and we decided Sir Randolph was