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them.”
    Saber curled his hands into fists, realizing
he was thoroughly trapped. Backing out of the bet with Addison and
the boys was one thing, but disappointing his Aunt Lucy and Aunt
Clara was quite another. He couldn’t do that. It would hurt them
terribly.
    However, escorting a bevy of elderly ladies
to Paris was about the worst thing he could think of himself doing.
He loved his two aunts dearly, but they and their friends had a way
of driving him to distraction. Being a slave for two weeks at
Leighwood was definitely the lesser of the two evils. “You and the
lads have tricked me into some outlandish wagers during the years,
Addison, but this one—”
    “Is by far the best,” Addison finished for
him. “Better even than the time you lost a bet and had to escort
Prudence Weatherby to the Marlborough ball.”
    Saber groaned again, remembering that not
only was Prudence Weatherby the homeliest girl in all of London,
but she also had some sort of deformity in her nose that caused her
to snort like a sow. The Marlborough ball had been one of the
longest, most irritating nights of his life.
    At the look of revulsion on Saber’s face,
Addison grinned and strolled to the door. “Give over, Saber. You’ve
well and truly lost. And if you could possibly see your situation
in a more positive light, you would be thanking the boys and me for
all we’ve done and still plan to do. You need to be ruffled on
occasion. Your life is boring and uneventful, and a trip out of
London is just the thing for you. I cannot remember the last time
you joined us for a holiday in the country. The only times you ever
go are when you slip away for those passion-filled trysts with the
Frost Queen. And don’t try sending word to her of your whereabouts
for the next two weeks, Saber. Jillian’s not invited. If she dares
to show up, I will personally—”
    Saber set down his cup, the loud rattle
cutting off Addison. “I was under the impression that Leighwood
belongs to me. Are you saying I am forbidden to invite—”
    “Exactly. The agreement was that you would
do exactly as the boys and I say, and we say she’s not invited.
Whatever it is you see in that female serpent is beyond me
anyway.”
    Jillian Somerset’s image came to Saber’s
mind. The young and extraordinarily beautiful widow of an elderly
earl, her hot body sheltered an icy heart, and that suited him
perfectly. He made no promises to her, saw no future with her, and
he’d made that clear from the very beginning of their relationship.
He suspected she harbored the secret desire to become his duchess,
but if she ever brought the subject up he’d dismiss her from his
life in an instant.
    Addison saw the faraway look in Saber’s eyes
and realized he was pondering Jillian. “You’ll never meet anyone
else if you insist on spending what little free time you allow
yourself with her, Saber. Granted, she is a beautiful woman, but
hers is a cold beauty. I confess to shivering when she looks at me
with those glacial blue eyes of hers. There are dozens of other
lovely women who—”
    “I’ve seen most all of them, care for none,
and have no desire to meet any others.” Bejeweled vultures, all of
them, he mused angrily. He was the prime piece of meat, and he did
everything he could to avoid their sharpened talons. “None are any
different than Jillian, Addison, so I fail to see the importance of
my becoming acquainted with them.”
    “But—”
    “At any rate, my love life is my own
concern, and I will not discuss it with you. I’m in no need of your
matchmaking anyway, and thank God I’m not. The last girl you
arranged for me to meet didn’t know what two plus two equals, and
could speak of nothing but her talent with napkins. For two solid
hours I had to sit and watch her fold a square of linen into
different shapes. One of them, as I recall, was my own profile. Now
why she thought I would enjoy wiping my mouth with my own face goes
quite beyond my lowly