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The second, a glass of port to be i in his favorite chair before the fire Today was no different He settled doith a satisfied sigh, his old bones aching yet co edition of the Times The fire popped, and the paper rattled in the quiet A peaceful moment shattered as a shout of pure incredulity broke fro announcement of Lord Benjamin Aldo Fitzwilliam Wallace Archer, Fifth Baron Archer of Umberslade, to Miss Miranda Rose Ellis
"Son of a bitch!" He slammed the paper down in a rare display of teland when he had promised to stay away After all the work Percival had done to hush things up, the countless times he had covered Archer’s tracks, for the sake of all their reputations Now in jeopardy because Archer had a twitch in his cock Impertinent lot, the Archers One and all By God, it was not to be borne The impudent whelp would have to be spoken to, firmly
A cold wind touched his back, an icy caress from an openThe oddity of it barely touched hishiht of a black mask at the corner of his eye
"Archer?" he rasped Blood thundered through his ears His bladder had let loose, the thick briny sh the cold air as the warive ainst the chair "But I need you to send a ht A sharp burn shot across Percival’s throat He gagged, hot blood splashing his shaking hands, splattering across the white uerreotype of Bea on her fortieth birthday He took a rattling breath, tasted salt and blood upon his tongue Bea
"Are you well settled?" Lord Archer led Miranda to a table long enough to seat twenty, with silver candelabru center The h for a party The sight of nu dishes perplexed her as the table was set for one A single, lonely place setting next to the head of the table
He held out the chair in front of the setting and bid her to sit
"Yes, thank you" She eyed the food with amazement as he proceeded to lift the lids himself Wafts of steam rose from the dishes and, with it, the scent of rich waruish any one component but rather a miasma of such delectability that her ?"
"Alas, I cannot dine with you," he said with a touch of asperity, for the reason was obvious "I dined earlier"
She glanced away frorin if they were ever to dine together "Then all of this bounty is for one the pleasure of eating such foods for some time" He reached for her soup bowl "Oyster stew or chicken soup?"
"Oyster, please" A happy smile pulled her lips She hadn’t had oyster stew in years
Lord Archer ladled the fragrant white broth into the bowl and set it down "Whereas I have been blessed with endless bounty, yet no one ho her a small silver bowl filled with oyster crackers
"But I could not eat all of this"
"Well, I certainly hope you shall try a little Careful consideration has gone into the planning of this hly put out should you waste away from lack of effort"
"Wish to fatten me up, do you?"
"Mmm" Gray eyes skio?" He rested an elbow on his chair arm "Ah yes, I have lured you into erbread to tehts And when you are nice and pluible heat washed like the tide over her skin There was only light laughter in his tone yet the force of his gaze , she tried to look stern "I suppose you have forgotten that Gretel outwitted the old witch in the end and roasted her alive"
He chuckled, a deep ruruesoreed with a s Unexpected, but decidedly so "Very well, I shall do my part Only what of the rest?"
"The servants shall have it" He looked at her with some amusement "Does that appease you?"
"It does"
The creaolden puddles of butter, tasted like heaven on a spoon She nearly groaned with pleasure and forced herself to eat slowly, aware that Lord Archer watched with rapt interest
"Wine?" He poured with the deft ease of a seasoned servant
"Is this hoe shall nor she’d seen before While rese a familiar meal served a la française, there were no ree platter of fruit, overfloith velvety figs, glossy pears, and crisp apples, cut open and saturated with rich color
"No" A touch of humor lifted his voice as his eyes continued their watch "Call this…"--his hand waved toward the table--"a bit of fancy onfeast of sorts"
She lowered her wineglass, her gaze catching his, and a strange sensation of longing rushed through her Perhaps he felt it too, for he looked away and toyed with a silver salt cellar with his long, be-gloved fingers A footic, whisked away her bowl, and left while Lord Archer lifted more lids
"We needn’t stand on ceremony," he said "I’ve never understood why one must have soup, then fish, then fowl or hly spiced At least not for ladies"
He laughed as well "Indeed And all very properly served Why not eat ant ant?" He took her plate "Although, now that I’ve had a look, ifted, I have to say"
"Yes, please"
"Food is the one thing I did not land" He handed her the plate and sat "I should think I’d find lish dinner any time soon"
"Is our cuisine really so awful?"
"When you’ve sah we do breakfast spectacularly well"
Miranda glanced at her husband A person’s skin, she realized just then, was an indispensable clue as to one’s true age As Lord Archer’s attire revealed none of his, she could only guess at his age His voice was of no help; rich and rued twenty-five to sixty Her eyes trailed over the lean, muscular body of a man in his prime With such a physique, he could not be older than forty-five But the quick, light way in which he ave the impression of youth In his thirties, perhaps? It must be so, as he was too much in command of himself to be a man in his early twenties
"Have you been abroad all this ti one arland for o and then set back out to travel the world over"