Page 6 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“Rushing in?” Allie repeated. “I did not rush.”
That earned her an extremely older-brother look. “You know what I mean.” His tone remained gentle. “You’re impulsive, little sister. You get a thought in your head, and you speak it. You get a notion in your head, and off you go.”
Wasn’t that true of anyone? A person decidedon what to say and spoke. They pondered an action and then took the action. She longed to say so but forced herself to keep mum.
“A little pause. A good deal of contemplation. Some hesitancy would do you a world of good,” he called over his shoulder as he trod the polished wooden floor, still searching.
“On the shelf over there,” Allie told him, and pointed to the items he’d deposited and forgotten.
“Ah.” He scooped up the notebook and pen and tucked both into the pocket of his coat. “Yes, there they are.”
A simplethank youwouldn’t have gone amiss, but he was in that single-minded Dominic Prince mode that seemed to cause much of his usual thoughtfulness to evaporate.
“All I’m saying is have a care how you speak to customers while we’re gone.”
She understood her brother’s worry about offending a longtime customer of the shop. And she also understood that as the eldest, Dom felt responsible for maintaining the reputation and success of the family’s business.
He stopped and patted his pocket as if to reassure himself that the journal he’d placed there was in fact still tucked away. Then he sighed. A bit of the tension in his expression ebbed, and he gave her one of those charming tip-tilted smiles that made other ladies swoon.
“I wish you were coming, but do take care while we’re gone.” The genuine tenderness in his tone had the desired effect.
Allie nodded and grinned, doing her best to reassure him. “Please don’t worry, Dom. I can take care of myself.”
Thatseemed to be the wrong thing to say. His chiseled jaw tightened and one dark brow arched in the condescending way that, unfortunately, caused Allie and her sister to defend themselves even more fiercely.
“No offending customers, little Lex.”
If he imagined employing the childhood nickname softened his admonitions, it didn’t. Not a jot.
Allie had to speak. He might be the family swashbuckler, but she’d been running—or helping to run—the shop while he and Eve were off on digs or traveling on antiquity hunts.
“I am not a child, Dom. And if you worry about how I run Princes, perhaps you should stay and do it yourself. I’ve managed things on my own for years, and no catastrophe has befallen Princes.”
“No one denies that you keep things afloat for all of us.” Eve chose that moment to step in. “Do they, Dominic?”
As the middle child, Eve had honed her role as mediator over many years. And Allie was grateful that at least one of her siblings would defend her. But it was time that Dominic began trusting her judgement too.
She might never accomplish anything astonishing, but she knew how to manage Princes, even if she longed for something more.
“You do a fine job running the shop.” He flicked his steel-blue gaze toward Eve and then focused on Allie again. “But the incident with Lord Corning—”
“I only wished to be helpful.”
Eve moved to stand in front of Dom, facing him. “We should get to the station, don’t you think? Don’t want to miss our train.”
Dom sidestepped Eve. Color had risen into his cheeks. “You confronted the man in Parliament.”
“His lordship tried to sell us a forgery and admitted that he’d already sold some onto his friends. I did him a kindness by letting him know, and I went to his private office,” Allie pointed out. “You make it sound as if I stormed the House of Lords.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“I’d offer more than a few coins to see that,” Eve said, and then burst into a low, mischievous chuckle.
Allie found herself smiling despite her irritation.
Dom rolled his eyes and marched forward to pull Allie into a brief hug.
“Just keep out of trouble while we’re gone. For my sake. Will you?”
