Page 2 of His Scandalous Siren
One
May 1923
Andrew Marsden strolled into the townhouse that his brother had occupied for the last year. His twin, Alexander Marsden, the Earl of Devon, had purchased the property because he decided it was time that he lived respectfully, and the previous townhouse owned by the earldom had been sold years ago—back when their grandfather had held the title. Mayfair had lost its attraction to the previous earl, and Drew didn’t quite understand how it appealed to his twin, either.
Drew missed the days of iniquity they both had partaken in, and he longed for them more than he liked to admit—mainly because he missed Alex. His twin seemed far too preoccupied with business and running the earldom to pay much notice to Drew or anything, well, fun. He sighed whimsically. Alex was rather dull these days. Still, Drew hoped to lure him out for the evening, and if not that night, then the next one. A man could hope, couldn’t he?
He stopped short outside of Alex’s study. Voices echoed back toward him from inside, and he hated that he wouldn’t find Alex pouring over his ledgers. Drew had hoped to save him from his boring books. But that wouldn’t happen because his twin was not alone, and that irritated Drew immensely. Instead of going inside immediately, he leaned against the doorframe and listened. The other voice had a familiar timber to it…and then Drew smiled. The other man with his twin was a welcome surprise. Lucian St. John, the Marquess of Severn, a close family friend, and like another brother to the twins since childhood—and he’d become a brother in truth when Lucian married their little sister, Angeline was having a discussion with Alex. Drew opened the door and casually strolled inside. “Am I interrupting something important?” He kept his tone light, and without a care, he plopped down in a chair near Alex’s desk.
“Not at all,” Lucian drawled. “We’re just discussing our upcoming visitors.” The marquess tapped his fingers absently on the arm of his own chair. Something seemed to be agitating Lucian.
“Visitors?” Drew cocked a brow. “Did I miss something?” He tended to stop listening to those around him when their conversations bored him. What had his wandering mind missed this time?
“Sofia and Gabriella are coming for the summer,” Alex explained. His twin’s tone lacked any real interest in the topic. Why should Alex care? He never interacted with Sofia and Gabrielle—but then he didn’t have to. One of them hadn’t fixated on Alex for years. Drew, on the other hand, was not looking forward to their visit. He’d have to avoid Sofia…again. “I mentioned it to you a sennight ago.”
Drew frowned. Alex had said something about the ladies visiting. Drew had forgotten, is all. Lucian’s cousins were, in general, of no concern to him. They were no relation of his—which made it far easier to avoid Sofia. “When do they arrive?” He asked, more out of politeness than any actual interest. There was little chance he would cross paths with either of the ladies. Drew would make certain of that. He would have to ensure he avoided the ancestral home or the Duke of Huntly’s residence. They were most likely to be there, then, well, anywhere else. And with the summer months they wouldn’t be in London long either. If he played it right, he would never actually be in Sofia’s company.
“Later today,” Lucian replied. “They’ll be staying with mother and father but will probably visit with me and Angel at some stage of their visit.”
“Do your parents plan on retiring to the castle for the summer?” Alex asked. His bored expression spoke volumes about his actual interest in the topic, but Drew wanted to know the answer, so he was glad his twin had asked.
Lucian shook his head. “No, at least not until August. Father is having repairs done, and mother doesn’t wish to deal with the loud noise.”
Drew couldn’t fault the duchess for that sentiment. He didn’t particularly like loud noises unless they involved some sort of revelry. When it came to construction, the workers liked to generally begin early in the day. That was his favorite time to sleep, and he wouldn’t appreciate being startled awake by hammering nearby. “That’s too bad. I know how much your sister enjoys the country.”
Lucian laughed. “Emilia only pretends to enjoy the country. What she is actually hoping for is to avoid any matchmaking by mother. Any more years without a proposal and she’ll be a confirmed spinster.”
“She should have married years ago,” Alex grumbled. “Does she hope to remain a spinster?”
“I stopped trying to understand my sister’s motives years ago,” Lucian said. “Sometimes I believe she’s contrary on purpose.” He sighed. “I wonder though, if the reason she’s unwed is because she’s pining for someone she cannot have.”
Alex snapped his pencil in half. He preferred them to write with when working on his books in case he made a mistake. His current pencil had just been rendered useless. Alex met Lucian’s gaze and asked. “What makes you say that?”
Drew’s twin had been silent through most of the conversation, but the subject of Emilia had caught his attention. That was an interesting turn of events. What interest did Alex have in Emilia? How would Lucian feel if Alex pursued his sister? He was quite overprotective, even more so than Alex and Drew.
Lucian shrugged. “Nothing in particular. She’s just so…choosy. It makes me wonder if she’s already made a choice and now she’s waiting for that man to step up and make an offer. I could be wrong.”
Or he could be right… Drew glanced at his twin and decided Alex needed a change of topic. Something told him his twin wasn’t ready for this conversation. “Perhaps you’re right,” Drew interjected. “We won’t know the answer until Emilia decides to tell us, though. There’s no reason to speculate now.” He steepled his fingers together. “I have much better things to occupy my time.”
“Oh?” Alex lifted a brow. “And what is that?”
“A lively little masquerade that a good friend of ours has decided to host.” Drew wiggled his eyebrows. “Are you interested?”
“I’m afraid I have to pass. Your sister would unman me if I attended one of the Duke of Sin’s infamous parties—I assume that is the friend you are speaking about.”
The Duke of Sinbrough had only the best of wicked revelries for those invested in debauchery and decadence. All three of them had attended his bouts at one time or another. Lucian was indeed right, though. Angeline would not be happy if he attended another one of the sinful soirees. “Follow your instinct. I’d hate for my sister to commit murder or something far more atrocious to your person.” Drew grinned, then turned to his twin. “Are you interested?”
Alex tapped his broken pencil on his desk, frowning at it as he completed the action. “What?” He glanced at Drew. “Oh, the masquerade. I don’t know…”
“You haven’t been out in ages,” Drew reminded him. “You’re being too…responsible. Have a little fun.”
His twin sighed. “I suppose…maybe. When is it?”
“It’s a sennight away.” It was too bad it wasn’t that very night. He had a better chance of Alex committing to it then. There wasn’t anything interesting to lure Alex to before then. His twin needed temptation. Just the idea of a night of errant carousing wasn’t enough anymore. “It’ll be fun. I’ll ensure it,” Drew promised.
“All right,” Alex reluctantly agreed. “I suppose I could use a night away from all of this.” He gestured toward the ledgers on his desk. One was open and filled from top to bottom. Probably nothing but numbers. Drew didn’t look forward to when he inherited the title of Viscount Torrington from his father. He was thankful that Alex had been born first, and the earldom had gone to him. Drew didn’t want responsibility. Not for a good long while anyway…
“Don’t sound so excited,” Drew drawled.
