The Heiress Bride. Susan Paul
Hugo was laughing so hard it was difficult for her to speak over him.
“Well…I just assumed…I mean…your manners Hugh, are so…so…and I just assumed that you were…well…”
Her fumbling words sent Hugo off again, and he laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his chair.
“Dammit, Hugo,” Hugh said. “This isn’t funny!”
“Your m-manners m-made her th-think that Alex is a p-p-pig farmer!” Hugo howled with delight, slapping a hand on the table. “That’s th-the f-funniest thing I’ve ever h-heard! W-wait until I t-tell Alex!”
“You’ll tell Alex no such thing! I’ll not have it!” Hugh stated angrily. “And you, my lady—” he fixed Rosaleen with a heated glare “—should stop assuming that everyone else is like your uncle. Or does he even aspire to be a pig farmer? Mayhap I should think you were flattering me.”
Rosaleen returned his glare with one of her own, and it was on the tip of her tongue to reveal her true identity to him. He would certainly be no less surprised to discover that she was the daughter of an earl than she had been at finding her ungallant companion to be a member of the highest nobility. Unfortunately, now knowing the truth about Hugh, she could trust him even less than she did before. If anyone in the Baldwin family should discover that she was Rosaleen Sarant, the heiress of Siere, they would certainly do what they felt was their duty and give her over to her uncle. Rosaleen had never been formally introduced to the Lord of Gyer, but they had been at court at the same time during several important royal occasions in the past. She would recognize him, she knew, but would he recognize her? She could only hope and pray that he wouldn’t.
Both brothers waited for her to make a reply, and the longer she tried to think of what she must say, the more curious their expressions grew.
“Mayhap you should,” she finally answered, then, reaching for a piece of bread, she quickly changed the subject. “Please tell me how it is that you came to be a monk, Father Hugo. You are very different from Hugh that way, are you not, even though you are twins?”
“Oh, my tale is tame and dull compared to most,” Hugo replied with a grin. “I’d much rather hear more about you, Lady Rosaleen, and about why such a beautiful young lady must keep her identity a secret.”
“As would I,” Hugh agreed but, since he didn’t at all like the manner in which his brother was looking at Rosaleen, regardless that Hugo had taken a vow of chastity, he added, “but I would also be interested to know why you’ve gone into holy orders. If anyone had ever told me when we were boys that either one of us would end up in the Church, I would have laughed until I was ill. I was just about done in, as it was, when I had news of you from friends.” He popped a grape into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. “I couldn’t believe it! When I think of all the things we did together, I wonder at how you ever got ordained. Why, if the Church only knew about all the women you and I used to—”
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