DefeatedbyLove by Samantha Kane Page B

beautiful.
Surely you jest?”
    “Of course he does,” Simon said. He was pointing to his head
and gesturing at Daniel with his eyes, as if to indicate he were mad.
    “Oh, stop it,” he said to Simon in disgust. “I was not
jesting, and I do not have a head wound. Not all of us have the Galahad
impulse, you know.” He pointed between Simon and Robert. “That is something the
two of you have in common, by the way. You also apparently share an infatuation
with the very married, and very pregnant Mrs. Ashbury.”
    At Simon’s speculative look Daniel frowned. “That is all you have in common, and all you will ever share.”
    “Oh, that is a pity,” Simon said gazing regretfully at
Robert, who was clearly uncomfortable with the discussion. “The Galahad impulse?”
Simon asked, chuckling.
    Robert blushed. “A silly nickname from our youth,” he
grumbled.
    “A nickname? Really?” Simon said with relish. “I like it.
Galahad.”
    Another knock at the door had all three men turning. The
lady in question peeked into the room. “Am I interrupting? Matheson came to
fetch me. He said Constable Manderley was here to see me.”
    “Come in, my dear,” Simon said, standing with a smile that
lit his face. Robert had the same besotted look on his face as he scrambled to
his feet. Daniel let his head drop forward, chin on chest, eyes closed. He had
a very bad feeling about this. In his world, two men in love with the same
woman always caused some sort of trouble for him. And since Mrs. Ashbury had
already come with more trouble than he could comprehend, the additional baggage
seemed quite, quite unnecessary. Turning his head slightly he cast a jaundiced
eye to the heavens. Really, this was too much.
    “Mrs. Ashbury,” Robert said, gallantly kissing the hand she
extended. “How are you? I can only hope you have recovered from your fright
last evening.”
    “Oh yes,” she said, bestowing a smile on him that rivaled
the glowing sun in the sky. The sad thing was, Daniel didn’t think it was
feigned. It was becoming increasingly clear that Mrs. Harry Ashbury had indeed
married the wrong man. She was better suited to Simon, or any another man who
wouldn’t mind sharing her a time or two, or a thousand. She was as besotted
with men as they with her. Just her luck to marry a man who liked to shag other
men.
    “I’m much better,” she continued as Simon held out a chair
for her. By his side, of course. He cast a triumphant grin at Robert as she
took the seat and Robert was forced to sit opposite her. “Last evening’s
fainting spell was quite out of the ordinary for me, I assure you. I was simply
fatigued, and being dragged off in an attempted kidnapping must have
exacerbated it.”
    Daniel blinked at her with incredulity. “Do you think so?”
he asked sarcastically. “Yes, it must have been fatigue.” He turned to Robert.
“You see, Robert? She is not as delicate as you and Simon believe. Made of
sterner stuff is our Mrs. Ashbury.” He emphasized her married state, just in
case they’d forgotten again.
    “You certainly look well,” Robert said. He blushed when she
looked at him curiously. “I mean, you look ravishing…beautiful, as usual. Of
course.”
    “Not very suave, are we?” Daniel heard Simon mutter under
his breath, and Robert blushed harder.
    “Thank you,” Mrs. Ashbury said graciously, giving Simon a
reprimanding look. When his gaze merely heated at her glance she blushed too.
    “You are wreaking havoc,” Daniel told him crossly. “Go
away.”
    Simon held his hands out at his sides and shrugged with an
innocent look. “Me? I haven’t done a thing.”
    “I actually came today to offer my help in contacting Mr.
Ashbury,” Robert said firmly. He looked as if his dog had died.
    “We are already taking care of that,” she rushed to assure
him with a desperate look at Daniel. “Aren’t we, Mr. Steinberg?”
    “Oh yes,” he said flatly. “Taking care of it.”
    “Damnation,” Simon