“Very well.”
“Very well?” Harry said slowly. “You’re going to accept my refusal without so much as a word of argument?”
“I would never want you to do something you found morally objectionable.” Robert shrugged. “Therefore I shall have to do this myself.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed. “Do what yourself?”
“I shall have to be you.”
“Me?”
“You do realize you need to start answering with something other than me .”
“And yet appropriate,” Harry snapped. “What on earth do you have in mind?”
“If you will not shower my wife with the type of attention that you are so skilled at, that inevitably leads to seduction, thus keeping her too busy to seek out a real lover, then I shall have to do so.” Robert puffed his cigar and blew a perfect smoke ring. It was most satisfying. “But I will do it while pretending to be you.”
“M—what?”
Robert chuckled. “It’s really quite simple, Harry. I shall pretend to be you to keep her from becoming involved with any other man. While, as myself, I shall endeavor to regain her affections.”
“It seems to me”—his brother chose his words with care—“if you are really concerned that she has come to the realization that she fell in love with the wrong man, pretending to be that man is not the way to assuage that fear.”
“On the contrary, being you will provide me with the means to determine if my concern has any validity at all.”
“Regardless.” Harry shook his head. “It will neverwork. She knows the difference between the two of us. She’ll know immediately that you’re not me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, brother dear. She’d know immediately if you took my place. That might have worked when she and I were first getting to know each another—”
“You’d be surprised,” Harry said under his breath.
“—but that would never work today. She knows me entirely too well. However, to my observation, while you and she are cordial enough, she scarcely knows you at all.” Satisfaction widened Robert’s grin. This was really good. Indeed, it might well be brilliant. “Therefore, whereas you can never again take my place, I can more than likely take yours.”
Harry puffed on his cigar in a thoughtful manner. “But to what end?”
“The first, obviously, is to keep her occupied and away from other suitors. Beyond that…” Robert thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure. Yet. But I flirted with her last night and she flirted with me. I don’t think we’ve flirted with one another for years. It was rather exciting.”
“Flirting with your wife of six years was exciting?” Harry scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”
“As did I.” And yet it was remarkably exciting and brought back all sorts of feelings and desires he had almost forgotten. Feelings and desires that had nothing to do with comfort or contentment. “I shall quite enjoy flirting with her as you, and if you are right about her true purpose—”
“Her true purpose?” Unease sounded in Harry’s voice.
“Yes. You said it yourself. This is all a scheme todivert my attention from a mistress she refuses to believe I don’t have back to my wife and perhaps make me jealous as well. She doesn’t really want another man.”
“Nothing but speculation on my part, mind you,” Harry said quickly.
“You were right about something else as well.”
“Was I?” Harry grimaced. “How clever of me.”
“I need to go back to the beginning. Oh, there’s no need to be a bumbling idiot again. I daresay I couldn’t if I tried.”
“Oh, I’m certain with the proper amount of effort…” Harry murmured.
Robert ignored him. Even his brother’s sarcasm couldn’t dim his confidence at the moment. “But I do need to win her heart once more. I need to make our lives together less comfortable and more exciting. Oh, we will never go off to explore the jungles of Africa, but complacency has no place between us. Not now, not ever,
“Very well?” Harry said slowly. “You’re going to accept my refusal without so much as a word of argument?”
“I would never want you to do something you found morally objectionable.” Robert shrugged. “Therefore I shall have to do this myself.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed. “Do what yourself?”
“I shall have to be you.”
“Me?”
“You do realize you need to start answering with something other than me .”
“And yet appropriate,” Harry snapped. “What on earth do you have in mind?”
“If you will not shower my wife with the type of attention that you are so skilled at, that inevitably leads to seduction, thus keeping her too busy to seek out a real lover, then I shall have to do so.” Robert puffed his cigar and blew a perfect smoke ring. It was most satisfying. “But I will do it while pretending to be you.”
“M—what?”
Robert chuckled. “It’s really quite simple, Harry. I shall pretend to be you to keep her from becoming involved with any other man. While, as myself, I shall endeavor to regain her affections.”
“It seems to me”—his brother chose his words with care—“if you are really concerned that she has come to the realization that she fell in love with the wrong man, pretending to be that man is not the way to assuage that fear.”
“On the contrary, being you will provide me with the means to determine if my concern has any validity at all.”
“Regardless.” Harry shook his head. “It will neverwork. She knows the difference between the two of us. She’ll know immediately that you’re not me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, brother dear. She’d know immediately if you took my place. That might have worked when she and I were first getting to know each another—”
“You’d be surprised,” Harry said under his breath.
“—but that would never work today. She knows me entirely too well. However, to my observation, while you and she are cordial enough, she scarcely knows you at all.” Satisfaction widened Robert’s grin. This was really good. Indeed, it might well be brilliant. “Therefore, whereas you can never again take my place, I can more than likely take yours.”
Harry puffed on his cigar in a thoughtful manner. “But to what end?”
“The first, obviously, is to keep her occupied and away from other suitors. Beyond that…” Robert thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure. Yet. But I flirted with her last night and she flirted with me. I don’t think we’ve flirted with one another for years. It was rather exciting.”
“Flirting with your wife of six years was exciting?” Harry scoffed. “I find that hard to believe.”
“As did I.” And yet it was remarkably exciting and brought back all sorts of feelings and desires he had almost forgotten. Feelings and desires that had nothing to do with comfort or contentment. “I shall quite enjoy flirting with her as you, and if you are right about her true purpose—”
“Her true purpose?” Unease sounded in Harry’s voice.
“Yes. You said it yourself. This is all a scheme todivert my attention from a mistress she refuses to believe I don’t have back to my wife and perhaps make me jealous as well. She doesn’t really want another man.”
“Nothing but speculation on my part, mind you,” Harry said quickly.
“You were right about something else as well.”
“Was I?” Harry grimaced. “How clever of me.”
“I need to go back to the beginning. Oh, there’s no need to be a bumbling idiot again. I daresay I couldn’t if I tried.”
“Oh, I’m certain with the proper amount of effort…” Harry murmured.
Robert ignored him. Even his brother’s sarcasm couldn’t dim his confidence at the moment. “But I do need to win her heart once more. I need to make our lives together less comfortable and more exciting. Oh, we will never go off to explore the jungles of Africa, but complacency has no place between us. Not now, not ever,
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