Seduced by a Scoundrel - By Barbara Dawson Smith Page 0,98
numbers. But Alicia showed patience toward them all, giving a word of encouragement or a quiet correction as needed.
Fascinated, Drake watched her. He shouldn’t be surprised to see that she was an excellent teacher. After all, she’d been responsible for her family these five years, and she had exhibited a serene tolerance for her mother’s most eccentric impersonations. But he had always viewed Alicia as a lady. And ladies did not associate with the lower classes.
He was still trying to adjust himself to seeing this new side of her when she dismissed her group. Expecting her to call on the more advanced pupils, he tensed when James did the honors.
The students filed to the front and stood at attention. Taking turns, each recited a sonnet by Shakespeare. Then James quizzed them on geography, and they used a pointer to indicate the counties of England on the map, naming the noteworthy sights of each region.
Drake flexed his fist. It was all he could do to keep from breaking that damned pointer in two. Right on top of his brother’s privileged head.
James had to be trifling with these servants. They were a curiosity to him, a game to dispel his boredom. From his life on the street, Drake had known other do-gooders like James. When he lost interest—and undoubtedly that would happen soon—he would leave them heartbroken, disillusioned.
“Class is dismissed,” Alicia said. “Please return tomorrow morning at our usual time.”
The students put away their slates and walked out of the study, casting surreptitious glances at Drake. The clatter of their footsteps sounded in the corridor as they dispersed through the back door.
James wheeled his chair around to give Drake a challenging stare. “So what do you think of our little school?”
“Oh, not quite our,” Sarah said on a laugh. “I’ve done naught but bedevil these two at every turn.”
“One man’s bedeviling is another man’s bewitching,” James murmured.
He and Sarah exchanged an intense glance that struck Drake as overtly sexual. He frowned, seized by curiosity about his crippled brother. He’d assumed the accident had rendered James impotent, that he’d been forced to survive without life’s greatest pleasure.
But perhaps he was able to engage in sexual activity, after all. Did Hailstock celebrate the fact that his legitimate son could sire the next heir?
Drake gritted his teeth. Hell, why was he even wondering? He didn’t give a bloody damn about his brother’s love affairs—or lack thereof.
Edgy and restless, he snapped, “I can admire those with a sincere desire to aid the less fortunate. But I condemn those who would merely amuse themselves with charitable diversions.”
James gave a faint smile. “And pray tell, into which category do I fall?”
“Among the dilettantes who seek to ease their ennui.”
Alicia stepped between them. “Drake! Is that all you can say?”
Her hands were folded primly at her waist. She looked angry and hurt, disappointed in him. He fought the urge to drop his gaze like a chastened child. The truth was, he admired her willingness to help others. Most aristocrats cared nothing for those who served them.
But Alicia cared. And he had ridiculed her efforts.
“Forgive me,” he said gruffly. “I don’t mean to disparage your achievements here. There’s a great need for schools like this. And you’re an excellent teacher.”
A fledgling warmth illuminated her eyes. It stirred a yearning in him that somehow transcended the physical. The light on her face drew him.…
“James did much, too,” Sarah said, poised like a champion beside him. “I shan’t allow you to think otherwise, Mr. Wilder.”
“Let him think as he will,” James said with a shrug. “Eventually, he’ll be forced to face the truth.”
Abandoning leniency, Drake growled, “I very much doubt that. You’ll be gone from here soon enough.”
“Are you forbidding me to enter this house?” James taunted.
“I’m saying that you don’t belong here—”
“Enough.” Alicia marched toward Drake. “This is a schoolroom, not a boxing ring. If you will excuse us, James and Sarah. My husband and I need to speak in private.”
She slid her arm through Drake’s and pulled firmly. He was half tempted to stand his ground. But if he did, he might awaken her suspicions. She would start asking too many questions.
And if ever she guessed that James was his brother, there’d be the devil to pay.
* * *
Controlling her temper, Alicia led the way into the morning room and closed the door. She leaned back against the gilded panel, wanting to stay as far from Drake as possible. She didn’t need his touch distracting her. The air smelled faintly