"But... what about this uncivilized hour?" Iris somehow managed to tease, her breath already coming in little gasps.
"Perfectly fitting." Sandhurst kissed her then, before she could ponder his words. How convenient that she was always so hot and willing...
A loud, irritating tapping began on the bedchamber door. Impossible, he thought dimly. No servant could be so foolish. The racket continued until he finally lifted his head and shouted, "God's life, stop that!"
"Sandhurst? Are you awake? It's Rupert! I must speak to you!"
Rupert! What the hell was his illegitimate twit of a half brother doing in London—at his town house—at dawn?
"Don't you know what time it is? Go downstairs and have them bring you an egg or something. I'll join you after I've bathed and dressed."
"No, no, no!" Rupert's tone grew shrill. "I must speak to you now. I'm coming in!"
Furious by now, Sandhurst threw off the covers, bare feet meeting the chilly, rush-strewn floor. He yanked on his hose before throwing open the door.
"Be grateful I'm sparing your life, crackbrain!"
Across the chamber Iris clutched the thick covers against her chin and stared in shock. It wasn't often that Sandhurst lost his temper.
Now he was leading the slight, spindly younger man to his dressing room. Rupert gaped openly in Iris's direction until he suddenly found himself closed in with his ominous-looking half brother.
"Don't be angry, I implore you!" he whined. "I've come to help you!"
Sandhurst took a deep breath before replying coldly, "Pray explain. Quickly."
"The duke is here. Our father!"
"I appreciate the clarification," he said sarcastically. "Just tell me what the devil is going on!"
"Well, well, we were all settled in at Aylesbury Castle for the winter. Patience, my dear wife, and Father, who had a chill, and our younger sister. Cicely—"
"Rupert, I bloody know who lives at Aylesbury Castle! I am still a member of the family." It galled Sandhurst to be instructed by this stammering fool. If his own mother, the duchess, were still alive, Rupert Topping would never have managed to infiltrate the family. Five years ago Andrew's mother had died after an accidental fall, and the duke, ill and lonely in his castle, had allowed his old lover. Jane Topping, to take residence with the son she insisted was the duke's. Sandhurst, already estranged from his father, lived far to the south in London, and Cicely, at eight years of age, was not a fit companion for a crotchety old man. So Jane Topping made herself at home, while Rupert, then nineteen, treated his father as if he were God. After Jane, too, died, Rupert had stayed on, playing the dutiful son in the Marquess of Sandhurst's absence. Even the horse-faced Patience Topping, recruited as Rupert's wife last year from the village of Bubwith, had wormed her way into the family's bosom.
Lord Sandhurst's scorn for the entire situation that the duke had allowed to develop was almost surpassed by the repulsion he felt for his obsequious half brother. As a consequence, Sandhurst stayed far away from his family and the already cool relationship with his father virtually disappeared.
"Oh, I know that you are one of the family, my lord!" Rupert was blubbering. "You'll never know how grateful I am—How honored—to know that I am your relative! I would do anything to help you, to bridge the gap between you and our father, to heal the wounds, to—"
Pained, he closed his eyes. "I perceive your meaning."
"Well, the thing is, I had a suspicion that Lady Dangerfield might be here, and I was afraid that our father's valet might come to your chambers to inform you of our visit. Kettlewell tells Father everything—he's almost like a spy!" Something in Sandhurst's eyes caused Rupert to get a grip on himself. "Well, that's getting ahead of the story. You see, this is what's happened. We were all settled in for the winter, as I told you, when King Henry sent word that he wanted to meet with Father at Whitehall. We had no idea what it was about, but the duke allowed all of us to accompany him. Cicely was especially eager for the chance to visit you!" He paused to nod cheerfully several times. "We arrived in London two days ago and went immediately to Whitehall. Exciting times, I don't mind telling you! Father met with the king, then last night he suddenly announced that we must come to your house at once. It was quite late when we arrived—you were, umm, asleep—and the servants saw us to our