Nile shook his head. “Not at all. What I suspect Noah means is that we’d only just arrived moments before greeting you. We came straight from Heathrow. Ms. Dawson has had a very long day and specifically expressed her discomfort and exhaustion earlier. My best estimate is that she’s sleeping, not pointedly ignoring your dinner invitation.”
Ms. Bancroft hummed noncommittally and picked up her spoon allowing it to hover over her soup, primly keeping one hand studiously in her lap as she did so. “And it is your wish that I train the American in proper etiquette?”
“You would do us a great honor, Governess,” I agreed, picking up my spoon now that the lady at the table had.
The flavor of crisp, cold cucumbers delighted my palate as I ate. “This is excellent. My compliments.”
The governess lifted her chin and gifted me a slight smile. “It is. A recipe the chef has been perfecting for years. I especially appreciate the hint of cayenne,” she noted. “I had hoped to learn more of your bride-to-be during this affair. Alas, that will have to wait until she deigns to grace us with her presence.” Her gaze flicked to the clock across the room once more. It was now closing on quarter to nine p.m. Almost a full sixty minutes past the dinner hour.
“Ms. Bancroft, I understand this is an unusual situation, so let me enlighten you further on how this came about.” Nile set his spoon properly down at the side of his bowl and eased back to give the governess his full attention. “As you may know, Grandfather had a strict requirement regarding the division of inheritance between my brother and myself.”
She set her utensil down and placed both of her hands on her lap. “Explain?”
“Grandfather wanted to ensure that the Pennington legacy continues. His grand plan was to force his grandsons to marry in order to secure an additional 2 percent interest in Pennington Enterprises. That slight advantage will allow the married Pennington governing control over our family’s assets.”
Her mouth twisted into a genuine smile. “I see. The old crow had a card up his sleeve to the end.”
“That he did.” Nile smirked.
I watched the two go back and forth as the servers replaced the soup dish with a steaming plate of beef Wellington and roasted asparagus. My mouth watered as I hadn’t had a meal since we’d departed Las Vegas, choosing rather to catch up on my beauty sleep as I intended to visit some of my establishments soon. Hopefully, with the accompaniment of the lovely Ruby.
“Now you understand the stakes,” Nile finished, explaining our grandfather’s grand plan.
“And the girl? You just picked her up off the streets?” she asked, cutting into the perfectly golden puff pastry that wrapped around the individual Wellingtons.
I grinned. “No. We bought her at auction.”
The bite on her fork dropped onto her plate in a very unladylike manner. “I do not appreciate tall tales, Noah,” she chastised instantly, going right back into the role of governess, mentor, educator…mother.
I lifted my hands in surrender. “I promise, I tell no lies. We participated in The Marriage Auction. Chose her from a lineup of women willing to marry for money for a period of no fewer than three years. Then, the couple can stay married if they so choose, or divorce amicably.”
“Bloody asinine!” Her voice rose in anger. “Either of you could have a well-positioned young woman of your choosing on your arm within days. A duchess perhaps. Even a royal heir down the line to the throne of England. And you chose an uneducated, unpolished American? Utter blasphemy.” She picked up her wine and drank far more than even she herself would have considered polite or appropriate at the dinner table.
Nile pulled off his glasses and let them dangle from his fingers. “We neither expect you to accept nor to champion our choice. However, as you are in our family’s employ, and we have cared for you longer than our own mother, we will disregard this outburst for what it is. Concern for the young men you’ve raised. However, Governess, we are no longer young men you can easily control with your disapproval. We have made a choice that suits our desires and needs. It is your responsibility as our governess and as the matriarch of our family to support that decision.”
My brother was a right bastard but absolutely correct. I’d never have the balls to spout off to Eudora Bancroft. Very few would. Nile was the exception.
“Nile, my boy, you know I only speak from a place of love.” She reached out and patted his hand briefly.
“I do understand that. Our minds have been made up. Tomorrow you will train Ms. Dawson. Starting with dining etiquette. Please take that opportunity to also find what it is she would like at our wedding.” Nile’s gaze flashed to mine.
“Or my wedding to the young gem.” I glared. Leave it to Nile to take any and all advantage. He would attempt to secure the governess’s vote for Ruby to choose him as her husband, and he’d make it seem like it was Ms. Bancroft’s idea. The manipulative prick.
“I must say one more thing.” She spoke in that haughty tone that made me smile.
“Whatever happens, you both need to remember you are brothers by blood and birthright. Do not allow this competition to put a wedge between you. As it is, you are playing with fire. The only thing I know to be true about playing with fire is that you will get burned. Two brothers, one woman. That means trouble any way you look at it.”
“Frankly, Governess, I’m not worried. Ruby would never pick a stuck-up suit when she could have a playful partner who intends to worship her.” I grinned wildly and bit into the leafy tip of my steaming asparagus. The butter and roasted charcoal notes burst across my tongue, and I hummed with contentment.
“Shall we add an additional brotherly wager to the pot?” Nile suggested.
I shrugged. “I’m game. Terms?”
Nile rubbed his bottom lip with his thumb. “You win Ruby’s hand, you not only secure the 2 percent governing interest, but I will gift you my beloved as a wedding present.”
I jolted to attention, sitting up straighter in my seat. “In exchange for what if I lose?” My heart raced behind my chest and sweat misted the edges of my hairline. I loved his prized Aston Martin One-77 almost as much as I adored my Ferrari FXX-K.
“The Ferrari, of course,” he challenged.
My race car was the one thing I’d bought myself that I truly loved. That car represented not only my success, as it was the first thing I purchased when I’d finally turned an enormous profit from my nightclubs, but it also filled that need I’d had for incredibly pretty, unattainable things as a boy. I even had a toy model of the same car sitting on my desk at the Pennington Entertainment headquarters in downtown London.
Could I wager the one thing that could make me weep if I lost it?
“It’s only a car, brother. Why so glum? Afraid you’ll lose?” Nile taunted, a jaunty brow cocked high up his forehead.
I hated his ability to do that. I’d tried a thousand times as a kid to cock my eyebrow the way he and our father could, but I’d never mastered it. I shook my head. My ego blistered white-hot as the familiar sibling rivalry reared its ugly head between us .