Page 21 of Brazen

The two men started toward them.

“Now is your chance, Mia,” their aunt said. “Be sure to curtsy low. Men love the opportunity to examine a lady’s bosom when she curtsies.”

“Aunt,” Mia said in shock, but she could say no more, for the men were within hearing distance.

Aunt Leana rose as the men approached. Mia and Angeline were forced to rise—as their aunt well knew.

“How wonderful to see you, my lord.” Aunt Leana extended a hand to Sir Stirling, who grasped her fingers and bowed.

He bowed over Mia’s and Angeline’s hands, as well, then said, “Lord Magnus, may I introduce Lady Leana, Lady Mia and Lady Angeline.”

Mia startled. Lord Magnus?

“Ladies,” Sir Stirling continued, “Lord Magnus.”

Lord Magnus bowed.

Angeline sank into a proper curtsey. “My lord.”

His eyes didn’t drop to Angeline’s breasts as Leana had predicted. But then, he was too canny for that, wasn’t he? While she rode on his lap, he gave not the slightest indication that he experienced an aroused state.

He grasped Angeline’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “No need for such formalities,” he said. “I am but a second son, and rarely go by Lord Magnus. Mr. Forbes will do.”

Angeline smiled. A soft light entered Mr. Forbes’—Lord Magnus’s—eyes, and he smiled, though the smile was gentle, not the typical eager smile of pleasure or satisfaction Mia often observed in men when Angeline smiled at them.

“I am so glad, sir. We do live in the country, and I am not accustomed to the rigid formalities of city life,” Angeline said.

“Your manners are perfection, my lady,” he said.

Mia caught herself before she rolled her eyes. Just as she’d predicted, he was already falling in love with her. Men really were all the same. Good. That saved her the trouble of getting him to seduce her.

A strange emotion stabbed. Jealousy, Mia realized. But that was impossible. She had never been jealous of her sister. Well, perhaps that wasn’t quite true. When she was six and Angeline was two, she did try to talk her parents into sending Angeline to live with a distant relative. But didn’t all six-year-olds feel the loss of their parents’ attention to a younger sibling?

Lord Magnus turned to Aunt Leana. “Ma’am. It is a pleasure to see you again.” Aunt Leana extended her hand and he bowed over her fingers, then faced Mia. “My lady. You are looking fine.”

Mia stared. That wasn’t at all the greeting she had expected.

He looked expectantly at her.

“Uh, well, thank you, my lord.”

“Mr. Forbes,” he corrected.

Leana elbowed her and she remembered she was supposed to curtsey. Mia grasped her skirts and dipped low—not too low. A man of his breeding was sure to know the difference between a curtsey to a peer and that to a royal. Was he looking at her breasts? Her knees weakened. She rose. Her hem caught on something. She stumbled forward. Her head struck something hard—his chest she belatedly realized. Strong fingers seized her shoulders and set her upright. Her head spun. She felt herself listing to the right.

“Mia,” Aunt Leana and Angeline cried in unison.

She was eased back and lowered onto the chair she’d occupied a moment ago.

Aunt Leana sat to her left, Angeline to her right.

“Good Lord,” Mia said. “I feel as though I hit a stone wall.” She looked up at Mr. Forbes and frowned. “Are you wearing a suit of armor beneath that coat, sir?”

To her surprise, he said, “I do not need one.”

Mia narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but Aunt Leana leaned forward and met her gaze, her face angled away from the two men.

“Are you all right, my dear?” She winked.