Read Online The Actor and the Earl by Rebecca Cohen - Free Book Online

and wondered if Anthony was not used to having someone who would engage him in a friendly battle of words. He reached over and gently pushed Anthony’s jaw up and closed. “Not a fitting look, Your Grace.”
    Anthony grabbed his hand. “You are going to be troublesome. I will have to keep you close to make sure you remain in line.”
    “That sounds like a promise, not a threat.”
    Anthony’s low growl was in no way threatening, and Sebastian found himself manhandled so Anthony’s arm was around his waist and he was being steered toward the rose gardens.
    “While we are out of range of any prying eyes or ears, I wanted to speak to you about some arrangements I have put in place,” said Anthony.
    “Arrangements?”
    “Yes. Crofton Hall is a large house with too many servants for a ruse like ours to go unnoticed without having taken some precautions. A number of the senior servants, the ones I trust absolutely, are aware of what is going on. Miriam and her husband are two of them, but also Wallace the steward and a few others have been told.”
    Sebastian nodded. “Makes perfect sense.”
    “And there are a few other things to be mindful of,” said Anthony. “When we are outside our private rooms, and you are dressed for the part, I will always call you Bronwyn. And you should take extra care to always lock your bedroom door. We do not want a helpful maid seeing too much.”
    “I will do my upmost to make sure our secret remains so.”
    “I know you will. Miriam has a key to your room, so she will also take care to keep it locked, and she has let it be known that Lady Bronwyn is not fond of having her privacy interrupted.”
    Sebastian saw the shimmer of water that disappeared out of sight as they passed through a decorative arch into a secluded garden. It was too early in the year for the roses to be in flower, but the foliage was lush and green and had a fresh aroma all its own.
    In the furthermost corner was a stone bench, and in front of it, laid out on woolen blankets, was the remains of their dinner set out as a picnic. Anthony dropped to the ground and arranged himself in a graceful sprawl, picking up a chicken leg and using it to point to the space beside him. “Come down here and bask in my company.”
    Sebastian flapped his skirt. “If I sit down there, I may have trouble getting back up.”
    “If she is suitably nice to me, then I will help my good lady wife to her feet.”
    With difficulty, Sebastian managed to settle on the blanket, but his dress didn’t make for the most comfortable sitting position. He accepted a cup of wine but waved away the food.
    Anthony wiped his hands on the blanket before rising to his hands and knees and crawling toward Sebastian, sporting the same lustful expression he’d worn the night before. He gently pushed Sebastian backward and tried to kiss him.
    Sebastian rolled away. “What are you doing? We might be seen!”
    “This is a very secluded part of the grounds,” replied Anthony, undeterred by Sebastian’s concerns.
    “But as you have already said, we should be careful,” he insisted, shuffling away so he was out of arm’s reach. “This should be for when we are alone—for in private.”
    “And I’ve told you, here is private.” Anthony scowled. “A man should be able to do what he wants to his wife on his own property. Why so prudish now?”
    The word “wife” made Sebastian’s stomach knot painfully, and he wondered just what drove Anthony’s passions. Last night he was sure it was him, just Sebastian, not a skewed image of him as his sister.
    All Sebastian could think of was the risk; what if they were caught? What if he was dragged before a court? There would be no way he would keep his head from resting on the executioner’s block. But Anthony, if he said he had not bedded his wife, could claim he’d been tricked. And Sebastian knew for that to be a believable defense it was imperative they were never caught.
    “We