A Pair of Rogues Read Online Free Page B

looked as if he wanted to . . . .
    * * * *
    Startled into awareness by the unnatural pause in the words, Christina realized that everyone was waiting for her to speak. She hastened to locate the proper response and began reading it with Ned.
    She had been dozing with her eyes fully open. Having been forced to attend daily prayer for so many years, she had become quite adept at appearing attentive when her mind was otherwise employed. The archbishop’s low, monotonous voice had been just the thing to induce mesmerism in one so deeply ingrained in these habits.
    She cast a glance Ned’s way and thought he looked a bit paler than he had at first sight this morning. The disappointment she had felt on seeing him still festered in her breast.
    Gone was the fun-loving boy she so clearly remembered. In his place, she had found a jaded rake. He was handsome, of course—if anything, more rakishly handsome than before. His years in town had given him a polish that only a complete Corinthian could acquire. His morning coat of blue superfine, his snug buff trousers, and his striped waistcoat fit his lithesome figure like a glove. His ebony hair, cropped fashionably short, had not one single lock out of place.
    Seeing him outside the Abbey with his air of arrogant ennui, Christina had felt an urgent need to tuck her unruly wisps of hair beneath her hat, but then her temper had been aroused. When presented to her, Ned had made her his deepest bow, a sure sign of irony. He had looked her over with a lecherous gleam he probably used to frighten away young damsels on the catch. As if she had designs on him!
    Certainly, he seemed to have no memory of the day he had held her on his lap.
    The boyish laughter was completely gone from his eyes. In its place, all that remained was a cynical glint. No warmth. Nothing but a harsh self-regard.
    “. . . then also on thy part take heed that this Child learn the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and all other things . . . .”
    Christina saw Ned’s eyes grow round, and she stifled a giggle. For a hardened rake, these would be onerous pledges indeed. She doubted he would make the slightest effort to keep them.
    But no matter, she thought, gazing over at Robert Edward. With her for a godmother, he needed no one else, least of all a selfish rogue like the Earl of Windermere.
    “I will by God’s help.”
    Ned sounded as if he needed some powerful help right now.
    * * * *
    Ned had begun to perspire. If he had known the herculean burden this office would be, he might never have accepted the honor that had been thrust upon him. He’d had no idea that godfatherhood meant anything. He could not remember who his own godparents were, or, for that matter, if he had them. But now that he knew Little Ned, there could be no turning back. The boy was clearly going to need him. With Miss Prim and Proper for a patroness, he had to have someone looking out for his back.
    “Grant that he may have power and strength to have victory, and to triumph, against the devil, the world, and the flesh.”
    “Amen,” Ned said loudly. He felt he could drink to that, if a drink were available.
    “Lift up your hearts.”
    Surprisingly, Ned’s heart did feel a gentle lift. There was nothing like a fresh challenge to get one going, no matter how great the sacrifice. Still, he would have to consult with an authority to see just how far these oaths were meant to apply to his own conduct. . . .
    The archbishop had moved to take Robert Edward from Louisa. The boy was all done up in white satin and lace. Ned would never have believed how sweet a boy could look in such a rig-out.
    Then, before Ned’s thoughts could drift any farther in that pleasant direction, Lord Robert Edward began to howl.
    Ned gave a start, but he stopped himself just in time from reaching for the boy.
    The archbishop seemed to feel there was no cause for alarm. He went right on with the service, ignoring the fact that the Most Honourable the