“I’m waiting…” Nile pressed.
“Horny. Confused. Tired. Hungry,” I admitted.
He clapped his hands loud enough to wake his brother. “ Fantastic. At least you’re no longer petrified. Come now, dear. The governess will be waiting, and we do not want to keep her waiting.” He pushed open the door and ambled out.
“What did I miss?” Noah asked while rubbing at his face.
A flush stole across my chest and climbed up my neck as I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said and got out of the car. The trunk was already open, and the driver had pulled out all of our luggage and had lined it up alongside the car. I moved to grab mine when Nile made a tsking sound. “We have staff for that. Come.” He held his elbow out, and I hopped to, putting my arm through his. He shifted so that my hand was at the crook of his arm. Then he reached across his own body and kept me close, covering my hand with his own in a complicated manner I wasn’t used to.
As we approached what I felt was a palace entrance, the doors were opened wide by a man in a butler’s outfit.
“Welcome home, sir,” the older gentleman announced as Nile brought us through the entry.
I heard the butler say the same thing to Noah as he approached at our side from behind.
“Quick to take charge, I see, dear brother,” Noah snapped.
“Hmm. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Ah, and there she is…” Nile’s head lifted to the set of white marble stairs with gold railings that ran down the center of the room.
A long and lean woman of about sixty or so slowly took the steps. Her hands were hanging delicately at her sides as she floated down the stairs. She wore a form-fitting navy pencil skirt that fell to her knees with an overlay of delicate matching navy lace. Her top had three-quarter sleeves with the same lace detailing. A swath of satin fabric ran straight across the top of her neck, accentuating her face. Her hair was a mixture of golden blonde and natural gray. She wore classic black eyeliner, mascara, rosy cheeks, and perfectly applied red lipstick. Her eyes were a steely gray that assessed our group in a nanosecond.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” she spoke, her tone that of British royalty. At least that’s what it sounded like to me, based on what I’d seen on the TV back home when everyone was watching Downton Abbey.
She approached and air-kissed Nile’s cheek, then smiled briefly while looking into his eyes before repeating the process with Noah. Except with him she held his cheeks and flicked at the long layers of his hair. “You need a haircut. I’ll have it seen to.”
Noah just grinned and smiled wide as she dropped her hands and then placed them in front of her.
“Governess.” Nile bowed slightly. “We have come home to introduce you to our intended bride, Ms. Ruby Dawson.”
The woman’s brows furrowed for a moment before her gaze centered on Noah and then took me in from head to toe.
“Ruby Dawson, this is Eudora Bancroft,” he shared.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“Nile, you jest,” Ms. Bancroft stated flatly with zero humor in her tone.
“He’s telling the truth.” Noah grinned, then reached out and took my free hand in his.
Her gaze flicked to me then down to where Nile was covering my hand with his. Since entering, I’d had a death grip on his elbow and hadn’t felt confident enough to let go. Her crude gaze missed nothing as she noted how Noah had taken my other hand.
“You mean for me to believe that this…”—she pointed up and down my body—“is your intended? Whose?”
She scowled as she took in the hot pink stilettos that I’d paired with my favorite jeans, a white real silk blouse, and a black leather blazer. All items that Madam Alana’s team had added to my wardrobe to make me look expensive. I thought I looked smokin’ hot. Standing here, in front of the classiest broad ever, I knew she found me lacking.
“Both of ours actually,” Noah chuckled.
“She looks like a streetwalker you might have picked up on Hessle Road in Hull.” She shivered. “You mean for me to believe that one of you is to give her the Pennington name?” Her hand rose to her chest as if she might faint on the spot. If she’d had pearls, she’d be clutching them for sure.
“Watch your tongue. She is to become a Pennington. We’ve chosen her for reasons that do not need to be explained. Ruby is to be treated with respect at all times. What we require of you, Ms. Bancroft, is to train her. To teach her the ways of our world and make her the most impeccable Pennington bride,” Nile added. “I have no doubt in your abilities. We will also put you in charge of the wedding planning. One of us will wed Ms. Dawson in twenty-eight days.”