He walked back in the library just as his brother-in-law was finishing a story.
“—always seems so proper. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I’d never believe it. But then, you’d know all about that.”
Gemma gave him a slightly guilty glance before her eyes darted away, and Daniel’s laughter trailed off.
Who could you have been talking about, darling? I just can’t imagine…
Daniel smiled at Terry. “All finished with work, then?”
“For now. How long are you staying, Dan?”
“Just a week or so. I really need to get back to the house. I’m sure the sheep miss me.” Daniel—well, Daniel’s day man—ran a small organic farm that catered to high-end restaurants in Southwest England and Wales. He’d recently begun making cheese. Terry shook his head at the thought. Ridiculous occupation for a vampire, in his opinion, but it made the young man happy and left him enough time and money to roam the world whenever he liked, which was really all Daniel cared about.
Plus, it was fairly good cheese.
“You’ll stay with us, then.” Gemma grabbed his hand in a squeeze. “I’ll have your room prepared.”
“Already done, Gem. And you might want to speak to Wilhelmina. There’s a few changes to the schedule for tomorrow night. Dinner party.”
Her eyes tightened in disapproval. “I have a meeting with the mayor’s people tomorrow night.”
“You’ll have to reschedule.” He flicked a glance at Daniel, then looked back into her eyes. “This is a priority.”
She wanted to argue with him, but wouldn’t in front of her brother. And that was only one of the reasons that Terry was marrying her. Gemma knew the value of a united front. They might have fought like cats and dogs behind closed doors, but in front of anyone else, they were ever in agreement.
Still, her eyes were frosty when she said, “I’ll speak to Mina. I’m sure something can be arranged.”
“She has all the details. So does Carl.”
With a regal nod, she stood. “Danny, I imagine you want to clean up before dawn. You know where everything is. Make yourself at home, of course.” She didn’t spare him a glance when she walked out of the room.
Daniel waited until the hall was silent before he snickered. “You’ll hear it later, mate.”
Terry shrugged. “I always do. How many times did she ask about the bloody Italian?”
Daniel paused, watching as Terry poured another whisky. “She didn’t ask—”
“Yes, she did.”
“Not directly.”
Terry humored the man with a lazy smile. “She’s too smart for that.”
“She’s not in love with him. Not really.”
At that, Terry let out a hearty laugh. “Oh really?”
“She’s in love with the idea of him. He’s cultured, sophisticated. Values education and music and all those things Gemma thinks she needs to be happy.”
Terry handed Daniel another drink and clinked his glass. “Cheers. In other words, he’s the complete opposite of me.”
Daniel continued as if Terry hadn’t spoken. “Which is ridiculous, of course. You’re exactly the kind of man she needs. You’re not too polite to call her on her bullshit, and you’re smart enough for her. She respects you, Terry.”
She respected Giovanni Vecchio, too. Hell, Terry respected Vecchio; the man was a formidable ally and he certainly never encouraged Gemma’s attentions. Well, not in the last hundred years or so. Terry cleared his throat. “Aye. We’ll make a very good partnership, Gem and me. Good for us both. Good for London, too.”
Daniel grinned. “So pragmatic, Mr. Ramsay. You’re in love with her, aren’t you? How terribly inconvenient.”
Terry said nothing, flicking his tongue over a long fang as Daniel watched him with an amused expression.
“Well, you’ll just have to convince her to be in love with you, too. You’ve certainly never lacked chemistry. That much is obvious.”
Terry had to smile. “Chemistry, my boy, has never been the problem.”
“Then what?”
If he knew the answer to that, Terry wouldn’t be chatting with the annoying earth vampire in his study, would he? Once again, Daniel plowed on, obviously amused with his older sister’s romantic entanglements. “How long have you been engaged now?”
“Ten years.”
The boy almost looked offended. “Why on earth so long?”
Terry shrugged. “Never pressed the issue. She’s here, ain’t she? She’s mine. I’m hers. Ten years isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things. You have to remember, she’s a bit older than the two of us.”
“Still, high time you two wed, in my opinion.” Daniel nodded firmly. “That’ll nail her down, then you can work on the love bit.”
Terry shook his head. “How do you get as many women as you do, Dan?”
“Stunning good looks.” It was true. The young man had been turned in his early twenties and had a roguish beauty that women fawned over. “In fact, you should marry this week! While I’m here. Use it for leverage. I’d absolutely hate to miss my favorite sister’s wedding, and I’m always jaunting off on wild adventures. You just never know when I’ll be around.”
He cocked an eyebrow. Now that idea had potential. “I suppose I could speak to a judge I know—”