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He inclined his head slightly, “Have you not guessed? I would have credited you with racefully “You have the pleasure of uardian, Brock Haydon, Duke of Margate”
“You lie,” Mandy hissed “Our guardian is a gouty old man”
The duke’s broent up with his surprise at this remark “I have no idea where you received such an account of out, nor have I been thought old—though I certainly have some six or so years on both of you”
“Hold on a ht on the randfather’s You aren’t old enough to have been one of his intimates!”
“No, I had not that honor, thoughof outy He had every intention of co up here toso, and I lost hirandfather He passed your care onto lectful of my duty”
The twins exchanged glances over this and Mandy shrugged, “So you knohat has happened—you got Skip’s letter?”
He sighed and said, “I did and I a after your interests However, I intend to settle this affair as quickly as possible”
Mandy stared at him and said, “We are not children and very capable of…”
He cut her off, first with a rueful laugh and then with a hand in the air, “My firstThis latest escapade of yours—breaking your brother out of prison, when in fact, you knew Skip had written to ht, shows a lack of ined”
Mandy gasped, “I had no way of knowing you would coaveto his request for help”
“Again, it displays the fact that you did not think things out While scandal is not sosSherborne is innocent, and as I trust uardian must do, and extricate you from this situation”
“Well, you needn’t worry on our account, we arevery well,” Mandy returned, her chin well up
“Again, perhaps I have not made myself clear IHad you not broken your brother out of prison, we ht have been able to put this behind us quite easily”
“Oh, you are ined,” Mandy declared in outraged accents “They had all uilty We didn’t have a choice”
“No? Very well, let us leave that for now The point is that I mean to exert myself on your account,” he returned blandly “I haveso One and very importantly, above all other considerations, I owe it to my father He would have wanted me to help you out of your mess Thus, I shall see to it for his sake and for the sake of your grandfather’s memory that you are cleared It is ly business is dispensed with immediately, and that is what I shall do”