“His younger brothers, Allen and Anthony, hadn’t come downstairs yet. Aaron, Allen, and Anthony—their straight As, as his parents had joked before their first A became an F.”

“Anthony: Now lower your dress a little-Roslynn: Anthony!Anthony: This is no time for offended modesty... You're the distraction.Roslynn: Och, well, in that case.Anthony: That's quite low enough, my dear...Roslynn: I was only trying to help,Anthony: Commendable, but we want the chap to ogle you, not bust his breeches.”

“Shall we return to the dining room?" Anthony queried. "I imagine you're hungry, and if we tarry muchlonger, Colin is sure tohave eaten our host out of house and home."Eloise nodded. "Either that, or they've all killed him by now."Anthony paused to consider that. "It would save me the expense of a wedding.""Anthony!""It's a joke, Eloise," he said, giving his head a weary shake. "Come along, now. Let's make sure your SirPhillip still residesamong the ranks of the living.”

“Anthony looked down at his evil clutches -- hands, he reminded himself, hands -- and grinned anew.”

“Merry Christmas,Ja-"To which he immediately cut her off with a very testy, "Bloody hell it is." Though he did halt his progress to offer her a brief smile, adding, "Good to see you,Molly," then in the very same breath, "Where's that worthless brother of mine?"She was surprised enough to ask, "Ah,which brother would that be?" when she knew very well he would never refer to Edward or Jason, whom the two younger brothers termed the elders, in that way.But then,Jason shared everything with her about his family, so she knew them as well as he did.So his derogatory answer didn't really add to her surprise. "The infant."She winced at his tone,though, as well as his expression, which had reverted to deadly menace at mention of the "infant." Big,blond, and handsome, James Malory was,just like his elder brothers, and rarely did anyone actually see him looking angry. When James was annoyed with someone, he usually very calmly ripped the person to shreds with his devilish wit, and by his inscrutable expression, the victim had absolutely no warning such pointed barbs would be headed his or her way.The infant, or rather, Anthony, had heard James's voice and, unfortunately, stuck his head around the parlor door to determine James's mood, which wasn't hard to misinterpret with the baleful glare that came his way. Which was probably why the parlor door immediately slammed shut."Oh,dear," Molly said as James stormed off. Through the years she'd become accustomed to the Malorys' behavior, but a times it still alarmed her. What ensued was a tug of war in the reverse, so to speak, with James shoving his considerable weight against the parlor door, and Anthony on the other side doing his best to keep it from opening. Anthony managed for a bit. He wasn't as hefty as his brother, but he was taller and well muscled. But he must have known he couldn't hold out indefinitely, especially when James started to slam his shoulder against the door,which got it nearly half open before Anthony could manage to slam it shut again.But what Anthony did to solve his dilemma produced Molly's second "Oh,dear."When James threw his weight against the door for the third time, it opened ahead of him and he unfortunately couldn't halt his progress into the room. A rather loud crash followed. A few moments later James was up again suting pine needles off his shoulders.Reggie and Molly,alarmed by the noise, soon followed the men into the room.Anthony had picked up his daughter Jamie who had been looking at the tree with her nursemaid and was now holding her like a shield in front of him while the tree lay ingloriously on its side. Anthony knew his brother wouldn't risk harming one of the children for any reason, and the ploy worked."Infants hiding behind infants, how apropos," James sneered."Is,aint it?" Anthony grinned and kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Least it works."James was not amused, and ordered, barked, actually. "Put my niece down.""Wouldn't think of it, old man-least not until I find out why you want to murder me."Anthony's wife, Roslynn, bent over one of the twins, didn't turn about to say, "Excuse me? There will be no murdering in front of the children.”

“And you, Lord Bridgerton," she replied in a tone that could have frozen champagne, "are almost as handsome as your brother."Colin snorted again, only this time it sounded as if he were being strangled."Are you all right?" Miss Sheffield asked."He's fine," Anthony barked.She ignored him, keeping her attention on Colin. "Are you certain?"Colin nodded furiously. 'Tickle in my throat.""Or perhaps a guilty conscience?" Anthony suggested.Colin turned deliberately from his brother to Kate. "I think I might need another glass of lemonade," he gasped."Or maybe," said Anthony, "something stronger. Hemlock, perhaps?”