Read To Me, Lyon (The Lyon’s Den)

Chapter One

Kitty Larson studied her Uncle Dominic, who sat in a wingback chair facing her desk. They were meeting in her office at the Larson Bookshop and Printing Press building. A place her father and mother built and ran with much love for the last fifteen years until their passing a few months ago.

“I implore you to consider my offer, Kitty. You are a young woman. It isn’t seemly for you to be running this business and caring for your sisters alone.”

Her uncle had begun visiting her multiple times a week recently.

His visits to an outsider would only appear as if he were a kind family member checking on her and her sisters, but Kitty knew it was more than that.

Her father had left her Uncle Dominic money, but he’d been surprised, as the oldest living male relative, not to inherit control of their company or be granted guardianship of Kitty and her siblings.

Kitty suspected her uncle’s money was gone because up until two weeks ago, they hadn’t seen much of him. She forced herself to smile. “We can manage. Mama and Papa wanted Hazel, Anna, and me to manage Larson Bookshop and Printing Press.”

Anger flared in his eyes briefly. “Your parents couldn’t have fathomed they’d be gone so early in your life. You are only twenty-two, Kitty, and have no husband.”

She flushed. “We are managing fine.”

He leaned closer to her side of the desk and whispered. “What of the printing press and books no one knows about?”

Kitty refused to react to his words. She didn’t believe her parents would have ever told Uncle Dominic about something so important. Yet, somehow, he knew. Making her eyes go wide, she said, “I have no idea what you mean.”

Kitty could almost see his brain whirling, trying to determine what his next step should be. She would need to talk with the family solicitor and her sisters after this meeting. She sensed Uncle Dominic was making moves to gain control of her family’s livelihood.

“Kitty, I hear the whispers about the books made for women. The ones not sold in the shop windows.”

Blast it. He was witting of their underground business.

It was their primary income, but also work about which she and the rest of her family were passionate.

Somewhere along the way, her parents had begun printing and selling books deemed illegal by the British government.

Their clientele for those books were women from all walks of life.

The underground press offered mature romance stories, essays on alternative philosophies, how-to guides, memoirs, and books questioning societal expectations.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Uncle, but I do have other tasks to attend to. Can we have tea or dinner at the house later this month?”

Kitty wanted to put space between him and this place. He could be in their lives, but only as their relative. She stood, forcing him to follow.

Uncle Dominic frowned at her. “Perhaps we could meet with your solicitor, Mr. Smith, and you can inform him that you need my assistance. I could act as your guardian.”

She silently counted to five, wanting to remain calm. This man had always taken from her parents, and now that they were gone, he was trying to wrestle control of all they’d built from her. She wouldn’t allow it. “I don’t see the need.”

“Kitty, be reasonable—”

“Uncle, I do not require a guardian, nor do my sisters,” she insisted.

“Most ladies have guardians until they turn twenty-five. At least, those with your type of wealth. I will talk with my solicitor on the matter as well.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he walked to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Don’t fret. I will work it all out for you. I will visit when I have more information.”

Kitty was exhausted and furious from the circular conversation and decided to say nothing for the time being. She needed to speak with Benton Smith, her family’s solicitor, and friend. Once Kitty was sure he departed, she dropped back into her chair.

Uncle Dominic was right; most ladies her age had guardians at least until they married or turned twenty-five. He was a persuasive man, and she feared he’d convince some judge he should take on that role for Kitty and her sisters.

His actions demanded that she make a dramatic choice herself. She rang a bell, and Shannon Green, her secretary, popped her head in. “That man is no good.”

She was also a close family friend and didn’t filter any of her thoughts.

“No, he isn’t. He is making moves to take control of this company. Can you summon my sisters and Benton here?”

Shannon nodded and hurried from the room.

Later in the day, Kitty sat with her sisters and Benton. She’d just proposed a curious idea to them. Her sister, Hazel, who was four years younger than she, shook her head. “You should marry someone you love.”

Anna, her sixteen-year-old sister, nodded in agreement. “Mama and Papa would want that for you.”

Her parents would have, but Kitty was a practical young woman.

It wasn’t something she’d ever hoped for.

Liar. She pushed the unhelpful thought from her mind.

She turned to Benton Smith, who’d been her family’s solicitor since she was a young girl.

He sighed. “I don’t think your parents would like you marrying only to protect your sisters and your business from your uncle, but I have heard rumors he is preparing to present a case to the courts. ”

There was no other option. Benton added, “I’m willing to give him one hell of a fight.”

“Yet, you haven’t said you are confident we will win.”

Benton sighed. “The courts, I suspect, will think it better for you all to have a male guardian. Most judges will worry about you, Hazel, and Anna being taken advantage of, especially you, Kitty. You are young, beautiful, and in charge of a thriving business.”

Kitty bristled. She didn’t think her looks should matter, not that she thought her chestnut hair and hazel eyes were stuff anyone would write sonnets over. “I grew up in this business. My parents, since I was fifteen, have prepared me to take care of Larson Bookshop and Printing Press.”

“I do not agree with any court position that goes against you having control of your family business, but that is the direction in which similar cases have gone,” Benton explained.

“He’s recklessly spent all the money he’s received from our family for years,” Hazel said, outraged.

Kitty didn’t want to argue the point or be talked out of the decision she’d already made. “I’m going to get married. I’ve arranged an appointment with the proprietor of the Lyon’s Den. It is rumored that she can help a wealthy lady with secrets acquire a husband.”

Benton nodded. “My colleagues have written contracts for ladies requesting her assistance. She’s matched several scandalous ladies with decent men.”

She was relieved Benton didn’t try to talk her out of it. “Will you join me?”

He frowned at her. “If it is what you really want.”

Kitty glanced around her office and thought of all the good they’d done with the underground press and books. Her Uncle Dominic would destroy all of that. She wouldn’t allow it. “It is.”

“What about love?” Anna asked.

Kitty smiled, reassuringly, at both her sisters.

“Sometimes love grows over time. I’m content with that.

From what I understand, I can specify my requirements, and she will use that to find me a husband.

Benton will draft a contract ensuring my spouse won’t be able to take control of either of you or Larson Bookshop and Printing Press.

And most importantly, Uncle Dominic won’t be able to argue that we need a guardian. ”

Hazel and Anna both frowned, and Kitty added, “My great love is the work and the books we sell here. Come, let’s show Benton the new press we’ve acquired. It can print twice as many books as our other machine.”

The excitement of a new contraption seemed to take away some of the heaviness of her decision. Her sisters jumped up and raced toward the company’s printing area. She and Benton followed at a slower pace. He said, “It is a noble thing you are doing, Kitty.”

She nodded. It was the only choice they had. Kitty might not have a love match, but her sisters and this business would be protected, and that was enough for her. “Perhaps Mrs. Dove-Lyon will find someone wonderful for me.”

“I hope so. Your sisters are correct. Your parents would want you to be happy with whoever you choose to marry.”

Kitty wanted that too, but more than anything, she needed Larson Bookshop and Printing Press to continue.

Oliver, the Marquess of Everly, stared up at his family’s London residence. He was home, and now, he carried his father’s title. The war and his exploits on the Continent had forever changed him. He’d done and seen things that would always linger in his mind.

More gut-wrenching, the one person he wanted to speak with and be comforted by, his father, was gone.

The last letter he’d received before departing from the Continent had been a tear-streaked missive written by his mother informing Oliver of his father’s passing, telling him that he was now the marquess.

It had taken ten days to reach the spot in which he now stood.

He should want to throw open the doors and seek out the rest of his remaining family, but he hesitated.

His mother’s letter had been devastating but also grim.

There was something amiss with the finances.

This would not be a happy reunion, but a heavy one.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and his sister peered out at him. She was twenty-two and six years younger than he. They stared at one another in surprise.

Julia looked so different than when he left a year ago. Oliver and she shared the same wheat-blond hair and vivid blue eyes. Both traits had been inherited not from the marquess, but their mother.

“What are you doing out here? Hanson said you arrived, but he suggested giving you a minute. I’m sorry if I ruined your contemplation. I couldn’t wait.”