Chapter Five
Kitty walked into her family’s townhouse in Piccadilly. It was late, and she should be exhausted, but leaving the Lyon’s Den without learning who her husband was left her on edge. Was he a lord or a wealthy businessman?
“Who is it?” Hazel asked, rushing into the foyer with their other sister on her heels. Kitty apparently wasn’t the only one too curious to sleep. She motioned to the drawing room. The butler asked, “Shall I fetch you something to drink, Miss Larson?”
She shook her head. “No, we will all be going to bed soon.”
Anna looked at her incredulously. Kitty insisted, “We will.”
“Who is it?” Hazel questioned again, throwing herself on one of the overstuffed sofas.
Kitty sighed, taking a seat. She kicked her slippers off and tucked her feet under her legs on the other sofa. Anna sat on the edge of the wingback chair, humming with excitement.
“I don’t know. She had me choose my betrothed in a peculiar way. I read summaries of the new pirate book and picked the one I liked the most. The winning author will call on me late tomorrow morning.”
“Really?” Hazel asked.
Anna’s eyes turned dreamy. “I think that sounds romantic.”
“It sounds like madness,” Hazel stated.
Kitty nodded. “I assumed I’d pick my future husband off their appearance or a few minutes of conversation. It was different.”
“Did you pick someone who admired the sailor who found the gold?” Anna asked.
“No, I bet she selected someone who thought Pirate Dante wasn’t a bad person.”
She shook her head and laughed. “You are both wrong. I picked the person who did focus on Pirate Dante, but believed, as do I, that you can’t cast him as good or evil, but complicated.”
“I liked the sailor,” Anna insisted.
Hazel yawned, and though Kitty wasn’t tired, she knew they all needed to go to sleep. “We will all discover tomorrow who he is. Mrs. Dove-Lyon likes dramatics, apparently.”
Anna smiled. “I love it. Maybe one day I will use her matchmaking abilities.”
Kitty laughed and hugged her sister as they stood to make their way to their bedchambers. “You will marry for love like Mama and Papa.”
Her youngest sister grinned and charged up the stairs. She and Hazel moved at a slower pace.
“I hope you grow to love him, Kitty,” Hazel said.
She looped her arm through Hazel’s, not wanting her to worry. “I bet I will.”
Kitty pondered if she would love her soon-to-be husband as she bid her sisters goodnight and wandered into her room.
She glanced in her mirror. Would she look across the dining room table and smile at him with her whole heart like her mother used to do when she gazed at her father?
She didn’t know. Tomorrow was the beginning of a different phase of her life.
She hoped their marriage would be a friendly one.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon insisted whoever it was would be kind.
The next morning, she stood in the drawing room with her sisters, pacing. Benton sent word he’d be arriving with her betrothed. Did that mean he liked the man? Kitty wasn’t sure.
“Stop moving. You are making me dizzy,” Anna complained.
“She is nervous. Leave her be,” Hazel said.
Anna beamed. “I think whoever it is will be handsome and charming.”
Her sister didn’t really know that. The man might be thirty years her senior, hate books, or insist on being in the country—all things that worried her. What had she done?
The drawing room doors opened, and Hazel and Anna jumped to their feet, joining her. Her butler, Thomas, far more formal than Kitty had ever seen him, drew himself up and announced. “Miss Larson, the Marquess of Everly, the Dowager Marchioness of Everly, and Mr. Smith are here to see you.”
She heard Hazel gasp before the thundering of her heart drowned out all other sounds.
It couldn’t be. The Everly family was among the most prestigious in London.
They were who all ladies and lords hoped to emulate.
She couldn’t marry him and run an underground book business at the same time.
No, this had to be a mistake. Her gaze first landed on the regal older woman, then on Everly.
It was clear he recognized her from the bookshop.
Didn’t people like him only marry ladies?
Her gaze flitted to Benton, who grinned so wide she thought his face would split in two.
How could he be thrilled about this? Her third requirement should have been someone who was private or reserved, not kind.
Everly stepped toward her. “Miss Larson, I’m here to request your hand in marriage. I know this is unconventional and probably not what you hoped for as a wedding proposal, but I think we will suit well, more than well, actually. I pledge my heart, mind, and being to you.”
Anna sighed next to her. Her gaze connected with Everly’s, and he smiled warmly.
His face was filled with hope and interest. Her stomach dipped, and her heart fluttered.
Oh, she liked him even though she barely knew him, but how would a relationship between them work?
If someone discovered she, as his wife, ran an illicit book business, they would become the scandal of the ton.
Yet, Kitty found herself unable to refuse him, not when he was looking at her as if they might be a love match like her Mama and Papa.
“Oliver, you can’t just come out with it like that,” his mother said, laughter wrapped around her words.
He continued to smile at her. “I’m sorry if my statement is sudden or too much. When I discovered it was you, I found myself thrilled.”
Why did his words send warmth across her body? Hazel nudged her, and she said, “Of course, I accept, my lord. I’m glad this match is beneficial for both of us.”
“I will aspire for it to be more than beneficial.”
Suddenly the idea of keeping secrets such as her family’s underground publications from her future husband seemed wrong.
She’d always planned not to reveal it to her spouse, but Everly was so well known, and any hint of scandal would impact him.
Kitty was tempted to confess all but resisted, logically knowing she needed a husband as soon as possible.
She glanced between him and his mother. “You are not who I was expecting.”
Benton turned to Hazel and Anna. “Would you give us a moment with Lord Everly and his mother?”
Her sisters nodded and raced from the room, probably wanting to talk openly about Everly anyway. Kitty took a deep breath. “Please, let’s sit.”
They all sat, and Lady Everly immediately said, “My husband made a poor business choice. We are trying to rectify them without impacting the family name.”
Yet, what she and her son didn’t know was that Kitty had a secret that would be far more scandalous than being broke.
Everly squeezed his mother’s hand as if trying to ease her nerves.
It endeared him to Kitty more. She’d wondered if how personable he’d been in the bookshop had been an anomaly, but she didn’t believe so.
“My mother is upset that I’ve found myself in this situation, but now that I know it is you, I’m not so worried.”
“I think you two will make a perfect match,” Benton said, still smiling.
Her gaze yanked to her family friend. Was he mad? Still, she only nodded. A staff member entered, carrying champagne glasses. Once everyone held a glass, Lady Everly raised hers. “Shall we toast to the future Marchioness of Everly?”
They all held up their glasses. Kitty couldn’t believe she was marrying the Marquess of Everly, and as much as she liked him, she wasn’t sure it was the right move.
What would he think when he discovered her secrets?
She and Benton needed to speak with Mrs. Dove-Lyon.
Her gaze flicked to his handsome face, wishing that he weren’t so prestigious or she wasn’t hiding a massive scandal.
Oliver sat in the dining room of the Mayfair Everly Townhouse with his mother and Julia. His mother beamed. “I like her.”
He more than liked her, and he was too embarrassed to mention that he’d thought of her when writing his summary. Julia shook her head. “I would have never guessed a bookshop and printing press did so well. I believe that while they have books for everyone, they cater to women.”
“Have you been in there?” his mother asked Julia.
She shook her head. “No, I’m a creature of habit and always go to the bookshop Father took us to that is closer.”
“I’ve been at the shop. I actually spoke with Miss Larson before this all happened and enjoyed our conversation,” Oliver said.
“Perhaps it was meant to be,” his mother said, her eyes going dreamy.
Oliver had been thrilled to discover Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s match was Miss Larson.
He barely knew her, but something about Kitty Larson had lingered with him.
He liked her deep thoughts on a book that most read only for the adventure.
Yet, she’d seemed shocked and hesitant when he walked into her drawing room.
Her surprise was understandable, but he wanted to learn why she appeared so unsure.
He shook his head; he was a fool to assume all people desired to marry a marquess. She was a businesswoman. Oliver imagined she had her own dreams and aspirations, especially related to her bookshop and printing press.
“Why are you shaking your head?” Julia asked, frowning at him.
“I hope I’m what she wants.”
His mother frowned. “How could she not want you? You are kind, handsome, and intelligent.”
Oliver laughed. “You are my mother. Miss Larson and I are two strangers who will be married in two weeks. I wondered what made her procure Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s services.”
“Perhaps she wanted to marry a lord so her sisters might marry well?” Julia suggested.
He wasn’t so sure. Kitty Larson seemed comfortable not mingling among the lords and ladies of the ton. Oliver would bet money she’d expected a successful businessman to enter her townhouse, not some broke lord with a prestigious family name.
“I don’t think so.”
“You will win her heart. I know it,” his mother said.
Oliver found himself wanting to. Maybe he should ignore his doubts for now and just focus on his and Kitty’s future. Yes, perhaps that was what he would do. He planned to meet with her again the day after tomorrow.
“I received a note from Winthrop. He’s returned from the Continent,” he explained.
His sister’s eyes went wide. “Peter is back.”
He smiled at her. Julia had carried a tendre for the viscount since they were children. He raised a brow at her, and she flushed. “I hope he is well.”
“Perhaps he is looking for a bride now that he is home,” his mother suggested.
Julia groaned and slunk down in her seat. “I have no desire to be matched with Peter. He is so boringly proper.”
Oliver didn’t believe her but kindly changed the subject. “Why don’t you tell us about the opera you attended yesterday with your friends?”
His sister shot him a grateful look and launched into a dramatic retelling of her previous evening.
Later that night, Oliver sat with Winthrop at the Lyon’s Den.
They were in one of the lounge areas, enjoying brandy.
His friend looked tired, with a scar running from his temple to his jaw.
They’d both seen battle, but Winthrop had been in several more skirmishes than he and was involved in the actual fighting at Waterloo.
Oliver’s unit had been assigned to guard the potential retreat corridor if British forces needed it.
The decisive one-day battle pitting the British and Prussians against the French had been bloody with many lives lost. Many of the soldiers who’d survived carried both physical and emotional wounds that would continue to linger, possibly for the rest of their lives.
He glanced at his friend, knowing he was one of them.
“Are you doing well?” Oliver asked Winthrop.
The man who used to never be without a gracious smile, now, forced one. “I am.”
“My mother and Julia would love for you to visit for dinner.”
His friend frowned. “I’m not much of a conversationist, lately.”
Oliver didn’t try to persuade him or snap him out of the darkness in which he was stewing. He understood every soldier had to find their way out at their own pace. All he could do was be supportive.
“I do have some news for you, and may require you to see my mother and Julia. I’m getting married.”
Winthrop truly smiled then. “Congratulations. I’m delighted to hear that. Is it someone I know?”
“I doubt it. She recently inherited the Larson Bookshop and Printing Press from her parents.”
His friend’s brows shot up. “An Everly not choosing a lady. That is an unconventional choice.”
“When I returned, things weren’t in a good state.”
Oliver didn’t need to say more. His good friend caught his meaning. “I would have given you a loan.”
“I thought of that, but I’m glad I didn’t. Miss Larson and I met in an unconventional way. Still, I think the lady and I are well-suited. I’m going into this situation far more optimistic than I anticipated. I hate that it begins with my need for her dowry.”
“You are one of the best men I know. You will prove to her it’s just a blip in your relationship,” Winthrop stated.
“Agree. I’ve only met her once, and that was at the Larson Bookshop, but there was something about speaking with her that felt right. Is that crazy?”
“How did a quickly approaching wedding happen?” Winthrop questioned.
“I used the Lyon Den’s proprietor’s services.”
His friend’s brows shot up in surprise and he smiled again. “That is rather unconventional for you and your family. I’m intrigued and look forward to attending your nuptials.”