Chapter Six
Kitty, annoyed, looked at the missive she’d read dozens of times over the last few days.
Miss Larson,
I have fulfilled your requirements and personally think you will suit, so I see no need to meet further.
Don’t overcomplicate your relationship before it starts.
Sometimes, you need to jump. I understand your concern about your business, but I suggest you tell him the truth when the time is right.
Lord Everly may surprise you with his support.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon
She wasn’t trying to be a bother, but she worried for the Everly family’s reputation. How had Mrs. Dove-Lyon thought a family so well-known was appropriate for her to marry into? She couldn’t imagine telling Everly about her family’s business, at least the real details.
He would be here shortly. They’d agreed to meet alone so they could become more acquainted with each other. For most, it would be considered scandalous, but nothing about their betrothal had been conventional.
Thomas opened the door and announced, “Lord Everly.”
She rose, smoothing down the skirts of her day dress. She’d worn a green gown with textured flowers. It was one of her favorites and made her feel beautiful. Perhaps the Lyon’s Den proprietor was right. She needed to jump. At least she found him handsome.
The man she had been pondering entered and beamed at her. He perused her form, his blue gaze sending warmth through her body. Kitty suspected he and she might grow to care for one another deeply. The idea both thrilled her and made her nervous because she planned to keep secrets from him.
He took her hand, brushing his lips across the top. A spark of desire swirled between them. Kitty really liked him. She blushed, discovering she was still squeezing his hand, making him unable to step back. Flustered, she let go and yanked her arm away.
His eyes sparkled with mischief as if he knew what she was feeling. “I’ve been excited to spend time with you. Our wedding is approaching, and the few times we’ve met have been with my mother and Mr. Smith.”
Kitty laughed. “Wouldn’t that be common with most ladies, Everly?”
“Please call me Oliver. And perhaps it would be, but I find I don’t care what is wrong or right. I just want to enjoy this.”
She beamed at him. “Please call me Kitty.”
“Kitty,” he murmured, and the way he said it sent delightful shivers down her body.
Crazily, she pondered what it would be like to be in bed with this man.
Not something a non-married woman should be thinking.
Kitty blamed her favorite romance books; they were ones sold only at underground book businesses like her family’s.
She loved the parts where her characters were tangled in the sheets.
“Shall we sit?” Kitty asked, pushing her forbidden thoughts away.
They settled in the sitting area, and Oliver asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Well.”
He nodded and ran his hand through his blond hair. “I want you to know that even when I met you at the bookshop, you intrigued me. I hate that our marriage is starting this way. You probably think my family is vain, not wanting society to learn about our financial hardship.”
Kitty shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“I promise, Kitty, that there is nothing I won’t do for you.” He seemed so earnest, yet they barely knew each other.
She asked, “How can you be so certain? We’ve only just met.”
“You are going to think I’m crazy, but when I wrote my summary about the novel, I thought about our conversation at the bookshop. Honestly, you’ve lingered in my mind since I met you, even after I tried to push you away.”
She’d thought about him, too. It was strange; Kitty never fathomed her betrothed being him, the Marquess of Everly.
“What are some of your concerns?” he wondered.
Tell him the truth, her mind pleaded. Yet, the words wouldn’t come. He’d just confessed that their family was worried about the scandal of being financially ruined. Was now the time to confess that her family’s money came from naughty books?
Well, those and other banned literature.
No. It wasn’t the time, so she kept her response general. “That our worlds are too different. The ton isn’t anything I’ve been part of.”
“The beauty of my family is we can protect the narrative around us.”
She grimaced, and he added, “I’m not trying to overwhelm you. Just know that I will do everything to protect you from anyone who might be cruel.”
He mistook her grimace for concern about the ton, but it was her secrets that bothered her. Once again, she pushed the unwanted thoughts away and smiled. “We have the special license, and it has been announced in the papers.”
His expression turned serious, and he moved from his seat to join her on the sofa. Oliver grasped her chin and tilted her face up. “Kitty, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
She stared into his eyes, knowing this was the time to end their arrangement if she wanted to. Yet, something swirled between them; a feeling that made her think she could spend the rest of her life happy with this man. She murmured, “I want this.”
His mouth lifted on one side in a smile, and his gaze darted to her lips.
Her heart beat faster. Was he going to kiss her?
Oliver didn’t give her long to ponder his actions.
His mouth slid over hers first gently, but then more firmly.
She gasped as his tongue slid along the seam of her lips, prompting her to open her mouth.
Kitty grasped his arm, leaning into him more as his tongue stroked against hers. She’d been kissed before, but never like this. A groan escaped him as she molded herself along Oliver. She wanted this and more of it.
Oliver was the first to pull away. “I can’t imagine anyone else in my arms but you. Let’s focus on us for now. Let me woo you for the first month of our marriage, then will worry about society, businesses, and future plans.”
Kitty smiled. She wanted that too. And during that month, she would tell Oliver the truth.
Something about his sincerity made her think they could weather the revelation of her secrets.
He brushed a kiss across her lips and stood, holding out his arm.
“Let’s go for a walk in the garden before Thomas or your sisters find us in an improper position. ”
She took his arm, very much hoping to be improper with Oliver soon.
A few days later, Oliver sat in the dining room of his Mayfair townhouse.
He stared across the table at his new wife.
They were in the middle of their wedding luncheon.
They’d said their I dos in front of their family and friends.
Kitty Larson was now his marchioness, and he couldn’t be happier.
She turned his way and smiled. He wanted this, and her.
A booming laugh made her jump, and her gaze shifted to her uncle. Oliver had been surprised at his arrival at the church. He hadn’t been aware Kitty had any other living relatives, but perhaps they weren’t close.
He glanced at the personable older man. He had his mother laughing, but Oliver studied Kitty’s sisters, who were seated close to him but seemed deliberately not to engage with him.
Instead, Hazel and Anna appeared uncomfortable to be near him.
Oliver decided he would have to ask Kitty if something was amiss.
Mr. Smith rose, and all the Larson girls’ eyes lit up. Their solicitor was someone they all clearly adored. The older man’s eyes became watery, and Oliver spotted Kitty discreetly wiping her own with her napkin. Those around the table went silent.
The solicitor smiled at Kitty. “I wish the marquess and the new Marchioness of Everly all the happiness in the world. Lady Everly, your parents were the perfect example of what real love looked like—they were kind, dedicated to each other, and supportive of one another and their children. I wish you and your husband the same type of marriage. If you have that, you can’t ask for more. ”
The Dowager Marchioness of Everly also rose. “I couldn’t have said it better, Mr. Smith. Cheers to the married couple.”
Everyone raised their glasses and drank. The room then echoed with applause. Oliver glanced around and saw so many happy faces, except for Kitty’s uncle. He would have to speak with her about the man.
A few hours later, his mother and Kitty’s sisters waved goodbye to them as they climbed into the Everly carriage. The Larson residence would be saved for Anna, Hazel, and their future families. They were departing for their other London townhouse to give Oliver and Kitty some private time together.
They walked back into the townhouse alone, well, except for Hanson, who stood in the foyer waiting for their next request. Oliver said, “Thank you, Hanson, but I think we would like some time to ourselves until dinner.”
The butler beamed. “Understood. The staff and I congratulate you on your marriage. Lady Everly, we are excited to serve you.”
Kitty smiled at him, and then Oliver guided them to the drawing room. Hanson had had one of the maids prepare some small plates of food and put out a bottle of wine. He would have to stop by and thank the staff for all their hard work over the last few days.
“So, we are married. What do you think about that, Lady Everly?”
She smiled at him. “It was a lovely day.”
“Your uncle’s appearance was unexpected.”
Kitty stiffened. “My uncle has tried to overly involve himself in my and my sisters’ lives.
Truthfully, one of the reasons I reached out to Mrs. Dove-Lyon was that there were rumors that he was attempting to become our guardian.
My parents didn’t want that at all. To put it mildly, my uncle is horrible with money. ”
Anger and guilt coursed through him because he’d proposed to her for her dowry. “I wish we’d met under different circumstances.”
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “I’m not comparing the two of you. You are nothing alike.”
“Had I known his true intentions, I would have pulled him aside and asked him not to attend the wedding luncheon.”
“It is fine.”
“I want your life to be more than fine, Kitty.”
She smiled at him. “You surprise me.”
“I mean it. If he bothers you here or at the bookshop, please let me know. I will handle it.”
Oliver would make sure the man understood he had no control over his wife’s life. Or her fortune.
“Thank you,” she said and then asked, “What shall we do for the rest of the day?”
“I want us to spend a few days becoming acquainted with each other. That is why I asked my mother to accompany your sisters to our other townhouse.”
“I want that for us too.”
Oliver walked to her and brushed his lips across hers.
He tasted her mouth, reveling in the small moans she made.
His hands slid down Kitty’s back, and he pulled her more firmly against him.
She whimpered as his shaft slid along the apex of her thighs.
God, he wanted to get buried in her heat, but he’d promised he would take it slow.
Kitty barely knew him. Up until the moment they met in the bookshop, they were complete strangers.
No matter how much he desired her, he wanted Kitty, first, to become comfortable with him being present in her life.
He stared down at her. “There is no rush to be intimate. I want to take it slow and woo you.”
She blushed. “You are very kind.”
He gazed down at this beautiful woman and was honest with her. “Kindness, I’m not sure, is the best description. I very much want you to crave and desire me as much as I do you.”
“When I decided to find a husband, I never expected to find someone who I would have such a strong connection with. I’m grateful for the surprise.”
He kissed her again. “Same.”
Kitty clasped hands with him, and Oliver couldn’t deny it to himself. He was falling in love with Kitty Larson. No, not Larson. Kitty, his marchioness.