Chapter Fifteen
A few days later, Kitty sat having breakfast with Oliver and the rest of their family. She beamed at her husband as he recounted a tale about drinking too much ale at his grandfather’s tavern when he was a young boy.
Eloise shook her head. “He was sick for days. That was his first encounter with over-imbibing.”
“Grandfather didn’t stop you?” Julia asked.
“No, and while I retched over a bucket, he asked if I’d learned my lesson,” Oliver said.
Everyone laughed.
Kitty glanced at Eloise, amazed. “I can’t believe no one ever discovered the truth.”
Oliver’s mother shrugged. “It was a tavern on the outskirts of London. No one from the ton would dare be there. I sometimes wish I had kept the tavern after my parents passed. Julia and Oliver were shown a different perspective of the world by visiting there.”
Julia beamed. “I miss it.”
“Do you miss that life? The one before you became Lady Everly,” Anna asked, curious.
Eloise nodded. “I did for a long time, but my husband loved spending time with my parents, so we visited often. At times, I think he enjoyed their life far more than this one in Mayfair.”
“Your world is all so grand from the outside, but it is somewhat overwhelming once immersed in it,” Kitty confessed.
“Weathering it with those you care about is what makes it easier. After we depart for the country estate, it won’t seem quite as formal,” Eloise added.
“Did your family reside in the country for part of the year?” Julia asked.
Kitty shook her head. “We always were in London. Larson Bookshop and Printing Press has business even when the Season is not going on.”
“We will need to figure out what schedule we want that works best for you to stay involved,” Oliver said.
She beamed at him, grateful for his support.
Oliver wiped his mouth and rose. “I’m off.”
Kitty frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”
He shook his head. “I prefer to have this talk with your uncle with just Benton and me. He will have no reason to stay when I’m done with him.”
The previous evening, Oliver had shown her all the information he had gathered about her uncle and his plan to force Uncle Dominic to leave the country. Kitty was glad he wouldn’t be around anymore.
“Unless you or your sisters would like to say goodbye to him,” Oliver added.
She glanced at Hazel and Anna, who shook their heads. Uncle Dominic had never been family to them. It was sad but true. “No, I think this is the best course of action.”
He walked around the table to her and bent to place a kiss on her cheek. “I will be back this afternoon.”
Anna giggled at them. Kitty rolled her eyes. “Will you giggle every time my husband kisses me?”
“Yes!” her sister replied.
Everyone in the room laughed.
Later in the day, Kitty sat with Jack and Shannon, explaining that Uncle Dominic was going to be banned from the bookshop and the warehouse and—because of Oliver and Benton’s actions—would be leaving the country soon.
“Does Lord Everly have the power to prevent people from giving your uncle loans?” Jack asked, impressed.
Kitty nodded. “Apparently, no one wants to be on the bad side of the Marquess of Everly. Oliver plans to provide Uncle Dominic with a sizable sum of money on the condition that he depart the country and never discuss Larson Bookshop and Printing Press with anyone.”
“How will he ensure the man is going to leave?” Shannon questioned.
“Oliver will meet Uncle Dominic at the London Docks. A ship will depart for the continent from there. He won’t receive the banknotes until he is boarding.”
Shannon smiled. “Thank goodness. Your uncle worried me so much. I think his overall goal was to take the money from the safe in your office.”
Kitty had suspected that too, but it was almost all over. “He should be leaving in two days.”
Jack smiled. “So did you and Lord Everly make up?”
She blushed, and her friends and employees laughed. Finally, Kitty smiled. “When I decided to marry, I never expected to find someone I care for so deeply. I’m grateful to Mrs. Dove-Lyon.”
Shannon harrumphed. “I can’t believe you sought assistance from the proprietor of the Lyon’s Den. That woman and her strange games are too much.”
She wasn’t sure she agreed with Shannon. After all, she’d found love in one of the games.
Oliver waited with Benton in the private sitting room of the Red Fox Inn. He’d slid the proprietor enough coins that the man hadn’t argued when he requested Dominic Larson be escorted down here. Oliver had hired guards to assist him, and they’d gone with the inn owner to Larson’s room.
The inn was a decent place, but nothing extravagant. Oliver suspected the man was already running low on the money Kitty had given him. That was shocking because the amount of banknotes Kitty had provided to him was enough to support a family for years.
“I’m glad you are doing this. Kitty deserves happiness, especially after her parents’ death. Larson has been scurrying around like a rat for too long.”
Oliver knew that was true, and Benton’s words recalled the awful thought which had been floating around his mind for some time. He’d kept it to himself, but now it couldn’t be contained. In a low voice, he said, “Do you think he could have been connected to their accident?”
Benton shook his head. “I’d considered it too, but no, according to the investigator I hired, it was just an unfortunate accident.
Honestly, Kitty’s father always gave him money, so I don’t think he’d ruin that setup.
Maybe if he’d been cut off and desperate, he might have done something; yet since he wasn’t in the will to inherit the business, how would it have given him any advantage he didn’t already have? No, he didn’t kill them.”
Oliver nodded. “Still, desperate men do desperate things. It is one of the reasons I want Larson to leave England.”
They didn’t have time to discuss the subject any further because an angry Dominic Larson entered the sitting room. He scowled at Benton before he noticed Oliver. Once he did, he gaped.
“Hello, Mr. Larson, I’m assuming you weren’t expecting me,” he said dryly.
Larson smirked at him. “So, she told you about her obscene publications. I should have reported her to the government for supplying all types of sordid material to women. It is immoral!”
Oliver studied him. “I’m not sure you have much room to judge, Mr. Larson, based on your own—known—vices.”
Kitty’s uncle turned red. “I will go to the newspapers if you both don’t continue to pay me.”
Oliver rose from his chair and stepped closer to the man, who tried to shuffle backward, but the guard held him in place.
“I don’t think you will. I’ve contacted all your clubs, and the banks, and anyone from whom you’ve borrowed money in the past, and they’ve agreed not to allow you entry or provide you loans. ”
Larson’s face paled, but he continued to bluster. “You don’t have that type of power.”
Oliver couldn’t help but smirk at Larson in return. The man was so arrogantly unsufferable. “I can assure you I do.”
“I will find other clubs.”
“And I will have those clubs deny you entry as well,” Oliver stated.
The room fell quiet, but eventually, Larson said, “What do you want?”
Oliver was prepared for this; now he handed the man the paper he’d tucked into his breast pocket. “I’m prepared to provide you with a sizable sum to live off of as long as you depart from the London Docks to the Continent tomorrow. This will be the last payment you receive from my family.”
Larson read the amount and said, “I have some things to do first.”
“My guard, Mr. Hutchison, will escort you until you board the ship.”
“No!” Larson snapped.
“Yes, I will meet you and him at the ship in the London Docks. Your money will be provided then. If I discover you speaking ill of my wife or her business, things will be much worse. Don’t cross me.”
Larson sulked. “It seems like I don’t have a choice.”
“You don’t,” Oliver said and turned to Benton. “Do you have anything to add?”
Benton looked at Larson. “Your poor choices have prevented you from having a relationship with your nieces. They are remarkable. Shame on you for choosing a life of vice over them.”
Embarrassment flickered across Larson’s face, but it quickly disappeared when he spat out, “They are spoiled brats.”
Oliver was unable to stop his reaction when he grabbed the vile man by the front of his shirt and lifted him up to snarl into his face, “Do not speak poorly of my family ever again. Do you understand?”
Larson sputtered, and his eyes went wide. He nodded and wiggled, trying to break free. Oliver released him with a shove, then turned to Mr. Hutchison. “Please stay with him at all times. I will meet you at the ship tomorrow.”
“Yes, my lord,” the guard agreed.
His plan complete, Oliver nodded at Benton, then turned and left the room without another word.
That evening, Oliver lay in bed with Kitty. She leaned on his chest, her breasts pressing against him in a most enticing way. “I’m glad it is over.”
He kissed her head. “Almost. It will be done when he gets on the ship.”
“I wish things could have been different. After my parents died, I’d hoped he’d want to be more present in my, Hazel, and Anna’s lives, but it became apparent quickly that money was his only focus. At times it was hard because he looks so much like my father.”
Oliver squeezed her a little tighter. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t think he will share details with the newspapers before he leaves?”
“I’ve assigned a guard to be with him at all times, but even if he does, we will find a way to handle it. My title does have its benefits, and one of them is that few people will accept your uncle’s word over mine.”
She shifted to straddle him. Now her breasts, encased in her silk peignoir, jutted out at him, their tips hardened into points he wanted so badly to pinch and suck. “Thank you, Oliver, for all your support.”
He slid his hands up her thighs, and then grasped her hips. “You are my wife. I would do anything for you.”
“I’m grateful,” she murmured before dropping a kiss on his mouth.
Oliver tightened his hold on her, then flipped her onto her back, breaking the kiss. “Show me how much.”
Kitty pulled him close. “I would like nothing more.”