Two Dukes and a Lady

by Lorna James

  She squeezed William’s hand. He squeezed it back, and she laid her head on Charles’s arm.

  “The one good thing about the mourning period was I was at least safe in the house. Although, I had to go through all of his paperwork and the news of what he did was gut wrenching.”

  “You aren’t still mourning him?” William asked.

  “No,” she said to William. “I am glad he’s dead.” Both of them stared at her until she elaborated. “He ruined people’s lives. I tried to love him. When he gave me Edgar”—she held her stomach—“I almost did.”

  “Edgar?” William whispered.

  “My son.” Overwhelming pain drowned her senses. She couldn’t breathe and she didn’t want to. The brandy and the sweet release had been like opening a floodgate of everything she had locked inside. “Stillborn.” It was still so hard to force the word out. As her eyes watered, Lily stared at the portrait above the mantel so she wouldn’t have to see the look of pity on their faces.

  They waited.

  After a few excruciating minutes, Lily sighed. “It was never the same after that. George wasn’t an affectionate man, not like the two of you.” She forced herself to look at them. They still stared at her with an intensity that shook her to her core. Strangely enough, it relaxed her. If all she could have of them were their affections, it would have to be enough. “I can’t talk about George anymore. Not tonight. Not ever again, if I could help it.”

  Lily needed to go home before her resolve melted and she let the two of them make her forget all the grief and unhappy memories. She finished William’s brandy and waved off his offer of a refill. “As much as it would make dining with my uncle easier, I don’t want my wits fogged.”

  “You’re dining here tonight,” William said. “I’ve already sent word.”

  “That is a little high-handed.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I will not let you two ruin my reputation again.” Lily shook her head.

  “You’re a respectable widow now. And Lady Penn is above reproach.” William shrugged. “As long as her husband doesn’t catch her with his assistant.”

  “But you two have the worst reputation in all of London,” she said, biting her lip in amusement at their wary expressions. “Just because you didn’t ask any questions about me, doesn’t mean I didn’t inquire after you. Did you really deflower Lord Bentley’s daughter on the eve before her wedding?”

  They grew still, and suddenly wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  “No,” William said. “Don’t be absurd.”

  “It was the week before,” Charles added with a lecherous grin that tickled her insides.

  When was the last time I felt like this?

  “What else have you heard about us?” William asked, sliding off the couch to kneel at her feet.

  She couldn’t help the heat that spread over her face.

  “Are you blushing?” Charles joined him on the floor.

  It was getting difficult to breathe, and Charles had re-laced her corset extra tight. “I didn’t heed all of the tales. Some of them were unbelievable.”

  “It’s all true,” William said, clamping a hand on her ankle and tickling her feet.

  She kicked him.

  “All of it,” Charles said. “And she’s not ticklish there, William. Remember, it’s the back of her knees.”

  “Charles Ashdown, don’t you dare,” she warned.

  “You’d be surprised at what I dare,” he said, as he sat back next to her.

  Licking her dry lips, Lily swallowed a gasp as he slipped his arm around her back.

  To her shock and delight, he covered his mouth with hers. She should shove him away and then slap them both silly. But she wanted this more than she wanted her next breath.

  Charles’s kiss was engulfing. Joy and desire flew free inside her. Her body quivered with need as she greedily accepted his tongue. Her stomach fluttered and her breasts ached. The wetness between her legs increased and she moaned around his mouth. She gave in quickly, floating on the sensation of being so desired.

  He pulled away, and she found herself facing William.

  “My turn,” he said, pulling her toward him, his soft lips parting hers. Where Charles’s was all honey and persuasion, William’s kiss forced her mouth open wide, leaving her vulnerable to his plunder. She met his tongue stroke for stroke, wrapping her arms around his neck so he couldn’t get away. Lily’s body hummed back to life after what felt like a long winter of hibernation. The curling warmth in between her legs throbbed in time with her heart. It felt so good that she didn’t let go when William hesitated and pulled back.

  “Lily,” he whispered, “You have no idea what you are doing to me.”

  She looked into his heated eyes. “It’s the same thing you’re doing to me.”

  She wasn’t a timid virgin anymore. Her body craved the sensual promise in their kisses almost to the point that she could imagine William taking her on the sofa right here and now. She was acting like a cat in heat. It had to have been the rumor that had reached her all the way in Boston about the two of them bedding a countess. At the same time. According to the version she’d heard, after exhausting the countess, they had also seduced her maid, who had come to see if her lady needed anything else before retiring for the evening. Her imagination had filled in the details that her experience lacked. It had almost been enough that she had considered finding George to ease the terrible restlessness that those thoughts had produced. She wished she had the nerve to ask Charles and William what it was like. Did they take turns or ravish her as one?

  Swallowing hard, Lily fanned herself with the black mourning fan Clara had lent her.

  “It’s hot in here,” she told them.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” William said in her ear.

  “I’m right here.” It was Charles’s aggravated voice that brought her back to her senses.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She pulled away and sat up, not missing the amused look William threw at him. She wondered at the lack of embarrassment she felt. It was as natural as breathing to be this wanton in front of them. She was safe with them. Safe to be as free as a young girl again. Safe to be the woman she always wanted to be.

  “We can’t get involved in anything too deep right now,” William said. “Dinner will be ready shortly, and I would hate to be interrupted by Lord Penn or the servants.”

  “We’ll have to figure out something. We can’t go on like this,” Charles said, exasperated.

  Chapter Five

  William glared at Charles over Lily’s head.

  “We don’t have to make any type of decision at all. Not now. Not yet.” He was worried Charles would rush in with a marriage proposal and leave him out in the cold. Even though Charles offered to share Lily with William, he could always change his mind. Or worse, Lily could decide that she didn’t want to dabble in the decadence they offered. Then he would be out the love of his life and his best friend. He couldn’t imagine debauching the countess or another without Charles at his side.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  Kissing the back of her hand, he said, “Never you mind. You’ve just returned to Society, and there will be all the time in the world for serious questions. Tonight, you are ours.”

  So they made small talk and caught up on inconsequential things until Clara returned after undoubtedly her own tryst with her husband’s associate. He lingered too close to her, touched her too often. If they weren’t careful, he’d give them away. A part of him wondered if Charles and he were as transparent with Lily.

  He was glad Clara had found happiness once her husband stopped wanting her, and was even more appreciative that she was willing to take Lily under her wing.

  However, the slow burn Lily’s kisses had started heated up his belly, and he wanted more than fingering her on the sofa. Soon after Clara had arrived, he wanted her and Charles to leave so he could have Lily to himself awhile. It was a selfish thought. Her breathing quickened and her knees wobbled
when William helped her to her feet. He pulled her into him, just to feel her body.

  Charles moved in to snatch her away, but William turned quickly so she was out of his reach. Charles snarled at him under his breath.

  What was wrong with them?

  They never acted this way over a woman. It was always easy. Charles would begin at one end, he at the other, and they would take turns. One would tup the wench and the other would drink. But with Lily, he was too greedy to share. And he could see that mirrored in Charles’s eyes. It didn’t bode well.

  Dinner was a formal affair with the servants buzzing around the four of them like eager, quick bees. As they retired back into the parlor for a digestif, Lady Penn excused herself to meet with His Lordship’s associate again. William hid a smirk with his napkin and exchanged an amused look with Charles.

  Maybe he had just imagined the tension between them. Over dinner, they had laughed and conversed as if the five years they had been apart never existed.

  “I don’t want to go back to my uncle.” Lily pouted.

  “Stay here,” William said. “I’m sure Clara has a room all ready for you.”

  Charles’s jaw clenched. “I need to meet with Sebastian in a few hours.”

  William opened his eyes wide in innocence. “Have a nice time. Give your brother our regards. I’ll make sure Lily is entertained.”

  Charles rose from his chair, his fists on the table. William tossed aside his napkin and stood as well. If he wanted to discuss this with his fists, so be it.

  “I should be going,” Lily said. She seemed oblivious of the tension in the air. “Would you have your carriage drive me back?”

  “You can stay with me,” William suggested.

  “With us.” Charles stroked her back and it was all William could do to not touch her as well.

  “I can’t.” She shook her head. “If I am to find another husband, I need to keep up the appearance of being respectable.”

  Charles’s hand fisted in her dress and she looked at him in surprise. His expression was curiously blank and he released her at once.

  “You’re looking for another marriage?” William said, scowling down at her. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. He wasn’t ready to compromise for her, and he was sure Charles felt the same way.

  “I told you I’m practically penniless,” she said. “My uncle has given me a deadline. If I do not have an offer of marriage by next month, he will turn me out. He doesn’t want me turning his life upside down any more than I have been. He resents the fact that I didn’t have the good grace to stay in Boston. Truthfully, if I had anywhere else to go, I would.”

  She held up a hand before either Charles or William spoke. “I didn’t say that to appeal to your good natures, and I’m not looking for charity. I need to find a rich husband to pay off George’s debts and secure my future.”

  A muscle worked in William’s jaw. “How rich?”

  “Do you know of any good matches for me?”

  “Two,” Charles bit out.

  “Good,” she said. “Can we discuss it tomorrow over lunch? You need to take me somewhere fabulous. You owe it to me for missing my wedding. You won’t miss this next one, will you?”

  “Not a chance,” Charles said, his smile so dangerous that she shivered.

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” William said, raising her hand to kiss the back of it.

  …

  Charles would have left with Lily, but his brother took that moment to show up with the Count and Countess Hainault. Sending a discreet message to Clara, he made a point of ignoring his brother, and the count and Sebastian took off into the parlor to smoke. Watching William with Richilde made him wonder if his friend would still cavort with the countess after Charles married their Lily. Lily would never stand for unfaithfulness, yet Charles wasn’t sure William could offer fidelity, especially to a woman who wasn’t his.

  “I’m terribly upset I wasn’t able to meet Lady Drew,” Richilde said in her dulcet French accent. Usually, her voice made his cock twitch, but Charles’s thoughts were too full of Lily. “I missed you, too.”

  Leaning in, she brushed a chaste kiss across his cheek, although the bold grope of her fingers was anything but. He moved away as discreetly as possible, not wanting to offend her. Richilde had a vicious temper when she thought she had been slighted. She was well sought-after, with her silken flax hair and a body that needed sex so often; she was rumored to be insatiable. Her count couldn’t keep up with her. She had once walked out from exhausting the count into a dead sleep, right into the library where she pleasured Charles while William took her from behind. And then without missing a beat, turned to take William’s cock down her throat while giving Charles her shapely ass.

  “When can I see you both again?” she breathed. “I have needs that only the two of you can fill.”

  “There are others eager to sample your beauty,” William said. “I wish to reacquaint myself with an old friend. Perhaps finally settle down.”

  Charles cut him an ugly look and cursed when Richilde noticed. “Surely the two of you can work something out if she is your close friend. After all, in the past, it has never been a problem sharing. I don’t mind sharing. Do you?”

  “No,” Charles lied.

  “Of course not,” William said, and Charles didn’t believe him, either.

  Smoothing her hands over both their arms, Richilde cooed at them. “Your friendship is so strong. I’d hate to see something like this come between you.”

  “What do you mean?” Charles asked.

  “I mean, you are squaring off on each other like rams about to bump heads over territory.”

  William scoffed, but wouldn’t meet Charles’s eyes.

  “I prefer you as best friends and my lovers. It’s all fun and desire, non?”

  Charles was saved from responding when Clara burst in, breathless and her corset done up incorrectly.

  Shaking his head, William guided Richilde over to her. “Why don’t the two of you freshen up a bit?”

  “That’s a good idea.” Richilde’s laughter tinkled into the air.

  Sebastian and the count came back into the room, and while Charles brooded on the prospect of Lily marrying someone other than him, he was glad he didn’t have to speak with William alone on this. He would offer marriage, and William would be satisfied with having Lily, and only Lily, in their bed.

  Chapter Six

  The mail arrived the next day before her gentlemen callers. Luckily, Lily was able to collect her letters before her uncle could take the liberty of opening them. He was hosting a hunting party next month and had made no bones about the fact that she needed to be out of his house for good before his guests arrived.

  There was yet another letter from a solicitor, this time a British one. She was growing to hate letters. While she still had a stack unopened in her wardrobe that were probably bills or more terrible stories about her husband, this letter was different. It was written in a fine hand on exquisite stationary that was scented with lemons. She ran upstairs and tore it open, dreading the contents.

  I know what you did.

  “I didn’t do anything,” she said aloud. “I didn’t know what George was doing.”

  Pay me 100 pounds per month or I will go public with my knowledge.

  Scribbled below the note was an address to send the money to by the fifteenth of each month. A hundred pounds might just as well have been one thousand. She wanted to scream in frustration; she wanted to cry in disappointment. However, neither would help her situation, no matter how temporarily satisfying it might be.

  Nibbling on her lip, Lily considered hiring a solicitor. But she had barely enough money to pay for lodging after her uncle kicked her out at the end of the month. How would she ever afford someone to represent her in what would probably be a lengthy battle?

  Tearing up the letter into tiny shreds, she tossed it into the embers of the fireplace. She couldn’t fight this blackmailer; she ha
d neither the funds nor the faintest idea of what this was all about. She would have to marry as soon as possible before the scandal hit, and it was too late to find another husband. It was a sticky situation, but George was her past. She’d find a new husband and then worry about what the blackmailer knew. It made her want to run out the door again and this time never stop. What she really wanted to do was turn back time to her coming-out party. Lily should have told Charles or William to marry her.

  Then it hit her.

  “I’m an idiot.”

  She had a second chance. Instead of selling herself to the highest bidder, she should just ask them. She could marry Charles or William, if they’d have her. But which one? If she couldn’t decide which one to take as a lover, how would she be able to decide which one to marry?

  If they would even have her.

  It couldn’t hurt to ask. If only to stop her from always wondering “what if?” If they said no, there would be no harm done. She would laugh it off, even as her heart broke, and she would be no worse off as before.

  But which one? She would have had to flip a coin.

  Reaching into her reticule, she rooted around and pulled out her last sovereign. It was more than most people had, yet it wouldn’t even cover a fraction of what the blackmailer wanted.

  “Heads, Charles. Shield, William.”

  The coin twisted in midair and landed on the table with a spin. It flattened down to reveal Queen Victoria.

  She would have been the Duchess of Densmore now, had she had the nerve to do this six years ago. Or, she could have twisted William’s ear until he proposed marriage. Instead, she was an unwanted, widowed houseguest in her uncle’s home.

  Stuffing the sovereign back into her bag, she mused that Charles and she would have had lovely children. They would have had his silky blond hair and her green-blue eyes. Or maybe her curly black hair and his laughing brown eyes. And their Uncle William would have spoiled them rotten. Would William be hurt that she hadn’t chosen him?

  Well, he hadn’t chosen her, either.

  It was almost time for her dukes to pick her up for lunch. She pushed aside her fears and finished getting ready. Gathering up her things, she eyed the letters in her undergarments drawer. She should really open them, but the thought of reliving George’s perfidy was too much. Besides, none of them looked like the blackmailer’s letter, so they could wait. Lily left them unopened and went downstairs to await the carriage.