The Sextet Presents… The Lady Takes a Pair [In Days of Olde] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free

like a gift from God.
    “If we do this,” he began, “we must take care that any child she bears is yours.”
    Nick drew back in surprise. “Are you saying you don’t wish to have children of your own?”
    “The title, Nick,” Will chided. “You know…one of the reasons you need a wife?”
    “Ah, yes. The blasted title. In the heat of the moment, I must confess I had forgotten it.” Pulling Will close, he kissed the top of his head. “How like you to remember it for me.”
    Will would’ve done anything for Nick, even giving him up if the viscount’s happiness required him to do so. “What if Lady Juliet only wants you? Have you considered that possibility?”
    “I believe I made it plain that you and I were a package deal.” Rotherford hesitated, drumming his fingers on his chest. “Then again, my wording may have been a bit obscure.”
    “I suspected as much.” Just as he suspected that if Lady Juliet were to settle on one man, Nick would be her first choice.
    Not that he and Nick couldn’t continue their affair in a more clandestine manner. Even so, he preferred to be honest with her. Considering her unfortunate history and his own forthright nature, he could hardly be expected to be otherwise.
    “You must remember,” said Nick, “that while our love for each other is a given, we are not in love with her yet, nor she with us. There is still time to make that point perfectly clear.”
    Will couldn’t help but chuckle. “Perhaps you could spell it all out for her in a letter—or even a contract to which she could sign her name.”
    “My, how unromantic,” Nick drawled.
    “But practical,” Will countered. “She could never say she was misinformed.”
    “True. I promise to give the matter my fullest attention.” Yawning, he pulled the sheet up over Will’s shoulders. “Tomorrow.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Juliet took her seat at the breakfast table, wondering how she would make it through the day without dozing off. Throughout the night, questions had hummed through her puzzled mind—questions she could never see herself asking, despite her habit of blurting out comments that were best left unsaid.
    The answers to her questions wouldn’t matter in the long run. The viscount’s party would be over when the week was out. She would return to her life at Clarenhurst Hall and forget she’d ever met anyone by the name of Nicholas—or that dratted William, who’d seated her much too close to the viscount for comfort. She could scarcely look up from her plate without encountering Rotherford’s gaze. Averting her eyes didn’t do her a bit of good because they always seemed to land on William as he went about his duties.
    Juliet had just swallowed the last bite of her toast when Rotherford cleared his throat. “I must ask you all to please forgive me, as I shall be making my weekly rounds of the estate this morning,” he said. “While I normally enjoy the task, parting with my guests is difficult.”
    Lady Monteal tittered behind her napkin. “Oh, surely not that difficult, my lord. You must have grown weary of us by now.”
    “Not at all.” Rotherford’s grin was enough to make any woman blush, and the baroness was no exception. Without warning, he aimed his most winning smile at Juliet. “Lady Juliet, would you do me the honor of accompanying me? Your presence would certainly make my routine visits more agreeable—for myself as well as my tenants.”
    Juliet somehow managed to catch herself before her mouth fell open in a most unladylike manner. “I hardly think—”
    She never completed her sentence, having been effectively silenced by her father. “An excellent notion, I’m sure.”
    This time her jaw truly dropped. Then she remembered that business about securing the viscount’s vote—and the tongue lashing she hadn’t received. Clearly, her father now intended to use her to sway Rotherford’s political views. Ordinarily this would’ve riled Juliet beyond bearing, but she