Page 12 of Read To Me, Lyon

“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.”