Page 94 of After the Abduction

“Alas, I’m still as temperate in my tastes as ever. I dislike props in lovemaking.”

“But props truly add to the excitement, y’know, and temperate is so dull.” He waved the bottle in the air. “While you’re in town this time, I’ll have to introduce you to London’s more exotic pleasures.”

Sebastian gritted his teeth. “I’ll consider it. But you were telling me about this woman who refused to marry you. Knighton seems determined to keep her from you.”

Montfort’s blond brows lowered in a petulant frown. “Foolish bastard. But he’ll change his tune when nobody else of consequence is willing to marry her.” An indolent smile touched his lips. “I actually find her youthful indiscretion an inducement to marriage.”

“Oh?”

“Do you know how hard it is to find a young, marriageable woman who can play both innocent and wanton? Who’s well-bred enough to serve as my wife, yet young and fresh enough even for my exotic tastes?” He drank straight from the bottle. “After I learned of her indiscretion, I thought about making her my mistress. But her loyal family closed ranks about her. Besides, I have to marry. Why not get my heir on a woman I can enjoy? Especially one who’d be grateful to be my duchess, whose past I could hold over her throughout the marriage. Only think of the possibilities.”

His stomach already roiled enough at the thought of Montfort eyeing Juliet as “fresh enough” for his “exotic tastes.” “But she refused you. It doesn’t sound as if she was all that ‘grateful’ to be offered the position as your duchess.”

He looked sour. “Yes, she was quite the little hypocrite—refused me because of my character. It annoyed me exceedingly.”

“So you retaliated by exposing what you’d discovered.”

“Really, old chap, this isn’t about retaliation. It’s about getting what I want. And what I want is Juliet. I want to punish her for her insolence. Take that lady whore over my knee until she understands the value of a man with a firm hand.” His tone turned cold. “Besides, I can’t allow a mere chit to refuse me. It would set a nasty precedent.”

Sebastian clamped down on his fury. “So you think she’ll have you after you’ve slandered her throughout society.”

“Of course. I’ve got her and her family right where I want them. I’ll let her suffer a few weeks of society’s disapproval and all those men offering her a carte blanche instead of marriage. Then I’ll promise to make the gossip go away. But only if she marries me.” He smiled wolfishly. “I can do it, too. All I need say is that I looked into the matter and discovered she was wronged. The high sticklers will still murmur, but everybody else will believe me, especially once I marry her. And after having suffered a bit, the woman’ll weep with joy to have me offer her a respectable position.”

Over Montfort’s knee. The very idea made Sebastian’s skin crawl. He’d heard enough. He pushed away from the desk. “I suggest you skip the ‘weeks of society’s disapproval’ and go straight to making the gossip go away.”

Montfort laughed. “You always were the gentleman. Though I don’t see why you care about a woman you don’t even know.”

“Actually, I know her quite well. She and her family have been my guests at Charnwood for the last two weeks. Why do you think I’m here?”

The duke’s humor faded, and his eyes narrowed. “If this is some joke—”

“It’s no joke. She’s entertaining an offer of marriage from me at this very moment. I intend to settle the matter while I’m in London. So you might as well give up any hope of having her.”

“You’d marry her even though she’s been with another man?” Montfort said with a sneer. “You, the soul of prudery?”

By thunder, he was tired of everyone thinking him a prig. “I’m not quite as dull as you seem to think. You aren’t the only man who can appreciate the particular charms of a woman like Juliet.”

Montfort pushed away from the bookcase, his face flushing with more than drink. “You sneaky, conniving—”

“Which is why,” Sebastian went on, his tone deadly serious, “I expect you to put an end to the rumors at once.”

“You expect—”

“I won’t have my future wife’s good name tarnished by your tawdry insinuations. So here’s what you’ll do. You’ll trot back out into that ballroom and tell your vile friends that you were mistaken about Lady Juliet. And you’ll be completely convincing if you know what’s good for you.”

Every “sophisticated” bone in Montfort’s body trumpeted his contempt. “And what in God’s name makes you think I’ll do any of that? If Knighton couldn’t force me, why do you think you can?”

“Because unlike Knighton, I have nothing to lose by taking you on—no wife, no sisters-in-law, no loyal friends, and no family but an uncle who’s eager to see me married at any cost.” Thank God Montfort didn’t know who Morgan was to Sebastian, especially with this latest trouble. “I have no business concern to protect. So you can threaten to drag my name through the mud all you want. My father has ruined the family name so entirely that I doubt you could make it any worse, and even if you did, it wouldn’t affect my life at Charnwood.”

Sebastian stepped close enough to see alarm flicker briefly in the duke’s eyes. “And if you’re foolish enough to wish a duel over this, I’ll have no compunction about killing you, even if it means abandoning my estate and fleeing to the Continent with Juliet.”

Montfort stiffened. “What makes you think you’d win? Granted, your prowess with a pistol is legendary, but if you call me out, I’ll choose swords and—”

“Who said anything about calling you out? I’ll merely insult you so vilely in public that your pride will demand you call me out. Then I’ll happily put a bullet through your black heart.” He ran his gaze contemptuously down Montfort’s slender frame. “I might even decide to put it through your tiny prick instead. And I can do it, too, before you even manage to aim.”

Montfort paled. Everyone knew the duke was a horrible shot. And Sebastian was well aware that the man was too proud to endure any public insult for long.

“I see that we understand each other,” Sebastian went on. “You have forty-eight hours to set the gossip to rest. By day after tomorrow, I’d better see everyone in society treating Juliet like the angel that she is. Or I swear I’ll make your life a living hell until they do.”