Page 2 of Read To Me, Lyon

There was no other option. Benton added, “I’m willing to give him one hell of a fight.”

“Yet, you haven’t said you are confident we will win.”

Benton sighed. “The courts, I suspect, will think it better for you all to have a male guardian. Most judges will worry about you, Hazel, and Anna being taken advantage of, especially you, Kitty. You are young, beautiful, and in charge of a thriving business.”

Kitty bristled. She didn’t think her looks should matter, not that she thought her chestnut hair and hazel eyes were stuff anyone would write sonnets over. “I grew up in this business. My parents, since I was fifteen, have prepared me to take care of Larson Bookshop and Printing Press.”

“I do not agree with any court position that goes against you having control of your family business, but that is the direction in which similar cases have gone,” Benton explained.

“He’s recklessly spent all the money he’s received from our family for years,” Hazel said, outraged.

Kitty didn’t want to argue the point or be talked out of the decision she’d already made. “I’m going to get married. I’ve arranged an appointment with the proprietor of the Lyon’s Den. It is rumored that she can help a wealthy lady with secrets acquire a husband.”

Benton nodded. “My colleagues have written contracts for ladies requesting her assistance. She’s matched several scandalous ladies with decent men.”

She was relieved Benton didn’t try to talk her out of it. “Will you join me?”

He frowned at her. “If it is what you really want.”

Kitty glanced around her office and thought of all the good they’d done with the underground press and books. Her Uncle Dominic would destroy all of that. She wouldn’t allow it. “It is.”

“What about love?” Anna asked.

Kitty smiled, reassuringly, at both her sisters. “Sometimes love grows over time. I’m content with that. From what I understand, I can specify my requirements, and she will use that to find me a husband. Benton will draft a contract ensuring my spouse won’t be able to take control of either of you or Larson Bookshop and Printing Press. And most importantly, Uncle Dominic won’t be able to argue that we need a guardian.”

Hazel and Anna both frowned, and Kitty added, “My great love is the work and the books we sell here. Come, let’s show Benton the new press we’ve acquired. It can print twice as many books as our other machine.”

The excitement of a new contraption seemed to take away some of the heaviness of her decision. Her sisters jumped up and raced toward the company’s printing area. She and Benton followed at a slower pace. He said, “It is a noble thing you are doing, Kitty.”

She nodded. It was the only choice they had. Kitty might not have a love match, but her sisters and this business would be protected, and that was enough for her. “Perhaps Mrs. Dove-Lyon will find someone wonderful for me.”

“I hope so. Your sisters are correct. Your parents would want you to be happy with whoever you choose to marry.”

Kitty wanted that too, but more than anything, she needed Larson Bookshop and Printing Press to continue.

Oliver, the Marquess of Everly, stared up at his family’s London residence. He was home, and now, he carried his father’s title. The war and his exploits on the Continent had forever changed him. He’d done and seen things that would always linger in his mind.

More gut-wrenching, the one person he wanted to speak with and be comforted by, his father, was gone.

The last letter he’d received before departing from the Continent had been a tear-streaked missive written by his mother informing Oliver of his father’s passing, telling him that he was now the marquess. It had taken ten days to reach the spot in which he now stood. He should want to throw open the doors and seek out the rest of his remaining family, but he hesitated. His mother’s letter had been devastating but also grim. There was something amiss with the finances. This would not be a happy reunion, but a heavy one.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and his sister peered out at him. She was twenty-two and six years younger than he. They stared at one another in surprise.

Julia looked so different than when he left a year ago. Oliver and she shared the same wheat-blond hair and vivid blue eyes. Both traits had been inherited not from the marquess, but their mother.

“What are you doing out here? Hanson said you arrived, but he suggested giving you a minute. I’m sorry if I ruined your contemplation. I couldn’t wait.”

The family butler, Hanson, knew him better than anyone. Oliver would be happy to see him as much as his family. Now Oliver held out his arms and Julia rushed into them. “We both know you would never allow me a few moments of solitude.”

She beamed up at him. “Not when I’ve missed you so much. We’ve needed your face here.”

“How is she?” Oliver asked about their mother. His parents had been a love match, and their adoration for each other had only grown over time.

His sister sighed. “She is devastated but trying to be strong. There are things we discovered about Father afterwards that have left her quite upset.”

His brows shot up. “Not an affair or a mistress?”

“Certainly not, but he obliterated the estate finances. I can’t believe how bad Father was with money. He hired a new man-of-affairs without checking his references and followed all his advice.”