Page 32 of Read To Me, Lyon

He grabbed his own brandy and took a drink. Her words filled him with relief. She wasn’t hiding an affair or a lover.

“So then. That’s explained. But it doesn’t tell me where you were,” he said.

She frowned. “My uncle is blackmailing me. I paid him off tonight. He threatened to reveal the truth to you and London society.”

Fury shot through him. It wasn’t bad enough that his wife was in danger and he’d been oblivious, but the fact that it was a relative of hers who would put her in harm’s way made his blood boil in his veins. “Where is he?”

She rushed to him and grabbed his hand. “Oliver, you don’t have to—”

“No one will threaten my wife,” he snapped.

Kitty stroked his face. “I want to explain it all to you.”

“I will handle your uncle, and we will find a way to shut down that portion of the business with no one any wiser.”

Her hand dropped, and she stepped away, frowning at him. “I can’t stop printing and selling illicit books.”

“Kitty, there will always be a chance you can be blackmailed.”

“But women rely on what we publish,” Kitty insisted.

“I’m sure there are other ones who can provide the same material,” he said, confused by her growing anger.

She took another sip of her drink and then slammed the glass on the table. “I will not shut it down.”

His own anger started to build as well. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time, and now you won’t even consider my suggestion?”

Kitty faced him head on. “You know nothing about the market, or its value to readers, so how can you make any informed recommendations?”

He threw his arms out. “You’ve never mentioned it! Maybe that is why I don’t know about the value of what are, ultimately illicit—and illegal!—books.”

They stared at each other, and for the first time, Kitty felt like a complete stranger to him. Did she feel the same about him?

A tentative knock on the door caused them both to jump. Oliver said, “Enter.”

His mother opened the door and stepped in, looking at them with concern. “The girls and I heard raised voices. Perhaps this discussion can be continued in the morning?”

Kitty nodded. “Agreed. Thank you, Eloise. I will make my way to my bedchamber.”

She slipped away into the hall without looking back at him. Oliver watched her leave. His mother asked, “What happened?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “The bookshop sells illicit books.”

His mother strolled around the room. “My lady’s maid mentioned that to me.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

His mother shrugged. “We all have our secrets, Oliver. I figured with how well things were going, it would come out eventually. Why is she angry?”

“Why are you not upset she lied to me?”

“I’m sure she has a reason. What I’m concerned about is why she is angry.”

“I mentioned shutting it down.”

His mother sighed and reached for one of the glasses of brandy on the table, and took a sip. “Lords are such bossy men.”

“What else is there to do?”