Page 30 of His Scandalous Viscountess
The Fairchild sisters both seemed to have him in the palm of their hands—though one usually held a much more fun part of him.
“Wallthorpe has alluded that if he can’t have Jules, he will come after you next. So she’s scheming to have a man—one yet to be determined—take up with you as a suitor, until Wallthorpe can be dealt with properly.”
He could hear Jules cursing under her breath before she tried to land a preemptive strike and appease her sister. “Ros, I just wish to protect you. You shouldn’t have to contend with an unwanted suitor simply because I rejected him.”
Her sister pinched the bridge of her nose. “But really, Jules, you were not going to tell me?”
Her cheeks turning a delightful shade of magenta, Jules said, “I was, once I worked out a suitable man to protect you. Which I had hoped Wolf could help me with. I was just working my way around to asking if one of his friends might assist us in this.” She let one brow rise.
Wolf mentally sighed. Jules was quite the managing baggage when she chose to be. He’d forgotten that about her—rather inconveniently, he realized. “Well, I…” He swallowed.
Who among his set might he trust to protect Ros?
She was much too sweet for any of his friends.
“Come now, there must be one amongst your friends who might aid us?” Jules pushed.
He stalled, trying to imagine which of his friends might be the most believable as her suitor.
Undeterred, Jules upped the ante on him with an evil grin. “I suppose I could see if that nice Mr. Lucifer might be able to offer us some help.”
Wolf wanted to curse. Loudly. And with great vigor. Instead, he did what he always did when it came to these two women and gave in, despite his better judgement. “I shall see if one of my friends might be willing. It is possible Linc would take on the task.”
Ros harrumphed. “Well, you needn’t make it sound so onerous. I am not an ogre, last I checked the mirror.”
“I meant no such insult. I am just trying to picture you with one of them, and Linc seems the most likely fellow. He’s quite the charmer.” Wolf nodded then, as much to himself as to them. Yes, he would be the best choice. Certainly the most believable. “I suggest we all go for an outing, so Ros and her intended may meet.”
He couldn’t keep his lips from twitching.
“We could all attend the Weatherly ball later this week,” Jules suggested.
“Maybe something less formal. Mayhap a picnic would be better? We can include all the Lustful Lords to ease any awkwardness.”
Wolf didn’t suspect his friends would be overly eager to attend a ball, and with the crushing crowds, it would be harder to keep Wallthorpe away from Jules and Ros.
“No, we need something more public, where a connection between Ros and your friend will be noticed.”
Jules’ voice carried a confidence that Wolf did not share on the matter. A ball seemed like a terrible idea.
“Absolutely not,” he retorted in his commanding voice. “A ball will be too crowded. And even if I could convince the other Lustful Lords to attend, it will be far too difficult to protect you both in such an environment.”
To his dismay, Jules utterly ignored him.
“Excellent. We already planned to attend, so why don’t youandyour friends meet us here Thursday evening, and we can go together? We’ll see you at half past nine.”
He tried again. “Julia, I saidno.”
“Wolf, be reasonable. If we do not make a very public display, the effort will be useless. Trust me when I tell you, Wallthorpe and my parents will simply ignore anything else.”
Then she pressed against his arm and unleashed her emerald weapons. He looked into her eyes and called the loss.
“Fine. We will see you then.” He ground his teeth and gave up the fight. When she dug her heels in, he knew there was no budging her.
~
Thursday night came and Wolf arrived at Jules’ house first. He was shown into the parlor to wait. Flint was coming with Linc, since they had planned to have dinner beforehand, and just to add a bit of polish to the effort, Stone and his wife, as well as Cooper and his new bride, were also joining the party. Arthur had fallen ill with a cold and had elected to stay home—balls not being his cup of tea.
Of course, none of the Lustful Lords were avid attendees of such soirees. They typically only went when forced by family, duty, or their wives.
