Read Online The Debutante Is Mine by Vivienne Lorret - Free Book Online
Authors: Vivienne Lorret
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Jack interrupted Thayne smoothly.
Spoken like a true warrior. She could easily imagine his lithe body rising from the chair, shedding his coat, and issuing a challenge without saying a word. A man like him wouldn’t need to do. A man like him likely never had cause to raise his voice either. In fact, Jack cared so little about propriety that he would be more likely to laugh than to berate his children for making a mistake. More likely to scoop his little girl in his arms after she’d fallen than to scold her . . .
Lilah shook her head, freeing herself of these errant thoughts. Why was she thinking about Jack’s nonexistent children?
It must be because she was hungry. When her maid had brought up a tea tray earlier, Lilah hadn’t wanted to eat anything for fear of spilling something on her dress. Now, she realized the hazards of being near Jack Marlowe on an empty stomach. She could not let this happen again.
“All right then, take the Earl of Wolford,” Thayne continued. “Is there any man alive who spends more time in the gossip pages? Even with his fortune and title, matchmakers throughout the ton stay far afield of him. Yet it would take little effort to turn those scandals around and create one of the most sought-after gentlemen in society.”
Juliet laughed. “Are you saying that you can turn Wolford into this Season’s Original ?”
“In my sleep.”
“Be careful, Thayne,” Jack warned. “You might have to prove it.”
The marquess narrowed his eyes at Juliet. “Are you challenging me, Lady Granworth?”
Lilah had had enough of Thayne’s overt intimidation tactics. It reminded her far too much of the verbal cruelty her father had unleashed. She stood and squared her shoulders in solidarity. “She is, my lord. In fact, she is going to transform me.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Lilah wanted to shove them back in, chew them up, and swallow, pretending that she’d never spoken. But she had. And now the words seemed like a dozen Destriers in the room, too intimidating to take back in one bite and too large to ignore.
Juliet’s gaze darted to hers and held. “Are you sure about this?”
“Irrefutably.” To her own credit, Lilah’s voice barely trembled.
Juliet stood in front of her chair and extended her gloved hand toward Thayne. “The winner claims the house.”
“The winner will keep his house,” Thayne said, standing as well. “The loser must leave town and find another home.”
“Agreed.”
Lilah watched the two of them shake hands and wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
C HAPTER F OUR
“W hat the devil are you doing here, Marlowe?” Thayne asked as the butler escorted him into Wolford’s bric-a-brac-crowded study. As of yet, Liam Cavanaugh, the Earl of Wolford, had yet to make an appearance.
Jack stood near the bay window that overlooked the street. Even before he’d spotted the carriage, he’d known Thayne would want to begin straight away. Apparently, however, they had both arrived too early for their friend to be awake. “I wanted to be present when you explained to Wolford that you were going to turn him into an Original .”
“Of course I’m not going to tell him,” Thayne replied with a dark scowl. “And I demand that you do not either.”
Demand? Jack lifted his brows.
“All right then”—Thayne cleared his throat—“I’m asking you not to say anything.”
After a moment of consideration, Jack inclined his head and walked past the mahogany desk, sidestepping a pair of Egyptian urns. “If Wolford doesn’t know that he’s to reform, then how will you accomplish it?”
Thayne paused in his study of an Oriental scroll under glass. “Since when have behaviors of those in society held your interest?”
“I don’t know what you mean. The actions of your people are filled with such inane purpose that I find it tirelessly amusing.” Yet honestly, Jack had been wondering the same thing. Why had he made a point of rescheduling his
Spoken like a true warrior. She could easily imagine his lithe body rising from the chair, shedding his coat, and issuing a challenge without saying a word. A man like him wouldn’t need to do. A man like him likely never had cause to raise his voice either. In fact, Jack cared so little about propriety that he would be more likely to laugh than to berate his children for making a mistake. More likely to scoop his little girl in his arms after she’d fallen than to scold her . . .
Lilah shook her head, freeing herself of these errant thoughts. Why was she thinking about Jack’s nonexistent children?
It must be because she was hungry. When her maid had brought up a tea tray earlier, Lilah hadn’t wanted to eat anything for fear of spilling something on her dress. Now, she realized the hazards of being near Jack Marlowe on an empty stomach. She could not let this happen again.
“All right then, take the Earl of Wolford,” Thayne continued. “Is there any man alive who spends more time in the gossip pages? Even with his fortune and title, matchmakers throughout the ton stay far afield of him. Yet it would take little effort to turn those scandals around and create one of the most sought-after gentlemen in society.”
Juliet laughed. “Are you saying that you can turn Wolford into this Season’s Original ?”
“In my sleep.”
“Be careful, Thayne,” Jack warned. “You might have to prove it.”
The marquess narrowed his eyes at Juliet. “Are you challenging me, Lady Granworth?”
Lilah had had enough of Thayne’s overt intimidation tactics. It reminded her far too much of the verbal cruelty her father had unleashed. She stood and squared her shoulders in solidarity. “She is, my lord. In fact, she is going to transform me.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Lilah wanted to shove them back in, chew them up, and swallow, pretending that she’d never spoken. But she had. And now the words seemed like a dozen Destriers in the room, too intimidating to take back in one bite and too large to ignore.
Juliet’s gaze darted to hers and held. “Are you sure about this?”
“Irrefutably.” To her own credit, Lilah’s voice barely trembled.
Juliet stood in front of her chair and extended her gloved hand toward Thayne. “The winner claims the house.”
“The winner will keep his house,” Thayne said, standing as well. “The loser must leave town and find another home.”
“Agreed.”
Lilah watched the two of them shake hands and wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
C HAPTER F OUR
“W hat the devil are you doing here, Marlowe?” Thayne asked as the butler escorted him into Wolford’s bric-a-brac-crowded study. As of yet, Liam Cavanaugh, the Earl of Wolford, had yet to make an appearance.
Jack stood near the bay window that overlooked the street. Even before he’d spotted the carriage, he’d known Thayne would want to begin straight away. Apparently, however, they had both arrived too early for their friend to be awake. “I wanted to be present when you explained to Wolford that you were going to turn him into an Original .”
“Of course I’m not going to tell him,” Thayne replied with a dark scowl. “And I demand that you do not either.”
Demand? Jack lifted his brows.
“All right then”—Thayne cleared his throat—“I’m asking you not to say anything.”
After a moment of consideration, Jack inclined his head and walked past the mahogany desk, sidestepping a pair of Egyptian urns. “If Wolford doesn’t know that he’s to reform, then how will you accomplish it?”
Thayne paused in his study of an Oriental scroll under glass. “Since when have behaviors of those in society held your interest?”
“I don’t know what you mean. The actions of your people are filled with such inane purpose that I find it tirelessly amusing.” Yet honestly, Jack had been wondering the same thing. Why had he made a point of rescheduling his
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