His Wicked Lady Read Free Page B

or
not to marry is your decision.”
    Well, that made him feel a little better.
    “But you do want to marry,” she
continued.
    “You do?” Logan asked in interest as he
poured brandy into his glass.
    Ignoring Logan, Malcolm told her, “I know you
are helping Helena arrange marriages. You know me better than
anyone. Will you make sure she chooses the right lady for me?”
    “I’ll be happy to do it.”
    “And make it quick. Go over to her first
thing tomorrow.”
    “When you get in a hurry, you don’t waste
time,” Logan murmured as he plopped down in the chair across from.
He crossed his legs and took a sip of his drink.
    “I see no point in wasting my time now that
my decision has been made,” Malcolm told him. “Unlike you, I’m not
going to pick the first lady I can kiss. I’m going to use my
sister’s wise judgment.”
    “So, in other words,” Logan began, swirling
the drink in his hand, “you can’t find a wife on your own, so
you’re enlisting her help.”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “It was implied.”
    “You two need to stop,” Melissa intervened.
“There’s no sense in this discussion.” She turned to Malcolm. “I’ll
be happy to help you, and I’ll go to Helena’s tomorrow.”
    “Thank you.”
    At least his sister wasn’t so devoted to
Logan she couldn’t see the wisdom in helping her own brother out.
But if he thought that was enough to deter Logan from making a
nuisance of himself, he was sorely mistaken.
    “Hmm…” Logan leaned forward, his elbows
resting on his thighs, and stared at Malcolm. “For someone who only
seems to care about acquiring money, you’ve taken a sudden interest
in getting a bride.” After a moment of Malcolm glaring at him, he
snapped his fingers. “I know! You came across a lady tonight who
scared you into this.”
    “Nothing of the sort happened,” he
argued.
    “Of course, it did. You’re in too much of a
hurry for it to be any other reason. What did she do? Threaten to
kiss you? Threaten to take you off to another room and—”
    “Logan!” Melissa interrupted. “Please stop
upsetting my brother.”
    “I’m sorry, my delicate flower,” Logan
replied. “It’s safe to assume Malcolm has no idea how to kiss a
lady anyway. She’d have to pretty much teach him. Maybe that’s what
scared him. Maybe this one was willing to help him along in the
ways of romance.” Logan smirked at Malcolm. “You should try a kiss
sometime. It’s quite enjoyable.”
    “Logan,” she shot him a pointed look, “I’m
sure my brother has kissed a lady before. He’s twenty-five.”
    Logan, eyebrows raised, turned his amused
gaze at Malcolm in a silent challenge to prove he had kissed a
lady. Malcolm, however, wasn’t in the mood to play any of Logan’s
games. Actually, he was never in the mood for it, but that was
especially true this evening.
    Malcolm stood up and faced Melissa. “Father
made a good point when he said I have no one to leave my money to
when I die.”
    “You could leave it to us,” Logan said.
    Ignoring him, Malcolm continued, “Besides, I
like my nephew. It stands to reason I’ll enjoy having
children.”
    “Especially making them,” Logan quipped with
a chuckle.
    Melissa shook her head at Logan, and
thankfully, this succeeded in getting him to stop chuckling. “I’ll
visit Helena tomorrow, and I’ll let you know when we find you a
wife.”
    “Thank you,” he told her. He turned to leave
but caught a muffled chuckle from Logan who was doing his best not
to laugh. He almost didn’t justify his brother-in-law’s subtle
insult but then decided he might as well. It wasn’t like the
evening could get any worse. He directed his gaze to Logan. “Did
you receive Lord Steinbeck’s invitation to a dinner party?”
    “I didn’t know Lord Steinbeck was having a
dinner party.”
    Malcolm feigned surprise. “But I thought
everyone at White’s got the invitation.”
    Noting the frown on Logan’s face, Malcolm let
out an innocent