Lady Varney's Risqué Business Read Free

she must be five feet four or five inches tall. Good at the piano, in the assembly hall and the ballroom. Versed in the bedroom. A woman who has already borne a child and who wishes to bear more. She must also enjoy the process of raising them. Anything I have missed?”
    He let his gaze drift up to her cap of golden curls, then down to lock on her eyes. “That is an excellent summary.”
    She braced herself for what she was now about to say. “I have made matches for men for nearly a year.”
    “Ever since you began to emerge from mourning for your husband.”
    She gave Justin a small smile. Realizing he knew this about her was a delight. “Yes, and I have created some very fine marriages. Though not all of my couples have yet taken vows, those five who did, are very happy.”
    Justin brushed imaginary lint from his trousers. “So I have heard.”
    “But these requirements you list are unusual.”
    “I am a very exacting man.”
    “You are. Your friends declare it. I hear your tailor does, too. Your butler.”
    “I shall have to reprimand my man for engaging in gossip,” he told her, but his eyes and his lips quirked in amusement.
    She tipped her head, unable to resist grinning at him and learning more. “Your butler is a good friend of my cook. They talk often.”
    “To you as well, it seems.”
    “My sources are legion. They help me with the work I do.” She raised her brows. “You must realize to match - make I need to know many facts about people.”
    “A necessity of your occupation.” He winked at her, sending her back to days on his ship when she’d been so entranced by his charm.
    She cleared her throat and returned to the subject of his visit. “Your list limits me severely.”
    “I am aware of that.”
    “There are few women who possess all the qualifications.”
    He rose and came to stand before her.
    So close now, she breathed his cologne. Smelled the mint on his breath. Admired the dimple in his left cheek and the facets of green and brown in his large heavy lidded eyes. “In fact, there are only three women who meet all of your requirements.”
    “Ah. But wait, you have not heard them all.”
    “No? Preposterous! There is a very small pool of possible candidates, Justin. To add more requirements would be burdensome—”
    “But my fortune will be very large. My homes, here and in the country, are grand estates. I will be married to this woman for many decades, and I need the best companion possible.” He frowned, very determined looking. “I have the right to declare to whom I shall be joined!”
    “Precisely so, my lord, but we must be prudent.”
    “You be prudent! I shall be as I am!”
    His virulence shocked her.
    “Your fees are high. I shall have whom I want! Who is best suited to me.” He strode closer and seized her arms, his powerful body dwarfing hers. Once his might had been comforting, but now, full of fury, his size made her wince. She had been intimidated by her husband far too often, and she would not be by any man ever again.
    She stiffened her spine. “Tell me your other requirements.”
    “She must spend twenty-four hours with me at Belmont Manor.”
    “Oh, I see.” She let out a breath, relieved. “You want her to visit.”
    “No, I want her in my bed.”
    Kitty blinked. “I…I’m sorry. You want her—?”
    “Naked. I want to learn if she likes men. Me, to be exact.”
    “I see.” Women do like you, from what I hear. One mistress in particular who boasts of your prowess in the art of pleasing a woman . “Why wouldn’t she?
    “I need to learn if she is a dry piece of toast. Or a willing woman who likes a man’s touch. If she’ll be a desirable partner.”
    “Most women are.”
    “ Really? You think so?” With a sound of derision, he spun away and walked toward the window. “I have learned that women in English society tend to be naïve and foolish. Certainly the ones who have been shoved at me as appropriate are witless ninnies, reared in