Lyon's Bride and The Scottish Witch with Bonus Material (Promo e-Books) Read Free Page B

heard his father had died several years ago, knew that he’d ascended to the title.
    “ Mrs. Martin?” He moved a step away, as if uncertain.
    His movement allowed her to take two paces opposite his. “I married,” she said.
    “Apparently.”
    Sir James looked at Thea, looked at Lord Lyon, and then back at her. The welcoming smile left his face, replaced by uncertainty. “Do you two know each other?”
    “Barely,” Thea replied crisply even as Lord Lyon barked, “Hardly.”
    The twin words lingered in the air, followed by a beat of heavy silence, and Thea couldn’t help but remember their childhood days together, back when her father had always banished his children to the countryside, where the favored sons had been encouraged to hunt and fish, and the girls had been left to sew samplers. Thea had escaped the house back then and come across Neal, who’d been just as lonely as herself.
    Lord Lyon must have been thinking along the same lines. “I knew her when she was Lady Thea,” he told Sir James. There was an accusatory tone to his voice that Thea did not like.
    Sir James dismissed this bit of information with a wave of his hand. “Yes, yes, we all know she is the duke of Duruset’s daughter. You needn’t worry about the current Duruset’s opinion, my lord. His father disowned her when she married. The current duke has stated publicly he won’t have anything to do with her.”
    Lord Lyon frowned. “Is that true?” he demanded of Thea.
    She was not pleased to have her business bandied about, yet she was also proudly defiant. “It must be,” she said. “Sir James wrote the letter from my father cutting me off.”
    “Bad bit of business it was,” Sir James said, moving around his desk to his chair. “Never enjoy those sorts of things, and I admit I’ve been doing what I can to help her out. She’s widowed now. The marriage is done, but she is developing a very respectable reputation at putting the right sort of people together. She helped immeasurably with Peter, and you know we fretted of ever marrying him off. Considering your unusual desires for a wife, you’d be wise to listen to her.”
    “Perhaps his lordship would not care to work with me,” Thea suggested stiffly.
    “Perhaps,” Sir James echoed. He stood behind his desk now, his fingers resting on its polished surface. “Will you sit down and discuss the matter with her, Lyon? Or shall I toss her out?” He said this last with the familiarity of one who knew his customer.
    Lord Lyon shifted his weight as if in indecision, and then he shrugged. “Very well, she may try. I suppose it doesn’t matter who I use as long as she is effective.”
    “I believe you will be pleased,” Sir James said. He smiled. “Perhaps someday I shall use her myself. Like you, I must marry sooner or later. Will you sit, Mrs. Martin?”
    Thea had the urge to run from the room, but then she thought of her sons, of her looming plans for Jonathan’s education. Lyon was rich. “I shall stay, but it will cost you a pretty penny, my lord,” she said, wanting to give him a bit of his own arrogance back. “My services are not inexpensive.”
    “I can’t imagine they would be,” Lord Lyon replied. “In fact, if you find the wife I am looking for, I’ll triple whatever your commission is.”
    Thea sat.
    Lord Lyon took his seat.
    “Now isn’t this better?” Sir James said brightly, taking his own chair.
    Thea forced a smile. Neal remained stony-faced.
    She decided to really tweak Lyon’s nose and take charge. “Sir James said you have particular qualities you are looking for in a wife. Please tell me what they are?”
    He shifted in his chair, crossed his arms and his legs, not looking at her.
    “Do you wish her to have blonde hair?” Thea queried in a pert, businesslike voice—one that she knew would needle him. “Or a brunette? Do you like voluptuous women? Or perhaps a more slender version?”
    Lord Lyon looked to Sir James. “This is