The Courtesan Duchess Read Free Page B

she’s deuced expensive.”
    “Worth every banknote and gem she receives, I’d wager, if half of what she told me is true.”
    “I almost pity that poor husband of yours,” Simon drawled.
    Julia frowned. Colton deserved no pity. The man was a reprobate. And he’d left her at the mercy of his cheating, lecherous relative.
    She started to argue but Simon held up a hand. “I said ‘almost.’ No one knows of your unhappiness these last few years better than I. Colt deserves retribution for what he’s done—and more. However, it does seem as if you’re well on your way to achieving your goal.”
    “Oh, saints be praised!” Theo slapped her thigh. “How long, then, do you believe we must stay in Venice?”
    “Not long. If I were to wager, not long at all,” Julia answered with a sly smile.
    “Well, I’m off.” Simon rose and drained his glass. “I know of a few more parties I should like to visit this evening—without Mrs. Leighton’s watchful eye, of course.”
    Julia held up her hand. “Say no more. We wish you luck, don’t we, Aunt Theo?”
    Glorious crackpot that she was, Theo nodded, her brown curls rocking back and forth. “Indeed. Here’s to wine, women, and song, my lord.”
    Simon gave them an elaborate bow and left.
    “Do you think this scheme will work?” Theo asked once they were alone.
    “It must. Templeton’s last visit continues to give me nightmares.” After informing her—again—of the further reduction of her monthly stipend, the grotesque excuse for a man had suggested what services Julia could provide to make up the difference. And by services, he hadn’t meant mending his clothes.
    The thought of intimacies with Templeton—with his small black eyes, sweaty brow, and demeaning attitude—almost made her physically sick. Damn Colton for putting me in this situation. “Oh, how I wish my father was still alive.”
    “My brother would’ve dragged your duke home by his whirlygigs by now, that’s for sure.”
    Julia chuckled. “Perhaps. Templeton wouldn’t be a problem, in any case. I know my father believed marriage to a duke to be an unparalleled match for his only daughter, but I’d like to think he would have reconsidered if he’d known how much trouble it would bring me.”
    “The trouble is your duke ignoring his responsibilities at home. Leaving you to fend for yourself for eight years. With naught a word from him!” Theo sniffed in disdain. “And to wash his hands of the estate business. Does he believe all estate managers to be honest men? You know very well that Templeton is paying off Colton’s man to follow his orders.”
    “Colton does not care. He told me himself he never plans to come back to England. So we had to do something . As you well know, the last of our jewelry went to pay Pearl and fund Mrs. Leighton’s wardrobe. We barely have enough to carry us through until spring.”
    “I still say we could’ve asked Winchester for help. Or perhaps your Lord Wyndham.”
    Julia bristled. “You know we cannot ask for another man to support us indefinitely. And he is not my lord anything. I told you I merely flirted with Wyndham in hopes of forcing Colton back to London. But either my husband didn’t hear the rumors or didn’t care about being cuckolded because it failed to work.”
    “So if Colton does not care about being cuckolded . . .”
    “I still couldn’t do it. Colton would know the child was not his, and I cannot risk him telling anyone. If it were found out, my child would be an outcast. No, Colton must father my child. And when I find myself with child, we shall return to London and I’ll write to my husband, explaining what I’ve done.”
    They both fell silent, contemplating the duke’s reaction to such a letter, while the mantel clock ticked loud and steady throughout the room.
    “Will Colton acknowledge the child, I wonder?” her aunt asked, and sipped her sherry.
    Julia frowned. “Why would he not? Every man wants an