Loving Lord Ash Read Online Free PDF Page B

know. She’d never told him about Percy. She’d never discussed the details with Dennis, either. “No, he doesn’t. Trust me, our marriage was a mistake Lord Ashton regretted the moment the offer left his lips.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes again. Where was the blasted cord she used to tie it back? Her pins had fallen all over the floor.
    Ah, there it was. She stepped over Kit’s tail and snatched it off her pillow.
    “I think Roger’s right,” Dennis said. He almost always thought Roger was right. “The marquis has very strong feelings for you, Jess.”
    “Yes. Hatred and disgust.”
    “No,” Roger said. “Love and passion.”
    What was the matter with the man? He wasn’t usually as thick as a post. “Damnation, Roger. You can’t know what Lord Ashton is feeling. You aren’t . . . that is, you don’t . . .”
    She jerked her hair back and tied it with the cord. Roger wasn’t the least bit interested in women. When she was painting him, his male bit was floppy and small. But let Dennis walk into the room, and it sprang up, growing to twice its size. It was very annoying if that happened to be the part of him she was painting at the time.
    And it wasn’t just Roger and Dennis; all the men at the manor were that way. Dennis had explained things in a rather roundabout fashion when she’d arrived.
    At first she was shocked, but she soon realized the situation was very much to her advantage. The men were polite, neat, and orderly, and she never had to repulse an improper advance. She felt safe. Yes, the neighbors talked, but they’d talk even if she had only female servants. There was no avoiding the fact that she was the Marquis of Ashton’s discarded bride.
    Well, all right, the neighbors wouldn’t say quite the same things if her servants were all female. Everyone thought she had a male harem at the manor. It was annoying, but there was nothing to be done about it. She certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone what was really going on. Men of Dennis’s and Roger’s ilk weren’t safe in society if their true interests were known.
    “I may not be attracted to women,” Roger was saying, “but I still understand love and passion.” His gaze rested on Dennis.
    She wished Kit would look at her that way.
    And then he looked back at her. “Trust me, Jess. Lord Ashton loves you rather desperately.”
    “No, he doesn’t.” Roger was at heart a starry-eyed romantic who, like the ancient Roman poet Virgil, thought love conquered all. Ha! If she went to Kit now and threw herself at his feet, he’d just kick her in the teeth.
    It was over. Hell, it had never begun. She needed to move on, to make plans. First she’d need a place to live, but where could she go?
    She studied Roger. He had his hands on his hips and a look of extreme exasperation on his face.
    Hmm. Kit was tossing him out, too. It was unlikely he’d find a situation like the one at Blackweith, but if he went back to London, his mother would be after him to take a wife. He was actually a baron, and his mother understandably thought he should be busy getting an heir, even though he had a perfectly pleasant younger brother to inherit and ensure that the title continued. It was one of the reasons he’d left Town—that, and the fear that his, er, special interests would be discovered.
    A sham marriage might be the perfect solution to both their problems.
    “Roger, will you marry me?”
    Roger’s eyebrows shot up. “ What? Are you daft?”
    “No. Think about it.” It was a good idea. Not a great one, but at least it would keep her from sleeping in the hedgerows. And she did like Roger. “Once Ash divorces me, I’ll be more of an outcast than I am already. I won’t even have a roof over my head.”
    “Lord Ashton would never turn you out.” Dennis sounded shocked. “I’m sure he’ll find some place for you to stay.” He frowned and looked at Roger. “Though not at the manor. I suppose there will be some changes