What a Wicked Earl Wants Read Online Free PDF Page B

Justin’s activities. Montclief, you need not trouble yourself again.”
    In one fell swoop, Bell had acquired a faux fiancée and a rebellious adolescent. He was beginning to feel as if he’d stepped onstage in one of Shakespeare’s comedies.
    “Wait,” Montclief said. “I did not agree to this plan.”
    “But you said that Justin needed daily male guidance,” Laura said. “With five other boys, your hands are full. You will not be able to give Justin nearly as much attention as Bellingham can. Why, I’m sure he will take the boy under his wing almost immediately,” she said.
    Wonderful. Now she’d volunteered him to play nursemaid to a seventeen-year-old.
    Montclief regarded them both with a scowl. “Fair warning. I will come to London periodically to see how matters are progressing. If I hear that my nephew is running wild again, I will remove him immediately.”
    The man strutted to the door and set his hand on the knob.
    Bell couldn’t wait to be rid of him so that he could collect on Laura’s promise.
    Montclief paused, and then he looked over his shoulder. “One more thing. I expect there will be no illicit liaisons while my nephew is residing under this roof.”
    “How dare you make such an accusation?” Laura said in shocked tones. “I would never engage in immoral conduct.”
    She’d conveniently forgotten her promise to him, but he wasn’t about to let her off the hook after she’d involved him in this farce.
    “See that you remember it, Laura,” Montclief said. “I trust I need not repeat the consequences.”
    When the door shut behind Montclief, Bellingham muttered, “That man is an ass.”
    She covered her mouth and collapsed on the red striped sofa. When fat tears welled in her green eyes, Bell whipped out his handkerchief. “It’s all over.”
    Her bottom lip quivered as she took the handkerchief, and then she hastily dabbed it at her eyes. “Thank you,” she said.
    Bell squatted beside her. “The only reason he came here is because his pride took a hit when his friend sent him the letter. His abusive language to you was out of bounds.”
    She folded the handkerchief in a little square. When she tried to hand it back to him, he waved it off.
    “He would have t-taken Justin if you had not been here,” she stammered.
    If Montclief had insisted, there wouldn’t have been a damned thing Bell could have done. She obviously loved the boy, but unless she got her son under control, his guardian would likely remove him.
    She inhaled and released a shaky breath. “Thank you. How much do you want?”
    He frowned. “I beg your pardon?”
    “I’m prepared to pay you. My son means everything to me. Name the price,” she said.
    “I do not need money,” he said.
    “I must say your idea to keep the engagement a secret was quite brilliant,” she said.
    “Frankly, I did it for my own protection. I’ve no wish to find myself caught in the parson’s mousetrap.”
    She patted his arm. “You need not worry. I do not wish to marry again.”
    He rose and helped her to stand.
    “Are you certain you do not want some form of compensation?” she asked. “Would fifty pounds suffice?”
    A slow grin tugged at his mouth. “My fortune is such that I will be unlikely to spend it all in my lifetime.”
    “You’re a lucky man,” she said, eyeing the door as if she were contemplating escape.
    He stepped right in front of her. “I had something else in mind.”
    “Oh?” she said.
    He gazed at her lush mouth. “Something more pleasurable.”
    “Brandy?” she said, her voice a bit squeaky.
    “Guess again.”
    “Port?”
    He caught her hand. “You.”
    She gasped and stepped back. “My lord, I am a respectable widow.”
    “You promised to do anything I asked.”
    “I was desperate.”
    Bell noticed her clenching and unclenching her skirts and sighed. He’d never coerced a woman before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He drew in breath to tell her that he’d only been teasing, but