Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

T he way Ara was turning the carriage ride home from Eton into a scene of glorious sexual torment remained the stuff of legends.

Neville bit his lip and glanced over at Edmund, who sat next to him in Edmund's large, luxurious carriage. But his fellow submissive's gaze was entirely fixed on Arabella's show.

And what a show it was.

To start, she had merely offered brief glimpses of her nipples. Then she'd tweaked and caressed them until they were dark pink and jutting above the square bodice of her deceptively modest bronze-striped traveling gown. Both he and Edmund had offered to suck them; Arabella had not only sternly refused, but then began teasing them by raising her gown and parting her thighs, wantonly displaying her wet, fragrant pussy.

Now her two men were perspiring, panting, and more than a little desperate.

Arabella tsked. "You two are entirely too loud with your moans. Your pleading. What would the driver say? Show me your handkerchiefs."

Oh God. What was she going to do?

When he and Edmund both produced clean squares of linen, Ara smiled sweetly before very slowly, very deliberately, rubbing each handkerchief against her labia until it was sodden. Then she gagged them both.

Nev quivered at her deliciously exquisite cruelty; the simultaneous bestowing and withholding of pleasure. His wife truly ruled supreme.

"Now," Arabella mused, tapping her chin. "What to do with two handsome but very naughty pets? I think you'll both stand, unfasten your trouser falls, then grip that wooden panel above you. Don't you dare let it go."

After yanking the window curtains closed, Neville and Edmund each revealed their very hard cocks. Then they spread their feet for better balance in the rocking, swaying carriage, and held onto the sturdy wooden ridge opposite their heads.

Two cherished pets, gagged, helpless, and excited beyond measure.

Entirely in command, Arabella stroked her clitoris for an eternity, before fingering herself to not one, but two shuddering orgasms. And all they could do was watch.

Edmund groaned around his gag, seed trickling from the swollen head of his cock.

Neville held on by the barest thread, his own length throbbing with the need to come.

Then Arabella closed one hand around Edmund's shaft. "So delightfully thick, Edmund. I apologize for not bringing a dildo, you'll have to endure my mouth instead."

The duke writhed as she ruthlessly sucked his cock, and he soon spurted seed down her throat with a muffled roar. The moment she released him, his legs gave way and he collapsed onto the carriage seat.

Arabella tenderly smoothed his hair, removed his gag and dribbled brandy into his mouth. "Well done, sweetheart."

"Christ," whispered Edmund. "I may never move again. My owner is a goddess ."

"Yes, I am. A little brandy, Nev?" asked his wife innocently.

"Mmmm," he replied, nodding.

However, once she'd removed his delectable gag, Arabella didn't trickle brandy into his mouth. She tugged down her gown bodice and decorated her breast and nipple with the amber liquid. "Clean me. Immediately. So Edmund can watch."

As Neville found brandy-flavored heaven, lapping and sucking the liquid from her creamy flesh and rosy nipple, he almost retained his composure. Except then Ara wrapped the handkerchief gag around his cock, tormenting him with light squeezes and rough rubs of the pussy-wet linen until he succumbed to a violent orgasm with a harsh cry.

"Unfair," he mumbled blissfully, trying to remember which way was up.

Arabella batted her lashes as she delicately tucked her breasts back into her bodice. Then she pushed the curtains aside to look out and yelped. "Bloody hell, we're almost at St. James's Square. Put yourselves to rights, gentlemen, and be quick about it."

Somehow, he and Edmund made themselves vaguely presentable as the carriage entered the square, although their greatcoats would cover a multitude of sins.

"That journey went so fast," said Edmund.

Neville laughed. "Distractions help."

Arabella shook her head. "We were a bit close to home for that. Edmund, is your neighbor particularly stuffy or someone who watches out windows? Is it best to soothe future ruffled feathers with a bottle of good brandy or just brazen it out like it never happened?"

"Actually, you needn't worry," said Edmund slowly. "That townhouse is empty and has been for months. An older couple owned it but their bones grew intolerant to London winters, so they moved to Tuscany. They refuse to lower their price, but in the current state of everything there aren't many who can afford such prime property. Hell, I even had my man look at the numbers, but after two poor harvests and with investment returns so volatile still, I need reserve funds for my estates."

"So it's for sale?" asked Arabella. "Hmmm."

Abruptly, all Neville's faculties returned. Was she considering purchasing the townhouse next to Edmund's? Although it was less than a mile between Golden Square and St. James's Square, in London a short distance didn't mean a quick journey. Living next door to each other would be brilliant. With a little renovation, they could move freely between the two, and no one outside would be any the wiser. If they bought the largest bed possible, Edmund could come and join them at night. And they could dine together; complete discretion unless they wished otherwise. With Arabella's fortune, she could easily afford it. Hector had been telling her for years to leave Golden Square for something bigger, but she'd always refused.

"What are you thinking, Ara?" Neville asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

His wife hesitated as the carriage pulled up outside Edmund's townhouse. "I'm not sure. Nothing, really. I know how attached you are to your childhood home—"

He blinked. "Wait, what?"

Arabella's brow furrowed. "You've never wanted to move from Golden Square."

"Not because I'm attached to the house. I don't really have any happy memories there. More that I've never wanted you spending thirty thousand pounds on something new for my benefit. You do enough for me already."

"Oh my God," snapped Arabella, her eyes sparking flames. "Neville Gage Carlisle, prepare to receive the hardest spanking of your life. I try to respect your wishes around gifts even if I don't agree, but we've been living in a paper-walled hatbox for ten bloody years! It is just as well I love you…Edmund, take heed and never ever commit such a foolish act. Swear you won't."

"No, ma'am," said Edmund, very meekly. "I swear."

Neville exhaled slowly. "Although the hardest spanking of my life sounds rather good, I promise not to be so foolish again. And if you purchase the townhouse next door to Edmund's so we can discreetly be a very happy threesome, I would be delighted."

Once all three had climbed out of the carriage, the driver continued onto the mews and the footmen disappeared inside Edmund's townhouse.

Arabella pulled her satin-lined pelisse closer. "Do you happen to know the owner's man of affairs, Edmund? I should like to look indoors."

Unexpectedly, Edmund grinned. "I have the key. The couple strongly dislike lawyers, calling them thieves and swindlers, so asked me to hold it. Presumably because I'm far too dull and proper to use the place for orgies or turn it into a gaming hell."

Neville laughed. "The curse of the responsible gentleman. But could we see the place?"

"One moment," said Edmund, before dashing inside.

While they waited, Arabella wrapped Neville in a hug. "What am I to do with you? Here, you'll be so close to Westminster, Piccadilly, and your tea shop. You can host political dinners. Castlereagh will have no excuse; he lives a stone's throw away."

"All true," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Do forgive me. I forget my pride deprives you of giving, the way you show your love. If you can say I love you, I can be an exceedingly spoiled husband."

Moments later, Edmund returned, a key in his outstretched hand. "Here it is!"

They must have looked a sight, near-sprinting next door, but as soon as they stepped inside the vast, empty entrance hall, Neville felt a rush of excitement. There was no furniture or ugly paintings or trinkets to dissuade him, just a blank canvas waiting for an artist.

"What can you tell us?" asked Neville, as he glanced around admiringly at the sculpted plaster ceilings, sturdy columns, and smooth polished wooden floors. Even now he could imagine turning this place into a home.

"The floor plan is actually quite similar to Norfolk's at number 31, except on a smaller scale," said Edmund. "Basement has the kitchens, scullery, footmen accommodation, and cellar. Ground floor has the dining room, two bedchambers for housekeeper and butler, the library, morning room, and parlor. Lovely wide staircase right in the middle that goes all the way up. First floor has a master bedroom and dressing room, plus a music room, ballroom, and two drawing rooms, but really it's up to you how they are used. More bedchambers on the second floor, so plenty of space for Toby or guests. Maids comfortably accommodated in the attic. The large windows offer superb views and lots of light, and the fireplaces keep it toasty warm. On the Pall Mall side you have your own mews and enclosed garden, of course."

Arabella laughed as she twirled around. "Just the space alone is wonderful. You don't even need to explain further. Although I do have one very important question: how big a bed could we fit in the master bedchamber?"

Edmund blushed. "How big do you want?"

She strolled up to him, then curved one proprietary hand around his arse, before beckoning Neville over and doing the same to him. "For three, of course."

Neville swallowed hard. Their future was so close he could almost taste it. "When can we start?"

Arabella held them closer. "I'll call on my banker tomorrow."

Indeed, their couple had become a threesome.

And it was magnificent .

Arabella had always known that money opened doors. But money together with a determined and highly organized merchant's daughter, a cheerfully encouraging baron, and a powerful duke's connections and influence could compel actual miracles.

What they had achieved in a week!

Glancing around her new dining room, she allowed herself a moment of pure, unabashed pride.

First, she and Nev met with her banker and arranged a draft to purchase the townhouse. Then, with Edmund and Sir Kenneth's assistance, they had hired fifty former soldiers currently without work to assist in their move from Golden Square; disassembling and reassembling furniture, and driving carts to collect new pieces from various shops and warehouses. For a sizable donation to a welfare organization for widows, they had also acquired twenty extra women willing to polish, scrub, and dust both their old home and their new one. A team of footmen led by Oakley, formerly an apprentice carpenter before becoming a butler, and Oakley's son, a master stonemason, had carefully knocked a hole in the first-floor hallway wall, installed a narrow wooden door, and covered both sides with false bookcases.

But now the mammoth task was complete. All the Golden Square servants were happily ensconced in their much larger quarters and they'd sent a letter to Toby telling him of their grand new address. The only task left: trying out the master chamber's enormous and exceedingly sturdy new bed.

Neville sauntered into the room, openly admiring the beautiful rectangular oak dining table that easily sat thirty people. "I still have no idea how you managed all this."

Arabella laughed as she kissed him. "Easy. A great deal of money, Edmund's name, and about one hundred hardworking helpers."

"Speaking of our duke, what time is he joining us?"

Glancing at the dining room clock resting on the fireplace mantel, Arabella yelped. "Very shortly. I've already told Edmund to come and go as he pleases, but we wanted to make a specific time today to ensure the door and bookshelf system worked. And that it's quiet . Yes, I'm aware Oakley tested it several times, but…you know."

Her husband grinned. "I know my beloved sets the very highest standards and that is one of the thousand reasons I adore her."

Arabella harrumphed, but her cheeks heated. "Let's go and wait for Edmund. I've ordered a picnic supper to be sent up later."

Arm in arm, they left the dining room then walked up the wide staircase that curved up to the first floor. Nev actually kicked his feet out in a few dance steps. "I will never tire of a staircase where we can walk several abreast rather than having to leapfrog each other. I really do apologize profusely for the prolonged stay at Golden Square. Speaking of that house, what should we do with it?"

Arabella shrugged. "It's your house, my darling. I'm sure finding a buyer would be easy…but I suspect you have another idea."

"I do," he said ruefully. "Offering it to Valerie so she no longer has to share with Mother. It's time she enjoyed some freedom, especially now that Toby's at school. There are lots of people searching for work, so hiring new staff wouldn't be an issue. And if she feels inclined to meet someone new, there are several respectable bachelors living in Golden Square. Also a plethora of wild artists."

She nodded at the very Nev response, caring and charitable. One of the thousand reasons she adored him . "An excellent idea. Valerie deserves to kick up her heels, and I'll happily fund staff for her. Your mother is a different story. I won't cut her off, however her continued allowance will rely on one critical condition: she stays far, far away from us. Is that fair?"

"More than fair," said Nev as they strolled down the hallway. "I won't specify the remotest part of Siberia, but definitely away from London. I'll send her a note in the morning. Now, what is that mysterious gown box sitting outside the bedchamber door?"

Arabella stilled. The box was stamped with the name of her favorite modiste, yet she'd not ordered anything. "When did this arrive? I'm not waiting on a gown."

"Perhaps it's a surprise," said Nev, his cheeks turning pink. "Devised by a husband and a lover with the assistance of a certain rogue textile merchant. The level of cunning and distraction we employed now makes us eligible as Home Office spies."

Arabella's eyes burned. Her men had procured a special, secret gift? "Well. Well . I'd better open it then."

"One moment," said Nev, turning to the false bookcase. "Hurry up, Edmund!"

There was a faint click and the bookshelf opened. Edmund stepped out, and closed it behind him. "Apologies. Have I missed the grand unwrap?"

"Just in time," said Nev.

Arabella swallowed hard, stunned at her emotional reaction. Then she quickly unfastened the ribbon, opened the box, and removed the fine tissue paper surrounding the gown. And gasped.

It was a garment created by angels; a long-sleeved, gathered-bodice purple gown in the softest satin imaginable. "It's…it's…"

"Fit for a queen," said Edmund quietly.

"Our Queen Arabella," said Nev. "Why don't you try it on?"

Uncaring that she stood in a hallway, Arabella immediately gestured for her men to act as assistants and soon she wore the sumptuous purple gown. Oh God. The cut! The fabric! So comfortable and yet so flattering, draping her buxom curves rather than clinging. And the regal color made her feel like a queen. But the way her pets were staring with such reverence, such admiration, such hunger…

It was time to reward her faithful subjects.

"Such a thoughtful gift requires recognition. Come along," Arabella said graciously, beckoning them to follow her into the newly refurbished master bedchamber. This was the room she was proudest of: with thick cream carpet, cream silk walls with gold leaf accents, heavy gold velvet drapes, a bed twice the normal size with a sturdy wrought-iron frame for restraining naughty submissives, two chests of drawers, a mahogany writing desk, and several armoires, it was the stuff of dreams. "May I present our new bedchamber."

"Perfect," said Edmund. "The gold is so elegant…like Nev's hair."

"And Edmund's eyes," said Nev slowly. Then he winked. "Not our practical queen indulging in a little sentiment?"

"Nonsense," said Arabella, blushing. Thankfully she was rescued by a knock at the door, and she hurried over to collect the covered silver tray from a maid, before placing it on top of her desk.

Supper could wait. Orgasms could not.

Strolling over to the first chest of drawers, Arabella selected a bottle of oil and her favorite dildo, a superb example of Florentine leather enclosing a polished stone core that filled her to perfection. Then she turned back to her men. "Now, you two. Undress each other and do not tarry. You have many tasks ahead."

It was almost comical how fast they obeyed. When Nev and Edmund both stood before her, naked and restless, their cocks rising and filling under her avid stare, Arabella nodded in satisfaction.

"How can we please you?" asked Nev.

"Much as I hate setting this heavenly gown aside, you'll undress me," said Arabella crisply. "Then we shall break in this new bed with a very special game. The act I described in Edmund's bedchamber that night."

Her husband groaned, a guttural, needy sound. "Oh God. Yes. Edmund fucking your arse and me fucking his. Can you imagine the connection. The pleasure-pain."

Edmund sucked in a breath. "Please yes. But I've never…er…done that."

Arabella smiled. Her duke was yearning again and it made her greedy pussy throb. "We'll take this step by step, sweetheart. Now, do not dare wrinkle my queenly gown."

Never had a lady been so carefully disrobed. Soon, her gown, petticoat, stays, chemise, shoes and stockings lay draped on the chaise, and Arabella was ready to play. Strolling over to the bed, hips swaying, she settled herself in the middle, before spreading her thighs wide and exposing her center to their avid gazes.

"May we…may we make you come?" asked Nev hoarsely.

"Right now?" begged Edmund.

"You may."

The way they scrambled onto the bed made her giggle, but soon she was sighing in pleasure as Nev on her right and Edmund on her left each sucked a nipple with frantic urgency. Cradling both men in her arms, she slid her hands through their hair, firmly tugging if they became too enthusiastic. However, soon the urgent needs of her pussy became too great and she gently directed their heads toward her wet, aching center.

Nev gave Edmund a wicked grin as they each kissed their way down her fleshy belly to her mound. What did the naughty man have in mind?

Boldly holding her gaze, Nev leaned down and dragged his tongue back and forth along her labia, before circling her clitoris.

Arabella cried out in delight. Then Nev stopped and lifted his head, reached for Edmund and kissed him deeply, rubbing his pussy-wet face against the other man.

The impudence .

"Yes," gasped Edmund before repositioning himself to push his tongue inside her, frantically lapping her nectar like it was the only nourishment that could keep him alive. "I need…I need more."

"Do it, sweetheart," said Arabella fiercely. "Now, Nev darling, get the dildo and fuck me with it."

Soon Edmund was sucking her clitoris and Nev was slowly penetrating her with the huge dildo. It felt so damned good Arabella could only thrash her head, her fingernails clawing the bed sheets as a spectacular wave of bliss built and built inside her. Then Neville thrust the dildo deeper and Edmund sucked her clitoris just a fraction harder and the wave crashed. She screamed in ecstasy, her body writhing as the pleasure went on and on.

Two delicious submissive men she loved with all her heart providing one gloriously violent orgasm.

The perfect beginning for their brand-new bedchamber.

And their brand-new life.

Until he'd first been with Nev and Arabella, Edmund had never before considered the magic, the true healing power of joyful bedding. With them, it wasn't a cold duty to be completed as soon as humanly possible, but something exciting and blissful to be savored.

Like the taste of Arabella's honey, for example.

Edmund licked his lips as he carefully sat back on the bed. "Each time I think maybe that will sate my hunger for a bit, but it never does."

"Poor sweetheart," crooned Arabella as she delicately stretched on the bed, her creamy skin flushed, her eyes sparkling, her pussy still stuffed full of dildo…the very portrait of a wanton erotic goddess. "Your cock is very hard. I think you want to be inside me very badly. Coming deep in my backside. Don't you?"

"P-please," he stuttered, his mind not even able to fully grasp such a wonder. Arabella was so beautiful. So generous and giving and caring. And all she wanted was his obedience and devotion. For him to be his true self. That was the most freeing thing in the world. "But…I don't want to hurt you…"

"I'll help you, love," said Nev, caressing Edmund's shoulder. "Just like in the past, we're going to worship Madam together. And it's going to be so, so good."

Edmund shivered, his cock jerking at the hot sexual promise in his lover's eyes. Now, it seemed foolish beyond words that he'd never before fully recognized his own attraction, his own craving for both men and women. But with Arabella and Nev it made perfect sense. And the way they were so clear in instructions. The way he always felt so damned comfortable to enjoy and explore. What a priceless gift. "I'm ready, Nev. I need this. I need you both. Please. Show me."

Arabella blew him a kiss then carefully turned over onto her hands and knees, her luscious arse swaying in invitation. "Prepare me well, then fuck me hard, sweetheart."

Nev groaned. "I envy you, Edmund. I will never, ever forget the first time I came in Ara's arse when she had a dildo in her pussy. Nothing can prepare you for the tightness. The heat. The way she gripped me when she orgasmed, forcing me to come and come until I had no seed left…"

"Stop, I beg you," said Edmund unsteadily as his cockhead grew damp with seed. "If you keep talking like that I won't even last to get inside our queen."

Nev grinned wickedly. "Talking is what I do best. Just remember, love: while you prepare Ara, I'll be preparing you. Start with your tongue. Then one finger. Two. Three. We have plenty of oil, always be generous with it."

Arabella moved restlessly on the bed. "Your queen says get to work. Both of you."

"Yes, ma'am," said Edmund, taking a moment to properly appreciate the lush globes of her arse, the tiny pink star of her anus, the way her pussy so snugly gripped the dildo inside. Then he inhaled deeply of her musky juices, before leaning down and flicking his tongue across her back entrance.

Arabella arched. "Don't you dare tease me."

For the briefest moment, Edmund considered doing just that, for the sole purpose of provoking discipline. Then Nev brushed a kiss across his shoulder. "If you want my cock inside you, best get your tongue moving, Edmund."

Suddenly desperate to be penetrated, Edmund gently nudged Arabella's legs wider apart so he could kneel between them. Then he began swirling his tongue, rimming her anus before pushing inside as much as he could.

She moaned. "Yes. Good."

As though Nev had been waiting for such praise, he caressed Edmund's arse, running an oil-wet fingertip between his nether cheeks, circling that tight hole before slowly, carefully entering him.

Edmund groaned at the burgeoning hint of fullness. It just felt so damned good.

Snatching up the oil bottle, he trickled some of the golden liquid on Arabella's arse, then guided it into her anus with one finger, then two. In. Out. In. Out.

"More," demanded Arabella. "Are you preparing Edmund's arse, Nev darling?"

"He is…Christ…" gritted out Edmund, his eyes almost rolling in the back of his head as Nev added two more fingers.

Don't come. Don't come. Don't come .

In a futile attempt to distract himself from the incessant throbbing of his cock, Edmund added a third finger to Arabella's arse. It was a tight fit, her velvety walls compressing around his fingers, and even now the unyielding dildo in her pussy tormented him with the promise of how such movement would feel against the underside of his shaft. In his feverish excitement he accidentally nudged the end of the dildo, and Arabella's shuddering gasp gave him an idea.

As he continued to thrust three fingers inside her arse, Edmund hooked a finger from his left hand through the gold circle at the end of the dildo, then began thrusting that as well. Sometimes together, sometimes separately.

"Oh God," cried Arabella. "Harder. Harder ."

The moment he penetrated her backside and pussy as firmly as he dared, she screamed, her whole body bucking in a writhing, shuddering orgasm.

"Well done, love," said Nev, his fingers in Edmund's arse becoming gloriously, wonderfully rougher.

Edmund shook with need. "I…I can't wait…"

"Fuck me," said Arabella sharply, actually slapping the bed with her palm, clearly nowhere near finished. "I want your cock in me immediately, Edmund. Hurry. Hurry ."

After carefully removing his fingers, Edmund wet his cock with oil, groaning as even the lightest touch sent sparks across his sensitive skin. Then, gripping her hips, he positioned his cockhead at her well-prepared back entrance and began pushing it in.

Christ.

It wasn't even comparable to fingers. The scalding heat. The pressure. The way her anus seemed to suck his cock further and further in, rippling and clenching around his entire length.

Arabella moaned, her hips tilting to press hard against his groin, in absolute control beneath him.

Edmund couldn't even speak as arrows of sensation darted around his body. Was he speaking? Making any sense? He'd willingly entered a different world, a heady, decadent one where nothing mattered but pleasure. The race to orgasm. And he needed to come more than he needed to breathe.

Abruptly, Nev gripped Edmund's hips. "No. Wait for me."

All the air whooshed from Edmund's lungs at the hot, aching burn of the other man's entry. Nev's large cock inside him was too much…far too much…infinitely more than fingers or any dildo could ever be, yet buried inside Arabella, Edmund was helpless to do anything but take it.

Owned from in front and from behind.

"Please," Edmund gasped. "I need to move. Please."

"I'm deep in his arse, ma'am," Nev gritted out. "He's so fucking tight. So full."

"Yes," moaned Arabella. "I swear I can feel you both. Now fuck him into me."

When Nev slowly withdrew then roughly thrust, Edmund cried out as his own hips jerked forward with the sweet force, engulfed in the most exquisite pleasure-pain sensation imaginable, his head swimming as Arabella's arse constricted ruthlessly around his throbbing cock. Again and again Nev thrust, Edmund received and thrust, and Arabella demanded more. Now mindless, reduced to a frenzy of need, Edmund curled himself around her, his hips churning, his cock on the verge of explosion. And then the room filled with a perfect sound: Arabella's loud cry of orgasmic bliss.

With a guttural roar, Edmund's seed gushed inside her arse, the ecstasy seemingly never ending as she came and came, her channel spasming around his cock and milking him of every last drop. Yet just when he thought it couldn't feel any better, Nev bit Edmund's neck as he thrust impossibly deep and released his own seed in an endless rush.

There was a moment of utter stillness, of absolute peaceful contentment. Then Arabella wobbled beneath him and Edmund blinked, his mind scrambling to do something, anything, yet his limbs not obeying. Fortunately, Nev understood and carefully eased out of Edmund before reaching around to help Edmund withdraw from Arabella. Then they both collapsed onto the bed.

Arabella turned onto her side, her hand trembling as she removed the dildo from her pussy, her cheeks pink and eyes shining. "So, Edmund," she said softly, unsteadily, reaching over to cup his cheek. "A night of many firsts for you. Tell me how it was."

Edmund took her hand, his other hand scrabbling for Nev's so he could kiss them both. "I didn't know," he replied simply. "I didn't know pleasure like that was even possible. To be forty years old and discovering everything…it seems ridiculous. And yet this would not…could not…be possible with anyone else. It's not just fucking. Anyone can do that. It's the care. The support. The…"

"The love?" said Nev, as he gently stroked Edmund's back.

"Yes," said Edmund hoarsely as his vision blurred. "I've never had that. It's astonishing. I don't know what to say except thank you. And…and…I love you both so very much."

Arabella grinned. "From now on, you'll have love in abundance. One true mate is splendid enough, but two? Now that is what the poets might call heaven on earth."

"Actual paradise," said Nev. "When are we going to tell the children?"

Edmund blushed. "Cressida has her suspicions. Wall renovations tend to do that. As for the boys…no doubt they will eventually have questions, either on their own or from ton gossip. If Harry asks, I will tell him I am very happy."

"And a reformer," said Nev, laughing. "There's no escaping it now, not when you've welcomed Sir Kenneth and us into the family."

Edmund made a weak spluttering sound. "Perhaps," he mumbled.

"There, there," crooned Arabella, stroking his hair. "All will be well, I promise."

Oh no. It was far, far better than that.

This was what the storytellers called happily ever after .