Wicked Nights With a Proper Lady by Tiffany Clare Page A

to secure her future. It’ll be difficult, though, because she has her sights set on her husband’s fortune.”
    “Can you still hold up the will in court?”
    “There is nothing I can do.” Hayden brushed his hands through his hair. “Everyone will wait out the year to make sure she isn’t increasing, then all the entailments will pass on to Mr. Warren.”
    “So she has some time to plan her future.”
    “If she doesn’t do anything damaging to her reputation in the meantime, yes.”
    “I’ll talk to Jez,” he said with a nod and left Hayden’s study.
    It suddenly felt like Leo’s reasons for continuing with Jez’s charade were selfish. And they absolutely were. He’d lost sight of his purpose the moment he’d laid eyes upon Genny.
    What he needed to do was help Jez. She needed to let go of the past, of the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her husband and move on. Leo’s stepmother had learned to move on with the help of Leo’s father.
    Leo still remembered the day the woman he loved like his own flesh and blood had come to them. One eye swollen shut from the fist she’d taken to the face, her right arm broken and hanging limp at her side, her underclothes in which she’d escaped from her house covered in mud and soaked right through from the rain. Leo’s father had taken her in, helped her, and eventually married her when word came that her husband had died in a carriage accident. Though Leo was sure there had never been an accident, but a duel between rivals. He’d never know the truth now that his father had passed away.
    The only question that remained was whether he would be able to help Jez as his father had helped his stepmother.
    *   *   *
    Genny sat at a writing table that faced a window overlooking the back garden. She was writing a letter to her friend Helena. She could see her cousin from the corner of her eye, sitting on the chaise and reading a letter of her own.
    Charlotte folded the parchment and tucked it in the book she had been reading for the past few days. “When did you meet Lord Barrington? You seem rather knowledgeable about his character.”
    Genny supposed it was an innocent enough question from her cousin and one that deserved a truthful response. She turned on the stool to face her cousin directly. “I met him in my third season.”
    “I heard he courted you for a short time.” Charlotte’s brow rose marginally as though waiting for her denial. “At least that is the impression I received from Lady Hargrove.”
    “Charlotte Lindsey, why do you bother asking me if the rumor mill has been busy enough to inform you of my past?”
    “It’s obviously been years since you’ve seen each other and I wanted the truth from you. One can never be sure until the actual source verifies the facts.”
    Her cousin was astute, but Genny could never reveal just how close she’d been to Leo.
    With a heavy sigh, she gave in to her cousin’s curious nature. “If it appeases you in any way, and if the truth persuades you to cease this line of questioning, then I’ll tell you what you are so eager to know. While Barrington and I were well acquainted, we were no more than friends.”
    “Well, I’m going to offer up my opinion on the matter now that you’ve given me enough to form one,” Charlotte said.
    Genny would really rather not hear her cousin’s opinion. If there was one thing Charlotte excelled at, it was sorting out a puzzle before anyone else could begin to connect the pieces for themselves.
    “I believe,” Charlotte went on, “that you met him and became fast friends—you can be charming and witty when you aren’t such a slave to my father’s orders.”
    Genny made a face at that assessment and turned to put away her writing accessories. “Must we have your opinion at all? Barrington and I were friends ages ago, as you’ve so kindly pointed out.”
    “You’ll have it anyway.” Her cousin gave a short laugh of amusement. “I believe you started as