Two Dukes and a Lady

By Lorna James

Charles Ashdown, Duke of Densmore, and his closest friend William Kenwood, Duke of Tennison, love gambling and womanizing too much to ever be ensnared by a debutante. Certainly, no decent wife would allow the debauchery they enjoy. But the only woman they've ever loved has returned. Unfortunately, Society, and likely darling Lily, will never accept the sharing relationship they'd like to propose.

Lillian Drew returns to England after her husband's mysterious death and finds solace with her girlhood crushes, Charles and William. Sure, they're as unapologetically crass and self-centered as always, but she loves them both. When her dead husband's creditors come after her, she has no choice but to remarry, though she can't make up her mind which duke she'll propose to. With a toss of one of the few coins she has left to her name, she hopes the loser will understand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Aug 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640631601

Book preview

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

About the Author

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 by Lorna James. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

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Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Scorched is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

Edited by Robin Haseltine

Cover design by Cover Couture

Cover art from Period Images and DepositPhotos

ISBN 978-1-64063-160-1

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition August 2017

To Loretta Chase

who inspired this tale of Duke ménage

Chapter One

England 1875

Charles Ashdown, the ninth Duke of Densmore, glared at the upper balcony of Count Hainault’s mansion. All the ladies of the court were abuzz about the unexpected return of Lady Lillian Hamilton. Lillian Drew. Her married name was Drew. Charles cursed. He hated her husband, even though he’d never met the bastard. And now it appeared he never would.

Good.

His brandy finished, he poured another generous serving from the crystal decanter that was conveniently placed on the ancient side table. He hadn’t expected to hear of Lillian ever again. She was supposed to be in the colonies, some blasted place called Massachusetts, not dressed in widow’s weeds, hiding somewhere with her wizened old bachelor uncle.

She had never received Charles’s letters. That much was apparent from the messages he had received from her over the last five years. Until she had given up on him. On his friendship.

He bit off the top of a cheroot and lit the cigar, shaking the match angrily. After tossing it on the table, he watched the hot tip burn a hole in the white lace doily. That’s what he imagined Lily looked like in her black frock—charred and burned innocence.

While Charles didn’t like that she’d married another man, he hated the thought of her rumored unhappiness even more. Blowing a smoke ring toward the ballroom, he wondered if her pretty face was still unblemished by time or tragedy. He remembered her inky black hair and her heart-stopping blue eyes. Perhaps they’d faded with time, or perhaps his memory had built her up into an unobtainable beauty. But Charles didn’t think so.

He would have to call on her, and soon, but it would have to be done correctly. If he went to her without the proper decorum, it would give those nattering gossips cause to bring up old scandals best left forgotten. He had worked too damn hard to hide his family’s failings from the ton. His brother, Sebastian, was just looking for an excuse to see him fail so he could punish Charles for being born first, and Charles would rather cut off his left leg before he gave Sebastian the satisfaction.

Have you finished the brandy? William Kenwood, the sixth Duke of Tennison, strolled up to him, still adjusting his clothes.

Depends, Charles said, not taking his eyes away from the gossipmongers, waving their fans as they whispered about his darling Lily. Have you finished with the countess?

Sebastian would dance in joy if he ever found out that William and Charles preferred to share the women they bedded, even if the ensuing scandal would blacken Sebastian’s own prospects as well. Sebastian just wanted Charles’s world to burn. But they were very careful, and no one even suspected their lovers serviced both dukes at the same time.

There’s a little left. William smirked. We waited for you, but you know how she gets.

Charles lifted a shoulder in a shrug and poured a glass for his friend. Lily’s back.

William’s hand froze in the act of reaching for the brandy. He tried to look over Charles’s head, but Charles knew he couldn’t see down into the ballroom without moving. Has she grown ugly?

I don’t know. Would it make things easier?

Charles’s heart ached for the girl he had loved and lost. He had stepped aside, keeping his feelings to himself, thinking William loved her, too, and Charles would never take away his friend’s happiness. Unfortunately, William was that the same type of noble idiot, and it wasn’t until her father married Lily off to a colonist that they had realized their error. Now, neither one of them would ever have her. Unless…

Do you think she’d ever consider—

Shut your filthy mouth, William snarled.

Charles flinched. William never spoke to him like that.

She’s no Countess Hainault, he said, and then muttered, More’s the pity.

You’re right. Charles sighed. Lily would likely box our ears and kick our arses out the door.

William chuckled. Might be worth it. I do miss her.

Charles nodded. She had been their friend since childhood. They grew up together, running wild over the English countryside. If nothing else, Charles missed her smile and her vicious wit. She had always been the first to jump into the pond for a swim and the first to throw a punch when she thought she was being teased. Of course, when she became a lady, her governess and teachers beat that out of her. But every now and then, Charles had caught that hellion look in her eyes, and then it would fade and she would look longingly at the two of them. He had felt guilty that propriety kept them from continuing their adventures. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to be seven years old and sticking a frog down her dress.

I don’t think I can walk away from her again, Charles admitted.

She’s a widow now. William elbowed him, his voice scratchy.

Charles nodded. I don’t know why she’s come back to us.

She didn’t come back here for us. William chased his bitter words down with a long swallow of brandy.

I don’t care. She’s here now and that’s all that matters.

Squinting, William asked, What do you mean?

I mean, it’s time I take a wife.

Grabbing Charles by the cravat, William tugged him in. "Maybe, it’s time I take a wife," he said between his teeth.

Charles rabbit punched him in the gut. It was a cheap shot, but it made the man release him and stagger back. You ruined the lines of my coat. Charles attempted to put it to rights, but gave it up for a lost cause. It doesn’t matter who marries her. We’re both going to share her.

Leave her out of your perverted fantasies. William wheezed.

No.

William glared at him.

Look, I know she wouldn’t agree to a tryst in a library during a ball, like the countess. He jerked his chin to the room William had come out of. However, what goes on behind the doors of her own home with her husband’s consent is something else altogether. And this time, you or I will be her husband.

Straightening up, William said, I hope she does box your ears when you proposition her with this.

If we play our cards right, it will be she who does the propositioning.

William snorted. You’re a daft bugger. But if the lady is willing, who am I to disagree? He lifted a shoulder in a half shrug, but his eyes were far away. Speaking of willing women, the countess is awaiting you.

Let her wait. I’m no longer interested in her charms.

Are you going to talk with Lily?

Charles glanced around the ballroom. Tomorrow. I have something more private in mind. Have you seen Lady Penn?

She’s not here.

Perhaps we could call on her and her husband tonight?

William arched an eyebrow at him. Richilde is naked one room over, and her husband is occupied in the game room downstairs. You want to meet up with Clara with her husband in the same room?

I just want to talk to her. Someone should take dear Lily under her wing.

Sipping his brandy, William regarded Charles thoughtfully. The esteemed Lady Penn would be an excellent chaperone for a new widow returning from the colonies.

And she wouldn’t mind making herself scarce if we needed to be alone with our Lily, especially if her needs aligned with ours. If you understand my meaning.

I’ll get the carriage, William said, taking the crystal decanter with him. You give the countess our regrets.

Chapter Two

Lady Lillian Drew wondered if her two childhood best friends would visit her soon. Charles and William had to know by now that she was back in London. Everyone else seemed to. There were piles of solicitor letters delivered to her Uncle Jonathan’s residence daily, but nothing from either of them.

Perhaps they hadn’t heard about her misfortune? That would be the only excuse for their rudeness. Of course, maybe they didn’t want to see her. She was widowed, wearing these horrid