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Maggie laughed harder. “Oh that would be more acceptable, wouldn’t it, Mama? Having a mad daughter is a source of pity, but one who is a whore?Totally de trop.” Maggie couldn’t help herself, she laughed harder.

Jonathan was beginning to grin himself. “The whole world is mad, Maggie, if they believe you to be a whore.”

“What the devil is going on in here?” Phillip demanded as he strode into the room, Sheldrake discreetly closing the door behind him.

Ah, Maggie thought, dear Sheldrake. He’d gone to get Phillip of course.

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“Well, darling, our secret is out. Mother has kindly come to inform us that society is aware of our, shall we call it unusual, relationship.” Maggie answered him with a smile, holding her hand out to him, and he came over and took it, kissing it tenderly.

He looked up and gently touched the red mark on her cheek. “Perhaps she could have imparted the news with a bit less emphasis,” he said menacingly, turning to glare at the older woman. Jonathan had released her, and she had moved behind the settee at Maggie’s laughter, as if protecting herself.

“So,
Mother
,” he spoke the word contemptuously, “what exactly is society saying about my beautiful wife?” He guided Maggie to one of the armchairs before the hearth, taking a stand at her side. Jonathan casually walked over and sat on one of the arms of the chair, a position that caused Mrs. Trueheart’s face to flush with rage.

“They are calling her a whore, and rightly so,” she declared with venom. “And I have come to rescue her from this perverted arrangement you have obviously thrust upon her.”

Maggie snorted with barely contained mirth at her mother’s unwitting double entendre. Jonathan looked down at her with a grin and a wink, indicating he had also caught the verbal miscue.

Mrs. Trueheart was in high dudgeon. “Maggie, go fetch your coat. We shall send for the rest of your things.” She began walking toward the drawing room door as if expecting Maggie to jump to her bidding.

“You may retreat to the country. I’m afraid it may have to be a permanent move, as you certainly will not be able to show your face in polite society again. A divorce would only worsen this disaster, so I’m afraid that is out of the question.” She stopped, as if suddenly aware that Maggie was not following.

“Maggie!” she told her sharply, as if calling a dog to heel.

“Yes, a divorce is out of the question,” Maggie said conversationally, leaning back in the chair comfortably. “You would have to return the marriage settlement, which both you and Father would find onerous. And as for me, I most assuredly do not want a divorce.” She reached out and took Phillip’s hand in hers, and he looked down at her with a large grin. His look said he had absolute confidence in Maggie’s ability to deal with her mother, and her chest swelled with love and pride.

She turned then to look at Jonathan and reached out her other hand to him. He took it readily, raising it to his lips and kissing it lingeringly. The twinkle in his eye said he was deliberately baiting Mrs. Trueheart , and Maggie couldn’t suppress a grin.

Mrs. Trueheart gasped from the doorway, and Maggie forced herself to look at her. Maggie was ready to end this conversation and begin the rest of her life. “As you can see, Mother, I am quite happy with the marriage in every way. Thank you for your kind offer of the country house, but I will notbe needing it.

We have at least two of our own.”

“Three, actually,” Jonathan provided helpfully. “I have one in the Lake District.”

Maggie smiled at him wickedly.“How delightful. I can’t wait to sample its pleasures.” Jonathan’s eyes gleamed with appreciation at her choice of words.

Mrs. Trueheart’s voice trembled with rage as she spoke from the doorway. “If you do not leave with me now, you shall never see me again. We shall cut you off and treat you like the whore you are should we chance to meet.”

Maggie sighed. “Yes, Mother, I understand. Have a good life, and give Father my best. I’m sorry you’re
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going to miss your grandchildren, but you’re right, it’s better this way.” She smiled in genuine regret at the older woman. “I’m sorry we couldn’t have had a better relationship, Mama. I was just never enough for you, was I? It must be a relief to finally be shed of such a disappointment as I turned out to be.”

The other woman looked shocked, as if she couldn’t believe Maggie was choosing Phillip and Jonathan over her. Her face turned hard and cold at Maggie’s last words. “Don’t say I didn’t try to save you from your own folly,” she said, pulling her gloves into place. “You’re right, you always were a disappointment.

Trust you to turn an advantageous marriage into a complete social disaster. Consider this goodbye.” She walked out the door without a backward glance, and Sheldrake closed it quietly behind her.

Maggie sighed again. “Well, we’re well rid of that, gentlemen,” she said briskly as she stood up.

Jonathan stood up with her, both men still holding her hands, helping her up.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Mags ?” Phillip asked her quietly.

She looked at him in surprise. “Oh yes, darling, really I’m fine. It was an inevitable confrontation, seeing as how I have no intention of ever giving either one of you up. And it’s not as if Mother and I had a close relationship anyway.” She paused there. “I do regret that, but there’s nothing to be done about it now.”

“What about the reason for her visit?” Phillip persisted.“About the rumors?”

Maggie laughed.“Oh those. Well, they’re true, aren’t they?” She looked at both men with tender amusement. “Please, darlings, don’t be upset. Kate warned me about it, and she told me that when the time came I would realize that the approval of Mother’s society meant less than the approval of your circle of friends, and she was right.” She leaned up and kissed first one then the other on the cheek. “We shall have to have them all for dinner one evening soon, before Kate is confined, although I think that’s some time away. They seemed rather unsure of me the last time we met.”

She gently pulled away from both men. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rest before dinner. The events of the last few days have rather worn me out.”

They silently watched her go, unable to erase their unease. Would this confrontation be another setback, Jonathan wondered, just when they’d been so close?

When Maggie walked into the dining room, every muscle in Phillip’s body tightened, some more than others. She was wearing the gossamer dress she’d worn the first night Jonathan had returned. It floated around her. Surely that was a good sign? The dress was almost too revealing for polite company. It definitely sent a message to any man in the room. He was hoping that message was for him and Jonathan.

She had a fringed shawl draped over her shoulders, concealing her breasts and most of the front of her from view, but Phillip knew those breasts by heart. Not seeing them didn’t prevent him from remembering them—their firm softness, the creamy skin, the rosy nipples and pink areolas. It was a successfully arousing tease on her part, concealing them.

Phillip glanced over at Jonathan and found him to be as arrested by Maggie’s appearance as he himself was. He recognized the signs of desire in the other man now, the skin taut across his cheekbones, his nostrils flared, his eyes narrowed to a glittering darkness. He glanced down because he couldn’t stop
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himself, could not deny the part of him that longed every minute of every day for this man. Yes, there Jonathan’s cock was, its hard length and breadth revealed almost artfully by the subtle sheen of the material of his snug black evening trousers.

The other man’s breath suddenly caught and, though Phillip would have thought it impossible, his cock grew even larger. Phillip followed his gaze.

“Christ,” he whispered hoarsely. Maggie had removed the shawl and she was wearing nothing underneath the diaphanous dress. Every curve—breast, stomach, hips, the dark shadow of her mons

—was revealed as she stood waiting for someone to pull out her chair. Phillip came to his senses as he glanced behind her and saw Jack the footman swallow deeply, his eyes glued to Maggie’s ass.

“You may go, Jack,” Phillip told him harshly. “We won’tbe needing you anymore this evening.”

Jack quickly looked away from Maggie, his face falling into the stoic unrevealing lines of a good servant.

“Yes, sir,” he intoned emotionlessly and limped from the room. Good man, that Jack, Phillip absently thought.

Clearly he was still befuddled by Maggie’s appearance because it was Jonathan who walked over to pull out her chair. Before doing so he stopped directly behind Maggie and leaned in, close but not touching. Jonathan skimmed his hands just above Maggie’s arms, up over her shoulders, and he assumed down her back. The near touch caused gooseflesh to rise on her arms, and her magnificent breasts rose and fell with her rapid breathing. Phillip saw her nipples bead sharply, their rose color becoming more pronounced beneath the light-colored sheer gown.

“I like this dress, Maggie,” Jonathan said quietly as he stepped away and pulled out her chair. “You look exquisite.”

“I love that dress,” Phillip added, falling into his own chair as soon as Maggie was seated. “I loved it before, and it has now become my favorite dress of all time.”

Maggie laughed—a deep throated, self-confident laugh that made both men stop and catch their breath yet again. She was back, the siren from the other night, the one who had tempted and teased and mastered them skillfully. When Maggie turned her glittering gaze on Jonathan, Phillip actually saw the other man shiver with anticipation.

“I’m so glad you both like it. I thought I’d wear it a little differently tonight.” She smiled seductively. “Do you like it better this way, or when I’m not naked underneath?” Her smile turned almost feral as she waited for an answer.

Phillip felt his own smile become predatory in response. “I like it better this way,” he said quietly, “just hiding your charms from view. It makes my cock harder to anticipate unveiling that which I can catch but teasing glimpses of.”

“My darling, rest assured I have never had any complaints about how hard your cock is,” Maggie told him in a throaty, matter-of-fact tone as she reached for her wine.

Jonathan barked with laughter. “Are you going to make us suffer, Maggie?” he asked her in an amused tone as he seated himself across from her in his usual spot. He was once again on Phillip’s left, Maggie on Phillip’s right.

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“Why on earth would I do such a thing?” Maggie’s tone implied she was going to do just that. “I call it anticipation, not torture.” She took a deep drink of wine, her throat stretching back as she tipped her head to take it from the glass.

Phillip stared at the long expanse of her graceful neck, revealed magnificently by the low cut of the off-the-shoulder gown. Her neck flowed into softly rounded, gleaming shoulders, enticing all on their own. Many times Phillip had run teasing fingers down her neck and over the velvet skin of those shoulders, making Maggie shiver and moan. He knew he would do it a million more times in the years to come and never tire of it.

“If I anticipate any more, I may expire from unsatisfied lust,” Jonathan stated baldly. It was Phillip’s turn to bark with laughter.

“Surely your stamina is greater than this, Jonathan,” Phillip mocked him. “The question is, is Maggie’s?”

Both sets of eyes turned to him, puzzled. “What on earth do you mean, Phillip?” Maggie inquired. “You certainly look dashing this evening, but I’m hardly going to throw myself down like a damsel of old, declaring ‘Take me, oh knight, and make me yours’!” She threw back her head as she said it, placing the back of one listless hand against her forehead in a very bad attempt at acting.

“Thank God,” Jonathan said with a snort, “for that would put me off my food, I must tell you.”

All three laughed, and Phillip toyed with his wineglass, enjoying the camaraderie. It wasn’t just the sex with Maggie. He’d known that all along, as had Jonathan. Hell, the sex had been awful at first. It was her wit and her charm, and how well they fit together in everything. It was the same for Jonathan, Phillip could tell. He realized he wasn’t just anticipating the night to come, but all the nights to come, nights just like this one. Well, not exactly like this one for, as much as he liked her current mode of dress, he hoped Maggie would reserve it for special occasions. And this was a special occasion—the first night of the rest of their lives together. They all knew it, they could feel it, could read it in each other’s eyes.

“Well?” Maggie prompted, and Phillip was reminded that he hadn’t answered her earlier question.

“Oh nothing,” Phillip replied nonchalantly, sipping his wine. “It’s rather warm in here, isn’t it?” He stood and began to remove his jacket. He did it slowly, his eyes on Maggie. He did it as if he were undressing for bed, each move deliberate and meant to entice.

Maggie’s eyes widened and then narrowed in understanding. “Yes, it is quite warm.” She turned to Jonathan. “Perhaps you’d be more comfortable without your jacket as well, darling.”

Phillip looked at Jonathan and found the man’s eyes on him already, intense and dark, so dark the brown drowned in black pupil as they were wont to do when he was aroused. Suddenly Phillip’s actions weren’t just for Maggie but also for Jonathan.

He reached up and began to remove his cravat. “Since we’re dining tete a tete ,” he said with a wolfish grin. When it was gone, draped over a nearby chair, his shirt gaped open halfway down his chest.

Maggie was breathing even more deeply, her cheeks flushed.

“Absolutely, my dear,” she responded carelessly, rising to the challenge. She slowly pushed her chair back, exposing most of her front to the two men, and began to negligently fanherself with a napkin. The slight breeze created caused her nipples to pucker tightly again, and Phillip was mesmerized.