When His Kiss Is Wicked by Kaitlin O'Riley Read Free Book Online Page A

proclamations.”
    “And you believe that I do?” Colette snapped in response. “Do you think I liked dancing with those stodgy men he partnered me with? Do you think I enjoyed being dragged about by Uncle Randall all night, listening to his ranting about your behavior?”
    “No,” Juliette admitted, her defiant attitude somewhat deflated. “But you just seem to bear it all better than I do. You’re the responsible one.”
    Colette stared pointedly at her sister. “Do you have any idea how important this is to us? It’s not just you and me. Our marrying well is important to Mother. And to Lisette, Paulette, and Yvette. Everything we do now affects them and their futures, as well as our own.”
    Juliette glanced down in shame. It was the first time she showed any remorse for her behavior. Colette felt that maybe she had finally gotten through to her.
    “This is not a game, Juliette. If you damage your reputation by acting recklessly and foolishly just to spite Uncle Randall, you will not only ruin your own chances of finding a husband, but you may very well ruin mine, too.”
    Her sister still said nothing.
    “Do you want to end up on the street if we lose the bookshop? Or worse yet, do you want to have to live with Uncle Randall and Aunt Cecilia? Because that is just what will happen if we don’t marry well and I cannot make a go of this shop. Our whole family and our way of life are depending on you and me.”
    Juliette looked up, her face contrite, and whispered, “You are right. I’m sorry you had to bear the brunt of my actions, Colette. I promise I will try to behave better next time.”
    “Thank you,” Colette said with a sense of relief. “We’ll be going to Lady Hutton’s ball next. I expect you to make more of a pointed effort to please Uncle Randall then.”
    “I will.”
    “I’m not saying that you have to marry anyone he suggests, just try to comport yourself in a manner that satisfies him, all right?” Colette began shelving the books she had slammed onto the table a few moments before.
    “I will try, I promise.”
    Now that she was no longer in disgrace, Juliette’s disposition lightened with a flashing smile and Colette marveled at the mercurial quickness of her moods. Her sister could change from anger to laughter in mere seconds. Her ability to do so always astounded her.
    Colette rolled the tall library ladder that allowed her to reach the higher shelves of the philosophy section into position and began to climb the wooden rungs. “Hand me those books, please.” She pointed to another stack on the table that she had already alphabetized and categorized.
    Juliette languidly passed two volumes of Rene Descartes up to her sister. “You have to admit that all the men Uncle Randall suggested were hideous. Each one was a disaster. A disaster with deep pockets, but a disaster just the same. The only handsome men who even got close to us were Lord Eddington and his somewhat humorless friend, the Earl of Waverly.”
    At the mention of Lucien Sinclair, Colette’s foot slipped from the ladder rung and she dropped one of the books. She righted herself quickly and took a deep breath.
    “Be careful up there!” Juliette admonished, retrieving the fallen book.
    “I’m fine,” Colette said shakily.
    Juliette continued, “Lord Eddington was great fun, though. A girl has to be on her toes when she’s with him. But that Lord Waverly seemed so proper and so very lord-of-the-manor stiff, for all he has a reputation as a rogue. I didn’t care for him.”
    Colette wondered what her sister would think of Lucien Sinclair if she knew that he’d almost kissed her in the bookshop last week. She had kept that little secret to herself, though. Last night Lord Waverly had possessed a cool seriousness that made her more uncomfortable than his attempted kiss. Frankly, she had been stunned to see him at the Hayvenhursts’ ball and had been unsure how to approach him. He had not asked her to dance as Lord