Regency Romance Omnibus 2018: Dominate Dukes & Tenacious Women

“You don't deny his reputation, however, do you?”

“Of course not, and I don't like it anymore than you do.”

“Nor do I.” Piped up the blonde at the end of the long table, her friends at either side of her. A small tray of sandwiches and pastries sat between them all, a lovely little lunch.

“I think he's coming around, though. I mean, he... he'd even told me... well...” Emma faltered, rethinking whether or not she should share the information, and Janet caught on quite quickly.

“... well...?” she stated with the very same tone as the final word spoken before her with only the tiniest inflection of a question at the very end. Denise looked to her right at her brunette friend, and then to her left at Emma, a smile on her face as she held her cup of tea.

“He...” still unsure, her uncertainty changed to certainty. “He had confided something to me.”

“Confided something to you...”

“Was it at the park?” Came Denise, a bit less pressingly.

“Yes, though he'd whispered it.”

“Ooo, a secret...”

“Yes, which is why I thought it best not to share it.” Emma nodded, looking ahead to Janet across the pretty white tablecloth, then to the less forward Denise to her right. The two merely stared at her silently, a serious look across the way and a playfully intrigued one from the blonde. “Oh come on, must I?”

“You must.”

“Oh please do...”

“Hahhhh...” Emma sighed. “Well... he... and you mustn't speak a word of it! Well, unless perhaps he turns out to be a bit of a bastard and I was wrong all along, but none the less, unless that happens, not a peep.” The two nodded. A deep and confident one from Janet, with several quick ones from Denise in excitement to hear what he had confided in her about.

“He told me he... doesn't particularly get... 'excited'...” Janet gave a look of disgust, having a pretty good idea of what he may have said to her instead of 'excited', “... with other girls. Not since we've started dating.”

“Oh, that sounds... sweet?”

“Sounds like a sweet load of bollocks.”

“Well... that's not quite... all.” One critical eyebrow raised at her from across the table, while from her flank rose two merry eyebrows above a broad smile.

“Eee!” The blonde squee'd, clearly eager to hear, and Emma couldn't help but scoff amusedly at her friend's enthusiasm. Her short-haired companion, however, kept quite the serious poker face.

“He said he'd had difficulty... 'performing'.” Denise's jaw dropped as her lips made an 'O'.

“You mean he'd already been with someone else? While you two have been dating?” The 'O' widened as the hostess of the luncheon peered from Denise back to Em.

“Y-... yes.” She faltered, having not wanted to reveal this, but carried on quickly. “I was quite cross with him, obviously-”

“Obviously.” Janet butt in but Emma carried on.

“-but he seemed to be very sincere and, honestly what man would confide in such a thing with someone he were actively dating? For one, he'd... he'd slept with someone behind my back.” The Viscountess' features hardened at this, feeling anger bubbling up within her merely from having the words pass her lips. “So that's one thing,” she soldiered on, “but for two, that he couldn't quite... 'ahem'?” She didn't want to say it directly. “It's not exactly someone a man would boast about, not at all, certainly not to a woman he sought.”

“So he couldn't 'get it up'?” Janet gave, and by that point Denise's mouth couldn't be wider unless she managed to dislocate her jaw. “Certainly doesn't sound like him from what I've heard, what with his womanizing.” The final word dripped venom.

“Indeed, which makes it all the more impactful.” She even put down her saucered cup of tea to punch her hand as she said the word.

“If it's true.”

“Y-... yes. If it's true.” A slight hesitation, but she nodded. “I suppose it could be an effort of disarming, but... I mean... it's quite a risky one. Surely there would be more effective ways of attempting it rather than 'oh by the way I had fucked a woman recently and could hardly get a hard on'.” Emma gave in a deep, mockly masculine voice. Denise covered her mouth as she giggled at this, her eyes rapidly going between the two conversationalists before her.

“That's how he said it?”

“No of course not, he's very good with his words, and more than that I could hear in his voice how much he didn't like sharing it and explained to me why he told me.”