Hardly a Husband (Free Fellows League 3)

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sp; "Your aunt Henrietta can live there with you." He squeezed his eyes shut and searched for a graceful way out of the tangle he'd stepped into.

"Thank you, your lordship. That's most generous of you, but you know I can't accept a house from you." She pursed her lips at him and feigned a pout. "I'm surprised that you would be so bold as to suggest that I might. You are, after all, a bachelor and no relation to me or to Aunt Etta and…"

"Stop it, Sarah," he warned. "I'm in no mood to tolerate your baiting." His head ached from a night without sleep and his body ached with the need for sexual release.

"That's unfortunate, Jays, because I'm in no mood to have your charity thrust upon me."

"By Jupiter, Sarah, I'm not offering charity!" Jarrod placed his palm against the surface of his desk and caressed the wood grain in an effort to keep from pounding his fist against it.

"What would you call it?"

"A home," he snapped. "I would call what I'm offering you and your aunt a home."

"A home we couldn't possibly afford to purchase on our own."

"There wouldn't be any need to purchase it," Jarrod told her. "It would be a gift and, unlike Lieutenant Slater, I wouldn't expect convenient sexual congress in return for that gift."

Sarah blushed at his frankness. "Whether you did or you didn't wouldn't matter. My reputation would be ruined either way," Sarah pointed out. "And if that's the case, I'd prefer an equitable exchange of convenient sexual congress as payment for the roof over our heads."

"I can't believe you would rather prostitute yourself than accept a gift." Jarrod shook his head. "It makes no sense."

"Neither does the fact that accepting such a gift and linking my name to yours without benefit of clergy would mark me as a fallen woman whether I remained chaste or not," Sarah replied. "It's a matter of pride and a matter of choice. I'm a lady with no husband, father, uncle, or brother. I can't enter the dining room of my hotel without a chaperone or ride down St. James's Street in an open carriage, or pay a call on any unmarried man for any reason without damaging my reputation." She looked at Jarrod. "I'd rather sacrifice that reputation for a purpose than lose it for no reason at all."

"Be reasonable, Sarah…"

"I am being reasonable."

They faced each other over the width of Jarrod's desk. Jarrod snorted.

"All right, then," Sarah invited, "tell me your definition of reasonable."

"Accepting the house I've offered."

"Done," Sarah announced, extending her hand for him to shake. "I'll accept your offer of a house, if you'll agree to become my protector and tutor me in the art of seduction."

Jarrod groaned. "You know I can't do that."

"Then we seem to have reached an impasse."

Jarrod thought for a moment, seeking a solution to an impossible problem. "I'll help you find a husband."

Sarah took a deep breath and played devil's advocate. "What makes you think I want one?"

"All young ladies want husbands," he answered. "No one chooses the life of a courtesan."

It was Sarah's turn to snort in disbelief. "Really? Think again. Or better yet, look around you, Jays. If you were a female would you choose to become a wife? Would you choose to become some strange man's chattel when you could remain unmarried and choose your own path? A mistress has a much better life than a wife."

"Some" — he emphasized the word — "mistresses have better lives than some wives. But you're fooling yourself if you assume that is always the case. Mistresses can be as maltreated and neglected as wives."

"Thank you very much for enlightening me about the standards of our society," she retorted.

"It's the least I can do," Jarrod answered in kind. "To prepare you for the path you seem determined to pursue."

Sarah gave him a sugary sweet smile. "It's the very least you can do. For I'm quite certain that you could prepare me for a great many things I'll need to know in order to succeed."

"Succeed?" The idea caught him off guard.