The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"You should have more pride in yourself, and not reduce yourself to a man’s amusement. Get out of my bed and out of my townhouse. This was a mistake," said Quinn.

Teressa frowned. "Why do you think it is so bad? A lot of men in town would jump at this chance. There aren’t a lot of women in town so willing to go through with this. I know my place and what I can do for you."

"Please stop talking. You’re only embarrassing yourself more. If you’re not careful, and you enter the bed of a drunk man again, you may never see another day."

"I’m careful," said Teressa.

"No, you made the mistake of believing you know me. Why am I explaining this to you?" Quinn wondered, covering his face with his hand. "Get out of my townhouse before I have you dragged out."

"Stop raising your voice at me. It could have been any lady here in your bed," Teressa said, annoyed that Quinn wasn’t welcoming.

Quinn gritted his teeth.

He would have preferred it to be any other lady than Teressa, so he wouldn’t feel so disgusted with himself.

Quinn still needed to return to the estate, and then, he would be faced with Eloise. How could he look her in the eye after sleeping with Teressa?

Teressa pulled the blanket up to her chest. "Fine, I’ll leave, but I know for certain you’ll be back. It doesn’t seem like you are successful in getting this mystery lady to love you back. I could have been good for you."

Quinn restrained himself from dragging Teressa out of the townhouse.

Instead of being cruel, when he had the right to, Quinn walked out of the bedchamber to find water.

Teressa sighed, frustrated that her morning wasn’t going as she planned. She was to wake up to becoming Quinn’s mistress.

"All that effort for what?" Teressa muttered, throwing a pillow at the door. "Don’t give up so easily."

It was evident that Quinn was in love with the mystery woman. He only needed to have his heart broken a little more, then he would come back to Teressa.

Teressa got out of bed to get dressed.

Arguing with Quinn would only set her back further.

Teressa left without speaking to Quinn, which he appreciated.

Hours later, nearing the hour for dinner, Cole returned to the Presley home.

"You must come with me," Victoria said, meeting Cole before he reached the stairs. "I want to plan a surprise for Rosalie to lift her spirits," she said, purposely for the few maids around to hear.

Cole was surprised to see Victoria be the one to approach him first. "Victoria," he said, relieved she finally acknowledged him.

"This is about Rosalie. I want to share my plans with you quickly before she comes down. We must hurry," Victoria said, worried they would be spotted. "It would be best to speak outside so no one spoils my plans."

Cole cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "Of course. This way," he said, leading the way outside.

Victoria felt uncomfortable, though she had spoken to Cole many times without Rosalie being present. It wouldn’t be an uncommon sight for the maids, but knowing Faye had figured it out, Victoria worried that the other servants were watching as well.

Victoria walked ahead of Cole until she was far away from the door, where no one could eavesdrop.

Victoria kept her back to Cole and hugged herself. "One of the maids knows what we did, and she is threatening to share it with Rosalie if I do not pay her. I don’t have money to waste. I can’t afford to help a maid not work for a year."

"Why didn’t you send for me? This is urgent, Victoria," Cole said, his good mood vanishing. "I cannot afford for this to be told to Rosalie right now."

"Oh, yes. Talk as though you are the only one who wants this to stay a secret. I could lose a friend. I could lose a family that has treated me like their own if this gets out. My name would be spoiled more than your own, so save me the lecture about urgency," Victoria snapped.

"Forgive me. I should have thought about what you endured while waiting for my return. I’m sorry that I wasn’t present to help you. I will settle this for both of us so we can move on," Cole said, raising his hand to touch Victoria.

Cole stopped before he could touch Victoria. "In time, I hope we can speak about this. We need to talk if we are going to continue as we were before."

"What is there to speak about? It is not as though you would ever leave Rosalie. You would be a fool to make the duke your enemy. We don’t need to talk because I know how this ends," said Victoria.

"I thought I was going to lose my friend, and you thought you would lose your wife. Our emotions were running high, leading us to do something we both regret. There, we have spoken and buried it," Victoria said, wanting to move on.

"I want to apologise-"

"I was right there beside you, making the same awful decision. Don’t think for one second that you owe me because you were my first. I could have sent you away, but I didn’t. I’m going to find a husband and move on. I suggest you move on," Victoria advised Cole.

"Victoria, I still feel the need to apologise. I know you won’t admit it, but for a moment, what I felt for you was genuine. It is awful that it had to happen this way," Cole sighed.

"Stop! You met Rosalie and me at the same time. Like every other man, your attention went to her first. It is no surprise that I am second, but I don’t want to hear about how you would be with me if you could," Victoria said.

"I didn’t approach you to speak about us. There is no us since you are married, and you are going to continue to be married. I want you to pay the maid so I don’t have to walk on eggshells in your home. I am leaving in the morning," Victoria said.

Cole gave up trying to speak to Victoria. "What is the name of the maid? I will pay her and send her off tonight. I apologise for what you endured today."

"Her name is Faye. She is bold, so I suggest you act quickly," Victoria said, leaving Cole to fix the mess they were in.