The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"Rosalie, what an absurd question to ask me. How could I possibly be with child when I am not married? And then you assume it to be with your husband. Are you two toying with me?" Victoria asked, looking to Cole for support. "Is this a joke?"

"Why would I joke about this? I couldn’t shake what I saw when I walked into your chamber. I hated that it was what came to mind first. Surely, there couldn’t be any chance that my best friend would be with child by my husband," Rosalie said, but now she had her answer.

"Rosalie, you must be careful about what you say in the presence of our maids. What you say now can be repeated, and Victoria’s name can be tarnished. Have you been drinking?" Cole asked, trying to change the topic.

Cole glanced at Victoria, wondering if she had said too much to Rosalie in secret. His gaze dropped briefly to her waist.

Was Victoria truly with child?

"No, I have not been drinking, but I know that the two of you have been sneaking around behind my back. You are so obvious about it now that I want to hit myself for not noticing sooner. It only goes to show how much I trusted each of you and how little I should have," Rosalie said.

"Rosalie-"

"No," Cole cut Victoria off. "There is nothing between Victoria and me. You know that accusing her of this would ruin her name and her chances of marrying this season."

"Oh, please. If she is carrying your child, I would say her chances of finding a husband are already ruined. Unless she planned to find one quickly and convince him that the child was his. You wouldn’t have fooled any man in this town with that," Rosalie said, the words landing precisely where she intended.

"That was not my intention, and I am not with child. I don’t know what troubles you face in your marriage, but it is not right for you to accuse me of not only sleeping with your husband, but of carrying his child. It is a dreadful accusation," Victoria said, her voice trembling.

Victoria’s tears threatened to fall not because of the accusation, but because of the guilt pressing hard against her chest. She desperately needed Cole to speak up and put an end to this.

"Enough of this!" Cole’s voice rose sharply. He stood abruptly, his chair scraping back against the wooden floor and startling the maids. "I should never have agreed to your demands to sleep in separate chambers. Look at what it has done to you."

"You are accusing two people who care deeply for you of having an affair. Look at the state you have put Victoria in," Cole said, but Rosalie wouldn’t look.

"That is the look of being caught. Isn’t it time for the two of you to stop pretending? To stop carrying on as though nothing happened? It troubles me that you both sit here and continue to deny it. You would be viewed better if you admit it," Rosalie said, her eyes moving between them.

Victoria didn’t know how to answer. She could only cry as the guilt thickened around her and regret settled in. "Cole," she said at last, deciding she could not keep hiding.

Rosalie looked at Victoria, watching to see if she was ready to confess.

Cole reached across and grabbed Rosalie’s hand, pulling her away from the table. "I don’t know what the two of you are scheming, but I won’t allow it to ruin my marriage. If Victoria is with child, it is by some man she has been seeing without telling you."

Victoria stared at Cole, struck that he would suggest there had been other men. "I have only ever been with you."

The confession was out before she could stop it.

Victoria’s eyes widened as she turned to Rosalie, fresh tears already spilling. "Rosalie, I didn’t mean to-"

"Unless you are going to claim he forced you, then save it. You knew exactly what you were doing. Do not come to me with the foolish excuse that you didn’t. He is my husband!" Rosalie’s hand came down hard on the table as she rose to her feet, the plates rattling from the force of it.

"And she is my best friend," Rosalie snapped at Cole. "Out of everyone in this town, why each other? You knew it would hurt me. Was that your intention?"

"It was wrong," Victoria said, unable to bear the guilt a moment longer. "I was going to tell you."

"No. No, you weren’t. The two of you were going to carry on as though nothing had ever happened. I was looking for you both at the ball, and there you were together. This was not a mistake," Rosalie said, pulling her hand free from Cole’s hold. "You can no longer consider yourselves my husband and my friend."

"Rosalie, we must speak about this calmly. You shouldn’t make reckless decisions you’ll regret by nightfall. Let us talk in private," Cole said, extending his hand to her.

"I want both of you out of my home. Take your child and your lover and get out of my home right now," Rosalie said, her voice low and cold.

Cole let out a short laugh, as though the idea were too foolish to entertain. "Rosalie, you have truly lost your mind. This is my home, and I am not going anywhere."

"It is in my name. My father gifted it to us in my name. He was right to do so as he was preparing for a moment exactly like this. I should have listened to my father," Rosalie said, the regret bitter on her tongue.

"And done what? Married one of your peers? It is far too late for that. Victoria will not be going anywhere. I have been considering having her at my side, and now that she is with child, it is even more important that she stays here. You wanted a child, and now you shall have one," Cole said.

Rosalie stared at him as though he had lost his senses. "You must be mad if you think I would raise a child from your lover. Both of you, get out!"

"It is my home, Rosalie. It is time you start-"

"It is not your home," a voice came from the entrance of the dining chamber.

Rosalie sank back into her chair, the tension in her shoulders easing for the first time since the morning began. At last, someone was on her side.

The colour drained from Cole’s face the moment he recognised the Duke. He had forgotten about the other guest Rosalie had mentioned.

Duke Benedict Graham stood in the doorway, his eyes going straight to his daughter, taking in the redness around her eyes. "What is this about a mistress and a child? Speak fast."