The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"It is the necklace from her painting in my chamber. How are we to divide them when we are all of age?" Jane asked, watching as Damien carefully placed the jewellery on the bed, her heart aching at the sight of their mother’s treasures.

"You might not have noticed, but the three of us don’t wear jewellery, Jane. They are all for you to take, and rightfully so," Kyle said.

"But you may one day have wives and children. Shouldn’t you each take some to pass down what belonged to Mother? I would like one of our father’s belongings. We must share it all equally," Jane said, not wanting to appear greedy. "Damien, you are married."

Jane felt Eloise would care for the jewellery.

She continued, "We must share it all equally, but if these two find ladies we cannot trust, then they cannot pass on Mother’s belongings to them. It should skip to your daughters. I am willing to share it."

"You certainly have grown up just a bit. Before, you would have gladly taken all of it. I am going to agree with Jane," Kyle said, deciding to split. "I am not ready to get married, so my share can remain in the box."

"Mine as well," Quinn said, fearing he might trouble them if he took them too soon.

"I will save them for my season, so I have a part of Mother with me. I will need to decide what I can take from father’s belongings. Where are his old coats?" Jane asked, walking away from the bed, her eyes searching for something to hold onto.

"There is an awful one he used to wear always, which needs to remain locked away. Mother tried so often to hide him so he couldn’t wear it beside her, but he would magically find it. I suspect he had more than one to upset her," Kyle said, following Jane to search.

Quinn remained with Damien, watching as he tried to decide what to take.

"Seeing all these jewels you will get to take, Eloise wouldn’t be able to wear all of them. I fear you won’t have any other choice but to have a few daughters," Quinn said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Wouldn’t the same be said for you? You will have your fair share," Damien replied, though his mind lingered on Eloise’s smile.

"Yes, but I am not married now to be thinking of children. Next season, I will begin my search and then come back. Perhaps I should take one of Mother’s rings to propose with," Quinn considered.

"Don’t be cheap. Make the lady a special ring, and if you don’t choose your wife wisely, it is a hassle to get the ring back," Damien warned Quinn.

Quinn chuckled. "I am going to marry a lady whom I can spend the rest of my life with. That is why I am not rushing now to find a wife before the season ends. It is time that I experience what it is to have a family of my own."

"Well, when that time comes, you should move out of the townhouse. It is not a good place to raise a family. Take one of the family homes," Damien suggested.

"I intend to. The moment you see me preparing one of the mansions, then I have found a woman I want to marry, and I am getting ready to settle down. It is odd to think of there coming a day when we will not all reside here," Quinn said as he looked around the chamber.

"You are always welcome to visit," Damien offered.

"I like how you didn’t say I am welcome to stay."

"My wife is Lady Hawthorne. Any woman who comes after will have to adhere to her rules, and I know there will be some clashing. You are welcome to come stay when you miss home, but not to stay forever when you are married," Damien said.

Damien looked up at Quinn and added, "Don’t take any offence to it. I happen to like peace and want to keep the estate peaceful. We don’t ever need our wives to be at odds with each other."

"I like that you have put so much thought into a wife for me that doesn’t exist. I say you should offer this one to Eloise," Quinn said, sliding a necklace with rubies to Damien. "Our father had good taste for spoiling his wife."

"He did. Do you recall all those talks he tried to have with us about women?" Damien asked, laughing at the memory. "I would have preferred for mother to do it."

"I don’t like to think about those conversations. He made it more awkward than it needed to be. I remembered all the threats he made about us bringing bastards into his home. No inheritance, no allowance, and no place to stay here," said Quinn.

"I wasn’t against him on that one. Mother would have had a fit if we made any lady pregnant at home and didn’t intend to marry her. That is why we don’t speak to her uncle," Damien said, remembering the man with too many children.

"There is more to why we don’t speak to him. He cannot handle alcohol well, yet he cannot keep it out of his cup. It surprises me that he is still alive. I half expected him to wander off into some hole by now," Quinn said, shaking his head.

"His death might not be so far away. I hear he has fallen ill and his eyes have turned a yellowish colour. All of his drinking might be catching up to him. I bet now that he is ill he would like to quit," Damien said as he set the jewels for Eloise aside.

"We might need to send him a letter. I think it is time we check on those two before they ransack the coats and dresses. When we’re done, we should leave the windows open. This chamber looks good with all the light coming inside," Quinn said, staring out the window,

He had forgotten how wonderful a view his parents had from their chamber.

"I am going to leave the windows open all day so each of you can return here when you want. The door will be locked, but I’ll leave the key in my study for you to get when you want to come here," Damien informed Quinn.

"Why not in your chamber?"

"I am not a fool. I don’t want the three of you to keep disturbing Eloise and me. You already do it too often," Damien answered.

"We found it. We found Father’s ugly coat!" Jane yelled as she ran back to the bed. "Kyle is putting it on, but we think that, as the oldest, Damien should wear it."

"No," Damien flatly denied. "Father’s style isn’t suited for me."

Jane pouted. "What a shame. I wanted to laugh at you. Most of the clothes are spoiling, so we must have our fun now," she said as she sat down on the bed. "Be certain to laugh when he comes out."

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