“Has father finally decided not to go to the fair?” Rebecca asked eagerly.
“As the Earl of Barrington, he insists on making an appearance, but I really wish he would stay at home. He is not well enough,” said their mother.
“He also said something about wanting to host some business associates in the house a week after the fair,” said Christopher.
His mother sighed and shook her head. “Your father would cause his own sudden death with all this. He barely takes a rest and the physicians all warned against this.”
“I shall talk to him, mother,” Christopher said calmly. He reached for his mother’s hand across the table and caressed it warmly to calm her down.
“If it pleases you, I shall see to it that he does not go to the fair and you can stay at home with him.”
His mother gave him an appreciative smile before they continued their meal.
Several hours later, Christopher stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his cravat. He checked the time on the wall and frowned, wondering why his friend was not here yet. A knock sounded on the door.
“Enter,” he said, hoping it would be Benjamin but it was his mother.
“Mother, is everything alright?” he asked, turning to face her.
“I need to speak with you,” his mother said while going to sit on the bed.
Christopher frowned, he seemed to know what this would be about. Nevertheless, he went ahead to sit beside his mother.
“Son, you do know your father’s health is unpredictable?” she started, and he nodded. “All we can do is hope for the best but at the same time, we must prepare for the worst.”
Chris frowned. “What is this about?”
“It is about you, son,” said his mother. “When do you plan to get married?”
Christopher inhaled. He had expected that. “I shall get married, mother. I am just not ready for it.”
“Why are you not ready? What else are you waiting for? You are twenty-seven, son. Do you wish to grow old before finding a reputable lady to settle with?”
Chris checked the time and stood up. “Mother, I need you to put your mind at rest and stop fretting over this. I shall find a good girl, soon.”
His mother also stood up to face him. “You are going to be an Earl, and it is important for you to get married as soon as possible. There are limitations to what your father can do at this time. Besides, once he knows that you have stepped in to embrace your responsibility, he will finally be able to relax.”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Enter,” replied Chris who was relieved when his friend came in. “Finally! What took you so long. I have been waiting for you,” Christopher said.
“I apologize,” replied Ben, walking to the Countess to take a slight bow. “My lady, how do you fare this evening?” he asked, removing his hat.
“Very well, son. Thank you. How are your parents?” asked the Countess.
“They send their greetings.”
“Well, I shall take my leave then,” the Countess said as she left the room.
Christopher heaved a sigh of relief which caused his friend to stare at him.
“What happened?” asked Ben.
“I will tell you all about it, but for now, let us go to our destination.”
The men left the room and while they climbed down the stairs, talking, they met Rebecca on the way.
“Are you going to the gambling hell again, brother?” she demanded angrily.
Christopher hushed her to be quiet. Their mother must not hear of this. He also knew that she had never liked Benjamin. She believed Ben was a bad influence on him but Christopher never believed such.
“Why must you speak so loudly?” he whispered to her while Benjamin by-passed them both.
“Chris, if you do not come home on time tonight, I shall tell mother everything that you have been keeping from her,” Rebecca threatened.
Christopher feigned his surprise. “And what have I been keeping from her?”
“The fact that you gamble every night. You sleep around with various women, some of which were actually my friends. Do you have any idea how many friends I have lost to your rakish behavior?”
Chris sighed and put his arm around his sister. “Your friends were too gullible and greedy, sweet sister. All they cared about was wealth and status. If you are losing such friends, I daresay it is a good thing. You do not need such friends in your life, lest they influence you negatively.”
“And what about you?” she asked, eyes widened. “Ben is not a good person. I do not know why you trust him so much.”
“Because he is smart and he knows what he’s doing. Look Rebecca, I shall be back in the midnight hour. And I have faith in you to not tell mother,” he said before kissing her on both cheeks and leaving with his friend.
* * *
The two men got to the gambling hell an hour later. It was a place Christopher loved visiting. The drinking, gambling, and women were all the things that got him excited about the place.
The gambling hell was located in a dark alley at the center of the city. It didn’t matter if you were a man of nobility or if you were a pauper. All these did not matter at the gambling hell. Both a pauper and a gentleman could gamble together as long as they had money and guts.
While Christopher liked the drinks and the women, Benjamin loved to gamble. He was the best gambler Christopher had ever known. They had met about a year ago at a ball and he was the one that had brought him to the gambling hell for the very first time. Somehow, they have managed to become best of friends and Benjamin helped Christopher unleash his wild side.
The smoke of cigars as well as the pungent smell of wine filled the entire room as they entered. They took their usual spot at one corner of the gambling hell while a waiter came to tend to them.
“So, mother thinks I need to settle down,” Christopher said as he drank from the bottle of absinthe in his hand.
Benjamin smiled. “Then you must get married.”
“To who?” Christopher asked bewildered.
“I suppose you can pick someone from all those numerous ladies that shamelessly throw themselves at you.”
Christopher scoffed and shook his head. “No, I cannot. All they care about is wealth and titles. I wish to go to the Christmas fair and try my luck.”
Benjamin smiled. “Are you quite certain that you are ready to settle down?”
“Yes, I am. My father’s health is not what it used to be and I need to be more responsible.”
Benjamin picked up his cup. “Well, then let us drink to a positive outcome.”
“You shall accompany me to the fair won’t you?” Christopher asked him pointedly.
“Of course. Who else would be your right hand man?” said Benjamin. They both laughed and drank.
“Your sister still does not approve of me,” Benjamin said as he lite a cigar and began smoking.
“She does not know you the way that I do,” Chris replied. “You should have gotten used to that.”
“It has been a year already, Chris. Why does she not like me?”
Christopher shrugged. “Maybe because you made a pass at her sometimes ago. You should not have done that.”
“I was just trying to be nice and friendly. Besides, at the ball, I never knew she was married, and you and I had never met.” Benjamin replied. “That incident actually led to our friendship, if I recall very well.”
“Still, she is my sister and that makes her your sister too. You need to be patient with her and show her that you are not a bad person. Besides, how could you not know that she was married?”
“I was drunk, Chris! Surely, that should serve as a genuine excuse for my behavior. Anyway, if I had not done that, there was a possibility that we would never have met, so I do not regret it.”
Christopher laughed. “Give her some time. She will come around. She still thinks you are a bad influence on me.”
Benjamin smiled. “I know. I just wish I knew how to m
ake her like me.”
“Why do you care about that?” asked Christopher.
“I care about your family and your sister is part of it,” Benjamin replied.
“Or perhaps, you like my sister,” Christopher joked.
“Not in the way you think,” Benjamin replied, puffing out the smoke.
Christopher shrugged. “Just give her some time, she will come around.”
* * *
Lady Rebecca Egerton
Rebecca checked the time on the long-cased clock by the staircase. It was close to midnight and her brother was not yet back. She sighed. He was lucky that their mother was sleeping, or she would surely be crossed with his tardiness. Didn’t he say he would be back by midnight?
She stood up and strode to the window. The only thing that would save him that night would be to work in without having his best friend with him. That would give her the chance to talk some senses into his head.
Not that she hadn’t done that several times before, but most of time, he had always come home drunk and would forget whatever was discussed the next day.
Rebecca had no single trust for that Benjamin. She couldn’t understand why her brother picked him to be his best friend anyway. She and Christopher had always been close since childhood; practically each other’s best friends.
He knew most of her friends but he didn’t have much luck with them. His only best friend from childhood was their cousin, Jeremy who was no longer in England but had relocated to Spain about four years ago.
For four years, Rebecca was her brother’s confidante, that was until the previous year when they had gone to a ball together. Benjamin whom they had never met before tried to ask her for a dance but she had politely refused.
He embarrassed her by causing a scene but Chris had rescued her and later, she got to know that Ben was drunk. The following week, Christopher brought him home to introduce him to the family and to formally apologize to her.
Since then, things had changed, Christopher started getting drunk, coming home late and messing around with girls. All these had been kept quiet and out of their parent’s hearing due to the health of their father.
Rebecca knew how many letters of apologies she had written to her friends, pleading on behalf of her brother. She would not allow him to tarnish the image of the family, it would ruin the family.
She had talked to him several times about Benjamin but it had always fallen on deaf ears. She didn’t want to bring this to their mother’s hearing, for fear of distracting her from caring for their father, the Earl. She already had enough on her hands.
Rebecca stood up, tired of waiting for her brother. She walked to her room, shut the door behind her and jumped on the bed. Sooner or later, he would fall in love and get married, maybe by then, everything would become better and Ben would find his way.
Chapter 3
Miss Ophelia Campbell
Ophelia strode to the mirror and smiled upon seeing how she looked. She was dressed in a red satin fabric with long sleeves that were decorated with lace ribbons. Her arms were covered in a pair of long brown gloves while her black hair was parted at the center, to fall loosely around her shoulders.
“Don’t you think that this is a bit too much,” she asked Emily who was standing beside her, admiring her handiwork.
“No, I think this is perfect. And you will look wonderful with your outer coat and bonnet,” replied Emily.
It was the night of the Christmas fair and the two of them were still in Ophelia’s room getting ready.
“Are you girls not done?” shouted her mother as she approached the room. When she came in, she stopped upon seeing Ophelia.
“Oh! Darling, look at you,” she said in a whisper. Ophelia could see the pride in her eyes. “You look so beautiful.”
Ophelia smiled. “Well then, I think we should be on our way.” They walked to the door where Mantis helped them into their coats.
The three women for left for Eltonwood in a carriage. That was where the fair would take place that year. Eltonwood was a town in between Havenwood and Westborough. People from all over London and within its provinces would come to grace the occasion.
Ophelia was not surprised that her father couldn’t make it. That would not be the first time and neither would it be the last, just like her mother had said.
* * *
Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington
Christopher groaned as the loud knock on the door interrupted his sleep. He opened his eyes. “Who is there?” he asked in a hoarse tone.
Without any answer, the door opened and Rebecca came in.
On seeing her, he relaxed and shut his eyes. He waited for her to speak but nothing happened, so he opened his eyes again. She was looking down at him and she wasn’t looking pleased.
“Is everything alright?” he asked.
“May I know the time you came in last night?” she demanded.
He frowned and shook his head. “I’d rather you allow me to sleep.”
“That friend of yours shall be the death of you, brother! I do hope he will not be coming with us to the Christmas fair.”
Christopher sighed. He was feeling really sleepy and his head was banging, yet his sister was making things worse.
“Sister, can this not wait? It is rather too early to be pestering me.”
“It is noon!” she stated firmly, walking to his window and drawing back the curtains. The sharp glare of the afternoon sun hit Christopher squarely in the eyes and he winced in pain.
“I do not think my friend will be the death of me. I think you are in a better position,” he said as he squinted his eyes and rose from the bed.
Another knock sounded.
“Enter!” he said aloud and the door opened to reveal the house maid, Rosa. She was an middle aged looking woman in her early forties.
“My Lord. My Lady,” Rosa said as she curtsied before tending to her duty of cleaning.
“Rosa, is my bag packed and ready for the fair?” Rebecca asked the woman.
“Yes, my lady,” she replied.
Christopher realized he was yet to put things in order for the fair, he had completely forgotten.
“I cannot believe that you forgot about the fair!” said his sister. “You do know we are going to be late if we do not leave on time.”
“Havenswood is not really that far,” Christopher remarked. “I need to pack and we just need to wait for Ben, and we shall be on our way,” he said quickly before excusing his sister out of the room before she could say something terrible to him.
* * *
Miss Ophelia Campbell
It was a scorching hot day, a perfect day for the fair. The sky was dotted with a few candy-floss clouds. The entrance could be seen in the distance and the long queues edged forward slowly.
People were becoming increasingly excited and impatient as they took a few steps forward every so often. Faint music could be heard from beyond the tall gates with the occasional happy scream suddenly piercing the air.
Closer to the entrance and the massive structures of the rides could be seen: a rollercoaster, a big wheel, a helter skelter. Ophelia stood with her mother and Emily at the second floor, looking below. They could see younger children standing, watching, and eating their sweets and snacks.
; some munched on brightly colored balls soft sugar strands that dissolved on the tongue - sweeter than sweet and sticking to the teeth better than glue. A few ate too much and complained to their parents.
She laughed, the fair was always fun but the night was always the most interesting part, as there would be bonfires and lots of merriments within the adult’s circles. Several tents were set up specifically for them.
“I think we should go to where the adults are,” said Ophelia to her mother. They had been standing at a tent for a while now watching the happy children.
“I love seeing all those little ones,” said Emily.
“Then maybe you should stay,” Ophelia joked but Emily sent her
a scowl. Together, the three left the place to move to the adult’s area which was further in.
* * *
Christopher Crampton, Viscount Barrington.
“Oh my goodness!” Rebecca cried excitedly as they moved from one section of the fair together. They had just gotten to the fair and saw many different events happening at different tents.
“Do you think we should check the magic show? I have always loved that,” pleaded Rebecca.
Christopher wasn’t listening for he was busy looking out for Benjamin.
A Lady to Redeem a Rakish Lord: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 2
