A Wicked Earl she can't Resist: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel

by Olivia Bennet

  She nodded again.

  Emily took a deep breath. “Lady Nancy?” the girl looked up, through wet lashes. “Did you tell Laurence Blackmore where to find me?”

  The girl let out a sob, before nodding again. “H-he told me that he was your affianced and that you ran away from him. I thought it was proof of your treachery. I was scared of how much the twins and my father were coming to rely on you…to love you. I thought you were a danger to us.”

  She turned to face Emily, her face earnest, “Please believe me, I never would have told him where to find you if I knew what he was planning. I didn’t know, I swear to you.”

  “I believe you,” Emily said and was surprised to find that she did. Lady Nancy might have done some mean-spirited things but she was not cruel. She was a child who was hurting and so she lashed out at the nearest, easiest target. Emily had just happened to be that.

  “I am so sorry.”

  Emily took in the words, and Lady Nancy’s contrite expression, the entreaty in her eyes, the tear tracks on her cheeks. She could see that Lady Nancy had lost some sleep over this. In fact, now that Emily was really looking at her she noticed that the girl was downright haggard.

  Poor thing.

  Emily found that she actually felt sorry for Lady Nancy. That was surprising to her as she did not regard herself as particularly charitable.

  “I forgive you.”

  To her surprise Lady Nancy let out a loud sob before collapsing into Emily’s arms and bursting into tears. Slowly, Emily placed her arms around the girl, making soothing noises. She suspected that this breakdown was a long time in coming. She cast her eyes about, looking for the twins. They were on the other side of the garden, peering into the pond. She knew that they were up to no good but had to trust that they would be fine for the time being.

  She held Lady Nancy close and let her cry it all out.

  “It’s going to be all right. You’ll see. Everything will be fine.”

  It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that Duncan was able to come home. Blackmore had signed the confession in exchange for the deed.

  As soon as Blackmore signed it, Duncan had given him an hour to get out of London. “There is a boat headed for Calais in thirty minutes. If you hurry, you will catch it.”

  Blackmore began to bluster and complain but Duncan spoke over him. “If you’re still in town by the end of the hour, I shall assume you have broken our agreement and have you arrested.”

  Grumbling under his breath the entire time, the brothel owner grabbed some papers in his desk and stuffed them in a carpet bag before hurrying out, calling for a Madam Bainbridge. Duncan and the Bow Street Runner waited until the man and his retinue left the premises, following them to the docks where they boarded a ship.

  The detective turned to him with an approving nod. “That was well done.”

  Duncan gave him a skeptical glance. “Was it? We just exported the problem to France.”

  “Where they are more than capable of handling a man and his brothel.”

  Duncan sighed, “Yes, well…I feel a great sense of unfinished business about the whole thing.”

  “Understandable, My Lord. But you have done the best thing you could for all involved.”

  Duncan just grunted before turning away and heading for his carriage. He was glad that he could go home and tell Emily that she needn’t worry anymore. She was safe.

  And then I just have to convince her that marrying me is the best plan.

  He snorted with derision, laughing at himself. He leaned back in the seat and waited to reach home. The manor was surprisingly silent as he arrived. He had been expecting more excited shouting now that Miss Fletcher was home.

  “Where are my children?” he asked the valet as he took Duncan’s coat.

  “They are in the library with Miss Fletcher,” he replied cheerfully. “They have all the vases in the house with them. I believe they are planning some sort of project.”

  Duncan smiled. “Really? I shall go and see if they need some help.”

  “Very good, My Lord.”

  Duncan walked as fast as he could without running. He was eager to see Emily with his children again. He loved to watch them together. He loved seeing her endless patience and enthusiasm and how his children opened up and blossomed beneath her gentle hand.

  Even Nancy.

  His smile faltered as he thought about his daughter. There needed to be a reckoning there. He saw now that he had failed to provide boundaries for her. In his quest to help her get over her mother’s death, he had abandoned her to her whims and look where that had led. They all needed to start contending with their pain and the wounds from the past. It was the only way to ensure that they could have a happy future.

  He reached the library and knocked softly on the door, sticking his head inside. “May I join you?”

  Emily looked up, her face brightening visibly. “Of course! Come in. We’re just making bouquets.”

  Duncan looked around, seeing Anne and Harry arguing about whether blue flowers went well with red flowers or if they clashed too much.

  “Miss Fletcher said they complement each other!” Anne said.

  “Yes, well, I want to have them blue and yellow not blue and red! Blue and yellow is better!” was Harry’s counter.

  Duncan smiled, looking around at Nancy who was intent on creating her own, more elaborate bouquet. He walked into the room and went to stand by Emily. “What’s the occasion?”

  “Oh I just thought we’d brighten up the manor with bouquets of flowers,” she blushed prettily and Duncan could hardly take his eyes off her.

  “I think that you brighten the manor with your presence,” he said softly.

  Her blush deepened and she fluttered her eyes as if she was flustered. “Th-thank you. I try my best.”

  Duncan smiled. “Are you very busy? May we talk?”

  Emily nodded, taking in a deep shaky breath.

  Why is she nervous?

  He nodded back and turned, leaving the room. Behind him, he could hear her giving his children instructions to continue without her supervision for a while. They barely acknowledged her, so absorbed were they in the project.

  He waited for her to join him outside the door before leading her to his study. He turned to face her, searching her eyes for he did not know what. “You are safe. Laurence Blackmore has left English shores.”

  She exhaled audibly. “Oh? How did you...?”

  “I simply offered him two alternatives. He chose the one that would not land him in gaol.”

  Emily nodded, “I see…well, I suppose I must thank you–”

  He shook his head, interrupting her, “No Emily. You do not need to thank me. I was happy to help. I just want you to be safe and happy.”

  Emily smiled briefly. “I am still grateful.”

  Duncan took a step closer, scooping up her hand in his. “And is that all you feel for me? Gratitude?”

  It was her turn to search his eyes. “I…no. I have long felt more for you than I ought.”

  He smiled. “It is good to know that I am not alone.”

  Her eyes widened as she took in what he was saying. “Truly?”

  He squeezed her hands and then brought them to his lips. “Truly.” He said into her knuckles.

  She expelled the breath with a huge grin, “That is good to hear. Duncan, I need to tell you something and you must promise not to get annoyed.”

  Duncan frowned. “All right. Tell me.”

  “Lady Nancy made a confession to me. She is the one who brought me the pink gown. I want you to know that we spoke about it and have resolved the issue. Lady Nancy might look like a grown-up young lady, but she still needs a guiding hand. She needs you.”

  Duncan’s face lit up. “I was thinking the very same thing as I rode home. I have been negligent in my duties. That will change.”

  Emily heaved a sigh of relief. “Good. I just want us all to be happy.”

  Duncan kissed her hand again.
“We will be.”

  Chapter 30

  Emily let go of Duncan’s hand and took a seat. She looked up at him expectantly and he followed her lead, taking a seat opposite her. He leaned over and recaptured her hand, waiting patiently for her to speak.

  “How did you find me, at the bro–er, at the place where Mr. Blackmore took me?”

  “It wasn’t easy, but…” Duncan sighed, “Nancy confessed to me that she had told a man where to find you and Mrs. Cooke told me about your history. From then on it was a matter of finding your location. I hired a detective and he found the place.”

  Emily felt a wave of belated fear and fury at his reckless actions. “That was very foolhardy of you, to come in by yourself like that. Anything could have happened to you!”

  Duncan smiled indulgently at her. “What, did you think I would send somebody else? How little do you think of me?”

  “It’s because I think well of you that I want you to stay safe. They might have…” she paused, her mind blanking out at the myriad of horrible things that Mr. Blackmore and his minions might have done to Duncan if they found him.

  “Well, for one thing, I was not alone. Secondly, I am a nobleman and that means something. Even to scoundrels like Laurence Blackmore. They knew well enough that they could not just dispose of me as if I were a street rat. Now will you waste time scolding me for it or give me a kiss of thanks?” he smiled impishly at her and she could not stop her lips from twitching in return.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you.”

  “I don’t mind. It shows how much you care and that can only be a good thing.”

  “Is it really?”

  Duncan fixed her with a ice-blue gaze, “There is nothing that would make me happier than to know you care for me.”

  Emily laughed, she could not help it. Everything was just so unbelievable. “Of course I care for you. Do you not know that?”

  Duncan gave a half shrug, squeezing her hand. “I hoped…but I must say that I was fearful. After my last experience with love, my heart has dried up I’m afraid. It is but a pale imitation of the thing it used to be.”

  She could not help how her insides melted with love and hurt at his words. She hurt for him, for what he had suffered and what it had done to him. She hurt for herself and her own suffering. “We must forget the past and go forward with hope and faith.”

  He nodded his agreement. “But that is easier said than done.”

  “We can only but try.”

  He smiled, pulling her to her feet and then propelling her forwards so that she stumbled into his lap. “Now do I get my reward?”

  She placed a hand on his shoulder, searching his eyes. “Do you know how kisses work in fairy tales and folk lore?”

  “I do not. Can you tell me later?”

  Emily giggled but would not be distracted. “A kiss is a seal. A promise. An agreement that cannot be broken.”

  Duncan quirked an eyebrow. “That’s an awful lot of expectation to put on a little old kiss.”

  Emily shrugged. “It’s not me who did it. Those are the rules. So, knowing that, do you still want me to kiss you?”

  “Ye…wait, what would I be agreeing to?”

  Emily smiled coquettishly, “Well, for one thing, if I kiss you, it means that we are promised.”

  “Like a betrothal?”

  Her cheeks heated as she fluttered her lashes, unable to look at him. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “How bold of you. Is it not the man who does the proposing?”

  She ducked her head, feeling very shy. “Yes, but you asked me for a kiss and those are my conditions,” she whispered into his waistcoat.

  His hand ran down her arm as if she were a skittish horse he was soothing. “Well then, I agree to your terms.”

  She looked up in surprise. “You do?”

  He smiled. “Of course I do.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “I do not mean to coerce you into something you didn’t mean to do.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Of course you didn’t. My dear Miss Fletcher, do you think I am so easily manipulated? I had already made up my mind to ask for your hand…” his mien sobered as he looked in her eyes, “and then I came home and found that you were not here anymore.”

  She leapt forward, throwing her arms about his neck and hugging him tightly, her eyes shut. “I was so afraid. But I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that you would come for me, no matter how hard I tried. I told myself I was fanciful and it would serve me right when they came for me and made me…but the hope remained.”

  He turned his head so that his mouth was against her cheek and pressed them there. She turned her head and met his lips with hers. There was no shyness, no hesitance. She fell into him like surrender and he received her as if he had been waiting for nothing but this. She opened for him and he plundered her mouth, his hands like steel bands around her back, holding her so close there was no room for doubt or second thoughts between them.

  He kissed her as if he had no air and she held all the oxygen in the room. Her body was pliant in his arms as she allowed him to bend her any way he chose. He murmured endearing words into her skin, licking and biting along her collarbone before pushing down her neckline and snaking his tongue in to suckle at her nipple.

  She made no attempt to stop him, throwing her head back and giving him more room to work.

  “Emily…I want you so much,” he murmured as he pressed his fingers into her skin, so tight she knew they would leave marks. She straddled him, wrapping her legs around his waist and reached for his lips. Placing butterfly kisses along his cheekbones and jaw, she let him turn her head so that his mouth could cover hers, his tongue questing, asking to dance with hers.

  A soft knock on the door had them jumping apart. Emily got off his lap and straightened her gown, hand going up to her hair to make sure that most of it at least was still knotted at the top of her head. She sighed with relief as the Earl straightened his breeches, the tenting unmissable as he squirmed.

  He sighed, crossing to sit behind his desk before bidding the person enter. Lady Nancy stuck her head in the door, looking scared.

  “Nancy, come in. What’s the matter?” he asked.

  She shook her head, stepping tentatively into the room. She sniffed, eyes going from Emily’s heaving bosom to her father’s flushed face before facing him, shoulders squared. “I…I wanted to say to you both, that I am sorry for what I did. I realize now that it was foolish and childish and I should not have done it. I put Miss Fletcher in danger and I hurt you, Father. Please don’t dismiss her because of me. The twins need her.”

  Both Emily and the Earl gaped at her.

  “Papa, please.”

  Duncan visibly shook himself out of the shock of her words and summoned a smile for his daughter. “My dear Nancy, I am proud of you for standing up for Miss Fletcher but I assure you, it isn’t necessary. She isn’t going anywhere.”

  Lady Nancy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at them both. “Are you sure? You were really upset with her before.”

  “Yes I was, because I thought she’d deliberately set out to hurt me. But now I know differently. Miss Fletcher would never set out to hurt anyone. She is as kind and generous as she looks. So don’t worry. She is here to stay.” The Earl transferred his gaze from his daughter to Emily, “For good.”

  “Oh,” Lady Nancy nodded, “All right then.” She looked at Emily and almost smiled. “That’s good then.”

  Emily smiled affectionately at her. Lady Nancy flushed before wheeling away and leaving the office much faster than she’d come into it. Emily and Duncan exchanged glances. Duncan quirked an eyebrow and they both burst out laughing.

  “Which brings me to my next point,” Emily said once the laughter had died down. “How shall we tell the children about us?”

  Arthur Fletcher wandered in the garden, feeling out of place in the landscaped luxury of his surroundings. He did not know what to do with himself now. He
could hardly bring himself to look at his daughter. He was glad that she was busy with her charges because he would not have known what to say to her otherwise. He had sold her into a life of servitude like the basest slave.

  Simply because of my dissolute lifestyle.

  It was shameful and he could hardly bear to think what his late wife would think of him now. He had shamed the memory of their happy marriage, and he had failed his daughter in the worst way.