by Claudy Conn
“No need,” Henrietta said sweetly, “for either of you to see me home. After all, we don’t live in the dregs of London. Thank you, both.”
Kitty smiled to herself to see Clayton’s chagrin and said, “Gentlemen.” Thus, dismissing them, she started across the avenue.
“Well done, Miss Kingsley,” Harry called after her. “Your manners have greatly improved.”
Kitty turned and promptly put the lie to his words as she stuck out her tongue and smiled to hear her friends laugh. She turned back towards the Mr. Harkins’ offices and braced herself. Now to face the earl and settle all of this once and for all!
~ Twelve ~
THE EARL STABLED his horse and went directly the offices of Mr. Harkins. He was met by a clerk who saw him seated before he hurried down the hall to advise the solicitor of the earl’s presence.
The earl took that time to give the room a casual inspection. One wall carried a canvas of the village and its surrounding landscape. The other held a few (his lordship inferred) family portraits.
The furnishings were respectable, the chairs upholstered in dark leather, and all in all the earl approved.
The front door opened once more, and the earl was aware of a fresh breeze scented with roses before he looked up and saw Miss Kingsley enter with a flourish.
His attention became focused. Thoughts were suspended as he immediately reacted to the ravishing beauty before him. It was Miss Kingsley.
He had been struck by her beauty the evening before when she had donned a simple country evening gown, but the ravishing woman who had just entered took his breath away.
Where was the hoyden?
He said, “Do my eyes deceive me? I must say, Miss Kingsley, you astound me.”
A quirky smile curved her luscious lips as she said, “I am gratified.” She acknowledged that he had stood up as she took a seat beside him facing the clerk’s small desk. She inclined her head for him to be reseated. “I did not seek to do so, but I am pleased that I have.”
He said as he sat once more, “Indeed. I fully expected you to arrive in britches and a peaked cap.” He wanted to take back the words as soon as they were out. He had gotten off on the wrong foot with her yesterday and had meant today to try to smooth things over. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? He saw her eyes flash. Hell … bloody hell, they were such a fine shade of green and full with fire!
“Did you think that? I can’t imagine why you would think such a thing,” she said with false sweetness dripping from her words as she controlled herself from snapping at him. Why could he not have just paid her a simple compliment? “Normally, when I come to town, I do so in a riding ensemble.” Her eyes glittered dangerously.
“I was led to believe, by you, in fact, Miss Kingsley, that your heathen uniform of britches and a peaked cap is your favorite mode of dress on and off Wharton grounds!” he said, unable to stop himself. What was it about her that goaded him into rudeness?
He glared at her, but all he could think was that those lips of hers were … luscious and inviting. His gaze went lower. Her neck … lovely … her breasts, full and made to be fondled … and, hell and brimstone, what the devil was he doing?
* * *
Kitty had made up her mind to look a lady and confound him with sweet manners. Why? She couldn’t say, but it was what she had decided to do for as long as she could.
Her lashes fluttered as she got her temper under control, and she said, “Indeed, I do so like to please Nanny, when I can. I agreed with her that this would be a more suitable mode of dress for this meeting. And I knew … this—” her hand went over her ensemble “—would please you.”
She could see that she had just astonished him.
His blue eyes opened wide, and he grimaced. His tone dripped with sarcasm. “And pleasing me was, of course, your first priority?”
“Should it not be?” Kitty pursed her lips. She felt his gaze shift to her lips, and for no reason she licked them. Perhaps because her mouth felt dry? But she was startled to see his expression turn warm, very warm as he watched her do so.
“Though, my dear Miss Kingsley, I doubt that it is, I would hope that it were so, at least while you are in my charge,” he answered her.
It was unthinkable that she should be ‘in his charge’, but it would do no good at this juncture to tell him so. She remained in control of her temper. She simply would not allow his ill-chosen words to rattle her into behaving as though she needed a guardian.
They would soon be with Mr. Harkins. He would settle this right and tight, and then she could be comfortable.
She did, however, say, “It is my belief that you are under a misapprehension if you believe that I am in your charge. I certainly am not. If I chose to please you by dressing in a manner that you believe is how a young respectable maid should dress, it was for my Nanny’s sake. I did not wish for her to come under your censure.”
“Be clear on one thing. I would not dream of censuring Miss Diddles for any of your foibles.”
She watched as he took a breath and steadied himself. She had really upset him and wondered at it. He seemed to care for her Nanny, which indicated that he was not without kindness in his nature. She met his gaze as he added, “As to the rest, Miss Kingsley, it just so happens that I had a letter from my uncle and he asked me to ‘take charge’ and see you suitably established. He trusted your immediate future and welfare to me, and I am determined to see to it that his trust is not misplaced.” The earl said this quietly and with a self-confidence that actually made Kitty pause and consider him.
He had such an air of authority, and it was not unattractive. Her dearest Uncle Edwin had entrusted, as he put it, her immediate future into his care.
The door opened to display Mr. Harkins within its wide frame, and Kitty was spared the need to reply, which she thought a good thing, as she wasn’t sure just what she should say to his last remark.
Mr. Harkins looked from one to the other before ushering them inside with a brisk greeting. Kitty saw by his expression that he was uncomfortable. She smiled at him in an effort to show that she would try to cooperate. She liked Henrietta’s father. He was a good man and had always been a friend to her Uncle Edwin.
He removed his spectacles and placed them on his desk as he gestured for them to be seated and then sat down himself. “The pity is that we should be having this meeting under what I am persuaded is some discord,” Harkins said, appearing to pick his words carefully.
The earl held the chair for Kitty, and she gingerly sat, aware of him all around her. He was a large man, and his scent was of spice. Quite delicious. What? What was she thinking? Yet as his arm brushed against her shoulder she had a strange desire to press closer to him and felt herself blush at the notion.
“The note your messenger delivered to my home late yesterday afternoon was quite clear. However, I regret to say, the answer to your question …” He eyed them both. “… is not clear at all. We are left, you see, with something of a legal problem.”
“How so?” Kitty frowned. “Dear Mr. Harkins … how so? I have agreed to go to London for a Season and don’t see where the problem lies.”
“Ah, but your question, at least as it was stated in your missive,” he said moving his gaze the earl, “happens to deal with the position of guardianship. The earl believes he will be acting as your guardian. You believe he is no more than your host during your Season.”
“Exactly,” Kitty said. “After all, the earl was not appointed my guardian, at least not to my knowledge.” She was surprised that the earl had not yet interjected and took a quick glance his way. He appeared serene and patiently waiting.
“Ah, my dear child. I have watched you grow into a woman, and, yes, you will soon turn twenty-one, but matters for young ladies are very structured in our world, aren’t they?” He put his hand up. “Don’t lecture me as our dear Ree often does. Whether you agree with the ways of our world doesn’t change the facts. Now, here is the dilemma. No, your Uncle E
dwin did not appoint anyone as guardian for you—” He put up a hand, “Wait. However, the inference from his stipulated wishes is that his nephew will take on that role during your Season.”
The earl regarded her thoughtfully before he pulled out the letter he had received before his uncle’s untimely death. “See for yourself. My uncle specifically requested me to take charge.”
Mr. Harkins took the letter and hastily perused it. “Yes, I am fully cognizant of your uncle’s dying wishes. We were friends for a very long time. I know what he wanted. In spite of that, he did not formally and legally appoint you as Kitty’s guardian, and I believe he had a reason for that.” He smiled. “Edwin was a deep thinker, a planner, and had a reason for everything he did.”
“Why should there be a dilemma?” Kitty asked. “If I comply with the dictates of my uncle’s will and his lordship complies … then all is well.”
“Because, in addition to Edwin’s will, the earl has this letter requesting him to see to your care and well-being. The will takes this further and stipulates that the earl must give you a Season, at least one Season, where you may find a respectable match. That puts the two of you together, and there can be no mistaking Edwin’s intentions. It is clearly stated that he wishes the earl to ‘look after you’, so to speak.”
“Aha!” the earl was moved to exclaim.
Kitty’s eyes met his, and for a moment they were locked in a silent battle.
She broke away and turned back to Mr. Harkins, who hurriedly added before she could object, “Kitty, my dear, it is a tricky situation. I don’t think we can call the earl your guardian per say. It was not formalized, and he has not that legal position. In addition, your Uncle Edwin thought you wise enough to have control over your own inheritance as soon as you are one and twenty, and when that happens I do hope you will continue to live off the substantial competence it allows and leave the principal intact. In the meantime, however, you will be living with the earl and his grandmother.”
“I understand. But he is not my guardian.” Kitty sat up straight.
“Not exactly,” Harkins offered, by now obviously a bit distressed. “You will, however, be in the earl’s care during the Season and therefore … must comply with his, shall we call them ‘house rules’ as an oversimplification?”
“As a guest in his house I would do nothing to offend,” Kitty said stiffly. “I may be a country chit, but I am not without manners.”
The earl snorted, and she glared at him.
“There is a way out of this situation,” Harkins offered. “You needn’t adhere to your guardian’s dying wish. You are under no obligation to do so, but then the earl would lose what is actually his rightful inheritance as Edwin’s next of kin.”
“Oh, I would never be so disobliging, and I loved Uncle Edwin … of course, I will adhere,” Kitty said in a small voice.
She felt the earl’s eyes on her and couldn’t meet his glance but stared for a moment at her toes.
“Right then, that is settled.” He turned to the earl. “May I, my lord, assume that you will be escorting Kitty and Nanny to London in the very near future?”
The earl inclined his head. “Certainly.”
“Indeed, but I understood from Edwin that yours were bachelor lodgings?”
“Yes, but I have already made arrangements. My grandmother has gone off to London to open up Halloway House and have it ready for Kitty’s arrival. My grandmother …” He turned to Kitty. “Who I think, Miss Kingsley, you will like much better than you like me, will be playing hostess for us during the Season.”
Kitty was once again astonished. There was a kindness in his voice when he spoke of his grandmother, and his words, she sensed, were meant to ease her mind about her immediate future.
Mr. Harkins gave Kitty a warm smile. “Well, then, I am relieved. I know Minerva well, in fact. Kitty, you were very young when she used to visit, but you might have some memory of her?”
Kitty did not and puzzled up, but Harkins went on to say, “So then, Kitty dear, I assume we have settled the matter, and this is acceptable to you?”
“Yes,” Kitty said.
“Fine,” the earl said. He turned to Kitty and said, “We may now have something of a truce between us, I hope.”
Harkins said with obvious relief, “Good, good. Now, my lord, a trust was set up by Edwin for Kitty’s Season. He genuinely did not believe she would need another Season, but should she, you and your grandmother would be called upon again. Do you agree?”
“I don’t have a choice,” the earl said with a grimace.
Kitty stiffened.
Harkins hurried on. “Indeed, you may advise Minerva to spend whatever she likes to provide Kitty with an outstanding wardrobe and whatever else Kitty may need. As to your inheritance, which I have laid out for you and your business man to address … well, you will be given a sizeable living competence until the stipulation of the will is fulfilled and Wharton Grange with all its holdings comes into your complete control.”
A moment of silence followed this. Harkins looked hopefully at the earl, waiting for a response, and when none came he said, “Well then, have either of you any further questions?”
For the moment, the earl and Kitty were in agreement. Neither had any more questions, though both felt trapped by circumstances.
Harkins got to his feet. “Then I believe this concludes our meeting. Godspeed.” To Kitty he again gave her a fatherly look and said, “Try and enjoy yourself, young lady. That was what your guardian wanted above all else—for you to be happy.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Kitty managed a smile to set his mind at rest, though she did not feel very much like smiling. However was she going to enjoy herself in London with the earl taking over her life?
~ Thirteen ~
A BREEZE HAD PICKED up, and the sunny April morning had turned decidedly cold. The earl was irritably aware that the weather was not the only thing nipping at him.
What was wrong with the chit? Why did she dislike him so much?
This was a new experience for him.
He was quite used to women fawning over him. It had become, in fact, tiresome. He knew he was considered a ‘marriage prize’ and that women found him handsome and desirable.
He had never given his looks much thought before, but now this slip of a girl had him wondering if he were indeed still handsome.
She would have her pick of beaus once she reached London and his grandmother launched her. He should be happy about that. The sooner she formed an attachment, the better for him, and yet …?
The notion irritated him. She irritated him.
Why did she dislike him so much? A few ill-chosen words? That in itself was odd. He was usually the charmer with women, telling them what they wanted to hear … yet, when he was with her, he found her reaction to his ‘offenses’ exciting. She was most certainly out of the ordinary, forever saying what she thought.
This past year, he had watched Shawna’s youthful infatuation dissolve. He had always taken her ‘feelings for him’ for granted. Then all at once, she was in love with his far more sedate and steady cousin. That had been a jolt. Now this!
Well, he now knew he had not really been in love with Shawna. Had he been, he certainly would have made an attempt to make her his. His heart had never been in it.
He had not, in fact, even made the smallest attempt to court Shawna, thinking that she would be there waiting when he was ready.
That was then.
Now, a slip of a minx. A terror on horseback. A beauty with flashing green eyes and a tongue that could slice a man to the quick. This confusing, bewitching woman-child had him baffled.
The indomitable Miss Kingsley, whom he already thought of as Kitty, only Kitty, was making his head spin and his damnable cock ache and throb.
This would not do.
He had to keep her at arms’ length, because every time he looked at her he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her from sun-up to sunset. What the
devil was wrong with him?
Kitty turned, and her green eyes glittered.
What was she thinking? Why should he care so very much?
Everything about her was intoxicating … her body and the way she moved …
He pulled himself together. He was standing in lieu of her guardian whether he was legally one or not, and he could not think like that.
Would such an outspoken creature scare off the lads?
Would she fall in love with any of the London lads presently on the market for a wife? He didn’t think so … and yet? Love?
Love? An irregular emotion that he was heartily glad he was completely and totally immune to feeling. He had never been in love. Close … but puppy love did not count.
Judging by what he had observed thus far in his life, he was well out of it. Time had certainly spared him. He enjoyed being free, even though at times it was wearing forever having to charm various beauties …
Thus far, the ladies whose company he enjoyed were usually widows or wives whose arrangements with their husbands allowed for discreet affairs. He had never dealt with a virgin and hoped he never had to.
He had a hard and fast rule that he never intended to bend. He stayed away from the innocents because he absolutely did not want to hurt a young and hopeful soul.
No. He was many things, but he was not a cruel man. Thoughtless, at times. A gamester, at times; a heavy drinker now and then … but never cruel.
Kitty was an innocent, and he would make damn sure no one hurt her while she was in his care. Where this came from, he wasn’t sure, but he found himself wanting to protect the little termagant. She too was many things. She was all spit and fire, but she, in spite of her personal desire to remain in the country and her dislike of him, had accepted being taken to London. She had done this in order to respect her guardian’s wishes. He also saw quite clearly that she would not stand in the way of his receiving his inheritance. In spite of her rough and tumble manners, the chit had heart and character and honor. He liked that.
