The Dark Earl

by Virginia Henley

  For a moment he thought she was taunting him with a cruel jest. Then slowly the miraculous news that she was not married penetrated his brain. She’s not going to Ireland on her honeymoon; she’s going with her family!

  His spirits soared. This lovely creature before me is the answer to all my problems. The gods are giving me a second chance. All I have to do is woo her and win her.

  “We are staying at the Stafford inn, and I couldn’t resist a visit to Shugborough when the opportunity presented itself. Early tomorrow we leave for Liverpool.”

  This is kismet. “Harry, it’s a delightful coincidence that we are here at the same time. Let me give you the grand tour.” He reached out to take her hand, but rather than respond, she pulled away slightly. It was a protective gesture, as if she was fearful that he might hurt her. He was wildly curious about what had happened between her and D’Arcy. If Lambton has caused her pain, I will take a horsewhip to the son of a bitch and thrash him within an inch of his life. His instinct told him now was not the time to question her.

  “May I visit the walled garden first, while it’s bathed in sunlight?”

  Her request sounds like a timid plea, as if she is apprehensive I won’t grant her wish. “That’s a perfect place to start.” Where the devil is the audacious baggage that issued her imperious orders with the confidence of an empress?

  Thomas led the way around to the rear of Shugborough. As they crossed the velvet lawn, Harry stopped in her tracks. “It looks different without the lovely marble statues.”

  “Indeed it does.”

  “I remember Venus, and I particularly remember admiring Adonis. Though at the time I had no idea he was the Grecian god of desire.”

  “Harry, you’re blushing.” Judas, I never saw you blush before.

  Harriet’s dark lashes swept down to her cheeks, and Thomas had an overwhelming urge to protect her. However, he knew that if he tried to put his arm about her, she would reject it. “I am determined to find out who owns the statues, and I have every intention of buying them back in the future.”

  “I hope you get them back, Thomas. This is where they rightfully belong.”

  When they arrived at the arched wooden door in the high wall, he turned the iron key and they stepped into the garden.

  As he watched her, she suddenly became transformed. Her face suffused with joy and her self-consciousness vanished as if the sun had melted it.

  “Oh, it’s magic!” The brilliant sunlight shining through the cascading water of the fountain produced a dazzling rainbow. Harry ran forward and tried to capture the colorful mirage in her hands. She laughed with delight when the rainbow appeared on her arms.

  She spun about to face Thomas. “I can smell jasmine and honeysuckle. But the garden is such a blaze of flowers, I can’t see the honeysuckle.”

  “It’s over there, climbing the wall. It usually blooms in the spring. It must be another fragrant flower you can smell. There are dozens of herbaceous plants that attract bees and butterflies.”

  “You are wrong. I know honeysuckle when I smell it.” Harry ran to the wall, and to her amazement, the vines had no flowers because they had turned to berries. She ran back to Thomas. “When I was a child, this place enchanted me. All I have to do is picture this walled garden in my imagination and I can smell jasmine and honeysuckle.”

  “You can smell it now because it lingers in your memory.”

  Suddenly Harry felt mischievous. She pulled up her sleeve to display her tattoo, which had ignited his temper when he had discovered it. “The last time I was in this garden, a hawk swooped down and captured a little green snake. I screamed, and the raptor dropped it and flew off. The snake slithered away, and I was infused with happiness that I had saved its life.” She waved her arm beneath his nose, much as she had done the day they had quarreled. “My little green snake is a memento of this lovely walled garden, one that I will carry with me forever.”

  “Then I offer you my sincere apology. I was wrong to object so furiously when it obviously brings you pleasure, Harry.”

  “I’ve kept it covered up all this time. But from now on, the world can go to the devil. I shall display it with pride.”

  “You are an incorrigible baggage, Harry Hamilton.”

  She laughed up at him. “Flattery, begod! Take me to the Tower of Winds.”

  The moment they entered the tower, with its diamond-shaped openings cut high into its walls, Harry stared in horror. “Where are the centaurs?”

  “Sold, like every other Shugborough treasure.”

  “Oh, Thomas. That is desecration. You must get them back.”

  “I will. All it takes is money.” He looked down at her ruefully. “If I had my way, I would have chosen to be born filthy rich, instead of devastatingly handsome.”

  Harry threw back her head and laughed. “You are always so staid and serious, and then out of nowhere you reveal that wicked sense of humor.”

  He threw her a speculative glance. “So, what made you decide against marrying Lambton?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t just D’Arcy. I’ve decided against marrying anyone. At least until I fall in love. I won’t settle for anything less than a love match. My father loves my mother to distraction, and that’s exactly what I want.” She smiled with delight as she heard the music of the wind. “Rachel has waited until she is twenty-eight before finding a man who loves and adores her. And I’ll wait that long too, if I have to.”

  Thomas felt his hopes floating out of his grasp on the summer breeze. Harry may not be in love with me, but she feels passionate about Shugborough. “Come, let me take you into the hall.”

  He led her to the front of the mansion, instinctively realizing that Harry would wish to make her entrance through the impressive grand portico. They went up the steps, and Harriet reached out her hand to reverently caress one of the massive Doric columns.

  “The house is encased in slate. It has been sanded to look like stone.”

  “How unusual. I always sensed that Shugborough was unique.”

  He opened the heavy oak front door and they walked slowly through the vaulted reception hall. “Many of the rooms were designed by architect Thomas Wright. Both the dining room and the library boast his elaborate rococo plasterwork. But fifty years later, architect Sam Wyatt redesigned Shugborough in the elegant neoclassical style.”

  Harry’s eyes shone with admiration. “I am familiar with Sam Wyatt’s work. I have many books filled with drawings of houses that he designed.”

  “Some of which came from Shugborough’s library,” he teased.

  “Yes. Now that you remind me, I believe they were yours before they were mine.” She searched his face. “I’m sorry, Thomas. I know how you cherished Shugborough’s treasures.”

  “It’s less painful knowing they belong to someone who appreciates them. Here is the library. Though it has many empty bookshelves, it is a room where a few prized artifacts that were not sold at the auction are displayed.”

  Harry gazed at a huge glass cabinet. “Oh, it’s the figurehead of a ship!” The carved wooden female had luscious breasts and long swirling hair. “She’s magnificent.”

  “It’s from the Centurion, Admiral George Anson’s ship.” He pointed to a weapon sheathed in an ornate scabbard. “That is the sword that the captain surrendered to my famous ancestor when he captured the Spanish treasure ship.”

  “How fascinating.” She pointed to a gold coin that lay beside the sword. “Is that a Spanish doubloon?”

  “Yes. It’s the only one that’s left. The largest amount of gold ever seized for the Crown of England came from the Spanish galleon Admiral Anson captured. Records say that it took thirty-two large wagons to transport all the treasure.”

  Harry heard a loud, plaintive meow. She looked down and saw a gray Persian cat rubbing itself against his ankles. Thomas bent down and scooped it up in his arms, and it immediately began to purr. “This is Kouli-Khan, thought to be bred from the admiral’s cat that sailed around the
world with him. There is a Cat’s Monument dedicated to the first Kouli-Khan, on a small island beyond the Chinese pagoda.”

  “She’s a beauty.” She stroked the Persian cat’s head and she purred even louder. “That’s a charming story. Everything about Shugborough is warm and inviting.”

  Thomas led the way to an elegantly furnished drawing room. “I have managed to restore all the furnishings in this room that were sold at the auction a decade ago. I just hung those two paintings last night. They are landscapes by Claude. I had to twist the owner’s arm a little, but he eventually succumbed to my persuasion.”

  Harry glanced at her companion. Though his words were spoken softly, his dark eyes and sharp cheekbones hinted that his methods of persuasion could be ruthless if he wanted something. In that moment she knew that if Thomas Anson set his mind to attain something, nothing would stop him. She had no doubt that he would restore Shugborough’s treasures, no matter the cost.

  She noticed a painting by the doorway that stood against the wall. “You forgot to hang this one.”

  “No, I just took it down. I don’t want it staring at me. It’s a portrait of my father.”

  Harry studied the portrait in disbelief. It showed a portly man who was fair, with a florid face. “Your father? You look nothing like him. . . . There is no resemblance whatsoever.”

  “I warrant that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Harry.” He changed the subject. “This house has three stories. It would take a week to show you through every chamber. But since you like warm and inviting, why don’t I take you to the kitchens?”

  “Lead on, Macduff.”

  The kitchens were vast and spotlessly clean.

  “This is my cook, Mrs. Stearn. This is a special friend, Lady Harriet Hamilton.”

  The cook bobbed Harry a curtsy. “Welcome to Shugborough Hall, my lady.”

  “You must be baking bread, Mrs. Stearn. It smells delicious.”

  “I’ve just taken it from the oven. It’s on a cooling rack by the window.”

  Thomas saw the yearning look on Harry’s face. “Are you hungry?

  That’s a silly question—you are always hungry. Sit down, and we will break bread together.” First he poured two mugs of ale from a stone jug. “We brew our own. You’ll love it.”

  Next, Thomas cut two thick slices from a freshly baked loaf of wheaten bread, spread them with homemade butter, then picked up a wooden honeypot.

  Harry’s eyes lit up. “Don’t tell me. . . . Shugborough has its own beehives.”

  “How did you guess?” He set the ale and the bread before her and sat down across the table from her. “This calls for a toast.”

  She picked up her mug. “I’ll give you an Irish toast:

  Here’s to yous, and here’s to me,

  And if someday we disagree,

  Sod yous! Here’s to me.”

  Harry took a long swig, then licked the foam from her top lip.

  For once, Thomas allowed his amusement to show.

  “What? No reprimand for my audacity, Lord Anson?”

  “Not today, Harry. I welcome your irreverence.”

  The bread and honey tasted delicious, and she closed her eyes in ecstasy. When she swallowed the last morsel, she sighed with repletion and licked her fingers.

  Before they left the kitchens, Harry saw a bucket of sand and asked its purpose.

  “It’s in case of fire. I have a mortal dread of it.” He led the way and pointed out the servants’ quarters, then showed her the long gallery, the ballroom, reading rooms, sitting rooms, as well as a couple of guest suites with their private breakfast rooms and bathrooms. Many of the chambers were devoid of furniture, but the rooms he had restored were elegant and in exquisite taste.

  Harry glanced from a window and saw the sun was much lower in the sky. “I hate to leave, but I must.” I could stay here forever. “Thank you for the lovely tour.”

  “We have nine hundred acres out there to explore.”

  “And I long to see every one of them, but it is impossible today,” she said wistfully.

  “Come, I’ll ride out to the gate with you.”

  When they got as far as the pillared portico, Harry stopped to admire the view. Formal terraces, framed by borders of lavender and roses, stretched out before her, filling her senses. “Shugborough is absolute perfection.”

  “It will be, before I’m finished.”

  Thomas lifted her into her saddle. He did not dare let his hands linger, or he would have swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed.

  “You always ride a black hunter. What is this one’s name?”

  “Nemesis. He is from the same mare as Victorious.”

  “What a perfect name. Nemesis means a victorious rival!”

  He mounted Nemesis, and they rode side by side along the river, where swans and other waterfowl made their home. “In spring, this riverside garden is a mass of daffodils.” They arrived at the wrought iron gates and silence stretched between them.

  “What really happened between you and D’Arcy?” He searched her face with dark eyes. “He didn’t hurt you, did he, Harry?”

  She saw the suppressed violence in his face.

  “No, no,” she denied quickly. “It was his wealth. I couldn’t bear the thought of being supported by money that was earned on the back of Durham’s coal miners.”

  “I’m glad that was the reason.” Their eyes met. “Now I don’t have to kill him.”

  As Harry rode away, her heart was singing. It wasn’t only seeing Shugborough again that had made her happy; it was encountering Thomas. He was the most physically attractive male she had ever known, and he had made it clear he was still interested in wooing her. When I return to London, I know he will call on me and try to take up where we left off. Is it possible that Thomas is in love with me? Harry shivered with excitement. He’ll have to give me proof before I accept his proposal of marriage.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Home at last,” Lady Abercorn declared as she stepped down from the coach. “Barons Court is particularly inviting at sunset.”

  The younger Hamilton children tumbled from the second coach and ran to the house, where nursemaids Meg and Molly stood at the front door awaiting their arrival.

  Harry knew her father and young James would help the grooms unharness the horses and put them in the paddock behind the stables. She hung back and waited until Rachel and Jane had followed the children into the house. Then, alone, she stood in front of Barons Court, assessing the mansion with critical eyes. She gazed at the portico with its four sturdy columns and realized for the first time that these features reminded her of Shugborough.

  But Barons Court doesn’t compare. Shugborough’s portico, with its eight soaring columns, is magnificent. The pavilions on either side are extremely graceful. The tasteful design gives Shugborough Hall a kind of elegance Barons Court will never have.

  Suddenly Harry felt guilty for thinking their beloved Irish mansion inadequate. I fell in love with Shugborough when I was a child, and it became my ideal. In my heart, no other house will ever be as beautiful. She sighed deeply and entered Barons Court.

  Sarah Kennedy, the head housekeeper, bobbed a curtsy. “Lady Harriet, welcome home. Yer chamber is plenished, and I’ll send the servants up with yer luggage the minute they fetch it in.”

  Harry glanced about the oval rotunda. Centered beneath its glass dome was a polished table, holding a lead crystal vase filled with flowers. “Delphiniums are Mother’s favorite, Mrs. Kennedy.”

  “I know all yer likes and dislikes, as well as all yer secrets.” Sarah winked. “I told Mrs. Pithers to prepare some oxtails especially for you.”

  “Thank you. I love food that sticks to the ribs.”

  Harry joined the rest of the family gathered in the great hall. Though it was August, a log was burning on the large open hearth to welcome them.

  “Barons Court is exactly as I remember it,” Rachel said.

  “Did you
write Lord Butler, letting him know when you’d arrive?”

  Rachel’s mouth curved in a smile. “I did. And your mother sent him an invitation to come and stay with us immediately.”

  “Then I predict he’s already on his way. A guinea says he’ll be here tomorrow.” Harry corrected herself. “No, I’ve turned over a new leaf. I have decided that in the future I won’t gamble or make any more wagers.”

  “That should be a relief to the stableboys,” her mother said dryly. “Rachel, let’s go up and decide on a bedchamber for you.”

  Jane spoke up. “Rachel can have the room next to mine, now that Trixy won’t be using it.”

  “Absolutely not,” her mother said. “I shall put Rachel in the guest wing, in one of the suites, and assign Captain Butler adjoining chambers. Courting couples need their privacy.”

  Harry looked at Rachel and rolled her eyes suggestively.

  “I can’t believe you beat me to the stables this morning,” young James declared.

  Harry laughed. “I wolfed down my breakfast so I’d arrive before you.” She and James both had their own Arabian horses, and the stables were the first place they visited when they came to Barons Court.

  James saw that his sister had almost finished saddling her horse. “If you’ll wait for me, Harry, I’ll ride out with you.”

  “Hurry, then. I like to get out early so I’ll see the otters, and perhaps a fox or two.”

  They left the stable side by side and headed toward the chain of lakes at a slow canter. “So, I take it that Will Montagu heads your list of suitors now that D’Arcy Lambton is out of the running.”

  “Whatever makes you think that?” Harry asked.

  “Well, the wager, of course. They were rivals for your hand. It’s no wonder Montagu was willing to take Lambton’s bet. He knew D’Arcy wouldn’t stand a chance with you.”

  Harry’s brows drew together. “How did he know that?”

  “Because Will knew he could make you a duchess someday. And what female would pass up a chance to become chatelaine of Dalkeith Palace?”