A Bride for the Betrayed Earl

by Bridget Barton

  “I do not like it. I want to go.”

  “I am afraid we must stay,” Emmeline said, almost as if she was resigned to her fate. Whatever that fate might be.

  Emmeline straightened up, standing taller than she had done in her life. She knew that something was coming, and it would be something unavoidable. Whatever it was, however bad it was, she would weather it with her head held high.

  She continued to look around the room, deciding that she would look in the direction of Christopher and Clara no longer. Her eyes fell upon the dark and brooding figure of the Earl of Addison. Hunter Bentley stood entirely apart from everybody else, his black hair and close-cut beard seeming to convey his mood exactly. She did not know the Earl of Addison well, but knew of him and had been introduced before. And yet, despite her lack of true knowledge of the man, she felt at that moment as if they were somehow connected. But why?

  As the musicians began to come to the end of the piece they were playing, the many occupants of the drawing room began to shift a little. From the corner of her eye, Emmeline could see Tristan Lennox, Christopher’s father, making his way to stand at the head of the room where the musicians were. He strode with purpose as if he had some announcement or other to make. And yet, although she could see his movement, Emmeline could not shift her gaze from the Earl of Addison. He had lost his father recently, as had she, and she wondered for a moment if that was why she felt suddenly in sympathy with him; in sympathy with the man she did not really know.

  And then, with a certain amount of horror, she remembered the all too fresh gossip that surrounded him of late; the gossip surrounding the fact that the woman he had clearly loved had betrayed him and married another. At that awful moment, Emmeline knew with certainty what was to come.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, my wife and I would like to thank you all for being here this evening. Much apart from it being a welcome late summer soirée, the evening holds something a little more special for us all.” He paused for a moment, and Emmeline felt sure that he had looked briefly in her direction. However, she kept her eyes on Hunter Bentley, who seemed to be absentmindedly studying the floor of the drawing room. “And it is with great delight that I find myself in the glorious position to be able to announce the engagement of my dear son, Christopher Lennox, to an old family friend, the lovely Miss Clara Lovett.”

  Chapter 5

  The cousins had ridden out from Braithwaite House, Algernon Rochester’s family home. It was a large house set in grounds that seemed a little large for the size of the building, grounds which the two had played in as children.

  Algernon’s mother had been sister to Hunter’s mother, and the two boys, being the only offspring of the respective marriages, had been raised almost like brothers. Hunter always felt equally at home when he attended Braithwaite House, with its genteel shabbiness and relaxed atmosphere as he was at Addison Hall. And something about the place, Hunter always thought, suited Algernon Rochester to perfection. It was as if house and master were of one personality, destined for one another almost.

  “I thought we were going to race one another out to Heatherton Ridge, cousin,” Algernon complained, and Hunter laughed.

  “Yes, I had thought that a little sport would improve my mood, and yet now that we are here, I think a slow walk would do that just as well.”

  “And is your mood really still so very low?” Algernon asked with concern. “Of course it is, what a ridiculous question, forgive me. It has been but a matter of weeks, of course, your mood is still low. Do not even dignify my question with a response, my dear fellow.”

  “Algernon, you really do tie yourself in the most dreadful knots. And I am able to answer your question, for it is not at all ridiculous. My mood is low, it is true, but I have reached the point at which I recognize the fact that I shall survive. And the fact that I feel a little better, even if it is only infinitesimally so, alerts me to the idea that things shall improve, and time is all that is needed.”

  “Well, if that is the case, then I am glad that I asked a most sensible question,” Algernon said and Hunter laughed loudly. “But I cannot help thinking there is something on your mind, something that you would wish to discuss. You have a look, and I recognize it well.”

  “I suppose it is difficult for me to hide things from you. Perhaps that is because we are almost as brothers.”

  “We are exactly as brothers, Hunter, except that we do not argue as much as brothers might.”

  “You do make such fine observations.” Hunter turned a little in his saddle to look at Algernon and smiled.

  As the two rode side-by-side, Hunter felt somewhat dwarfed by his cousin and his immense horse. Hunter smiled to himself, thinking that horse and rider were well-suited. After all, Algernon’s horse was also broad and tall and yet of a calm, almost placid, nature. Perhaps neither one of them realized their extraordinary power.

  “I like to think so,” Algernon went on. “So, tell me, what is it that you wish to discuss?”

  “You are right, of course, I do have something that I would wish to discuss with you. In truth, it is something that has travelled around my mind these last weeks, although I did not entirely know what to do about it.”

  “Then tell me,” Algernon said, sounding a little exasperated.

  “I have been thinking that I ought really to marry at the earliest opportunity.” Hunter said the thing right out, realising that there was little point in some sort of lengthy preamble.

  “Marry? Has somebody already caught your eye?” Algernon was smiling broadly through his confusion.

  “Not exactly, no.”

  “Then why on earth would you marry? I am afraid that I do not understand.”

  “I need an heir, Algernon,” Hunter said seriously. “Otherwise, it all ends with me. As you know, there is no other male heir to Addison Hall and the title. I am woefully lacking in relatives, my dear fellow, present company notwithstanding.”

  “I understand entirely. You do not have a male heir on the Bentley side of things is what you are saying.”

  “If only you could inherit, my dear fellow.”

  “What a generous thing to say.” Algernon grinned. “But I am your relative on your mother’s side and, as you know, the title cannot come to me. And to be honest, I would not have made a very good Earl; I am far too carefree. Really, I would make a terrible job of it.”

  “Whilst I am sure that is true, Algernon, I should still have liked it all to go to you if anything were to happen to me.”

  “Then you shall have to take care that nothing happens to you until you are married and have a house full of strapping sons.” Algernon laughed. “I am not keen on this talk of you departing this earthly plane at only two and thirty. Really, you are beginning to depress me.”

  “Then I shall move on in my explanations, for I fear we are dwelling a little on things which are hopefully not going to come to pass. But still, I must think seriously now about finding a wife and producing an heir. I ought not to let my father down, after all.”

  “It is hardly your fault that Felicity chose to marry somewhat vainly.”

  “Indeed, and I must admit that I am glad that my father was not around to see the sorry end of things. At least he died thinking that I was soon to marry Felicity and that the Earldom would be safe. At least he did not witness the end of it all and spend his last weeks worrying about it.”

  “So, we are to search for a wife for you, my dear fellow. Actually, it may be quite an amusing thing. A diversion, at any rate.” Algernon’s spirits picked up, and it was clear that he was thinking of all the social events they might attend in search of pretty young ladies. “I might even look for one for myself.”

  “I am not sure that we shall need to look, as such.”

  “Then you have found somebody already? But where have you been to do such a thing? I thought you had been more or less housebound since your return from Scotland.”

  “I have attended one social occasion, as an experiment
, really.”

  “And what occasion was that?”

  “It was an evening soirée at Ashton House. You know; the Lennox place?”

  “Goodness me, so you were there at the time of the great scandal, were you?”

  “Well, yes, but I had not immediately realized that there was a scandal of any kind.”

  “So, you did not know that it was widely thought that Christopher Lennox had been courting Emmeline Fitzgerald?”

  “I did not. Although I gathered it very quickly. As soon as the announcement was made, there were several hurried and whispered conversations going on all around me, and I overheard a little something of it all.”

  “Are you not, then, at all acquainted with Miss Fitzgerald?”

  “Only a little. She is only the vaguest of acquaintances and nothing more.”

  “Really, I am not greatly acquainted with her either, but I knew a little something of her circumstances.” Algernon slowed his horse to a stop and turned to look at his cousin. “Do you never pay any attention whatsoever to what goes on around you?”

  “If you mean do I press my nose into the business of others, then no,” Hunter said a little imperiously, and Algernon laughed.

  “Those are very fine words, cousin, but they are a cover-up. You do not involve yourself enough in the world, even enough to know a little of the lives of others. If you are to find yourself a wife in short order, I think you really ought to reconsider your approach.”

  “How very amusing you are, Algernon.” Hunter smiled indulgently. “But I already know as much as I need to know, so there is no real need for me to involve myself in the lives of too many others, at any rate.”

  “So, you discovered that the poor young woman had imagined herself to have been the lady that Christopher Lennox would finally become engaged to. Quite dreadful, really, because I am told that the young lady to whom Lennox finally did make an offer to was a very good friend of Miss Fitzgerald. Dreadful behaviour, truly rotten.”

  “I am inclined to agree. Clara Lovett, I believe her name is. Not, of course that she is in any way important in all of this.” Hunter set his horse to walk again, leaving Algernon behind for a moment or two.

  “In all of what?” Algernon said when he caught up.

  “I have decided to ask Emmeline Fitzgerald to marry me.”

  “Good heavens.”

  “I thought that might surprise you. But really, if you think the whole thing through, it makes perfect sense. At least it does if you know a little something of the lady’s circumstances.”

  “Her circumstances? There are other circumstances to be told?” Algernon said, his face a picture of intrigue. “What circumstances?”

  “You are aware, of course, that her father passed away some three months ago?”

  “Yes, I attended the funeral. I did not know Charles Fitzgerald particularly well, but what I did know of him I found I liked, and I was sorry to hear that he had passed away while still relatively young.”

  “But were you aware that his wife and daughters do not have long to remain at Tarlton Manor before it is inhabited by the man who stands to inherit it by the end of nine months following Charles Fitzgerald’s death?”

  “No, I had heard nothing of that,” Algernon said. “I suppose that sort of property transfer is awfully rough on women, is it not? Still, it is not uncommon, and I am not surprised by it, I must say.”

  “Well, I have gathered that there are but six months left for the three women who live on that small estate before they have to find accommodation elsewhere.”

  “But do they not have other family?”

  “Apart from the cousin who stands to inherit, and his immediate family, no.”

  “Do you not think that the cousin might allow them to stay?” Algernon said and pulled a face. “Really, I am sure it is big enough,” he went on.

  “I suppose it is big enough now whilst the cousin is an unmarried man. But once he finds himself a wife and begins to produce a family, the estate might not seem quite big enough.”

  “Oh dear,” Algernon said as if he had just thought something. “And I suppose Miss Fitzgerald, thinking that she was to be married soon to Christopher Lennox, thought her family quite safe. After all, the Lennox family is certainly wealthy enough to have decided upon a settlement of some sort so that the mother and sister were well provided for.”

  “Yes, it must really have come as a double disappointment for her.”

  “If Miss Fitzgerald was in love with Christopher Lennox in the first place, that is.” Algernon shrugged.

  “I think it is very safe to assume that the young lady was very much in love with him,” Hunter said a little sadly as he remembered her brave attempt at dignity throughout the rest of that evening.

  Within seconds of Tristan Lennox’s announcement that his son was to marry Clara Lovett, Hunter realized that something was wrong. At first, he thought it was simply his own low mood. Not that he begrudged anybody their happiness, but having recently been betrayed as he had been, he was in no mood to celebrate young love.

  Still, he quickly realized that it was not just on account of his own low mood that things felt somewhat out of kilter. Two ladies standing just a few feet from him began a hurried and whispered conversation, and he quickly learned a few of the most pertinent circumstances. Namely that Christopher Lennox had been widely thought to be courting Emmeline Fitzgerald.

  Following the gaze of the two ladies, Hunter looked across the room to where Emmeline Fitzgerald stood with her sister. As he looked, he realized with discomfort that most of the people in the room were looking over at her as she wore a fixed, frozen smile of congratulations. There was nothing else for the young woman to do but keep her eyes fixed on the man whom she had clearly thought would one day be her own father-in-law. To do any other would be to meet the gaze of so many enquiring eyes.

  For all he had been betrayed himself, at least his betrayal had not happened right in front of him and so very publicly. Hunter knew, albeit that he hurt very badly indeed, that he had that much to be thankful for at least.

  And whilst he did not want to be one of a number of enquiring people continuing to stare at her, waiting for her reaction, he could not seem to look away. But instead of being inquisitive, instead of eagerly awaiting some sort of breakdown, he wanted to silently support the young woman. He wanted to tell her with his eyes that he knew how she felt at that moment, and that she was not alone. But of course, they were so barely acquainted that he could not even sensibly make his way across the room to join her. Especially not when everybody was gazing in her direction. In the end, he knew that such support would add to her problems, not solve them.

  Her sister, being some years younger, had not quite managed to hold on to as firm countenance as Emmeline Fitzgerald had managed. Her face had crumpled, and he could see how red her cheeks had flushed from across the room. Her eyes were shining, and he realized that it would not be long before the young lady fell to tears. And when she did, her sister’s plight would grow yet worse still.

  Tristan Lennox continued to hold court as if he was trying to regain everybody’s attention, even draw it away from Miss Fitzgerald. But it was not helping, not helping at all. If he had at least brought the matter to a close and set the musicians to playing once more, then it would have given Emmeline Fitzgerald the perfect excuse to move from her spot, to change position, to get herself closer to the door and to the freedom of escaping the humiliation.

  After more than ten minutes, Tristan Lennox finally stopped speaking and, when the musicians began to play once more, small groups of chatterers began to form here, there, and everywhere. Whilst they still looked over in Miss Fitzgerald’s direction intermittently, there was not the silence and the staring of before. Hunter had felt himself relieved, almost as if the whole dreadful thing was happening to him and not Emmeline Fitzgerald.

  Hunter had wondered what he ought to do and thought that if he joined Miss Fitzgerald and her sister, he m
ight ease some of their suffering. At the same time, he wondered if it would help at all. After all, all present were perfectly well aware that he had been treated similarly himself of late, and perhaps Miss Fitzgerald might not want to be allied with him at that moment, lest she be pitied equally.

  However, as he watched the two young women, both alone as pariahs, with nobody offering any comfort or support at all, he felt his anger rise. Society had come to disgust him and never more so than at that moment. Whilst the fine ladies and gentlemen of the county were happy to form in groups and gossip about the poor woman whose fate had been taken out of her hands, none of them wanted to be seen to help her. They would rather be seen as gossips than humans.

  In the end, Hunter had made his way to them. There was nothing else for it but to do what he could to assist.

  “Well, if she was, or indeed still is, in love with Christopher Lennox, why on earth would you want to marry her?” Algernon broke through his thoughts.

  “Because I think it is very much simpler to be married to somebody to whom you have no true attachment. I am looking for a wife so that I might produce an heir, and she is looking for a husband so that she might keep her mother and sister provided for when they are turned out of their home.”

  “So, you would seek a marriage of convenience?”

  “Yes.” Hunter nodded. “Yes, I would. And, in truth, I think Miss Fitzgerald might even prefer something similar herself.”

  “Hunter, I can see all sorts wrong with this plan. Would you do me the honour of staying to dinner so that I might tell you all of the pitfalls?”

  “Of course,” Hunter said and smiled, determined that nothing Algernon could say would deter him from his plan.

  Chapter 6

  “It was very kind of your mother to allow me to stay whilst I am in the county.” Kent Fitzgerald was down early for breakfast.

  Ordinarily, Emmeline took her breakfast so early that she generally took it alone. The rest of her family had always risen just an hour or so later, and Emmeline had always enjoyed the solitude of that one meal. She had always been an early riser and liked mornings best with nobody else around her. It always seemed to her as if the early morning belonged to her and her alone, and it was a time when she could order her thoughts and be at peace before the day began.