Courting the Countess

by Donna Hatch

  Smiling, he smoothed her hair away from her face. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you’re so happy to see me.” He kissed her with utmost tenderness.

  She sank into him, sighing and returned the kiss with equal affection. With love.

  “Ahem. If you two love birds are finished mooning over each other, I’d like to lie down now,” Tristan’s voice broke in.

  Elizabeth’s face warmed. “Sorry.” She stepped back and eyed Tristan whose eyes were bright despite his pallid skin. “What happened?”

  Tristan waved a hand. “A mere trifle. I only got shot rescuing your husband from certain death.”

  Richard and Captain Kensington let out snorts. Richard gestured to one of the servants, whose numbers had grown since their arrival. “Send for a surgeon.” He cleared his voice, “Thank you all for your aid, and especially for watching over my wife in my absence.”

  As two of the larger footmen came forward and eased Tristan’s arms around their shoulders, Elizabeth took Tristan’s hand. “Thank you for helping him. You were very brave.”

  He grinned. “I owed him a few.”

  “We’re even,” Richard said. “Don’t do anything like that again.”

  Tristan made a strangled noise. “Not on your life. I did the hero thing and you got the girl. Where’s the justice in that?” He turned and leered at the pretty parlor maid who gave him a sultry look.

  Elizabeth coughed delicately to catch the parlor maid’s attention, then shook her head. “Reformed, remember?”

  The parlor maid nodded. All the servants dispersed. Tristan groaned as the footman carried him upstairs.

  Elizabeth put her arm around Richard and snuggled against his side. “Will he be all right?”

  Kensington answered, “The ball went clean through the shoulder. He’ll be fine in no time.”

  Elizabeth hoped her gratitude showed in her expression. “Thank you for your assistance, Captain. I am in your debt.”

  “Anything for a friend, my lady. Take care of him.” Kensington gripped Richard’s shoulder and left.

  “What do you need?” she asked as she tightened her hold around Richard’s waist.

  “Just you. And something to eat.”

  After ordering a meal, she kissed him again, long and tenderly, basking in the feel of him. When their lips parted, she said, “Tell me what happened.”

  He led her into the library where he poured himself a brandy. Watching him lest he suddenly vanish, she sank into a chair. After sipping his drink, he seated himself next to her, close enough that their thighs touched.

  “I was convinced of Lord Einsburgh’s guilt and had made up my mind to cast a vote guilty. Einsburgh’s men captured me and held me prisoner in Lord Drummell’s house to prevent me from voting. Three other prisoners were there, too—your brother, and family members of other peers involved in the trial.”

  “Martindale?” Alarm shot through her that her brother had also been in danger.

  “He’s safe. We freed him and the others.” Richard fingered his glass. “Yesterday, your father tried to convince me to vote Lord Einsburgh innocent. I thought the conversation seemed odd. Now I know he was doing it to save his son. Why this Mr. Black fellow was helping Einsburgh is anyone’s guess.”

  Elizabeth tapped her finger against her lip, thinking. “So when they failed to capture me, they went after you.”

  Richard closed his eyes and drew a shaking breath. Then another. He put an arm around her and squeezed her so hard that she nearly squeaked. “I’m so grateful they didn’t capture you.” His husky voice touched a tender place in her heart.

  They sat together, content to be in each other’s arms, until Elizabeth asked, “How did you get out of there?”

  “While we were trying to escape the house, some servants acting as guards came. There were some shots fired, and then the Bow Street Runners arrived and arrested everyone involved. Tristan was hit and I don’t mind telling you I was terrified he’d been killed.” He shook his head. “I nearly went out of my mind.”

  She put her hand on his chest and rubbed it, hoping to comfort him.

  Mrs. Brown arrived with a tray of food for Richard. “My lord, I am gratified to see your safe return.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Brown.” Richard tucked into his meal.

  Mrs. Brown turned to Elizabeth looking as if she were about to face the gallows. “My lady. I was wrong to doubt you and your choice in hiring the servants from Mrs. Goodfellow.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I am sure you only had our best interests at heart.”

  “I did, but I was rude to you. As the lady of the house, you deserve my loyalty and respect. I failed to give it to you. I do most humbly apologize.” She stood with her hands at her sides, her head bowed, looking so contrite that Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to bear a grudge.

  “You are unfailingly loyal to the Barrett family and have served them well for many years. I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you’re willing to accept me as the mistress.”

  She kept her head lowered. “Of course. Thank you, my lady.” The woman made a brief, respectful curtsy and left them alone.

  Richard squeezed her hand. “Well done. I, too, vow to honor you and your wishes…with all my heart.”

  Before Elizabeth could fully immerse herself in his words, a footman said, “A Bow Street constable here to see you, sir.”

  “Show him in.”

  The constable entered with his hat in his hands. “I know you gave us a statement at the scene, my lord, but I need to get more details, if I may.”

  “Of course. Have a seat.”

  Richard related all the day’s happenings while the constable nodded, asking occasional questions and scribbling in his small book. Then he asked Elizabeth about the attacks on her.

  When they were finished, Elizabeth spoke, “There’s one thing I still don’t understand.”

  Richard brushed a hand across her cheek, smiling tenderly. “What is that, love?”

  She smiled at his term of endearment but directed her words to the constable. “The servants were convinced my husband had been taken by men who worked for someone named Mr. Black. Cooper thought that man in the park worked for Mr. Black, too. Now it appears that Lord Einsburgh was behind it?”

  The Bow Street investigator tapped his pencil against his pad. “Mr. Black is a fictional name at the head of the crime organization. We’ve been after him for a long time. We just learned that Mr. Black is actually two men—Lord Einsburgh and Mr. Drummell.”

  Richard nodded. “Clever. Very clever.”

  “They both made fortunes smuggling and dealing in the black market during the war,” the Runner said. “Now that the war has ended, they focused their attention on London where they already had a strong presence. We didn’t know Drummell and Einsburgh were connected to Mr. Black, only that Einsburgh was reportedly associated with flash houses and a theft ring.” The constable stood. “Thank you for your statement, my lord, my lady. I’ll let you know if we need further testimony.”

  When they were alone, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

  “I owe that to your reformed servants as much as to Tristan and Kensington.”

  She tried to lighten the mood. “It’s fortunate for you that I have such good instincts about servants.”

  “Indeed.”

  His heart thumped a reassuring rhythm underneath her cheek, and she blessed each beat. Gratitude for his safe return warmed her and eased aside the last of her anxiety over the day’s events.

  After a moment, she said, “You sounded a little surprised by my greeting when you first arrived.”

  He said nothing for a long moment. “To be honest, I thought you might have been more worried for Tristan’s well-being than my own.” He flashed a sheepish smile. “I said I trust you and I meant it, but I wasn’t sure where your heart lay. You seemed so much in love with him.”

  “It was mere
girlish infatuation. I assure you, my feelings for you have far surpassed what I felt for him.”

  He grinned as if she’d handed him the finest gift ever. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that.” He pulled back just enough to kiss her, lingering and gentle. Then his lips grew more possessive and his arms tightened around her.

  With lips that tremble, and with glistening eye

  All the soft luxury

  That nestled in his arms.

  She’d always loved that scene from “Calidore” by Keats when the knight saw his lady love. Now she truly knew what that meant.

  She touched Richard’s face, returning his kisses with equal ardor. “All yours. Forever. I love you, Richard, only you.”

  He let out his breath. “I love you, and you alone.” A determined glint entered his eye and he scooped her up.

  With decisive steps, he carried her to his room where his outpouring of gentleness and passion proved to her just how much he loved her. No knight of old could have surpassed Richard’s fierce, tender love. No poet had adequately penned the bubbling joy she found in his touch.

  Her thoughts from the house party came back to her, only filled with Richard: Lady Elizabeth had never dared hope she would find the kind of joy that inspired poets and musicians…until she met the incomparable Richard Barrett

  Enfolded in his arms, she faded into a sweet slumber, safer and more blissfully happy than she’d ever dreamed.

  A word about the author…

  A hopeless romantic and adventurer at heart, Donna Hatch discovered her writing passion at the tender age of eight and has been listening to those voices ever since. She is a sought-after workshop presenter and juggles freelance editing, multiple volunteer positions, and most of all, her six children. A native of Arizona who recently transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, she and her husband of over twenty years are living proof that there really is a happily ever after.

  www.donnahatch.com

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