Enticing the Earl

by Christie Kelley

  Chapter 23

  Mia awoke the next morning feeling groggy and out of sorts. She had stayed awake until after two, waiting for Simon to come to bed so they could talk. At some point, she must have fallen asleep, though she vaguely remembered him drawing her close while in bed. Now it was only eight and he was already gone. She dragged herself out of bed and rang for Lucy to help her dress.

  She only had to get through today and then tomorrow was the ball. After the ball, their obligation to Caroline was complete and they could return home. While she enjoyed seeing Caroline and meeting some of her family, last night had been tortuous. The women had been much more gossipy after dinner, talking about everything from which young lady had been deflowered and deserted to who was Middleton’s current mistress. She really didn’t want to hear about Middleton’s current redheaded whore when the man was supposed to be searching for her sister.

  Her red-haired sister.

  She would kill him if he touched her sister!

  Perhaps she could convince Simon that they needed to go to London after this party was over. Then she would find Tia and bring her back to the Midlands where she belonged. A knock disturbed her plotting to kill Middleton.

  “Come in, Lucy.”

  The door opened and Selina peered inside. “It’s not Lucy. Can I still come in?”

  “Of course.”

  “My, you have a fierce look on your face so early in the morning. Did you and Hart have a fight?”

  “A fight? I barely saw the man last night. I was asleep when he came to bed and he left before I had even awakened.”

  “The men went hunting.” Selina laughed and sat down in a chair. “But that does explain the look.”

  “Not quite. I just remembered something from last night and made a terrible connection.” She told Selina about the remark concerning Middleton’s new mistress. “He is supposed to be finding her, not—”

  “Mia, calm down. I am quite certain there are plenty of women with red hair in London. You have no reason to believe he is involved with Tia. He told Colin he hadn’t seen her and that was only a fortnight ago.”

  “He could have found her in that time and taken her to his bed.”

  “Give Tia more credit than to fall into Middleton’s bed. She left the estate to chase after his brother, not him.” Selina yawned. “I asked for two trays to be brought up here. I hope you don’t mind but I am ravenous.”

  “Didn’t you eat dinner last night?”

  “I wasn’t very hungry after the drive. My stomach was upset.”

  She had never known Selina to have any issues traveling before. Not that her friend did much traveling until she married the duke. Mia frowned. “Are you well now?”

  Selina gave her a little smile and nodded. “I’m with child.”

  Mia gave her friend a hug. “I’m so happy for you.” She pulled back. “You are happy, aren’t you? I know you haven’t been married long but still... a baby,” she said wistfully.

  “Colin and I are both very happy.”

  “Isn’t he concerned?” The duke had lost his wife and son in childbirth years ago and Mia wondered how he would handle the fact that Selina was with child.

  “I know he is but he is trying not to show it.”

  “My mother and I will be there for you when the time comes,” Mia said.

  “Of course you will,” Selina said with a laugh. “Just as I will be there to help you when it’s your time.”

  “If my mother lets you in.”

  “She knows that I can be just as stubborn as she can. I will be there.”

  Lucy arrived with two footmen trailing behind her with trays of food and tea. After Lucy assisted Mia with her morning gown, she left the women to the privacy once more. Without being able to speak to Simon about his past, Mia opted for Selina. Perhaps her friend knew something.

  “Selina, what do you know of Hart’s past?” she asked before taking a bite of toast.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I need to know why he refused to attend the London Season for the past five years. One of the women at the party implied there was an incident.”

  Selina sipped her tea with a frown. “I haven’t heard of anything. Colin holds him in the highest of regards. I doubt the ‘incident’ could be much of anything or my husband would not befriend him.”

  Good point. Except a duke could befriend anyone he wanted and no one would say a word, at least to his face. “Selina, the woman acted as if it was serious and that my health might be at risk.”

  “That is madness. You know Hart. He has never hurt you in any way. That woman was goading you. If I had to guess, I would say she is jealous.”

  Mia leaned back against her chair with a sigh. “You are probably right. Hart has never shown me anything but kindness so I am worrying over something a petty woman said. Thank you, Selina.”

  Her friend smiled. “That is why I insisted we attend, no matter how much the drive made me sick.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mia said. “Did you try the peppermint tea?”

  “It did nothing. But so far, it is mostly in the evening and driving. And driving is by far the worst. Perhaps I shall just stay here until this baby is born.” Selina laughed. “But only if you stay with me.”

  “As you wish, Your Grace.” Mia giggled. “I will be your lady in waiting for you and Caroline.”

  “Caroline too?”

  Mia nodded. With all that settled, Mia felt ready to face the day. She would ignore Miss Layton and focus on Selina. And she decided Selina was right. Whatever happened in London five years ago was Simon’s business and if he wanted to tell her, he would. She wouldn’t press the issue.

  “There you are,” Simon said, finally finding Mia still in her morning gown in the salon of the bedchamber. “Did you go with the other ladies to town?”

  “No, Selina and I stayed here to get caught up.”

  “And how is she?”

  “With child.”

  “Indeed.” Simon looked away, wondering how North might feel about that. “Are they happy?”

  “Selina is ecstatic. The duke is happy but concerned.”

  Simon sat in the wingback chair across from her. “With good reason after what he went through.”

  Mia looked away.

  “What’s wrong, Mia?”

  She explained what she’d overheard about Middleton. “I have a terrible suspicion that woman is Tia. I can’t even say why I feel that way. I just do.”

  Simon frowned. His friend had never shown an interest in his wise woman before now. “I doubt it’s her, Mia. He’d had plenty of opportunity to seduce her if he’d wanted. Why go to London to do it? It makes no sense.”

  “He’s a rake but can be quite charming at times. Maybe he’d never shown that side to her? Perhaps Jonathon rejected her and she sought solace in Middleton’s arms. I’m her twin and I know something is wrong with her.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  She stared down at her hands but her eyes blinked constantly as if trying to hold back tears. “Go to London and find her.”

  “Then we shall. As soon as the ball is over. We can leave on Saturday.”

  She looked up at him with watery eyes, and he was lost. He never wanted to see her hurt in any way. And he would keep his secret to his dying day to protect her from the pain it would bring her.

  “Thank you.” She clambered out of her chair and onto his lap. “Thank you,” she said again before kissing him.

  Before long, she was leading him into their bedroom and showing him exactly how thankful she was for his answer.

  Simon finally dressed again and left Mia napping in the bedroom. He’d been ignoring his mother since that first encounter the day they arrived, but as he walked into the library he found her working on her needlepoint. His grandmother was napping in the wingback chair across from her. A slight snore from her made his lips twitch.

  “Good afternoon, Mother.”

  “Simon,” she said with
a nod, barely looking up from her needlepoint.

  “Are you enjoying the party?”

  “Not particularly. I am finding the company rather tedious this year.”

  Simon did his best to ignore the barb. “Will you be staying here after the party or returning to Hartsfield Park?”

  “I shall stay here until after the baby is born. Caroline will need the help,” she replied.

  Caroline had a husband and a houseful of servants. She truly didn’t need any help. After this party, his sister would just need to rest. He couldn’t imagine if Mia had to plan something so large. Caroline had different activities planned for every day. Today most of the guests were getting ready for a treasure hunt but Simon had decided against it.

  James entered the room and stopped when he caught sight of them. “Is it safe to come in?”

  “Of course, dear,” his mother said, putting her needlepoint away. “What have you been doing today?”

  “Simon and I rode with the hunt but I’m certain he must have told you that.” James gave Simon a conspiratory wink.

  “No, we hadn’t discussed it yet,” Mother replied.

  James rolled his eyes. “It’s time we all talked. I will not have this strain between you two.”

  “There is nothing to discuss, James,” Mother said. “Simon made his choice of brides so we all have to accept it.”

  “Yes, Mother, we do,” Simon said. “Mia is my wife and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”

  His mother sighed. “Simon, that is true. But you need to understand it might take me time to come to terms with it.”

  “Oh be quiet, all of you,” his grandmother said, lifting her head up straight. “Eleanor, you were only slightly better than Mia when my son married you. Yet you made my son happy. And I can only hope he made you happy too.”

  Simon watched as his mother’s eyes welled with tears. “Yes, he did, Mary. I loved him dearly.”

  “Then why are you having so much trouble with Simon’s decision? You know he’s loved the girl for years.”

  Simon blinked in surprise. “You did?”

  All three of them laughed. “We all did, Simon,” James said, still laughing. “You honestly didn’t realize what you looked like whenever you saw her?”

  Simon shook his head, bemused. He’d thought he hid his attraction quite well.

  James laughed harder. “I don’t think there was a person on the estate who didn’t know how you felt about Mia.”

  Simon could only stare at his family as they all nodded in agreement. Had he been that obvious? Did Mia know how he felt about her? If everyone else knew, his wife most definitely should know how much he loved her.

  His mother slowly laughed. “You had no idea that we all knew how you felt about her, did you?”

  “No,” he admitted. “I thought only Charlie knew.”

  “Charlie?” James said. “He is so concerned about himself, I’m surprised he saw it.”

  “Speaking of Charlie, where is he?”

  James shrugged. “Probably London. Where else would he be? He would prefer to spend his time in the gaming hells than travel a short distance to visit with his family.”

  Simon frowned. “He told me that Caroline coerced him to go up to Hartsfield Park to force me to come to this party. And that if he did that for her, she would invite some woman he was interested in.”

  “You will have to ask Caroline about that,” his mother said finally in a civil yet frosty tone.

  “I will.”

  His grandmother cleared her throat. “Now that we all know Simon loves Mia,” she stared with a pointed look to his mother, “Eleanor, I expect you to not only apologize to Mia but embrace her as your new daughter. Someday she will have your grandchildren.”

  “Yes, Mary,” his mother replied in a deferential tone. “But first, I must apologize to Simon. Son, I do hope you understand why I was so upset when I found out about your marriage.”

  “I do, Mother.” Simon relaxed. “I also know it was dreadfully bad-mannered to have a wedding without inviting my family. I was only fearful for her safety.”

  “Why?” his grandmother demanded.

  Simon explained all that had happened in the past few weeks. “I wanted her to have the protection of my name if something should happen to me.”

  “So,” his grandmother drawled. “You have no idea who paid this Lambert man?”

  “No.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” James demanded. “I would have dropped everything and come up to help you.”

  Simon could never have let his brother neglect his duties. “You have your parishioners to care after. They needed you more than I did.”

  “I’m coming back with you until this is settled,” James said and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Mia needs to go to London when this party is over,” Simon replied. “Her sister is missing. Middleton went after her but I don’t believe he has found her yet.”

  James just shook his head. “What have I been missing since I left? The Midlands were never so exciting.”

  “More excitement than I need,” Simon grumbled.

  “So you have no idea who might have hired Lambert?” James inquired. “There must be some reason you have overlooked.”

  “None at all. Then again, we have no way of knowing if Lambert was even telling the truth. Perhaps he wanted to protect his reputation even in death.”

  “Perhaps Charlie could give you some more insight into Lambert,” James added. “They had become friends a few years ago.”

  “Indeed? I did not know that.” Then again, why would he? Charlie rarely came to Hartsfield Park, and when he did, he never stayed more than a few days.

  “Yes, they started gambling at the same establishment.” James tilted his head. “You didn’t know that?”

  “No, and Charlie never said a word to me about it when he visited.” And yet, he was quite certain he had mentioned Lambert by name. He wondered if Caroline knew any of this. She was closer in age to Charlie. He needed to speak with Caroline now. “Please excuse me. I need to find Caroline.”

  “Good luck with that,” James commented. “I have tried to speak with her three times today to no avail. She is just too busy with the ball tomorrow night.”

  “I will find her.”

  Except, he didn’t. He asked almost every footman where she was and no one knew for certain. He even knocked on her bedchamber door but no one answered. There was one person who would know where she had hidden herself.

  He found Richard in his study perusing his papers. Richard glanced up with a questioning look on his face. “What is it, Hart?”

  “I need to speak with Caroline but I can’t seem to find her.”

  Richard laughed. “I apologize but I cannot give away her position.”

  “Why not? I am her brother.”

  “Yes, and she is my wife. A woman who is with child and exhausted. She is currently resting and I will not allow her to be disturbed under any circumstances.” Richard took off his spectacles and stared at Simon.

  Simon almost laughed. He knew how much Richard loved Caroline but had never seen him so forceful about it. There was little doubt Simon would have acted the same way with Mia. “I understand. I will speak with her later.”

  And yet, he wasn’t able to do that either. He could never catch her alone. At dinner, he sat too far away and would never dream of bringing up Charlie’s whereabouts in front of others. Later, she had retired by the time the men returned to the salon after their brandies.

  But Simon knew her routine and would be up early waiting for her.

  Chapter 24

  On Simon’s advice, Mia spent the morning and early afternoon before the ball resting. He promised the night would be full of excitement but very tiring. As Mia lay in bed trying to listen to her husband’s generous words of wisdom, her mind raced. Tonight, a small portion of the ton would meet her and most likely find her lacking. There was no way of hiding her trepidation.r />
  She was terrified.

  Her only solace was many eyes would be on Selina too. Selina hadn’t been introduced to very many members of the ton yet either. The duke had thought it best to go slowly with her presentation to Society. At least, Selina had been related some way to a squire. Mia had no such family connections.

  Finally, the time came to dress for the ball. Lucy laid out the beautiful sapphire silk gown. Mia stared at the fabric as Lucy tightened her stays. The dressmaker had embellished the gown with silver embroidery at the hem.

  “Here we go,” Lucy said, gathering the gown in her arms.

  The silk slipped over her skin like a whispered voice, drawing Mia to stare in the mirror as Lucy buttoned up the back. Mia couldn’t take her gaze off the cheval mirror in front of her. The blue silk had a V neckline that emphasized the curve of her breasts and opened wide at the shoulders. The short sleeves were also embroidered in silver thread.

  “Oh my,” she said, once completely buttoned.

  “My lady, this is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen,” Lucy whispered in awe.

  “Me too,” she admitted. “I feel like this is a dream where I’m just about to get rudely awakened.”

  “You are a countess, my lady. It’s not a dream.”

  Mia inhaled deeply before opening the door to the bedroom. Simon turned and stared hungrily at her. She did the same at him. He was dressed in his formal breeches. His jacket spread across his wide shoulders in a deep blue hue that matched her dress. His silk waistcoat was striped in blue, black, and silver. The silver in his waistcoat almost matched his eyes.

  “We are not going downstairs tonight,” he said, strolling toward her with a lopsided grin.

  “Oh?”

  “I am not about to let another man see you in that dress.”

  Mia giggled. “I believe your sister is expecting us.”

  “I don’t care. We will order a tray up here and dine by ourselves.” He was so close his breath fanned her cheek. “When this ball is over, I am going to make love to you until you can’t move for days.”