An Earl to Save Her Reputation

by Laura Martin

  ‘I wasn’t going to just let him get away with all the upset he’s caused you.’

  ‘What right have you to make that decision?’ Anna asked, her voice rising in volume, but she was helpless to stop it.

  ‘I love you, Anna, I care for you. That gives me the right.’

  She shook her head, feeling the anger bubble up and almost close off her throat. Her next words were tight and a little muffled. ‘You’re just like the rest of them.’

  ‘The rest of who?’

  ‘Men. Thinking you know what’s right for me. Making decisions for me.’

  ‘You were just going to let him get away with it. Who knows, he might even have carried on.’

  ‘And that was my decision to make, Harry. It’s my life and if I choose to shave off all my hair and disguise myself as a man to join the army, then it is none of your concern. If I choose to give all my money away to the orphans of London, again it is none of your concern. And if I choose to put this matter with Mr Maltravers behind me rather than be tied up in lengthy legal arguments, then it is none of your concern.’

  Harry grasped her upper arms and waited until she looked at him.

  ‘I love you, Anna. That means everything you do is my concern.’

  As he held her eyes Anna felt herself soften slightly. Perhaps it had all been in her best interests...

  Then as suddenly as the thought had entered her mind she felt her resolve stiffen and her jaw clench. His motivations didn’t matter. He was still trying to rule her life, to make her decisions for her, and he saw nothing wrong in his actions. Now it might just be an argument over whether to consult a magistrate about Mr Maltravers’s persecution, but it would lead to other things. Before she knew it she would be married to a man who didn’t see he was taking away her autonomy.

  Trying to suppress the tears in her eyes and the sob that threatened to burst from her throat, she pulled the ring from her finger. It had only been there for two days, but already she’d got used to the weight and the feel of it. Her hand felt naked without it, but she couldn’t keep it.

  ‘Take it,’ she whispered, not trusting her voice to speak any louder.

  ‘No,’ Harry said, shaking his head.

  ‘Take it. I was a fool to think this could ever work.’

  ‘Anna, don’t.’ His voice was firm and authoritative. ‘I love you. You love me. This is just a misunderstanding.’

  ‘I can’t have a man tell me what to do again. I can’t have someone controlling me.’

  ‘I wouldn’t try to control you.’

  ‘You already are.’

  He took her hand, raising the fingers to his lips. ‘I’ll send Sir Gregory away. We can talk about it and, if you truly don’t want to do anything more, I will never mention Mr Maltravers again.’

  With tears running down her cheeks, Anna pulled away. It shouldn’t be this hard, doing the right thing. She’d known all along marrying again would only lead to pain, but right now it felt as though her heart was ripping in two.

  ‘I can’t marry you, Harry,’ she said, wishing it weren’t true. ‘I can’t give up my freedom.’

  ‘Damn it, Anna, I’m not trying to lock you in a room for the next forty years. I want to love you, cherish you, give you the life of happiness you deserve. I’m not going to take away your freedom. I’m not going to try to make your decisions for you.’

  But you already are. Anna couldn’t bring herself to say the words, instead she reached up and let her fingers trail down Harry’s cheek, knowing this would be the last time she saw him. Desperately she tried to imprint every detail of his face into her memory, knowing she would never feel like this about another man.

  ‘Goodbye, Harry,’ she said, turning and sweeping from the room. It took a gargantuan effort not to turn and look back, but she knew if she hesitated for even a second she’d run back to his arms and forget all her misgivings.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ‘Again,’ Harry barked, taking up his starting stance and brandishing his sword.

  ‘Take it easy, old chap,’ Rifield said, wiping sweat from his brow. Despite his protestations Harry’s friend turned and steadied himself, raising his sword and indicating he was ready to begin.

  Metal clashed against metal as they began the drill, one of hundreds they’d perfected during their time in the army together. Harry had met Rifield on his very first day after signing away his freedom when they’d been partnered together for training. They’d quickly come to appreciate one another’s skill and agility and soon after become good friends.

  ‘I take it she turned you down?’ Rifield asked during the next break.

  Harry grunted, stalking back to his starting position. It had been three days since he had last seen Anna, three days since she’d told him goodbye. In that time he’d tried on numerous occasions to see her, but every time he’d failed. Once he’d even attempted to climb up the outside of the house to her first-floor bedroom, only to find she’d anticipated the move and decamped elsewhere. He’d waited outside her office at the docks for a whole day, but only saw weathered old men going in and out. She’d completely cut him off.

  ‘You knew she was going to be a hard one to convince. What’s stopping you now?’

  Harry thought of the raw pain in her eyes as she’d told him they couldn’t be together. He knew she loved him, that was the worst part. He loved her and she loved him, but she was too scared to let them be happy together. It was entirely understandable after the ordeal she’d endured with her last husband. He’d thought he was breaking down that fear, then he’d gone and brought Sir Gregory into the picture.

  When he’d first approached the magistrate he had done it with the best of intentions. There was a deep-seated worry that wouldn’t be dismissed inside Harry that Maltravers would continue to watch Anna and perhaps when they were least expecting it he would strike. Harry wasn’t sure what he thought Maltravers might do, but he had proved himself to be a malicious and cruel man, and the risk to Anna was significant. So he’d ploughed on despite knowing full well Anna would not like it.

  He had underestimated how much value she put on her freedom to make decisions. Many times she’d told him that she didn’t want a husband to order her around, to take charge of her business, but he hadn’t listened, not properly. He’d thought the main reason she didn’t want to marry again was because she was afraid to enter a relationship where she might be mistreated. Of course he would never hurt her, never raise a hand to her, and he thought Anna knew that. Now he was realising that she was more afraid of losing her independence than worrying he might strike her.

  ‘She’s refusing to see me,’ Harry said, swinging his sword in a practised arc.

  ‘So you’re just going to give up?’

  Panting hard as he defended himself when Rifield took a few attacking steps, Harry shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to just give up.

  ‘No,’ Harry said, striking his friend’s sword so hard the metal vibrated long after they’d disengaged.

  ‘I need a drink.’ Rifield placed his sword in its sheath and laid it on the grass, then disappeared inside the house to find a maid.

  Harry allowed his body to slump on to the bench. They were in the garden of Rifield’s London town house. It was a tiny patch of grass, barely big enough for their drills, but army life had taught them both to be adaptable and now they were used to fighting in such a confined area.

  Rifield was right, of course; he wasn’t going to just give up because Anna was refusing to see him.

  ‘This takes me back,’ Rifield said as he returned, trailed by a maid carrying two tall glasses of water. ‘Practising swordplay while solving the problems of the world.’

  Silently Harry gulped down his glass of water.

  ‘Do you remember Blaauwberg?’ Rifield asked quietly.

  Harry nodded. It had been an unfa
ir fight. Two British infantry brigades against a handful of Batavian troops and some local militia, fought on the side of the Blaauwberg mountain. The British army had taken Cape Town the next day, with surprisingly few casualties.

  The Batavian General who had led the defence had retreated inland and Harry had been included in the party to negotiate his surrender. The first round of negotiations had failed, but then they’d tried a different method. Instead of drilling in the facts of the British superiority in numbers of troops, the hopelessness of the situation for the Batavians, Harry had suggested starting the next round of negotiations with a list of the concessions the British were willing to make. Highlighting the good instead of the bad.

  As he sat there, remembering the hot lowlands and cool mountains of the Cape an idea began to form in Harry’s mind. Rifield was right, he needed to show Anna just how much he was willing to sacrifice to have her in his life.

  ‘You’re a very astute man,’ Harry murmured, clapping his friend on the back.

  ‘Anything to stop you battering my sword arm. I don’t think I can take any more drills with you in such a dark mood.’

  Quickly Harry stood, handed over the sword he’d been using and strode towards the door.

  ‘Next time I see you I’ll be engaged,’ he called over his shoulder. ‘Properly engaged.’

  Sacrifices, that was what he needed to highlight. Show Anna exactly what he was prepared to do for her, how he would protect her, even against himself.

  * * *

  Leaning back in the comfortable leather chair Harry declined the offer of a drink from the solicitor’s assistant with a shake of his head.

  ‘This is most irregular, Lord Edgerton,’ Mr Crosby said. He was a tall man with a hawk-like nose and small eyes, giving his face a predatory appearance.

  ‘I am aware how unusual my request is,’ Harry said, smiling at the man in front of him, ‘but all I want to know is can you do it?’

  ‘Well of course, it is just a matter of the right paperwork signed in front of witnesses, but I must caution you against this. Have you sought advice from anyone?’

  ‘I do not need advice, Mr Crosby. My mind is quite made up.’

  ‘And what do your family think of your proposal?’

  Harry gave the solicitor a hard stare. ‘I hardly think that is any of your concern. Now will you do as I ask or shall I take my business elsewhere?’

  ‘As you wish, Lord Edgerton. The papers will be ready to sign in three days.’

  Harry stood, holding out his hand for Mr Crosby to shake, then left the office with a spring in his steps and a whistle on his lips.

  * * *

  Anna sat stroking Apollo while Artemis frolicked around her feet. Morosely she stared out the window, half-hoping Harry would appear around the corner with a grin on his face and hard perseverance in his eyes. She’d done the right thing, sending him away, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t hurt. Even now, six days later she had a deep ache in her chest and a longing that seemed to come from her very soul.

  ‘You’re moping,’ Beatrice announced as she twirled into the room.

  Anna gave her cousin a weak smile but couldn’t summon the energy to argue. She was moping.

  ‘We’ve got a ball to go to this evening,’ she said, running her critical gaze over Anna’s red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks.

  ‘I’m not going,’ Anna said.

  ‘Yes, you are.’

  ‘Your father has sent a note to Mrs Towertrap, letting her know I am unwell and asking if she will be so kind as to chaperon you tonight.’ The Towertrap girls were good friends with Beatrice and their mother had chaperoned her on numerous other occasions.

  ‘I know. I sent one half an hour later saying I no longer needed a chaperon as you were feeling much improved.’

  Anna blinked in surprise. ‘Why?’

  ‘Otherwise you’ll sit around here moping for ever.’

  ‘Is this one of Harry’s schemes?’ Anna asked. ‘Has he told you to ensure I go to the ball so he can ambush me there?’

  ‘No. Although I think you are being an utter fool, I wouldn’t force you to see Lord Edgerton. Not when you’re hurting so much.’

  ‘Then why do you want me to go so badly tonight?’

  Beatrice sighed a sigh of a much more mature woman. ‘You’re miserable, you’re dwelling on whatever it is that’s happened with Lord Edgerton, and sitting here by yourself is just making everything worse. Come to the ball with me. You might not have fun, but at least there will be something to distract you.’

  Opening her mouth to refuse once and for all, Anna paused. She didn’t want to go out. In truth, right now she didn’t feel like she’d ever want to venture out of the safety of her uncle’s house ever again, but there was a matter she needed to see to. In the eyes of the world she and Harry were still engaged. It would make the whole matter neater, more final, if she openly broke off the engagement.

  It would have to be her to do it. Harry still thought he would be able to persuade her she’d made a mistake so he wasn’t going to go around announcing to the world that they’d decided to go separate ways. No, she had to be the one to end things and the sooner she did it the easier it would be to move on.

  Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of never dancing with Harry again, never taking a stroll through the park or never hearing him bound up the rickety stairs to her little office at the docks.

  ‘What time are we leaving?’ Anna asked, summoning a little smile for Beatrice.

  ‘Eight.’

  Anna nodded, trying to keep her expression unreadable as her cousin scrutinised her. Tonight she would attend the ball and she would ensure the whole of society knew her and Harry’s engagement was broken. Of course she would have to do it in such a way that cast Harry in the role of the injured party. He still had a chance at a happy future, a respectable wife. She had turned down the only man who could ever make her truly happy, so what did a little more malicious gossip about her matter.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Steeling herself for the unpleasant task ahead, Anna smiled warmly at the middle-aged gentleman in front of her. His name was Mr Warner and he had propositioned Anna on a few occasions in the past, mainly after she was widowed for a second time before she became Lady Fortescue. He was good-looking, well connected and likely the most arrogant man Anna had ever met. Their encounters in the past had consisted of Mr Warner paying her a few tepid compliments, talking about himself for a good long while, then suggesting they retire somewhere a little more private.

  Anna hadn’t seen the man for a couple of years, but he was perfect for what she had to do this evening.

  ‘Of course I reminded the man of the penalty for trespassing and then had a quiet word with the magistrate.’

  ‘What else could you do?’ Anna murmured, laying a feather-light touch on Mr Warner’s arm.

  ‘Exactly. These riff-raff need to be reminded of the social order and their need to respect their betters.’

  Anna suppressed the urge to tell Mr Warner exactly what she thought of his view on society and instead gave him an encouraging look, then dropping her eyes and biting her lip.

  ‘Perhaps you would like a breath of fresh air,’ Mr Warner suggested.

  ‘It is rather warm...’

  She allowed him to lead her out on to the terrace, shuddering as he placed a hand in the small of her back to guide her. For a moment she wondered if she could abandon her plan and just announce to the assembled guests that she and Lord Edgerton had called off the engagement. The idea of allowing Mr Warner’s hands to roam over her body, his lips to meet hers, disgusted her, but she knew it was the only way to cause enough scandal and make Harry out as the victim. Then he would be free to marry someone respectable, someone who could give him the trust there should be between a husband and wife.

  They str
olled outside and Anna felt the chill of the evening air on her skin. It was a typical spring evening, overcast and threatening rain, but it did mean they had relative privacy on the terrace. Just as long as someone appropriate came out and caught them mid-kiss.

  ‘I understood you were engaged to Lord Edgerton,’ Mr Warner said as they paused at the edge of the terrace.

  ‘A passing fancy, nothing more. We have decided to break the engagement,’ Anna said, the words almost catching in her throat.

  ‘Sensible decision. There was some big scandal with the family last year, something to do with Edgerton’s sister...’ he paused and brought her hand up to his lips ‘...and I am most pleased you are free to do as you wish. With whoever you wish.’

  Anna watched as he glanced over his shoulder to ensure no one was observing them and then pulled her around the corner away from the lines of sight of the ballroom. Now if anyone exited through the doors on to the terrace they would have to step right up to the stone wall to catch a glimpse of her and Mr Warner.

  ‘Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement,’ Mr Warner said as he looped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

  Anna worked hard to keep her expression impassive, not wanting to let him catch a glimpse of how repulsive she was finding the whole situation.

  ‘Take your hands off my fiancée,’ a low voice growled from somewhere in the shadows.

  Guiltily Mr Warner and Anna jumped apart, both looking round for the source of the voice.

  ‘Harry,’ Anna whispered. He was standing behind her, half-hidden in the darkness, his hands bunched into fists.

  ‘I thought...she said...’ Mr Warner stuttered, his normally arrogant posturing replaced by meekness in the face of Harry’s hostility. ‘She said you were no longer engaged,’ he managed eventually.

  ‘Lady Fortescue is mistaken. We are still engaged. So I suggest you leave me and my fiancée in peace.’

  Mr Warner glanced at Anna and then shrugged, as if it were too much bother to protest.