The Legend of the Earl

by Eleanor Meyers

  She looked over at Justin and had the sense that the romantic man she’d kissed in the carriage was gone. In his place was the Earl of Chantenny, a lord riddled in secrecy. He seemed cold and assessing as he made his way to the tall gentleman dressed as a redcoat with a woman in a matching crimson gown on his arm.

  “Your Graces,” Justin said before he bowed to the stunning couple and took the lady’s hand to offer a kiss.

  “Lord Chantenny,” the duke grunted with a thrust of his chin that could have been attributed to him staking his supremacy over the gathering, but Alex caught the twinkle in his dark eyes. The duke seemed to be in his late fifties, his hair a warm chestnut that was sprinkled with white. Faint lines surrounded his mouth, but his wife was at least a decade younger. Her blond hair, brown eyes, and fair skin were fine and perfect, and Alex liked the way she held onto her husband, leaning toward him only a fraction every so often, which told Alex that she did not stand by her husband on ceremony. She actually wanted to be at his side.

  The duchess said, “Chantenny, had I known you were coming months ago, I’d have placed my bet.”

  Alex was surprised to hear there was a pool as to whether Justin would come or not.

  Justin smiled at her. Though small, Alex could see it was genuine. “I do apologize, but I’ve only recently decided to venture back into Society.”

  The duke grunted again and looked Alex over. “I could only guess as to why that would be.”

  Justin turned to her and Alex took a breath. “Your Graces, the Duke and Duchess of Crandrey, I present my sisters, Lucy Ann and Selina.”

  The girls, who stood on either side of Reuben curtsied.

  “Eastridge,” the duke said as he turned to Reuben and held out his hand with a smile. “Or is it too early to call you that?”

  Reuben took the hand offered him and glared. “You know it is.”

  “Eastridge?” Alex asked her brother.

  “The ceremony is to be held next April on Saint George’s Day,” the duke said. “The king has decided to make him a viscount.”

  Alex stared at her brother. “A viscount?” She had a million and one questions, but nothing suppressed her happiness for her brother. Her vision was momentarily blinded by tears.

  Reuben looked at her and said, “It’s far too soon to go around calling me anything but Reuben.”

  “Mr. Smith,” the duchess said with ample admiration. “My husband has told me so much about you. It is an honor to meet you.” She held out her hand toward him, and Reuben bowed over it.

  A spike of jealousy hit her that this duchess seemed to know things about her brother that she did not. Any chance to ask him questions was stopped when Lucy Ann begged him for a dance, which he obliged her with while escorting Selina up the stairs as well.

  Alex was forced to focus on the duke and duchess with Justin’s final introduction. “I would like to introduce to you Miss Alexandra Smith, my fiancée.”

  The duke blinked in astonishment while his wife placed a hand on her heart and stared at Justin.

  “You’re engaged?” the duchess asked with wonder. “My lord, I’d not believed the talk of you humbling yourself to kiss Lady Tyrell’s hand at Lady Charles’ musical, but this is more than a surprise, my lord.” The duchess’ smile grew and she swung her gaze to Alexandra. “You and I must speak.”

  Justin pulled in a breath and Alex understood why. It was clear that the duchess was a woman who fancied her fair share of gossip.

  “Have you made the announcement yet?” the duchess asked as she looked at Justin once more.

  “Just to her family and mine,” he replied.

  “Excellent.” The duchess’ green eyes glowed with glee. “I’m honored that you plan to do so at my ball. I’ll see that it’s added to the program.” She looked at Alex once more. “Don’t forget, you and I must speak.” Then she stepped away from her husband and floated from the room.

  “I suppose I should not only congratulate you but thank you, both,” the duke said. “You know how her ladyship only likes one thing more than hearsay, and that’s being involved in it.” He grinned, and it showed Alex that he obviously didn’t mind his wife’s manner. Then, as if to explain his reasoning, he turned to Alex and said, “I’m gone so often she’s only left with a few forms of entertainment, and Lord knows there are worse alternatives.”

  Alex readily agreed. In a society where women’s only pleasures were expected to be needlework and taking tea, what else could one do but chat? She wondered if that would be her future and was momentarily maddened by the thought.

  The duke grabbed champagne from a passing server and extended a glass to Alex and Justin before taking one of his own. “To you both,” he said, lifting the glass in a toast.

  “What are we celebrating?” a wheezing voice asked from Alex’s side.

  She'd barely turned toward the speaker before she felt Justin stiffen and pull her away. She looked over and met a pair of light brown eyes that could have been considered warm were they on anyone else’s face. There was a coldness to the older gentleman that nearly made Alex shiver and did make her more than glad that Justin had pulled her away.

  Alex could hear every breath the man took as though he labored at it with every passing minute. She immediately felt sympathy for him.

  “Avon,” Crandrey said. “I didn’t know you were up for a ball.”

  The other man didn’t even look over to acknowledge Crandrey’s words. His gaze was fixed on Alex as he tightened his hold on his cane. “When I heard that Miss Alexandra Smith would be in attendance, I had to come.” He held out his other hand toward her. “Chantenny, why don’t you introduce me.”

  But Avon needed no introduction. Alex knew his name as did the rest of the country.

  Justin pulled in a breath. “Your Grace, the Duke of Avon, I would like you to meet Miss Alexandra Smith.”

  Alex noticed as the duke gripped her hand that Justin had not told Avon they were engaged, and she wondered why.

  Was there yet another thing she didn’t know about the man she planned to pledge herself to?

  “Miss Alexandra, you are stunning.” The duke brushed his lips across her glove but then quickly dropped her before reaching into his jacket and producing a cloth. Great barks were driven into his handkerchief as his body rocked with coughs.

  She recalled the last time she’d heard anyone with a cough like Avon’s. It had been a young boy in Best Home that Alex had helped care for. It had started with fever, but even after the fever was gone, the cough remained. The boy had not lived long after that.

  Alex couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to him and touching his arm once he was done. “Are you all right?”

  Avon seemed startled by the action. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to call attention to someone’s ailment?” His words were harsh, but his expression was still unsettled, as though he didn’t know what to make of her.

  Alex slowly dropped her hand, believing she’d embarrassed him, but who would not wonder at his pain when it was so obvious? “I’m sorry, Your Grace, forgive me.” Then, being who she was, she turned to a passing footman and said, “Would you be so kind as to get His Grace a cup of tea?”

  “Tea?” Avon growled. “I haven’t drunk it in decades. I hate it.”

  “Well, if it’s been so long, perhaps you’ll change your mind,” Alex pressed.

  Justin pulled her back a fraction more, and Alex’s stomach pitched as she remembered that she was not speaking to a sick child at the home, but a lord. A duke, no less!

  Avon seemed to regard her in silence for a moment.

  Crandrey laughed. “Well, Avon, you have to wonder when’s the last time anyone gave a fig about you.” He hit Avon on the back, which jolted the old man out of the stare he'd held on Alex.

  “I’ve other guests to greet. Until later.” Then Crandrey left the three alone.

  He looked at Justin. “You and I must speak.”

  “I’ll call tomorrow,”
Justin said.

  “Tonight,” Avon said, his eyes turning cold once again.

  The maid returned with a cup and kettle on a silver tray just as Alex had asked, and Alex let go of Justin to serve it.

  “More sugar,” Avon instructed, his eyes narrowed on her hands, but that he planned to drink it at all gave her some pleasure.

  “I believe I've added enough for one cup,” Alex told him before she handed him the cup with a smile. “It’s better this way. Now, do finish it. It’ll help with the cough.”

  Avon slowly took the cup and said, “Nothing will help with the cough, I fear.” Then after a sip, he bowed and left just as suddenly as he’d appeared.

  Justin turned her toward him. “Let’s dance, shall we?” Then without giving her a choice, he started toward the ballroom.

  * * *

  31

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

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  “I gather that you do not like the Duke of Avon,” Alex said as they spun around the room. She’d not messed up once in the first minute of the dance, and he’d been ready for her questions to follow quickly. It was why he’d chosen to dance. This way, they’d be uninterrupted for at least ten minutes.

  “No one likes the Duke of Avon,” Justin said.

  Alex wrinkled her nose. “Lord Crandrey seemed very familiar with him.”

  “They went to school together, and though they knew one another as children, that does not make them friends.” He glanced around the room and looked for the name in question but couldn’t see him amongst the crowd. But then perhaps Avon wasn’t in the ballroom at all, for like Justin he, too, tended to keep to the shadows. However, while Justin simply liked to keep to himself, Avon was like a spider, pulling victims into his web of domination and sucking them dry of the very life that ran through their veins. Or perhaps what was even more accurate was to say that Avon was darkness and shadows itself.

  “Why don’t you like him?” Alex asked.

  “He’s evil,” Justin said plainly and simply. “Stay away from him.”

  She stiffened under the hand he held on her back, but her feet kept moving. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you tell him we were engaged? He’d bound to find out by the end of the night anyway.”

  That was true, Justin realized. “I didn’t know he’d be here.” Justin caught Gerard standing by the buffet but could not gain his friend’s attention. He was currently entertaining at least a dozen ladies. Gerard, unlike many of the lords, was not afraid to flirt with women and charm their mothers. He enjoyed dancing and entertaining, all in the hopes of finding the right woman to wed.

  And Gerard would not settle for anything short of love, even though it would be more advantageous for him to make a proper match above all else.

  Justin had never held the same hopes as his friend. He’d been of the mind that he’d keep to his duties and do what he must if only for his father. It was only right, Justin thought, to bear the guilt of allowing his body anywhere near some innocent woman’s person to produce a child. He'd only prayed he’d have to commit the sin once.

  But then Alex had changed everything. With her, he didn’t get the feeling he was committing a sin at all. Indeed, her purity held the power to ward off his darkness. Even after days of knowing one another, touching and kissing, she remained a gem of worth more than simple money could afford. She’d felt tenderness for Avon, and that, to Justin, said it all, for one only had to look at the duke to see that he rubbed shoulders with the devil.

  “Why can’t he know about our engagement?” Alex asked.

  Justin decided to tell her the truth. “Because he doesn’t wish us to marry. In fact, he advised I simply have my way with you and then pass you on to another lord.”

  Alex’s steps faltered that time. Her cheeks turned an embarrassing red, which made Justin regret his words. “Did he truly mean it?” she asked.

  Justin was more hesitant as he went on. “Every word. The man is not nice, Alex.”

  “Justin, I don’t know if you realize this, but not many peers are nice,” she said mockingly, and he realized that she didn’t understand and perhaps thought he was overreacting.

  But he was not.

  The moment he caught her eyes again, he said, “When one catches Avon’s attention, the best course of action is to pray for God’s mercy upon their soul, because surely only God can save them. He is the child of fear and terror. He has ruined more than his fair share of men and women, and with his every dying breath he plots and plans for his next victims. He has no morals and lacks basic inclinations for either guilt or shame. Rich and poor have suffered under his tyranny. He’s created widows and orphanages through his violent acts that have driven husbands, mothers, and fathers into hiding, split apart families, and given new meaning to fear. He respects no one but himself and loves nothing more than to see hurt reflected in someone’s soul. If he approaches you, run as though the shadows of death are chasing you, for once you are caught, you may find yourself paying for the very death he promises. Stay. Away. From. Him.” He held her eyes so that she understood he was not simply making a suggestion. This was a command, and probably the only one he'd pray she listened to.

  She was so pale he thought she might faint. Then she looked away. Her skin remained ashen for so long he thought he’d have to take her somewhere to lie down, but then her expression changed and her color gradually returned before she smiled. “Your sisters seem to be having fun with Reuben.”

  Justin followed where her eyes had gone and saw the truth for himself. The man, like Gerard, was now surrounded by a group of ladies all his own, but unlike Gerard, Reuben wore not even a hint of a smile. Indeed, he was glaring. Lucy Ann seemed to be speaking, probably on his behalf, and Justin was sure that before the night was over, everyone would know that the king planned to letter patent, the way in which a normal man became a peer and how many a peer had been started from the beginning. This time, it would be raising a man from Best Homes to the ranks of the Beau Monde.

  And to a viscount of all things, rising above every knight and baron in the room.

  “What do you think he did to gain a title?” Alex asked.

  Justin could only think of one thing. “The man must have saved the Realm. Did you see the way Lady Crandrey looked at him? Who knows what story her husband told her.”

  “Why didn’t Reuben tell me the story?” Alex asked with narrowed eyes.

  Justin looked over and saw that Reuben had caught her look, but it seemed he was far too drained to gesture anything in reply. His attention was then taken by Lucy Ann once more.

  “Your brothers don’t seem like the sort to share,” Justin said and regretted the words the moment they left his lips.

  Alex made a sound of disapproval. “It seems I’m surrounded by like-minded men.”

  He found that she was no longer smiling.

  Neither was he.

  But instead of asking the question he knew was always at the front of her mind, she looked away, though not quite fast enough. He saw the pain that slashed across her face before she could form it into something more pleasant.

  That pain shook him, and Justin discovered that he was doing exactly what he was trying not to do—disappoint her. He didn’t wish her to be upset, which was why he’d not shared his final piece of truth with her. Looking down at her now, though, he saw that keeping his secrets wasn’t helping at all.

  “Will you stay away from Avon?” Justin pressed.

  She nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll not send him tea if I see that horrid series of coughs again.”

  Justin shook his head and stared at her. She’d probably take care of Hades himself.

  And that was when he knew he had to tell her the truth about his mother’s death and his own involvement.

  Tonight. Before the engagement was announced.

  When the song came to an end, J
ustin began to escort her toward the doors in search of a room where they could be alone.

  “Where are we going?” Alex asked. “You’ve yet to introduce me to anyone.”

  That would have to wait, because if she decided she could not abide the idea of being his wife, he would have to introduce her as his ward and nothing more.

  * * *

  32

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-TWO

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  Justin said nothing as they walked into a room that she discovered to be a small empty office once he lit a few lamps. He started toward her, but instead of touching her, he walked past her and closed the door. When he turned around, the guarded looked he gave her made her pause.

  “Justin, what’s going on?” she asked. He was obviously troubled by something, but when she reached out to rest a hand on him, he avoided it and moved toward the center of the room.

  He’d not flinched from her since the day they’d met, and his doing so now hurt.

  She placed her hands before her and met his eyes straight on.

  His green eyes glanced around the room and settled on a decanter of dark liquor in the corner of the room, almost becoming fixated on it before he turned away.

  She grew more uncomfortable under the silence as the seconds ticked by.

  “Justin—”

  A knock sounded on the door and before she could think, she opened it and was surprised to see who was on the other side.

  “Am I interrupting?” Avon peeked his head into the room and then the rest of his body hobbled in. In the quiet, his labored breathing was more eerie than anything Alex had ever heard in her life.