What a Wicked Earl Wants

by Vicky Dreiling

  “Very good, my lady,” Reed said. “It has been a pleasure to serve you. I will look forward to your return.”

  Bell led her down the pavement. Her face was still flushed, so he decided to divert her. “Now you will have some occupation during the journey.”

  “My mother says that the devil finds work for idle hands.”

  “That is ridiculous,” he said.

  “What will you do on the long journey?”

  “I will nap. The devil will be delighted to find that for the length of the journey, I will have idle hands.”

  She smiled a little. “You are bad.”

  He’d managed to smooth things over. “I have no choice but to behave since we have Lady Atherton as a chaperone.”

  “You presume I would allow you liberties?” she said with raised brows.

  “No, but I would be very tempted to tempt you.”

  “Put temptation out of your head. We’re almost to the carriage.”

  He helped her climb inside. Then he followed with the intention of sitting on the bench with his back to the horses. But Lady Atherton wrapped a voluminous shawl around her and reclined on the seat with a pillow under her head.

  Bell frowned at her. “Your back will be to the horses.”

  “No, it will be on the leather seat. It’s early, and I need my beauty rest.”

  Bell sat beside Laura and wondered if Lady Atherton had purposely arranged for the two of them to sit together. When the carriage rolled off, she closed her eyes. A few minutes later, her lips parted, and she snored softly.

  Laura set the infant gown on her lap and threaded a needle. “She is elderly and probably did not sleep well last night in a strange bed.”

  “She is having no trouble sleeping on the bench.”

  “Well, I’m glad she’s comfortable,” Laura said.

  “We will stop at the Swan’s Inn to change the horses,” he said. “The distance is twelve miles.”

  “Oh, we can take tea,” she said.

  “We will wait for the next change. It’s only twelve miles.”

  “Speak softly. We don’t want to awaken her.” Laura poked the needle into the fabric. “Lady Atherton may wish to freshen up.”

  “Freshen up what?” he asked.

  Laura gave him an exasperated look. “I meant use the facilities…after we have tea.”

  “I think it would be better to wait. The next change is a better inn.”

  “I did not suggest we tour every inn on the king’s road. I meant we might have some refreshment to sustain us for the long journey.”

  “A quick cup of tea,” he said. “We will stop for luncheon at the Boar’s Inn. The food is plain but edible. They have excellent ale.”

  “You chose to stop there because of the ale?”

  “Yes, I always stop there when I travel.” He bumped her shoulder. “We won’t starve.”

  “I know.” She pulled the needle through the cloth. “Will you stay at Thornhill Park for the summer or return to London?”

  “I plan to invite Harry and Colin to travel with me to the Continent.”

  “Oh, where will you go?”

  “Paris, and wherever else the wind blows us,” he said.

  “How long will you travel?” she asked.

  “Only for the summer. And you?” he asked.

  “I will return home as soon as things are settled,” she said.

  “I’ll see you next spring in London,” he said.

  She kept her attention on her embroidery. “I won’t be there.”

  His chest tightened a little, but he told himself that this was bound to happen. When the season ended, they would both resume their old lives. He thought about asking if she would agree to a correspondence, but the question he’d asked himself before popped into his head. To what end?

  When the carriage rolled into the inn yard, Laura was anxious to visit the facilities. Perhaps it was that second cup of tea she’d drunk this morning.

  Bell was speaking to a man about the horses. “We will meet you inside,” she said.

  He frowned. “Wait. I’ll be just a moment.”

  Laura took Lady Atherton’s arm. “I can’t wait.”

  “Oh, dear, I hope you haven’t been uncomfortable too long.”

  “I am now,” she said, hurrying her step. Once inside, she applied to the innkeeper’s wife, who showed her to the facility. She relieved herself and splashed her hands in the water in the basin. When she returned to the entrance, Bell was pacing about. Lady Atherton raised her brows in answer.

  He strode over to her. “I asked you to wait.”

  Her face heated. “Obviously I couldn’t.”

  “Oh.” He looked a bit abashed and led them into the dining parlor. There were all manner of people inside. They were by far the wealthiest customers. Naturally, the innkeeper was solicitous and focused all of his attention on “his lordship.”

  A busty woman wearing a stained apron appeared at the table and regarded Bell as if he were a joint of beef she’d like to gnaw. Laura sniffed and lifted her chin. Bell requested tea for her and Lady Atherton. “I’d like a tankard of your good ale,” he said.

  The tavern wench hurried off, and Laura yawned.

  “Tired already?” Bell asked.

  “Probably from the motion of the carriage,” Lady Atherton said. “Always puts me right to sleep.”

  “Are you comfortable enough?” Laura asked.

  “Oh, yes, but perhaps you would like to lie down on the bench.”

  She shook her head. “I will be fine.”

  “You were exhausted last evening,” Lady Atherton said. “I hope you are not unwell.”

  “I think it is all the vexation over the last few days,” she said, “but I feel better knowing that my son will be safe.”

  “We will stop for the night at the Bear and Bull Inn. It is clean and the beds are not too uncomfortable. There is the noise from the yard, but hopefully you will be able to sleep,” Bell said.

  “That reminds me,” Lady Atherton said. “You had better take a second room for me. One of the unfortunate effects of old age is snoring.”

  “Very well, three rooms it is,” Bell said. “The servants can share.”

  The tavern wench set a tankard in front of Bell and managed to display even more of her large bosom for his inspection. After she left, Laura glared at him.

  He sipped the ale. “What is the matter?”

  “You ogled that tavern woman’s bosom,” she said.

  “She practically stuck them in my face.”

  Lady Atherton snorted.

  A few minutes later, the tavern wench reappeared with the tea. She put her hamlike hand on her hip and regarded Bell. “Anything else I can do for you, your lordship?”

  “I wish to settle up quickly. We must be off soon.”

  “Well, that’s a shame,” she said. “We don’t often get gents as handsome as you.”

  After she left, Laura narrowed her eyes.

  Bell shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t blame me.”

  Laura sighed and poured tea for herself and Lady Atherton. “Well, it’s not the best tea, but I’m grateful for it.”

  When she poured a second cup, Bell frowned.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Don’t drink too much,” he said. “I’d like to just do a quick change of horses at the next inn.”

  Lady Atherton set her cup aside. “Bellingham, I realize you are a bachelor and unaccustomed to traveling long distances with ladies, but may I remind you to act in a gentlemanly manner?”

  His ears grew hot. “I beg your pardon.”

  “It makes little difference what time we arrive at the Bear and Bull Inn,” Lady Atherton said.

  He thought it would make a big difference if they arrived only to find there were no rooms available, but he kept that to himself. He looked over his shoulder and lifted his hand in a signal for the ticket.

  “Please excuse me,” Laura said, rising.

&n
bsp; He stood and frowned, wondering if it was normal for a female to visit the facilities so often. Perhaps all of his complaining had made her anxious that he wouldn’t stop often enough. He cleared his throat. “I will check on the horses. Please take as much time as you need.”

  He had not traveled with females since boyhood and did not realize that women had to empty their bladders more often. He had deduced their bladders were small, because they frequently had to “freshen up.” They might avoid the problem by drinking fewer cups of tea, but he was smart enough not to make that suggestion again.

  He thought about his old traveling days with his male companions. No inns were necessary for their large bladders, which truly made no sense at all to him. If a human needed privacy to void their bladders, the bladders ought to be larger in order to accommodate their lack of external organs. Naturally, he did not share such thoughts with his female companions, who would think him coarse and unmannerly. They did not know that all males were coarse and unmannerly when ladies weren’t about.

  When they returned to the carriage after yet another stop, Bell thought they would be lucky to reach Thornhill Park by Christmas. But when he climbed inside, he saw the fatigue in Laura’s eyes and felt like a devil for being so impatient with the ladies. “You look thoroughly exhausted.”

  “I will be fine,” she said.

  Lady Atherton sat up. “I insist you lie down, Laura.”

  “No, I’ll curl up on the seat.”

  He set her sewing basket and workbox in the compartment beneath the seat to make more room. Then he knocked his cane on the roof.

  When the carriage rolled off, he beckoned her. “Take off your bonnet and lay your head on my shoulder.”

  She curled up next to him, and he put his arm around her.

  “I’m so tired,” she said. Then she closed her eyes and slept.

  Her lips parted a little. She twitched once, and he thought she looked a little vulnerable.

  “I worried her vexation is making her ill,” Lady Atherton said.

  The idea that she might be sick made his chest tighten. “We will stay at the inn an extra night if she requires more rest,” he said.

  “Reassure her that all will turn out well,” Lady Atherton said. “Remind her that you will not let anything happen to her son.”

  He nodded.

  “She has had to be strong for a very long time,” Lady Atherton said. “I’m glad you were there that day Montclief berated her for taking Justin to London.”

  “So am I,” he said.

  Laura awoke with a start.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “Lady Atherton is sleeping?”

  “Yes. You must tell me if you are feeling unwell.”

  “Truly, I will be fine. I think all the worrying caught up with me.”

  “Let me do the worrying,” he said.

  “I depend on you too much.”

  “There is nothing wrong with depending on me.”

  “I cannot become accustomed to it, because we will soon part ways.”

  “You may depend upon me during this journey and at my estate.”

  She covered a yawn. “You step in and take over everything. I suppose you are a natural ruler, due to the blood passed down to you from your marauding ancestors.”

  “I am an earl. I am supposed to rule over everyone in my domain.”

  “Did you ever wish that you were not the earl and had to rule?”

  “I didn’t for four years,” he said. “I hired men to do it. I had no intention of returning.”

  She looked up at him. “Why did you return?”

  “My friend Will was called home for his brother’s wedding. We thought to travel back to the Continent afterward, but Will was unable to return for financial reasons. And then he married.”

  “Did he intend to be a lifelong bachelor, too?” she asked.

  “He did not plan to marry, but he was caught in a compromising situation.”

  “Oh, dear, that must have been difficult for them.”

  “Despite the circumstances, they are happy and expecting a child in the summer.” He paused and added, “Another one of my friends recently married as well.”

  “Do you visit them?”

  “Not yet. I try to avoid situations where the hostess decides I must be in need of a wife.”

  “Do you ever think about what it would be like to have a wife?”

  His chest tightened. He’d thought about what it would be like to lose a wife.

  She cupped his cheek. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  She hesitated. “Is it the bad memories of your past?”

  “No.” He paused and said, “The good ones.”

  She laid her head against his heart. “I understand. After Phillip died, I would encounter some mundane object such as a shaving brush or a comb. It was strange that such things made me weep more than the many letters of condolences.”

  He placed his hand over her hair and said nothing more. The one admission was more than he’d ever revealed to anyone, except to his friend Will. Laura understood that much because she had lost her husband. But there was more than grief in his case. There was guilt.

  After a long, slow journey, Bell was eager to escape the carriage and stretch his legs. A porter appeared, and Bell doled out generous vales in order to hurry things along. They went to the dining parlor and dined on roasted chicken, potatoes, and cauliflower. It was adequate for an inn.

  While a maid showed the ladies upstairs, Bell waited in the dining parlor and drank a tankard of ale. When he finished it, he went upstairs. He hoped to sleep undisturbed tonight.

  Lady Atherton poked her head out of the room. Her hair was tied in rags. “I told the maid to bang on my door in the morning. I have been known to sleep through thunderstorms. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I am dead to the world.”

  He frowned, wondering why she felt it necessary to inform him of her sleeping habits.

  “Sweet slumbers,” she said, and let a maid out. The maid crossed over to Laura’s room.

  Bell went to his room and removed his coat and cravat. Several minutes later, a door creaked open. He looked out, startling Laura, who opened her door to let out the maid. The maid hurried down the stairs.

  “Is something wrong?” Laura asked, clutching a wrapper to her throat.

  “No, but Lady Atherton warned me she can sleep through thunderstorms. Why didn’t she just inform the maid?”

  “Shhhh,” Laura said. “She might hear you.”

  “Good night,” he said.

  Laura closed her door and he went inside his room. He removed his coat, waistcoat, and cravat. Then he sat on the edge of the bed to remove his boots and stockings. He walked to the basin and splashed water on his face. Gad, his heavy beard made him look like a pirate.

  He started to unbutton his trousers when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

  Bell opened his door at the same time as Laura. A different maid juggled towels in one arm and knocked on Lady Atherton’s room. When there was no answer, she turned, took one look at Bell’s bare chest, and fled to the stairs.

  He laughed and stepped out into the corridor.

  “Shhh,” Laura said. “We don’t want to wake Lady Atherton.”

  “I don’t hear any snores,” he said.

  “Keep your voice down. You might awaken other travelers.”

  “With all that racket out in the inn yard it hardly makes a difference.”

  A voice sounded from the stairs. “I tell you, there’s a half-naked man in the corridor.”

  “Alice, you got windmills in your head,” a woman said.

  “I tell you, I seen him with me own eyes. Knock on his door. You’ll see.”

  Laura motioned him with her hand. He shut his door and stepped into her room.

  She shut the door behind him and put her finger to her lips.

  Footsteps thudded down the c
orridor. A knock sounded on Bell’s door.

  “I don’t hear anything,” a woman said.

  “Open the door,” Alice said.

  “And get sacked for stealin’? Are you mad?”

  “He could be ravishing the womenfolk,” Alice said.

  Laura clapped her hand over her mouth. His shoulders shook with laughter.

  Their voices and footsteps faded away.

  Laura clutched him. “H-he c-could b-be ravishing the w-womenfolk.”

  He bent her backward. “Aha, my pretty. Be prepared to be ravished.”

  “Help, help,” she said weakly.

  He pulled her upright. “Lord, what a caper.”

  She pressed a hand to her chest. Belatedly, he realized she wore only a shift. He looked at her breasts and could see her nipples through the thin fabric. His groin tightened. “You are probably tired,” he said.

  “I’m wide awake,” she said. “I slept too long in the carriage, but I’m sure you’re tired and wish to go to bed.”

  “I’m wide awake, too.” And getting hot all over.

  “Perhaps a glass of wine would help us relax.”

  “It will be poor quality and undrinkable, but I brought a flask with brandy.”

  “Perhaps we could talk awhile until we are both sleepy.”

  “I will bring the brandy. You can drink a bit. It will relax both of us.”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” she said.

  He lit a candle and nudged the door open. Seeing no other travelers, he eased Laura’s door closed and stepped into his room. He grabbed the flask and eased the door open again. He felt like a schoolboy sneaking into her room, but he really didn’t want to drink alone.

  “We have no glasses, so you will have to lower yourself to drinking straight from the flask.”

  She grinned and patted the bed. “I figure you don’t want to sit on a hard chair.”

  “You figured right,” he said. His eyes lowered to the display of her breasts above her shift. Heat traveled to his cock, and he was breathing faster. He bit back the urge to tell her how much he liked what he’d seen and touched. “Have you ever tasted brandy?”

  “No, I imagine it is strong.”

  “Yes, it is. Take a tiny sip and don’t cough.”