Never Envy an Earl

by Regina Scott

  His family often said little during meals, but tonight the quiet weighed on him. Yvette remained with his mother, while Lilith and Villers had requested a tray instead of coming down to dinner. Gregory ate with Miss Thorn and Julian, but he might as well have been alone the way the two of them had eyes only for each other. As if loath to part from them, Miss Thorn remained after his staff had cleared away the food and left.

  “Given the news that came from London, how long do you intend for Yvette to continue at Carrolton Park?” she asked, gaze moving from Julian to Gregory.

  “For a while,” Julian said. “Though if her enemy followed us here, as she suspects, it would be best to keep her out of sight.”

  She nodded, then returned her gaze to Gregory. “And you have taken steps to protect her, my lord?”

  Gregory sat taller under her regard. “I have. Rest assured that she will be safe.”

  “And will you stay for the duration?” she asked Julian.

  “Alas, no,” he answered. “I’ll stay for a few days to make good the fiction of a house party, but I must let Lord Hastings know the latest development. I could escort you back to London, if you’d like.”

  She raised her chin. “I cannot leave while my client is in danger.”

  Gregory could have told Julian that patronizing smile would have ill effect. His words weren’t much better. “Now, dearest, she really isn’t your client. You were kind to escort her here to further the ruse of her being a paid companion, but you bear no responsibility for her.”

  Her jaw hardened. “Only the responsibility of a friend. Or do you still not understand the distinction?”

  Julian leaned back in his chair. “I thought we’d settled that.”

  Gregory glanced between them. The lady’s eyes flashed a warning. Julian’s look was implacable. Interesting. He’d always admired his friend’s carefree attitude. Little ruffled him, which was one of the traits that made him a good solicitor. It seemed Miss Thorn was the exception.

  She rose now, tall and imposing, and he and Julian stood as propriety demanded.

  “I should check on Fortune,” she said, voice decidedly chilly. “She, at least, has always supported my best interests. Good night, gentlemen.” She was out the door before either could respond.

  Julian fell back into his chair. “Well, that’s a leveler.”

  Gregory sat more slowly. He’d never considered himself good at these sorts of personal discussions, but he wanted to help his friend.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  Julian studied his hands on the white tablecloth. “Apparently so. Miss Thorn and I once had an understanding. I went to London to set myself up, so we could marry. She disappeared without a trace. She apparently wrote asking for my help after her mother died. The letters never reached me. She doesn’t think I tried hard enough to find her. She may be right.”

  He glanced up. “But how many times must I apologize? Can’t she see the man I have become?”

  “Apparently she expects more,” Gregory said. “You’d stay if you thought me in danger, yet you ask her to leave her friend behind.”

  “Because staying puts her in danger,” Julian protested. “Am I not allowed to put her needs first?”

  “Perhaps,” Gregory suggested, “you should ask her what she wants before telling her.”

  Julian blinked. “When did you grow so wise about women?”

  Gregory laughed. “I’m surrounded, old boy. I ought to have learned something.”

  Even if most days he wasn’t so sure of it.

  ~~~

  The countess had just finished her broth and bread, complaining between every bite, when Meredith arrived with Fortune. Yvette had never been so glad for the company. Though the earl had promised to return, the only other person she’d seen was Ada. The little maid took the tray to return it to the kitchen now.

  “I wanted to see how our patient is getting on,” Meredith said, approaching the bed. Fortune regarded the countess as if she were a particularly ripe piece of cheese.

  Lady Carrolton sneezed, a delicate squeak compared to her usual loud blows. It still made Fortune start.

  “You should have left the cat behind,” the countess said. “It cannot be sanitary in a sick room.”

  Meredith held Fortune closer as if concerned she might be taken from her. “I daresay she bathes more often than most people.”

  The countess drew herself up.

  Yvette spoke first. “As you can see, Miss Thorn, her ladyship has recovered her usual spirit. Now we just need to strengthen her enough to rise again.”

  Lady Carrolton made a face. “I won’t improve eating that slop Cook sent up tonight. Where’s my mutton? A nice filet of salmon?”

  “Tomorrow,” Yvette promised. “We must make sure the poison is out of your system first.”

  “Poison?” Meredith asked with a frown.

  The countess brightened. “Yes! You’ll never credit it. My physician tried to kill me.”

  Meredith’s brows shot up, and Lady Carrolton went into excruciating detail about the plot against her. At some point, Meredith released Fortune, who set about navigating the room, starting with the underskirts of the bed. Yvette let the countess talk. For once, she had a justifiable reason for being the center of attention.

  “I’m glad the earl turned him out,” Meredith said when the lady paused for breath.

  “Yes, but what am I to do about a physician now?” Lady Carrolton demanded.

  “Perhaps you have less need for one,” Yvette suggested. “You are strong of spirit, your ladyship. I suspect your body is not far behind.”

  Lady Carrolton sank lower in the bed, tugging up the covers. “Nonsense. I’m a frail old lady. Who knows how many days I have left?”

  “Who knows how many days any of us has left?” Yvette countered.

  Something thumped beside the bed. The countess clutched the covers. “What is that?”

  Meredith bent and retrieved Fortune. “Merely a curious kitty. She admires your red case, Lady Carrolton.”

  The lady began blinking her eyes. It was only a moment before she called for eye drops or a handkerchief. Yvette nudged the case under the bed.

  The door opened just then to admit Ada. Yvette rose from her chair and motioned the girl closer.

  “Here is Ada,” she told the countess. “She will comb your hair for bed. I’ll just step out with Miss Thorn. Ring if you need me.”

  By the light in the lady’s eyes, she couldn’t wait to take up her bell again.

  “You are handling her marvelously,” Meredith said when Yvette had closed the door behind them. She stroked Fortune, who wiggled as if determined to get down and explore the long corridor as she had the bedchamber. With a smile, Meredith bent and let her pet go free. The cat scampered down the carpet.

  “Lady Carrolton is a termagant,” Yvette agreed, watching the cat pounce on a bit of fluff drifting along the floor. “I have seen worse.”

  “I’d like to prevent you from seeing worse again,” Meredith said. “Julian wants me to return to London with him, but I cannot like leaving you alone when danger could be approaching.”

  Yvette shrugged. “I have lived with danger most of my life. I treasure your company, Meredith, but if you have business elsewhere, go.”

  She sighed. “I should look for my next client. Viscount Worthington has a sister unhappy in her role as chatelaine, I hear.”

  “You hear a great deal for having been gone from London for days.”

  She smiled. “I learned of the lady some time ago, but Patience Ramsey had greater need.” Her smile faded. “As do you.”

  Behind her, Yvette heard a door open. Fortune raised her head, fluff sticking out of one side of her mouth, then scampered back to Meredith’s side as Lady Lilith swept toward them. Her head was high, her gaze on the distance, as if unaware of their presence, or at least unwilling to acknowledge it.

  “Your mother is well, your ladyship,” Yvette called to her. �
��She is preparing to sleep just now.”

  That drew her up short. She eyed Meredith. “I hope you didn’t bring that cat into the room.”

  Meredith bent and picked up her pet. “I bring Fortune everywhere with me. But I didn’t stay long. I didn’t want to tire your mother. And I wanted to explain that I will be returning to London with Mr. Mayes and Mr. Villers.”

  Meredith had explained that to Yvette, not the countess, but then, Lady Lilith was not aware of the relationship between Meredith and her mother’s new companion.

  At the mention of their other guests, something sparked in Lady Lilith’s pale eyes. “Mr. Villers is leaving?”

  “In a day or so,” Meredith said. She turned to Yvette. “But I will stay if I am needed.”

  “We will be fine,” Yvette assured her.

  With a nod, Meredith excused herself and took Fortune off.

  “It seems you made a friend,” Lady Lilith commented. The tone lacked its usual bite.

  “Mais oui,” Yvette agreed. “Friends are far better than enemies. I am not your enemy, you know.”

  Lady Lilith kept her gaze on her mother’s door. “I know.”

  “But perhaps Mr. Villers is?”

  It was a calculated shot. Lady Lilith had been so vague about the matter when she’d spoken with her brother and the countess. Yvette fully expected fire and brimstone to rain down on her now for being so impertinent as to ask.

  Instead, Lady Lilith washed white. “You’ve heard the rumors, then?” she asked, hands worrying before her dark gown.

  So, there was some scandal involved. Did the earl know? Doubtful, or he would never have allowed the fellow in the house. Still, it explained Beau Villers’s reticence in accepting the invitation.

  Yvette made herself shrug, hoping to encourage a confidence.

  “They aren’t true,” Lady Lilith hurried to assure her. “He didn’t take advantage of me.”

  Quelle! What had she stumbled into? “And he should not,” Yvette scolded.

  She dropped her gaze. “No, of course not. He merely showed interest that some remarked on as unseemly—singling me out to walk alone in the park, meeting me to ride three days in a row. He raised expectations. But he wasn’t the fellow for me. In truth, I think he wanted me to introduce Gregory to his sister.”

  Mr. Villers had apparently tried to interest her friend Harry in his sister Lydia as well. He had been shocked last month to discover she preferred the appellation of bluestocking to wife. Lydia Villers was happily engaged as an assistant to the amateur apothecary Augusta Orwell, Harry’s aunt, who was trying to develop the perfect healing balm for skin conditions.

  “Mr. Villers has that reputation,” Yvette commiserated. “I am glad he did not ruin yours.”

  Her mouth tightened. “A kiss on the hand on a moonlit balcony should not count as compromise.”

  “No indeed,” Yvette agreed, watching her. “Yet you are hiding from him as if you had cause for shame.”

  She raised her head at last. “My shame is that I did not manage to attract his interest. Father forbid me to encourage him. But Mr. Villers was easily the most presentable, the most stimulating man ever to show his appreciation of me. I would do anything to capture him as my own.”

  Yvette stared at her. So much passion, for Beau Villers? Yet how could she doubt the lady? Eyes flashing, color high, she was every bit the winged fury, the avenging angel. Mr. Villers would have to have been a fool not to see the lady’s attributes. A shame he actually was a bit of an idiot.

  Yet if he could make Lady Lilith happy, why not encourage the match? Surely the earl would not oppose it as his father had.

  “You could still have him,” Yvette informed her. “He failed to marry off his sister, but he still craves entrance to the aristocracy, I think. Show him you can give him that. Show him the vibrant woman that you are.”

  She blinked. “Me? Vibrant?”

  Yvette put her hands on her hips. “Hair like night, eyes like lightning, figure better than that of a Greek statue. What man would refuse?”

  She touched her hair as if she had never considered herself in such a light.

  “All you need do is encourage him,” Yvette insisted. “Be bright, be delightful. Flirt, flatter his consequence. The usual things ladies do to attract the male.”

  Her hand and face fell. “Oh, French, I have no experience in such things.”

  Yvette lowered her hands. “And I have enough experience for us both. I will show you. Together, we will be invincible.”

  Chapter Eight

  All his guests and family presented themselves for breakfast the next morning. Gregory wasn’t sure what to make of it. Not knowing their preferences, he instructed Marbury to keep the sideboard loaded—ham, kippered salmon, and bacon; poached eggs in cream sauce; pickled asparagus; and various pastries. Julian and Villers loaded their plates, and Perkins assisted Meredith, Yvette, and the countess, who looked far better than she had yesterday.

  Lilith was the last to enter, head high and steps graceful. The men popped to their feet, and Villers nearly spit out his tea.

  “Please, don’t trouble yourselves on my account,” she insisted with a regal wave before going to select her breakfast.

  Gregory and the others sat, but not before he caught Yvette smiling as if she knew something he didn’t.

  Conversation remained congenial, with enough people asking after his mother’s health that she glowed with pleasure. Villers showed Lilith similar attention, insisting on filling her plate the second time himself. His sister gazed after the fellow wistfully. Perhaps he should ask Julian a few more questions about the intelligence agent while they were riding around the estate this morning.

  His mother had other ideas.

  “I shall go outside,” she announced as breakfast was ending.

  Julian met Gregory’s gaze and shook his head ever so slightly. Right. While fresh air would do his mother good, she would no doubt expect Yvette to accompany her and they didn’t want to advertise her presence.

  “You are still recovering, Mother,” Gregory tried.

  Her face tightened. “I feel much better. French says I must get out more.”

  Yvette smiled. “Indeed you should. What about the courtyard in front of the house? We should be sheltered there from any cool breeze.”

  And any prying eyes. Gregory nodded. “Excellent idea.”

  “Bon. I’m sure you wish to join us, Lady Lilith.”

  Lilith, who had been smiling across the table at Villers, started. “Yes, yes of course.” She turned to Gregory. “That is, if you and your friends will join us as well.”

  Julian’s smile was polite. “Certainly.”

  And so a short time later they all regrouped in the flagstone-tiled courtyard between the north and south wings. The construction had been designed to allow the sun-heated stone to help warm the house in winter, while breezes during the summer cooled the stone and house. Marbury brought out a chair for the countess, who sat with her usual queenly air, surveying the rest of them. But instead of sitting in one of the other chairs that had been set up near her, with a view out the portico to the lawn and woods beyond, his sister brought out battledore rackets.

  Miss Thorn declined, but Yvette seized one, and she and Lilith were soon batting the feathered cork back and forth, their skirts fluttering. His mother and Miss Thorn watched, calling encouragement and applauding. Villers hung behind them, looking a bit like a moon-struck calf.

  “What do you know of Mr. Villers?” Gregory asked Julian as they strolled along the portico.

  Julian shook his head. “He’s a decided nuisance, if you ask me. For years he shoved his poor sister into the arms of any titled gentleman who made the mistake of looking twice, hoping to worm his way further into Society through her marriage. Now he seems to have decided his fortunes will be made in espionage. I suspect he’s just gathering intelligence he can use for blackmail.”

  Gregory stared at him. “As bad as that?”r />
  Julian smiled consolingly. “At least he’ll be leaving shortly.”

  Gregory glanced to where Villers was enthusiastically applauding his sister, whose color was high as she curtsied in his direction. “Could he have feelings for Lilith?”

  “Doubtful,” Julian said, deflating the last of his hopes. “Your sister has a way of scaring off suitors.”

  Marbury approached just then, and Gregory nodded for his man to speak.

  “I have been informed,” he said, falling into step beside Gregory and Julian, “that the gamekeeper encountered a stranger in the woods last evening. He believed the fellow to be a poacher, but I thought you would want to know, my lord.”

  Julian jerked to a stop, and Gregory and the butler paused as well.

  “Do you have a description?” Julian demanded. “A location?”

  “I regret that it was dark,” Marbury said. “The most we know is that the fellow appeared to be dressed in rough clothing. And as to location, I believe it was in the woods overlooking the back of the house.”

  Julian met Gregory’s gaze. “It could be our man.”

  “Or a poacher, as my gamekeeper noted,” Gregory replied. “We don’t get many, but it is early in the season with not much available to harvest. Someone might be hungry enough to risk it.”

  Julian glanced at the players. While he and Gregory had spoken, Villers had traded places with Yvette and was lobbing the shuttlecock to Lilith. She returned it with far more force, making Villers dive for it.

  “There’s one way to know for sure,” Julian murmured, fingers stroking his chin. “Allow him to view his prize and see if he takes the bait.”

  Heat flushed up Gregory, and it was all he could do to keep his voice civil. “That will be all, Marbury. Thank you.”

  With a bow, his butler moved to the side of the courtyard.

  “You asked me to keep Miss de Maupassant safe,” Gregory told Julian. “Do not ask me to risk her life.”