Earl of Carlyle (The Rogue Gentlemen Series Book 2)

by Angela Conrad

  “I realize it now. Never having spent any time with either gentleman before I had no idea how unsuited they were for marriage. They have proven themselves a disappointment at every turn. If I had known I would never have sent Viscount Winston to sea,” the marquis said. Then his head snapped up and he sighed deeply when he saw the flash of anger in Sara’s pale gray eyes.

  “You sent uncle on that voyage? To rid yourself of your two troublesome cousins?” Sara asked tightly.

  “I didn’t know you both then,” he defended. “I thought Bristol and Darlington high spirited, full of youthful excess, not spoiled fools. Sara, I want what’s best for you and your sister. I will not see you unhappy. I will fix this.”

  “And this Lord Cunningham is not really coming here?” Sara asked quietly.

  “No. I believe he’s still in the West Indies.”

  “Then there is no need for Audrey or myself to remain at Riverside. Lady Whistle will be quite disappointed, she’s spoken of nothing else but supervising the making of two wedding gowns.”

  “Sara, Carlyle, and I would both be honored to wed you and your sister.”

  “What? You aren’t serious. Why, Sandshire, you need not mock us too. We will leave immediately.”

  “I’m not mocking. I would like to see you and I wed. I think we have many things in common.”

  “Like cultivation and constructing stone walls. Yes, very romantic. No, Lord Sandshire. We could not make a marriage out of that,” Sara said as she turned and began walking back towards the house.

  PART EIGHT

  Summer Garden

  Doubts

  I

  “Sara, are you sure this was our wisest choice?” Audrey asked her sister two weeks after their return from Riverside. “With uncle gone to sea for so long, he cannot sign over certain gifts and documents to us as he used to do. The profit from the sale of those two colts did not go into the Sumer Garden accounts as before.”

  “I noticed,” Sara frowned. “And while the village venders will still accept our produce, the larger cities and towns have refused to deal with a woman as an estate agent.”

  One sad pair of fine gray eyes looked into the other matching pair.

  “We should have accepted the young lords,” Audrey said quietly.

  “Audrey, really. We could not have been good wives to such men. And they were incapable of being good husbands,” Sara replied.

  “We have received no correspondence from uncle. He has sailed out of our reach,” Audrey lamented. “And I miss that great house of Riverside and its grounds. Once seeing such a place I have found it hard to adapt to our sheltered surroundings.”

  “You’re not fooling me, dear sister. You don’t miss a building, you miss the Earl of Carlyle,” Sara said kindly.

  “No more than you are missing the Marquis of Sandshire,” Audrey replied.

  Again, their identical eyes met.

  “We had so little time to develop a proper understanding of them,” Sara said, defending her decision to leave Riverside with some anger. “The marquis was a disappointment.”

  “A disappointment?” Audrey asked turning her delicate neck and adjusting her skirt. “What haven’t you told me?”

  “Nothing,” Sara said sweetly.

  “Sara, what are you hiding?” Audrey pressed.

  “The marquis and I might have discussed you and Carlyle making a fine match,” Sara said sighing.

  “Perhaps Carlyle might have made such a sacrifice?” Audrey said with some fire in her own voice now.

  “You must sympathize. He was speaking to his father. The earl did not like his choice being made for him and I believe he spoke that way to make a point of his own independence. You know how gentlemen are,” Sara said calming down.

  “No,” Audrey laughed. “I don’t know how gentlemen are, for I have little experience with that breed. A pug I understand. An Arabian I can train to my will, a man…that is a mystery.”

  “We have been sheltered too much,” Sara agreed. “I know the seasons for planting, how to balance the price of wheat to my harvest, and what to do when a dam breaks. A man I can do nothing with but feel disappointed when he does not read my mind.”

  “Marquis of Sandshire could not read that you were madly in love with him?” Audrey guessed.

  Sara gasped and then nodded. “I loved him on sight. That wild black hair and those deep blue eyes, the way he stood proudly daring the world to come at him and try to break him. His sense of humor in the evenings, his ability to play any hand of cards he was dealt with. That secret smile he shared with his son over some inside jest directed at Lord Darlington or the way he played Lord Bristol by giving him just enough rope to hang himself.”

  “My,” Audrey breathed.

  “His understanding of the land and its purpose, the way he treated his tenants, and the management of his staff,” Sara continued until she noticed Audrey’s big smile.

  “Go on, I’m sure there’s more,” Audrey teased.

  “I could go on,” Sara grinned. “I was head over heels in love with that man and his crime was that he could not see it.”

  “Sister, you played your cards too closely. I scarcely saw any partiality for the marquis from you, how was he to see it?” Audrey asked.

  “Did I? I was afraid to be too obvious and then there was Lord Bristol around all the time and I was trying to gauge him,” Sara said sadly. “You think the marquis didn’t notice that I favored him?”

  “Sara, he could not have guessed. You must write to him!” Audrey suggested.

  “Write to him? And say what? How could I lure him here?” Sara asked seriously.

  “Say that your sister is pining for the sight of Earl of Carlyle. That she won’t eat or sleep and that she haunts the halls at night weeping,” Audrey grinned.

  “Are you?” Sara gasped.

  “Of course not…well, I do miss him and thought him a very fine gentleman. You remember, I spoke about him quite often in private,” Audrey confessed.

  “Yes, I recall even Lady Whistle weeping at our leaving and whispering too loudly that she thought a wedding with the earl was almost at hand. You did try to impress him with your wild jumping of hedges and streams,” Sara said kindly.

  “I was trying for Lord Darlington’s favor,” Audrey laughed.

  “In a pig’s eye. You never cared a whit for that fancy young lord. No, it was the earl you were trying to impress,” Sara said.

  “Oh, sister. What fools we were. Housed there at the fabulous Riverside mansion with such fine gentlemen and both of us blundering around, sending little signals they couldn’t possibly understand, and hoping they might read our minds and love us in return,” Audrey said sadly.

  “The earl does love you, Audrey. You didn’t see it but I did.”

  “He doesn’t,” Audrey replied with a touch of hope in her voice.

  “He does. He never stopped looking at you. The Earl of Carlyle knew you were invited for Lord Darlington. He could not approach you and try for your hand. But he admired you greatly. I could see those wonderful green eyes watching your every move,” Sara said.

  “Then write the marquis. Tell him I am wasting away from grief that I miss the earl and will perish of a broken heart,” Audrey said with happy energy.

  “I shall write to him right now,” Sara said rushing to the Queen Anne secretary. “I will convince him that they are both needed here immediately.”

  “Then I must finish my new gowns for the occasion, and Sara, thank you. You and I will find happiness yet,” Audrey smiled. “And neither gentleman spoke the rogue’s insincere words once, did they?”

  “No,” Sara replied. “Not one,

  “I will explain everything tomorrow.”

  “I love that sweet voice of yours.”

  “You are so tenderhearted.”

  “The more I see you the prettier you get.”

  Audrey clapped with glee.

  “Oh, Sara. How silly we were to think certain phrases defi
ned a gentleman’s character,” Audrey said.

  “Yes,” Sara said laying out her best stationery. “Like a secret code where none really exists.”

  “No,” Audrey said. “A man is defined by his words and his behavior. His actions and his feelings for others, not just himself. I saw quality in both the marquis and his son. They were gentlemen with not only a worldly bearing but also kindness and humor in their voices. Sometimes I thought I could see right into Earl of Carlyle’s very soul.”

  “My,” Sara said with a grin, “Go on, I’m sure there’s more.”

  “Oh stop your teasing and write that letter. Tell the marquis I am turning into a tragic watering pot,” Audrey said with a wide grin. “Time is wasting and you haven’t written a word.”

  PART NINE

  Riverside

  Results

  I

  “Carlyle, come into my study,” Marquis of Sandshire said with a bit of sharpness in his voice.

  “You’re in a foul mood, what’s the matter?” Carlyle asked entering his father’s study and sitting casually in a nearby chair.

  “Audrey Winston is at death’s door,” the marquis growled staring at his heir.

  “What?” Carlyle shouted standing and walking close enough to lean over his father’s large shoulders and read parts of Sara Winston’s letter.

  “Hasn’t eaten?”

  “Walks the halls at night weeping?”

  “Lays for hours on her bed staring at the ceiling?”

  “That doesn’t sound a bit like Audrey,” Carlyle grumbled trying to slide another sheet of the letter from his father’s hands.

  “Sara writes that her sister is missing you so desperately that she can’t be expected to live much longer,” the marquis said studying his son’s expressions.

  When the Earl of Carlyle burst into shouts of laughter, the marquis jumped and stared at his son as if he’d gone mad.

  “You find this amusing?” Sandshire asked.

  “Gratifying!”

  “Excellent!”

  “Superior news. Sara loves you and she is using her sister obviously to force you to visit them. Well done, father. You have involved her heart. Sara Winston must love you madly to write such rot about her well-grounded sister,” Carlyle said resuming his comfortable seat and reaching for a cheroot.

  “And if it’s true?” Sandshire asked though he now looked more relaxed and less upset.

  “True? Can you imagine a beautiful woman like Audrey roaming the hallways and sobbing over the loss of me? It’s preposterous,” Carlyle said, then added, “Though I think she might miss me a little.”

  “And do you miss her?” The marquis asked.

  Carlyle looked into his father’s dark eyes and answered, “Madly.”

  “I thought as much!” The marquis crowed.

  “I let your plan with Darlington and Bristol play out and no one enjoyed the sight of Bristol driving a little pony cart off the grounds with that red-haired fright sitting beside him more than I did. Her raving and whining with such a coarse accent that I barely understood every fifth word. And Darlington riding beside them, berating Bristol for being responsible for the loss of their generous allowance. Father, it was hilarious.”

  “Well, I did enjoy the look on both of their faces when I gave them the enlistment papers,” the marquis smiled. “Let the military make decent men of them for I have washed my hands of them both.”

  “Now that they are out of the picture, I had intended to visit this place, Summer Garden. Both Sara and Audrey spoke of it so lovingly that I thought I might enjoy seeing it too,” Carlyle said lighting his cheroot and blowing smoke up into the chilly air.

  “I heard of their prosperous orchards and fields, I might also wish to see it,” the marquis said calling for the butler.

  “And Audrey’s jumping course, it sounded so reckless and dangerous, I might need to try it,” Carlyle said and then adjusting his shirt cuff he added, “I admired everything about Audrey Winston. I have fallen in love with her. I know it sounds too careless, too soon, too…”

  “Too impossible to believe,” the marquis finished. “I know the feeling for I too love Sara Winston. I still can’t believe the strength of my emotion.”

  “It is remarkable,” the earl agreed.

  The butler bowed at the doorway and the marquis instructed that their bags be packed, the valets alerted, and their horses made ready.

  “Then there is no ignoring it,” the marquis said.

  “No denying it,” Carlyle added.

  “No use wasting more time thinking it might go away,” Sandshire muttered.

  “I fear my feelings will stay with me forever. Audrey is a superior lady. Beauty, brains, a fearless rider, an excellent card player, a lovely dancer, and the sweetest heart,” Carlyle said with a smile.

  “And Sara is a woman who can make me happy. She understands and excels at all my interests. She’s witty and caring. Superior looks and breeding, everything I admire in a lady,” the marquis said then added with a chuckle, “and she promises to know a cure for my gout.”

  “Then, the hearts want what the hearts want. We must go to Summer Garden and claim our brides,” Carlyle said grounding out his cheroot and standing.

  “Carlyle, I am pleased. Excited. We have stumbled into our happiness,” the marquis said also standing and walking towards the doorway.

  “Yes we have, father,” the earl agreed.

  “I never thought I would marry again. I believed that once I lost my first love, no strong emotion would ever visit me for a second time. Over the years, I have not even been tempted to remarry. Now I can think of no other way to continue my life except with Sara by my side,” the marquis said.

  “Let’s ride father, the day is bright, the weather clear. And bring that letter. I wish to read it all again, it is superbly written, the most tragic scenes,” Carlyle laughed.

  “Yes, the young lady has passages in her letter right out of Shakespeare. How marvelous,” the marquis said grinning. “I do enjoy a touch of the dramatic. On to Summer Garden then. It’s time for both of us to come up to scratch.”

  PART TEN

  Happiness

  They’re Here

  I

  “They’re here!” Sara called up the stairs, “Audrey, the lords are here.”

  “Yes, I watched them riding down the long lane. How magnificent they both look, almost like brothers,” Audrey called down from the upstairs landing.

  “You look beautiful, Audrey but aren’t they traveling here because you are at death’s door? Shouldn’t you be pale, your hair tied about your head plainly?” Sara suggested, and then she chuckled at the face her sister made back to her.

  “I will not greet Carlyle looking less than my best. We shall say I’ve had a full recovery,” Audrey suggested.

  “From love?” Sara smiled. “What was the cure?”

  “Why, your clever letter of course, and my faith that it would be answered,” Audrey said walking down the stairs slowly so as not to mess the soft flounce riding at the bottom of her new day gown.

  “You look beautiful in that shade of blue. Oh, Audrey, my heart is racing. I am so thrilled that they came so quickly when we received their note I only half believed it was true,” Sara said patting the glorious mass of pale golden hair at her neck.

  “Why wouldn’t they come?” Audrey grinned, then leaning closer she whispered, “They both love us as much as we love them, I am sure of it.”

  “But, Audrey, Sandshire is a wealthy marquis and Carlyle is an earl, they are very fine and privileged gentlemen. We are…”

  “Daughters of a dead viscount, yes I know but they don’t care. Look! They are both smiling at us gossiping on the front stairs. How anxious we must both look,” Audrey said trying to appear calm.

  “Here they are, now what do we say to them?” Sara asked suddenly doubting their little scheme. “You begin.”

  “Me? You sent the letter.”

  “You asked me to
.”

  “I did not.”

  Sara grinned. “We sound like Darlington and Bristol.”

  Audrey giggled and pinched her sister’s arm. “You started it.”

  Reunited

  II

  “They appear happy to see us,” Carlyle said dismounting. Handing the reins of his favorite Arabian to the stableman, he turned to view his father’s face light up at the sight of Sara Winston. My Lord, he really loves that lady, Carlyle thought. I have never seen him happier since mother died. It’s remarkable.

  “Yes, both of them seem very happy and well indeed. Your appearance has cured young Audrey. She appears radiant and not at all at death’s door,” the marquis said drily.

  “Dear Marquis of Sandshire and Earl Carlyle welcome to Summer Garden,” Sara said softly to the approaching gentlemen.

  As Audrey rose from her deep curtsy, she looked up into the green eyes of the earl and saw the love resting there. Her heart beat faster and she gave him her most radiant smile. “Lords, we are so delighted to see you both. Come inside.”

  With all the commotion in the entry, the valets shown to the gentlemen’s rooms, the housekeeper fussing about, the wine poured and drank, the mood remained joyful.

  There were comments about the small but perfectly decorated manor house, the neatness of the rock walls, walkways and rose arbors, and the bright-red new horse barn placed so perfectly at the side of the yard.

  A small dinner was served, local fair, roast pheasant, garden vegetables, butter biscuits, and fruit puddings. The eyes of both gentlemen and ladies glanced discreetly away and then stared directly at different intervals. There was much smiling and bursts of laughter as the conversation drifted to the subjects of Lords Darlington and Bristol. Sara described her first sighting of Bristol’s mistress, Samantha walking the dusty outer road of Riverside waving a pink parasol over her shoulders.