The Reclusive Earl

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  He scowled but hurried out of the room, scampering faster than the ladies had. She had to admit that she was impressed. She had no idea how many gentlemen her brother had managed to strike the fear of God into, but it was nice that the mere mention of his name was enough to send the rats running.

  “We should get out of here, Landon,” Guy whispered to the gentleman standing next to him. As the two approached, she stepped aside, and Guy gave her an apologetic smile. “Our apologies. We didn’t think to ask your brother for permission.”

  She smiled in return. “You didn’t need his permission. I only wanted to get rid of those four. They weren’t very nice.”

  “Thank you,” Guy said.

  He gestured for Landon to leave with him, but she asked Landon, “May I have a word with you?”

  Landon frowned in confusion, and Guy replied, “Is this necessary?”

  “I have something I want to tell him, and I’d rather do it in private,” she said.

  Guy glanced uneasily between her and Landon. “Is that a good idea?”

  “My brother will be here soon, and,” she gestured to Landon, “he doesn’t look like he’s going to do anything indecent to me.” Then, just to make sure, she asked him, “Will you?”

  Looking appalled, Landon shook his head. “No.”

  “That’s what I thought.” She motioned for him to stay in the room. “I won’t take more than a few minutes. I promise.”

  Guy cleared his throat until Landon looked at him. “I’ll be in the ballroom.”

  After Guy left, she closed the door and locked it in case one of the ladies returned.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Landon told her.

  “Why? You’re the type who’s honest,” she said. Then, hoping to put him at ease, she smiled. “I’ve had enough experience with people to know who is safe and who isn’t.”

  She went over to him, and to her surprise, he took a step back. She grew still and studied him. He didn’t seem afraid of her, but there was no doubt he was apprehensive.

  “I only wanted to warn you that there are some people, like those three ladies, who like to laugh at others,” she began. “The reason I interrupted the conversation had to do with them. It had nothing to do with the business you and the other gentlemen were doing. They were finding amusement in the way you speak, and I wished to inform you of it in case you planned to dance with any of them. They are not the type you should be marrying. A gentleman should have the respect of his wife.”

  He didn’t answer right away, and when he did, his words came out slowly. This was probably his attempt to avoid saying anything with the letter “s” in it.

  “I will not get married,” he said. “Thank you for your concern.”

  He watched her expectantly, and it took her a moment to realize he was waiting for her to reply.

  “In that case, I suppose the warning wasn’t necessary.” She offered him another smile. “I won’t keep you.”

  The doorknob jiggled, and then someone was knocking. “Opal,” her brother’s familiar voice came from the other end.

  She went to the door and opened it, surprised when her brother didn’t look the least bit happy. “What’s wrong? Did someone tell you I was wrong for speaking boldly to those three ladies? Because if that’s so, I assure you they deserved it.”

  “It’s not that.” Warren glanced at Landon, and seeming to be relieved, he gestured for her to get out of the room. “You can’t be in here alone with a gentleman you’re not related to.”

  “I know, but I had something of a private manner to share with him,” she insisted.

  “We didn’t do anything wrong,” Landon spoke up, his words coming out fast, his face turning bright red.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean that,” she hurried to assure Warren. “That wasn’t the private matter. It had to do with his…”

  She wasn’t sure if she should say this in front of him or not. He had to be sensitive about it. But since she couldn’t think of anything else that would wipe the concerned expression off of Warren’s face, she had to come out and say it.

  “Ladies were in here, hiding behind that chair over there,” she said, pointing to it. “I overheard them making fun of him for the way he speaks. I just wanted to warn him so he didn’t marry any of them. It’s obvious by his nice clothes that he has lots of money, and a lot of ladies want a wealthy husband.”

  Warren relaxed. “In that case, I suppose it’s all right, but I wouldn’t advise this in the future.”

  “I wouldn’t advise anything like this in the future, either,” came a gentleman’s outraged voice.

  Warren glanced over his shoulder, and she followed his gaze. Frowning, she watched as the older gentleman, who’d been trying to get more money out of Guy and Landon, stormed over to them. A few people were on his heels.

  “What is the meaning of this, Lord Asheley?” Warren asked him.

  “I was about to ask you the same thing.” Lord Asheley stopped as soon as he reached them. “Do you approve of your sister being alone with a gentleman she’s not related to?”

  Warren understood the implication of his meaning before she did because he was already denying anything inappropriate had been going on by the time heat rose up in her cheeks. She glanced at Landon, and his face went white as a sheet.

  “I was here with them the entire time,” Warren said. “She was never alone with him.”

  “I would like to believe that, but I have a witness who says otherwise.” Lord Asheley turned to the gentleman next to him.

  Warren narrowed his eyes. “Neither you nor,” he glared at the gentleman who was next to Lord Asheley, “Lord Comwright are trustworthy.”

  Lord Comwright smirked. “Your problem is that I happened to be talking to this lady and her mother when Lord Asheley came over to ask me to protect your sister’s reputation.” His gaze went to the two ladies standing next to him. “Didn’t you say you saw Lord Steinbeck talking to his wife just moments ago?”

  The two ladies seemed hesitant to speak, and the younger one looked as if she wished she were anywhere else but here. “Well…um… yes,” she whispered, glancing down at the floor.

  “It’s no use lying to everyone,” Lord Asheley told Warren. “We know the truth, and we also know you hurried here to save your sister before Lord Farewell could ravish her.”

  Landon’s jaw hung open. “Ravith?” he blurted out.

  From the hallway, a couple of the people chuckled.

  Landon shut his mouth, his face turning an even brighter shade of red.

  Warren’s face also went red, but it had nothing to do with embarrassment. “Asheley and Comwright, you are both notorious for your objectionable behavior. I’m sure no one here believes anything you’re saying.”

  “No one can believe you, either, since you weren’t here to see what was going on between your sister and Lord Farewell,” Comwright challenged. “Judging by the guilty expression on Lord Farewell’s face, I say we are well within our rights to be suspicious.”

  “No, you’re not,” Opal spoke up. “He didn’t put a hand on me.”

  “So it was you who instigated things?” Asheley asked, turning his attention to her.

  This, in turn, prompted the others to stare at her, too.

  “No!” Opal couldn’t believe this was even happening. If Asheley had left the townhouse like she wanted, none of this would be an issue right now. “Neither one of us did anything improper.”

  Comwright leaned toward Asheley and snickered. “I think the lady protests too much.”

  “You will leave at once,” Warren told them. “If you don’t, I will have the butler throw you out. I will not tolerate these lies in my townhouse.”

  Comwright shrugged. “Lies or not, it’s going to be featured in the Tittletattle tomorrow morning. If you want to save your sister’s reputation, you’ll have to marry her to Lord of the Lisps.”

  At this, more chuckles came from the hallway, and this time Opal noted tha
t a group had grown to at least twenty people.

  “You’re going to regret this,” Warren vowed. “I will see to it that both of you pay for what you just did.”

  “No one at White’s likes you,” Asheley told him. “They only talk to you because they want your advice on making money. It has nothing to do with you personally.”

  Warren opened his mouth to answer, but the two were already making their way toward the entryway of the townhouse. A long moment passed between everyone, and no one moved, much less said a peep.

  Then, all at once, Warren was ordering everyone to get back to the ball. And just like that, they were all rushing off down the hall.

  Opal didn’t want to look at Landon. She honestly didn’t think her actions would lead to this. Undoubtedly, he was upset with her. Her brother wasn’t bound to be all that pleased, either, but he knew her well enough to know she spoke the truth. Landon, on the other hand, might assume she had done this all to trap him into marriage.

  After a moment, Warren turned back to them. “Both of you have a seat.”

  Taking a deep breath, Opal steadied herself for what was to come and went to the couch.

  Chapter Four

  Landon hesitated to sit. In fact, he found it difficult to move at all. He ran through the events of the evening in his mind. He’d come here with Guy to pay Asheley the money Guy owed him. They all agreed to come to this room so the payment could be made in private.

  Then the blonde lady with the pink gown—the one who’d caught his interest in the ballroom—opened the door and started ordering people out of the room. Before he knew what was happening, it was just the two of them, something that made it hard to concentrate since all he could think about was how beautiful she was.

  And now he was engaged to her? All because of some vendetta Asheley had against her and her brother? Did Asheley do it because he thought her marriage to him would be a punishment?

  The question was ridiculous. Of course, the marriage was meant to be a punishment. Landon was the laughingstock of London. The lady could have any gentleman she wished. But now she was going to be stuck with him. All because of some pettiness on Asheley’s part. Landon knew the gentleman was rotten, but he’d sorely underestimated how deep that rottenness went.

  “Lord Farewell,” Lord Steinbeck said.

  Swallowing, Landon forced himself to look the lady’s brother in the eye. It took all of his willpower to keep his gaze steady, but he managed it because it was a matter of showing Steinbeck the respect due to him.

  Her brother motioned for him to sit on the couch. “If you please?”

  Well, there was no way he was going to get out of this. He was sure the gossip was ablaze in the ballroom. Everyone in London was so easily scandalized, even if so many of the people did things far worse in private.

  Landon trudged over to the couch and sat next to her, careful not to touch her. Not that keeping his distance was a problem. He was so horrified by the strange series of events that he wouldn’t dare touch her. He couldn’t even look at her. The shame was just too much. She’d probably be crying once she realized just how pathetic he was.

  Steinbeck was ready to shut the door when Guy ran into the room.

  “Whatever Lord Asheley said, it’s not true,” Guy told Steinbeck, out of breath. “My brother isn’t the type who would engage in a scandal. He’s always been the very image of propriety. Please, you must believe me. Lord Asheley is lying.”

  “I know, but it doesn’t change anything,” Steinbeck said. “Opal has to marry your brother. There’s no undoing the rumors.”

  Opal. So that was her name. Landon rather liked it. His mother’s favorite gemstone had been the opal because of the wide range of colors it could contain. The very complexity of its colors makes it the most interesting of all gemstones, she’d once said.

  “But, but…” Guy glanced over at Landon, desperation in his voice.

  What could Landon tell him? He knew Guy never would have left him alone with Opal if he’d known what was going to happen. This wasn’t his fault any more than it was Opal’s or his.

  “Go to your wife,” Landon told his brother. “I’ll be all right.” He couldn’t give the same assurance to Opal or her brother, but at least he could do it for Guy.

  “I’m sorry,” Guy said, his voice almost a whisper.

  Landon gave him a look to let him know that he appreciated the sentiment.

  Shoulders slumped, Guy left, and Steinbeck shut the door. He went to the chair across from Landon and Opal. After he sat down, he crossed his legs and folded his hands over his lap as he studied him.

  Landon wished he could still maintain eye contact with him, but his strength failed him. He’d heard snippets about how imposing Steinbeck could be, and now that he was witnessing this firsthand, he couldn’t bring himself to keep looking directly at him.

  “You can’t be upset with him,” Opal spoke up, pointing to Landon. “I was the one who insisted he stay in the room with me.”

  “You didn’t know what wa-” Landon stopped himself before he finished the word was with a lisp. How he hated his speech impediment! It made it hard to come up with the right words to say something without looking like a fool. “No one knew what would happen,” he finally said.

  “I’m not blaming either one of you for what happened,” Steinbeck spoke up. “I know what Asheley is capable of. He’s a horrible person. If he can’t be decent with his own family, he won’t be decent with anyone.”

  Landon ventured a good look at Opal’s brother and realized he meant it. He really didn’t blame him for the scandal he’d gotten Opal into. He wanted to thank him, to let him know he was indebted to him for not demanding a duel, but her brother continued speaking before he thought of the right words to say.

  “Regardless of what Asheley’s done, we must resolve this scandal quickly so we can put out the fires of gossip as soon as possible. The sooner you two marry, the sooner people will talk about something else.”

  “Do you honestly believe that, Warren?” Opal asked.

  Her brother—Warren—nodded with such certainty one would swear he knew exactly what he was talking about. “I’m a member of White’s, and it’s the biggest den of gossip in London. One thing I’ve learned is that people grow restless discussing the same scandal. They like something fresh and new, but in order to get them bored of the current scandal, you need to right the wrong.” Opal opened her mouth as if to argue there had been no wrong done, and Warren shot her a pointed look. “It doesn’t matter if the story is true or not. All that matters is that the story exists.”

  As much as Landon hated to admit it, Warren was right. He wished it wasn’t that way, but it was, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

  Warren looked at him expectantly, and realizing that he was waiting for him to agree, he nodded. “I’ll marry her whenever you want,” he said.

  “Good.” Warren settled back into the chair and drummed his fingers on his legs. “I suppose the most expedient thing will be to get a special license. That way, we don’t have to go through weeks of reading banns. I’ll handle the details of the special license. I don’t want either one of you to go through any more anxiety than you already are.”

  This time Landon did manage to glance over at Opal, and he couldn’t tell if she was dismayed at the idea of marrying him or not. The poor thing. If she wasn’t already, she would be soon enough.

  “All right,” Warren said as he stood up. “I’ll quietly get my sister up to her bedchamber.” He glanced over at Landon. “Everyone is going to be talking about this scandal, so it’s probably best if you leave.”

  The last thing Landon was going to do was argue with Warren. Not that he had planned to face all those people anyway. Right now, all he wanted to do was retreat to his brother’s townhouse and pretend this horrible night had never happened.

  Opal stood up and accepted her brother’s arm. Before the two left the room, she faced him and said, “I’m sorry. I
never thought I’d drag you into a scandal when I asked to speak with you. I hope that, in time, you’ll forgive me.”

  He might have responded if he’d been able to find his voice, but he couldn’t. Why was she apologizing to him? She’d acted in innocence. Sure, he had worried about a scandal, but she honestly hadn’t expected one to ensue. If he had been smart, he would have insisted she leave the room right away instead of staying with her. He was older. He was a gentleman. He knew how badly these things looked. But he couldn’t come up with the words to express himself properly as the two left the room.

  Guy ran into the room a few seconds later. “Are you really going to have to marry Lord Steinbeck’s sister?”

  Landon got to his feet and nodded.

  Guy stopped Landon before he could leave the room. “Maybe this is a good thing. You spend all your time in the country all by yourself. You could use some companionship.”

  “It won’t be good for her, Guy.”

  “Says who?”

  “The Ton.”

  He snorted. “What does the Ton know? They think Lady Cadawalader and Lady Eloise are at the top of Society, and I can assure you that the average person doesn’t care one bit about which is more popular.”

  “You know what I mean,” Landon said. “The talk from the Ton can hurt people.”

  “I know it’s hard for you to come to London because of the gossip, but sometimes good can come out of any situation, no matter how bad it might seem.”

  Maybe. Maybe not. It was impossible to tell what would happen from here, and quite frankly, Landon wasn’t looking forward to finding out.

  ***

  The next afternoon Opal was browsing through several designs of different gowns for her wedding day. Iris and Iris’ mother were in the drawing room with her. Iris was holding Stuart and cooing at him, while her mother was holding Danielle. Opal sat next to Iris’ mother and listened as the lady listed the pros and cons of each gown.

  “This gown is more in fashion this Season,” Iris’ mother said at one point. “But that one has a more romantic look to it.”