The Reclusive Earl

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “I judge each word carefully. I don’t talk quickly like you do.”

  “No, but you’re not so slow in your speech that you’re annoying, either. I think you’ve figured out certain words that are easier to say than others and stick with those.”

  He nodded. “I have. When I’m,” he paused, “fretful, I’m not clear in how I talk.”

  “Well, then it’s good I don’t make you nervous.”

  Landon wouldn’t say that. Warren did make him nervous. It was just easier to concentrate since Warren was the only one in the room he had to contend with.

  “All I ask is that you’re good to my sister,” Warren said. “You don’t strike me as a gentleman prone to scandalous behavior, and that makes me feel a lot better about the marriage. I want her to be happy. I don’t want to go into detail about her past, but before she came to live with me in London, she had a difficult life.”

  Landon wouldn’t have expected this. He’d gotten the impression that she’d had an ideal childhood. She held herself with such grace, and there was a certain spark about her that lit up her entire face when she smiled. But since he didn’t really know her, then he was going to take Warren’s word for it.

  “Unlike others, I don’t care about your lisp,” Warren continued. “All I care is that you treat my sister well.”

  “I will treat her well,” Landon promised.

  “I believe you will.” Warren rose to his feet. “I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll send you a missive when I know the wedding date.” He started to head for the door then paused and turned back to him. “Would you like to come to a dinner party? It’ll be small. Just you, me, Opal, and my wife.”

  Landon didn’t like to go to any social situation, but in this case, he felt it necessary that he say yes. This was his future brother-in-law, and he was sure that it’d make Opal feel better if she knew something about him other than the fact that he had a lisp.

  “I’ll be there,” he told Warren.

  “Good. I look forward to seeing you then,” Warren said.

  Landon watched as Warren left. God willing, he would be able to get through the dinner party without saying or doing something to embarrass himself. Because as much as he would have preferred it, Guy wasn’t going to be there to do the talking for him.

  Chapter Six

  On the evening of the dinner party, Landon thought he was going to faint from his nonstop worrying over how the evening would go. Well, no. That wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t actually going to faint. Only ladies fainted. But there was no denying he was having a terrible time concentrating on anything, and he broke into so much of a sweat that he had to change shirts twice.

  Then, despite the afternoon he’d spent with Guy practicing topics he could bring up during the course of the evening, Landon wasn’t sure if it was going to work. He just wasn’t eloquent in his speech. Somehow, someway, he was bound to look like a fool.

  By the time he was due to leave for Warren’s townhouse, he had to wipe his forehead with his handkerchief so trickles of sweat wouldn’t get into his eyes.

  “Don’t take the carriage to Warren’s,” Guy advised him. “Take a walk there. The walk will help relieve some of your anxiety.”

  Guy was right. It would. And that was why Landon told the coachman to take the carriage back to the carriage house and walked instead. The evening air was cool, which did help to relieve the amount of sweat he had to contend with. That, in itself, was a huge benefit.

  When Warren’s townhouse came into view, he realized some of his nerves had eased. They hadn’t eased completely. There was no way they would ease completely. Not with the situation looming before him. But they eased enough where he was beginning to believe he could get through the dinner party without doing serious damage to his future relationship with Opal and her family.

  He was within two townhouses of Warren’s residence when someone came up to him and cleared his throat.

  Stopping, Landon turned to face the gentleman. He didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had some dealings with him in the past. “Do I know you?”

  Instead of answering his question, the older gentleman said, “I spoke with Lady Chadwick about her townhouse. I wished to rent it from her, but she informed me that you’re renting it instead. Is this true?”

  Careful of his lisp, Landon nodded.

  “Can I talk you out of the contract?” the gentleman asked.

  Landon hesitated to respond. Not because of his lisp, but because the gentleman gave him an unsettling feeling. “Who are you?” he asked, thinking that knowing this gentleman’s identity would help him figure out why he didn’t trust him.

  “I’m Mr. Hamilton,” he said.

  The name wasn’t familiar, and that was disappointing since it didn’t give Landon anything concrete he could hold onto.

  “Lord Farewell,” the gentleman continued as he put his hand into the pocket of his suit jacket, “the location of that townhouse is very important to me. It’ll let me be close to my daughter and her family. I am willing to pay you if you cancel your contract with Lady Chadwick.” He pulled out a pound and showed it to him. “This should be more than enough to compensate you for the hassle of finding another townhouse to rent.”

  Landon wanted to say yes. Mr. Hamilton wasn’t asking him to do anything that went against his principles, but there was something about being offered such an outrageous amount of money for the transaction that rubbed him the wrong way. No one offered so much money without expecting something more in return. And Landon didn’t believe he wanted to be close to his daughter. He wasn’t even sure the gentleman even had a daughter.

  “I apologize,” Landon slowly began, “but I can’t. I gave my word to my future wife and her family. I can’t withdraw from the contract.”

  “Your future wife?” the man asked.

  “I am to be married in a week. My wife will need to be near her family.”

  The gentleman frowned, and Landon wasn’t sure if it was in disappointment or in anger. Either way, he didn’t think it best to continue with the conversation.

  “Again, I apologize,” Landon said.

  Then, without another word, he resumed his walk to Warren’s townhouse. Thankfully, Mr. Hamilton didn’t follow him. He glanced over his shoulder when he reached the door and saw that Mr. Hamilton was heading off in the opposite direction.

  He released his breath. There was something wrong about the whole conversation, and he wasn’t sure what it was. It was odd enough that the gentleman knew who he was. Landon was sure he’d never seen him before, much less heard of him. But there was more to it than that. And sadly, he didn’t have the missing piece to the puzzle to figure it out.

  He turned to the door and knocked on it.

  A few seconds passed before the footman opened it. Landon got ready to tell him who he was when the footman said, “Welcome, Lord Farewell. Please come in.”

  Landon glanced over at the sidewalk, and this time he didn’t see Mr. Hamilton at all. He wondered if he’d see the gentleman again. He certainly hoped not.

  Turning his attention back to the footman, he stepped into the townhouse.

  “Miss Beaufort and Lord and Lady Steinbeck are waiting for you in the drawing room,” the footman told him. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you there.”

  Landon did as he requested, and as he entered the room, his gaze went to Opal who, he couldn’t help but note, was even lovelier than she’d been when he’d first seen her at the ball. She sat in a chair across from her brother and his wife.

  “You’re right on time,” Warren said. “That’s good. I don’t care much for people who arrive somewhere late, even when they think it’s fashionable.”

  Landon’s attention went to Warren as he approached him. Well, this was promising. The evening was starting with pleasantries. Wiping his sweaty hands on his trousers, he smiled. “I like to be on time.”

  “I figured you were the type.” Warren gestured for him to
sit in the chair next to Opal. “Have a seat. The butler will tell us when dinner’s ready.”

  At least the evening would be an informal one. It was just Opal, Warren, and his wife. Smaller groups were much more manageable than big ones. He sat next to Opal as Warren sat beside his wife on the settee.

  “This is Iris,” Warren introduced.

  “Nice to meet you,” Landon greeted.

  She nodded a greeting in return. “I heard you rented Lady Chadwick’s townhouse.”

  Landon stopped himself before he said ‘yes’ and, instead, replied, “I did.” With a glance at Opal, he added, “I hope you’ll like it.”

  “I’m sure I will,” Opal told him, smiling in a way that made his heart skip a beat. “I hear Lady Chadwick is a lovely lady who has nice taste.”

  “It’s true,” Iris said as she stood up to hand Landon a cup of tea. “My mother knows her. She used to have a fashion rivalry with her.”

  “A fashion rivalry?” Warren asked, eyebrows furrowed.

  She returned to the settee. “Yes. The two strived to be better dressed than the other for most of my life. It wasn’t until someone told them they both had excellent taste that they started talking to each other. Once they realized neither was as awful as the other presumed, they became friends.” With a grin, she added, “Not close friends, mind you. They still like to compete, but at least it’s a good-natured competition now.”

  “Let’s hope they never show up somewhere in the same gown,” Opal inserted with a laugh. “I don’t think their friendly competition would survive it.”

  “I should say not,” Iris mused. “My mother would be horrified if such a thing were to happen.”

  Warren grimaced. “I like it better when you discuss money and investments. This talk of women’s fashion isn’t the least bit interesting.”

  “Maybe our guest would rather hear about fashion,” Opal said. “Maybe he finds talk of money and investing to be boring.”

  Warren gasped as if he couldn’t believe such a thing was possible. Landon was tempted to agree with Opal, only because she was very beautiful and seemed to be enjoyable to be around, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The truth of the matter was, he had never cared about the types of clothes ladies wore.

  Opal grinned at Landon. “I was only teasing you. I won’t bore you with talk of women’s fashion.”

  “On behalf of Landon, I thank you,” Warren said.

  Landon chuckled under his breath, and Opal’s gaze went back to him. “What would you like to discuss?”

  His face went warm. Did she really want him to do that? Not only was he boring, but he had the lisp.

  “Landon might feel more at ease if one of us picks the topic instead,” Warren said.

  “Oh.” Her gaze went back to Landon. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  Now Landon felt that he had to say something. Not because they had focused so much of their attention on him, but because he didn’t want her to feel guilty when she’d done nothing wrong. He shifted in the chair. “I prefer to hear you three.” Then, since he had nothing else to add, he took a sip of the tea.

  “I don’t want to discuss investments or money,” Opal told her brother and sister-in-law. “You two do that enough already.”

  “In that case, we could talk about babies,” Iris said.

  “Yes, I would much rather discuss them.” Opal looked at Landon. “I have the most adorable niece and nephew. They’re twins, and their names are Danielle and Stuart.”

  Warren shook his head. “As interesting as the three of us find that topic, I doubt it holds any interest to Landon.”

  “How can you know that?” Opal asked.

  “Because before I became a father, the last thing I wanted to talk about was children.”

  “Maybe he’s different from you,” Opal said.

  “Yes, he could be the kind of gentleman who enjoys such talk,” Iris agreed.

  Opal nodded. “Sure, he could. Not everyone is like you, Warren.”

  “I know not everyone is like me,” Warren replied. “Though it wouldn’t hurt more gentlemen to aspire to be me, there’s too many at White’s who continually remind me that my ideals aren’t for everyone. But I have yet to come across a gentleman—any gentleman—who wants to talk about children unless he has a child.”

  “Didn’t you want to have children when you married Iris?” Opal asked.

  Warren shot her a pointed look. “I’m an earl. I was expected to have children, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to talk about them.”

  “Children are fine,” Landon spoke up, making sure his voice was loud enough so they heard him. “You may talk about them,” he added when they all turned to look in his direction.

  With a smile, Opal gave her brother a pointed look of her own. “There you go. He’s interested.”

  “He’s a peacemaker.” Then to Landon, Warren said, “That’s not a bad thing. Your willingness to listen to whatever is on a lady’s mind will serve you well in your marriage.”

  Realizing that Warren was paying him a compliment, Landon relaxed and took another sip of tea. He didn’t care what they discussed as long as he didn’t have to say much. He would much rather be quiet and listen anyway. It was what he was most comfortable doing.

  In this particular case, he was allowed to watch Opal while she spoke, and he did enjoy that very much. She could talk about women’s fashion for all he cared. As long as she was talking, everyone was looking at her, and that gave him the freedom to admire her. It was especially nice when she happened to look in his direction and smile at him. Whenever she did that, he forgot all about his lisp and felt like a regular gentleman.

  All too soon, however, the butler came into the room and announced that dinner was ready. It was a shame. Landon had been able to watch Opal without anyone noticing. Now he was going to have to concern himself with trying not to do something embarrassing, like spill a drink or drop food on himself, while he ate. Not that he was prone to do such things, but since he was nervous, there was no telling what would happen.

  Following the others’ lead, he rose to his feet, surprised when Opal came over to him. It took him a moment to realize they expected him to escort her to the dining room. Of course, he needed to escort her. She was going to be his wife.

  Face warm, he offered her his arm. As Iris and Warren headed for the doorway, Opal slipped her arm around his, and at once, a new layer of sweat covered his forehead. He hadn’t expected to find the simple act of touching her to be so exciting.

  “You’re not the only one who’s nervous,” Opal said. “I am, too.”

  She could tell he was nervous? It was that obvious? Did Warren and Iris also know he wasn’t as calm as he’d been trying to act? Did the servants realize it, too?

  Opal squeezed his arm in silent encouragement. “The food will get cold if we don’t get to the dining room.”

  Right. The food. Clearing his throat, he followed her brother and Iris to the dining room. Once there, he sat beside Opal and planned out how much of each food he should take. The soup, for example, posed the greatest potential for a mess. Sure, he had a spoon, but some of the soup could easily spill out of it. The fish could also be troublesome if it was too flaky. Most of the foods, however, were safe enough, so he would focus more on those.

  “I hope everything here is to your liking,” Warren told him.

  Landon tried to think of what he could say that wouldn’t require the letter ‘s’ somewhere in it. To say, It looks delicious, It’s good, or Everything is pleasant, all required an ‘s’ somewhere. Finally, he opted to give him a nod and added, “Thank you.”

  Though the others seemed to accept his answer well enough, Landon wished he could be like a normal person. Normal people could say whatever they wanted without risking embarrassment. Their words slid smoothly off their tongues. Guy used to tell him he’d take a lisp if it meant he was as good at money as he was, but Landon often thought he’d rather
be able to speak well. And right now was no exception.

  Fortunately, Iris started talking about the upcoming wedding, and for the most part, she and Opal dominated the conversation. This freed up Landon to focus on eating. Once in a while, they would ask him a question that required a simple yes or no answer, to which he either nodded or shook his head.

  After dinner, they all went back to the drawing room where they opted to draw each other’s profiles. Now this was something he could do. Holding a quill was much easier than trying to speak with eloquence.

  They seemed to understand how much he wanted to remain as quiet as possible since they didn’t push him to answer any more questions. They did seem sympathetic to his plight. They did most of the talking. They even went out of their way to pick an activity that didn’t require him to speak. They had also kept the dinner party private. All of this gave him hope. Maybe everything would be all right.

  At the end of the evening, Warren and Iris left Opal and Landon alone so they could have a moment to themselves. Landon wasn’t sure what he might say to Opal, but she saved him from having to be the first to speak.

  “Thank you for coming tonight,” she said.

  “I had a good time,” he replied, not so much because he was expected to but because he honestly had.

  “I’m glad.” She hesitated then added, “I am sorry I got you involved in the scandal. I hope it won’t affect how things can be between us.”

  Then, without waiting for him to answer, she kissed his cheek. His skin tingled in response, and even if he could speak well, he was too much in shock to know what he’d say.

  “I’ll see you at the wedding,” she said. “I hope the rest of your evening is a good one.”

  He watched her as she left the drawing room, hardly believing she had actually kissed him. He’d never received a kiss before. Well, not from a lady who wasn’t his mother. He placed his hand to his cheek. He could still feel her lips there. It was a very pleasant experience. He wondered what kissing her on the mouth would be like. Of course, he wasn’t going to find out tonight.