Dread of The Earl (The Valiant Love Regency Romance) (A Historical Romance Book)

by Deborah Wilson

  He walked over to his chair and paused with his hands gripping the back of his seat. Then he tapped his fingers a few times and sighed. “What is it?”

  Lucy looked at him in surprise. “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Lucy, just…say it.”

  She twisted her lips. “First, sit down please. Secondly, how did you know something was the matter?”

  He sat down without a word. His obedience made her heart flutter. He then reached over and grabbed her hand. “I’ve decided to make a study of you, my lady. I plan to know everything there is to know about you.” He rubbed the back of her hand as he spoke.

  Lucy thought about the secret she was harboring about him but hastily put it aside and focused on his true meaning. “Can one truly know everything there is to know about someone else? It could take forever to accomplish such a task.”

  He grinned. “We’ve time.”

  The words curved around her lower belly and nearly had her melting in her slippers.

  There was something decidedly different about her husband as of late. He was...open in a way he hadn’t been before. Though Kent had never been one to wear a mask when he was angry or in pain, she suspected he’d been hiding his other emotions. He seemed as pleased with their arrangement as she was.

  He straightened, slipping his hand from hers as a servant came to pour his coffee and bring his morning meal.

  Lucy found herself simply enjoying the sight of him. She’d watched him eat numerous times yet couldn’t help but be fascinated by the lack of chains and the use of silverware. He was free to come and go as he pleased, and she prayed it forever stayed that way.

  “You’ve still not answered my question.” he said as he grabbed the paper that had been placed by his plate. Then he looked at her. “What’s troubling you? Who must I throttle to make it better?”

  She grinned slowly and then laughed. “I should abhor your threats.”

  “But you don’t.” he said with confidence. “So, what must I do to gain an answer from you?”

  Lucy had little right to be troubled. Considering the gift he’d given her last night, she should be ecstatic. But she knew her worries had little to do with herself and more to do with him and his comforts. “We received a summons today.”

  Confusion rested in his gaze. “A summons?” he asked with clear disdain. “From who?”

  “Your mother.” Lucy said. “We’re to meet at your brother’s home. She has also requested George come along. I don’t know how she found out about him.”

  He visibly tightened his jaw. “Colby must have told her. He was here yesterday. We’re not taking George anywhere near that woman.”

  Lucy took a deep breath. She was relieved to know she and Kent were on the same page. She didn’t know what the dowager had planned for George, but if Kent didn’t trust his own mother around the boy then neither did Lucy.

  He watched her as he cut into his food. “You thought I’d force George to come along?”

  “I wasn’t sure.” she said. Then she frowned. “Stop staring at me. I’m beginning to think you can read my thoughts.”

  He smiled yet still managed to chew with his mouth closed. Once he finished his bite, he said, “We’ll go, but we won’t stay long. George wishes to take his new boat to the park. I thought a day out would be good for all of us.”

  Lucy tilted her head. “I thought George lost his boat.” He and Kent had taken it during George’s second riding lesson.

  Kent looked at his paper. “He did. I got him another.”

  “Kent.” Lucy frowned. “How is George supposed to learn to be responsible if you continue to replace things he’s lost?”

  He put the paper down and turned to the footman who stood in the corner. “Leave us. I’ll call when I need you.”

  The servant left.

  Kent turned back to Lucy. “You’re right, but you likely can see that when I look at George, I see myself.”

  She reached out and touched his cheek. “I know.”

  “And I want him to feel as though he...matters,” Kent said. “I want him to feel recognized in a way that I wasn’t.”

  Her heart squeezed. “He knows you see him, especially now.” She’d woken that morning and looked over to find George rolling the contract into a perfect scroll, touching it with delicate fingers before placing it in his drawer. “He knows you care.”

  He leaned over and spoke in a low tone. “I had to build my own boat as a child. It was more a raft actually, some sticks sealed together with mud and twine. I built everything I ever played with. Eventually, a servant taught me how to build other things and repair carriages. That was when my obsession with them first began.”

  She decided to tease him. “How clever that I married someone with both the aptitude of creation and destruction.”

  He blinked and grinned. Then he touched her chin. “No cheekiness around my mother this afternoon…until you wish to provoke her. Then by all means, don’t hold back.”

  She sighed dramatically. “It’s a wonderful weight off any wife’s shoulders to know her husband doesn’t expect her to cater to his mother’s every whim.”

  “You’ll cater to no one but me.” He lowered his head the last few inches that separated them and sealed his mouth over hers.

  Lucy locked her hand around the back of his neck. He tasted like marmalade. She ran her tongue over his lower lip.

  An animalistic sound left his lips.

  She’d missed him last night. She hadn’t meant to sleep the entire night in George’s bed.

  She gasped when she felt her chair yanked. Kent had pulled her closer. His arm was coming around her waist. She was out of her chair and in his lap within a heated second.

  The kiss went on. Arms and fingers tangled in hair while their lips and tongues carried on their own dance. Lucy had no idea how long it lasted, but a voice from the other side of the room made Lucy shriek.

  “Aunt Lucy?” George asked with confusion.

  Lucy leaped from the chair, thankful that Kent didn’t try to stop her, and straightened her clothes. Clothes that would have likely ended up on the floor if Kent had touched her a moment longer.

  “George.” Lucy walked over to him. “Where is Lady Nora? Where is Mr. Louis?” Mr. Louis was his newly-hired tutor. She tried to not allow the embarrassment to show on her face but could already feel the layers of heat.

  George looked over at Kent before he looked at her again. “Mr. Louis told me to get a book from the library.”

  “This is not the direction of the library.” Kent said from his place at the table.

  George hung his head slightly. “Mrs. Barton gives me a biscuit every time I go to the kitchen.”

  “Oh, well, if that is the case…” Kent opened the paper. “Mrs. Barton used to give me a biscuit as well as a boy.” He winked at George before he started to read.

  Lucy placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Everyone is spoiling you.”

  “Except for you, Aunt Lucy.” George said with a smile full of innocence and lacking its usual worry.

  She touched his cheek. “Enjoy your biscuit.”

  George ran off.

  Kent stood and came to stand with her. “I’ve some things to look over and then we can go and answer our summons.”

  “Are you concerned with what George saw?” she asked.

  He lifted a brow. “Should I be?”

  She looked down as she fiddled with her hands. “I don’t know. I don’t want him to think me…”

  “A harlot?” Kent asked. He lifted her chin. “That’s been your worry, hasn’t it? That I think you a harlot with how I pull you upon my lap.”

  She’d never put the thought together as thoroughly as him, but… “We consummated our marriage at your brother’s house.” She’d never felt so hot so quickly, except for day she’d tried to give Kent her body at Mr. Goody’s home. If she was a lightskirt, it was only for the man before her.
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  “We’re not conventional.” he said. “I prefer it that way.”

  She did as well, but she feared he thought less of her for it. Shouldn’t a good countess have more control over herself? She’d have lowered her gaze again if he’d allowed it.

  Yet he still had her chin in his grasp. Then his thumb stroked her lower lip. She pulled in a tight breath. Perhaps, in her captivity with Mr. Goody, she’d lost a portion of her own civility, but this was madness.

  Kent’s eyes became impossibly dark. “I prefer you the way you are. Had I wanted something else, I would have gone after that.” His fingers slowly moved down her jaw and around her neck. The pressure was light. His thumb stroked over her pulse, making it leap in reaction.

  Lucy grabbed his hips in order to keep herself upright. “But you didn’t want me as your wife. You wanted me for revenge.”

  He’d been gazing at his hand and the way it rested on her throat, but then his eyes moved to hers again. “You think I couldn’t have found that revenge any other way?”

  She knew him capable of anything but apparently hurting her. Any other neck and his hand around it would have meant something else. With a man, it would have promised pain, but this was a matter of clear and potent possessiveness.

  She closed her eyes as he bent his head.

  ∫ ∫ ∫

  4 2

  * * *

  This time, when Kent took her mouth, it was gentle. He had the good sense not to work them up too much. He didn’t have the time to take Lucy as he wished, build her sweet body into a fever before slowly bringing her back down.

  They’d been summoned and for that reason alone, he pulled away.

  Taking her hand, he led her from the breakfast room and into the main foyer. “I have some missives to see to. Then I will meet you at the door.”

  “I’ll go speak to Mrs. Barton about the repairs.” she replied as she came to a stop. Her eyes were still dreamlike, her words soft as she drifted back from the kiss. “They’re nearly complete. I’ll need to get furniture soon.” She’d only done the main sitting room and his office, places they used most frequently outside of the bedchambers. Then her eyes glittered. “Don’t break anything. I wish to invite guests one day, if you don’t mind.”

  He chuckled. “I can’t make any promises. It’s best you buy replicas and store a few things in the basement just in case. I don’t mind a party so long as those who are gathered are the few we count as being close to us. Don’t invite anyone who will upset me, and I won’t break anything.” It was the best he could promise at the moment, because unlike at Denhallow’s party, Kent would not hesitate to toss a chatty lord through the nearest window of his own home.

  Her eyes rounded. “Perhaps you should give me a list of names you approve of, and I shall give you my own.”

  He liked that, if only because he wanted to know who his wife was close to. It would be another step in getting to know her more. “Very well. We’ll exchange them tomorrow.”

  They parted and met at the door within the hour.

  “The answer to this question is likely obvious.” Lucy said as he gathered her from the carriage. “But why does your mother live with Colby and not with you?” She was dressed in a fine shade of pink that reminded him of raspberries, the shade her lips would turn once they’d been thoroughly kissed, bitten, and licked.

  He held out his arm, and she slid hers through. “The answer is not an obvious one. I evicted them both upon my return to London two years ago.”

  “Both of them?” Lucy asked. “But I thought you were close to your brother.”

  “I am now, but it wasn’t always that way.” He guided her up the stairs and through the open door. “What you are seeing is the result of a more recent discussion I had with my brother. Before that, I was too upset to have anyone near me. So, I set them up here.”

  She looked around the townhouse. “I suppose if you are to remove your family from their home, this is not a bad place to put them.”

  He thought not. It was in the heart of Mayfair, a very coveted address. His mother had been able to turn the entire incident around and say she requested to part from Kent because of his rages.

  Kent had allowed it because he had been enraged. But that rage was slowly cooling, and he knew aside from forming a bond with the other Lost Lords and being able to relate with them, Lucy had much to do with it as well.

  She was peace with smooth legs and stunning golden eyes. Her hold on him tightened as they reached the drawing room. Unlike Colby’s engagement party, only the family was present along with Lady Teresa.

  Kent’s mother put on a false smile, likely for the benefit of her daughter-in-law and her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. “So glad you could come.” the dowager said. “Colby has some things he wishes to discuss with his brother and while that is taking place, we women will get to know each other better.”

  Kent stiffened at the thought of separating from Lucy. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy his brother, it was that he didn’t know his mother’s game. But he knew her aim would be nothing good.

  Lucy touched his arm and turned to him. “I’ll be all right.” she whispered. With her back to the rest of the room, her hands on his arm could not be seen. She was stroking him softly while grinning up at him.

  Colby came over and the little intimate stroking ceased.

  “Come, brother.” Colby said. “Let the women have their moment.”

  * * *

  “I adore your dress, Lady Ganden.” Lady Teresa said as Lucy moved to sit on the couch. Teresa sat on a chair on one side and the dowager sat in another on Lucy’s other side.

  “And the color works well with your tone.” Teresa went on with a smile, adjusting herself so she was facing Lucy completely. “You must share your modiste with me.”

  “I’ll write down her name.” Lucy whispered. She was nervous and couldn’t figure out exactly why.

  A maid served her a cup and tea, and Lucy was glad to have something to do with her hands.

  She already knew she didn’t like the dowager. Anyone who would hurt a child was likely capable of anything as far as Lucy knew.

  But Lucy hadn’t had the chance to truly get to know Lady Teresa. She’d seemed happy about the engagement and just looking at her reminded Lucy of just how far she’d fallen out of line with polite society.

  Lady Teresa was a fine example of who Lucy should have been. Poised. Demure. Underneath the woman’s gloves, Lucy suspected her hands were as soft as butter. Perhaps, even smoother than that. And that was likely the root of Lucy’s nervousness. She was afraid to mess up, to say the wrong thing, and have not only her reputation ruined but be a poor reflection on Kent and George.

  That was the way of Society. One member of the family’s reputation reflected upon the whole lot. Jessica had been moved to the country when her parents found out she was with child and would have been unable to return to London until Lucy had wed. But then she’d died, and it had no longer mattered.

  George was collected by his father, and Lucy had gone with him. At nineteen, she’d put aside all the lessons of being a lady she’d learned to protect her nephew. And she didn’t regret a moment of it.

  She’d never be as refined as Teresa, but as Kent had pointed out, he liked her the way she was. She smiled behind her cup.

  “Do you sing, Lady Ganden?” the dowager asked. “Play any instruments?” The questions were those that any lady would ask another.

  “I sing to George but that hardly counts.” She pressed her lips together as she recalled Kent’s warning about being cheeky. “I’m afraid I’ve not played the piano in years. My many lessons have likely come to null.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s like any other talent.” Teresa said. “It comes back easily.”

  “I can paint.” Lucy said. “I’m very good at that.”

  “Wonderful.” the dowager said. “But more about George. How old is he?” Her green eyes narrowed slightly. “My son tells me that Ganden truly car
es for the boy. Is that so?”

  Lucy’s stomach turned. She’d brought George in the conversation, so she had no one to blame but herself for giving the dowager the opening to ask her questions. She also hadn’t missed how easily she’d addressed Colby as her son and Kent as nothing more than Ganden.

  “He’s ten.” Lucy said briskly.

  “And he’s the child of whom?” the dowager asked. “I asked after you and was told you only had one sister. Lady Jessica Newpark, is that correct? Who did she marry?”

  The room fell into silence.

  Lady Teresa watched Lucy closely. Did she know? Perhaps, Colby had shared the details from the contract with both women for there was no doubt in Lucy’s mind that her mother-in-law knew the truth about George.

  “Lucy is the only mother George has ever known. Therefore, he’s as much mine as he is Lucy’s.” Kent said as he came into the room.

  The dowager straightened, seeming to have been caught. But then she dropped her shoulders and put on a false smile. “I didn’t mean to offend. I only wish to know who the boy’s father is. George is, after all, part of the family now.”

  Was he? Lucy wondered how George could be part of the family when she hardly recognized her own first-born son.

  Lucy was never gladder than when Kent came to sit by her side. She had to stop herself from grabbing at him. His scent and hard body seemed to form a protective shield around her.

  Colby came in as well, smiling as usual. He was as genuine as his mother was false. “I was hoping the boy would come. Mother was very anxious to meet him. You must bring him on your next visit, but if not, then we’re likely to meet him this autumn at the party.”

  “The party?” Lucy asked. She’d been trying to think of a kind way to say she had no intentions of bringing George around the dowager, but Colby was more than welcome to visit.

  But a party? Where George would be around.

  “I’ve agreed to allow Colby to have a country party at Ganden Hall this year since the family estate can hold his numerous guests better than his can.” Kent said as Colby crossed to Lady Teresa.

  The engaged couple began to speak about the guest list.