Esther knew that Mary was also fond of Lady Booth, though perhaps only to fit into these circles now that she was a duchess. In Esther’s opinion, since Mary now had a higher-ranking title than Lady Booth, there was no reason for this.
“More wine, My Lady?” A footman asked. Esther’s glass was empty again.
“Yes, please,” she replied. Once again, she looked at the opposite end of the table to see Lord Wiltshire. He still didn’t look extremely happy, but he was now engaged in conversation with Lord Booth. Esther wondered if he was just as overconfident as his wife.
Across from Lord Wiltshire sat Harry, who had neither looked at her nor approached her all evening. She knew that she had hurt him this afternoon, but she couldn’t handle his advances any longer. It was getting too much for her, and since she had no interest in him, nor would she ever, it was frankly a waste of time for both of them.
Harry didn’t look like he was too distraught, however. On the contrary, he appeared to be quite jolly. He was becoming louder as the evening went on, and she knew that after heading into the drawing room after dinner, his boisterous attitude would really make itself known.
Esther noticed that Mary had stood, indicating that it was time for the ladies to go to the drawing room. A cup of tea sounded good to her, after all of the wine, and she was looking forward to catching up with her sister, if possible. Esther stood and followed the other ladies, as Harry’s lively laugh echoed in her ears.
* * *
“Shall we join the ladies?” Edward asked the gentlemen sitting around the table. Allan truthfully wanted to retire for the evening, but that would have been rude and improper. Ever since his conversation with Lord Salington, he had been down. Even the Scotch, which he was still sipping on, wasn’t helping.
Harry was still acting oddly towards him, though as the night had gone on, he was becoming more open with Allan. Since their conversation before dinner when they spoke of Bridget, Harry had certainly seemed cheerful. Perhaps he really just wanted to make sure that Allan was happy.
“Wonderful dinner, yes, Cousin?” Harry said, as the men walked to the drawing room to join the ladies.
“The goose was exquisite, and the cakes for dessert were divine,” Allan said, attempting to show that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. “Lady Mary did an excellent job planning this party.”
“Yes,” Harry said, “She did, and it is not yet over.”
Allan followed Harry into the drawing room, and almost immediately, his eyes fell upon Lady Esther. He didn’t know if it was the Scotch or the way the light fell upon her, but he was again struck with her beauty.
He half expected Harry to immediately walk towards Lady Esther, who was standing and speaking to Mary and Lady Booth, but instead, he walked in the opposite direction where Lady Ruth and Lady Salington were deep in conversation.
Allan turned back towards Lady Esther, and he noticed that she was looking over at him. He smiled at her, and she returned it. When he saw her lips form into a smile, he couldn’t help but feel a strong attraction to her. He knew that those lips could drive him to the limits of passion if they both wanted it as much as he did right now.
A footman brought him another glass of Scotch, and Allan realized that he had lost count of how many he had over the evening, but it was fine. The more Scotch he had, the less likely it would be that he would have nightmares, and more likely that he would have pleasant dreams, such as those about Bridget or Lady Esther.
Lord and Lady Booth were now both in conversation with Mary, and Lady Esther was standing a bit away from the group, though still involved in the conversation. Allan felt an urge to speak with her, so he began to walk over to the group.
As he approached, she looked up at him and again smiled.
“Good evening, Lady Esther,” he said. “Did you enjoy dinner?”
“Very much so, My Lord,” she replied. “And you?”
“I did,” he said. “I was just telling Harry how much I liked the goose.”
“It was perfectly seasoned,” Lady Esther replied. Allan was not interested in small talk.
“We haven’t had much of a chance to catch up this weekend,” he said. “How have you been since I saw you last?”
“I have been well,” Lady Esther said.
“Are you still working with the orphans?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” she replied. “I can’t imagine that I would ever stop doing that.”
“As I told you before, I think that the work you do is very noble,” he said. He could see her cheeks redden as she blushed.
“Thank you, My Lord,” she said.
“You are welcome,” he said. “In fact, you have inspired me to start doing more good works myself. When I get back home, I am going to look into becoming a patron of my local orphanage.”
“Oh really?” Lady Esther replied. “That is wonderful!”
He really liked the way she looked when she smiled. Her face was full of light and joy. Though he was very attracted to her, he also fully realized that he liked talking to her and spending time with her.
“I feel it is the least I could do,” Allan said. “I know they need help, but I didn’t realize how much until I spoke to you at the wedding.”
“Every bit helps the children, and I can’t tell you how much that is really needed,” she replied.
“It is my pleasure,” Allan responded. She was very easy to talk to, and he was beginning to feel more comfortable around her.
“I wish more people were as generous as you, My Lord,” Esther said. “When I return home, I must write some letters urging more people to support the cause. It’s part of my work, and it is one of the more difficult tasks that I do. Unfortunately, people are too often not willing to support these cases.”
“Why do you think that is?” Allan asked her.
“I don’t know, exactly,” Lady Esther said. “I imagine it might have to do with the fact that many of these children aren’t seen as assets to society. Many of them rely on things like theft to survive.”
“I can see that,” Allan replied. “And, admittedly, I can understand why someone might not want to support that type of behavior.” He hoped that he hadn’t offended her.
“I agree with you whole heartedly, My Lord,” she said. “I can fully understand it, too. I certainly don’t believe that we should put money into the hands of thieves.”
Allan was relieved that she had not found his comment offensive.
Lady Esther continued. “What people don’t understand, is that with more support from the public, these children could live in better conditions and not have to rely on thievery and other crimes just to live day-to-day. We do what we can to help them, but without financing, it is extremely difficult.”
Allan nodded. “I have not thought of it in that way, I admit,” he said.
“Most people don’t,” she said “So please don’t feel bad about it.”
“I’m glad that I have decided to support such an honorable cause,” Allan said to her. “I know that it is, at least, legitimate.”
Lady Esther smiled. “I guarantee that it is very legitimate,” she replied. “It’s a cause that actually helps people, not one that you can support simply to raise your standing in society.”
Allan looked around to see where Lord and Lady Booth were. They had moved further away, so he looked at Lady Esther, smirked, and said, “Like the arts?”
She immediately laughed, and he knew that she had understood his comment. “Yes, exactly,” she replied. “Though the arts are certainly an important part of life, those who tend to support the arts are only doing it for personal reasons, it seems.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Allan said with a smile. He was thoroughly enjoying the conversation and his earlier engagement with Lord Salington seemed like a very distant memory.
“You are quite funny,” Lady Esther said to him with a grin.
Allan was a bit surprised. No one had called him funny in many years.
“Thank you,” he said. “Sometimes I do forget that life can be fun.”
“Oh, it can be,” said Lady Esther. “You just have to be with the right person, sometimes.”
Allan smiled. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, you do.”
“What is so funny over here?” Lady Ruth had stepped close to Lady Esther and took her arm.
“Oh, we just found out that we have a mutual…feeling…about something,” Lady Esther explained to her sister, yet she continued to look at Allan with a big grin on her face.
“Yes,” Allan said, smiling back at Lady Esther, “we do have a mutual feeling about that…subject.”
“Great minds think alike, My Lord,” Lady Ruth said.
Allan laughed. “Please, My Lady, and you too, Lady Esther,” he said. “Please, we are family now. You may call me Allan.”
“Thank you, Allan,” Lady Ruth said, “And the same to you. I’m sure we will be spending a lot of time together in the future, so we might as well become as friendly as possible.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Ruth,” Allan said.
Ruth then turned to Esther. “Are you ready to retire? It’s quite late, after midnight already.”
“Oh!” said Esther with surprise in her voice. “I didn’t realize that it was so late. Yes, I will walk with you.”
“Perfect,” said Ruth. “I will go say good night to Lord and Lady Booth and meet you by the door.”
Esther nodded at her sister and then turned to Allan. “We have to leave very early in the morning,” she explained. “I have to be back home by midafternoon for an important meeting.”
“I’m sorry to see you go, Esther,” Allan said. “I had a wonderful time with you tonight.”
She smiled widely. “I, too, have enjoyed speaking with you…Allan.”
He liked the way his name sounded as she spoke. He noticed that Ruth was waiting for Esther and knew he would have to say good night.
“I hope to see you soon, Esther,” he said to her, “And I wish you a swift and safe journey home.”
“And the same to you, Allan,” Esther said. “I look forward to the next time we meet.”
She smiled, and then walked out the door with Ruth behind her. Before she walked out, however, Ruth turned to Allan and grinned.
Allan took a deep breath and then looked around the room. It was almost empty, and he was struck with the fact that it had been filled with more than twenty people only a short time before. When he was talking with Esther, it seemed the entire world had just disappeared, and it was only the two of them.
He shook his head, and then drank the last of his Scotch. He could see Harry, Lord Salington, and Lord Booth deep in talk, and sitting on the sofa, he saw Lady Booth and Lady Salington. Allan wasn’t interested in either conversation, and he knew that he would see Harry in the morning, so he sat his glass on a table, and walked out of the drawing room, ready for a good night’s sleep.
* * *
Esther’s mind was swimming. She and Ruth were comfortably sitting in the carriage, and the coachman had just shut the door. Even though she knew it was early, she was hoping to at least catch a glance of Allan before they left. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
She felt the carriage lurch and prepared herself for the long ride home. Ruth had been rather silent this morning, but that wasn’t unusual. Neither was known for being bright and cheerful in the morning, especially when it was extra early. Mary was the sister who was happy as a lark each day.
Esther was still reliving the time she had with Allan last night. Though she still was not fully convinced that he was not like one of the military men that she knew, she had greatly changed her view of him, and thought that she could be developing feelings for him. The thought of that made her heart flutter, and she smiled.
“What are you so happy about?”
The sound of Ruth’s voice startled Esther, as she had been deep in thought.
“Oh,” Esther said to her sister. “Nothing, really.” She tried to stop smiling but couldn’t.
Ruth covered her mouth and yawned, and then said, “So this smile has nothing to do with Allan?”
Esther laughed. “I should have listened to you before.”
“See?” Ruth said with a smile on her face. “I knew if you only gave him a chance that you would see that he is a wonderful man.”
“That may be,” said Esther, “And I am still not totally convinced of him, but I am now willing to get to know him better.”
“I think that’s wonderful, Esther,” Ruth said. “I know that he feels the same about you. I can’t even tell you how entranced he looked with you last night.”
“Oh, Ruth,” Esther said. “Stop exaggerating.”
“I’m not exaggerating at all!” Ruth said loudly. “He was totally enchanted by you.”
“I’m not sure if I would go to that extreme,” said Esther, “But I do believe that he feels similarly to how I do.”
“I will agree with that,” Ruth said. “Did you have a chance to mention any of this to Mary?”
Esther shook her head. She did see Mary briefly before she left the house, but they were not able to get into any type of deep conversation.
“I didn’t,” she told Ruth. “Perhaps I will send her a letter in the morning, though, and see if she has any insight or advice on this. She seems to know Allan very well, and she is married to the man who probably knows him best.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Ruth agreed. “For all you know, Allan could have already made his feelings for you clear to Edward, and Mary already knows.”
“That’s a possibility,” said Esther, “But I’m not sure that Allan is that open with people. He seems closed off and private.”
“I guess,” said Ruth, “But Edward and Harry seem to know him better than anyone.”
“Oh,” said Esther. “I just thought of something.”
“What?” asked Ruth.
“Harry.” Esther said. “He will not react to this well.”
“Oh,” said Ruth. “I didn’t think about that, either. But, remember this. You made your feelings for him very clear, so I don’t think he would still be pining away for you. If you aren’t interested, and you clearly aren’t, if I were him, I would find someone else to share my affections for.”
“Most people would do that, I think,” said Esther, “But remember, this is Harry we are talking about. He is pretty determined to get what he wants, at least according to Mary.”
“You need to just think positive here,” said Ruth. “When you write your letter to Mary, make sure to mention that she should have another party. After all, we have to make sure that you and Allan get together again very soon.”
Chapter 16
Allan was struggling. It was a bright, sunny morning, and he was in his carriage on the way to see Doctor Crampton and Bridget. He had sent a letter to them the day after the dinner party, and the doctor had responded with an invitation to visit the following week.
Though he had been with Esther during the dinner party, once he was back home and the time got closer to see Bridget, the thoughts he had of Esther were slowly replaced with thoughts of Bridget. He had to choose which lady to pursue, and he was hoping to get some insight on this during his time with Bridget.
His plan was to only visit with the doctor and his daughter for a couple of hours, and then he would conduct some business and head back home, late. Though it would be a long day, it would be worth it to him to examine his conflicted feelings for Bridget.
It was true that Bridget knew him, thanks to the time they had spent together during his recovery. Most importantly, she knew about his broken body, and still seemed interested.
However, he also knew that she was not a social equal to him, which could cause some people to look down upon them. He didn’t know if he wanted to subject her to that, knowing that in some circles, she might never be accepted. There was also the fact that though he was very attracted to her, a physical connection mi
ght be the only thing that he wanted from her. He would have to see if there was more there.
Esther was on his mind, too, as he watched the world pass him by from the small window of the carriage. She had no idea that he was scarred, both mentally and physically, and that greatly bothered him. Esther was, however, an appropriate social match, who would be celebrated by their peers. He was also attracted to her, of course, and he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her.
Lusting For The Broken Earl (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 14