A Bewitching Lord of Her Own: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Lucy Langton

  “I appreciate your apology, Lord Statham,” Miss Ada replied, her eyes coming to his. Her voice was emotionless, causing Flynt to feel even more guilty because she had enjoyed the performance so much and had spoken with such excitement earlier in the night.

  “But tell me,” she continued. “Is what the woman said true? Did you promise her a future you couldn’t provide?”

  Flynt scoffed as he shook his head. “Believe me, Miss Ada. I am the last person in the world to offer any young lady a promise of marriage. I am not keen on the idea and would live a happy life if I never had to marry. Therefore, there is certainly no way that I promised that woman anything,” he said.

  “Then what would motivate a woman to do such a thing if she wasn’t thoroughly in the right?” Miss Ada pressed.

  “I’m not sure. But if I am to be honest, my memory is a little foggy as of late. Perhaps I had complimented her, and she thought I wanted to court her in return,” Flynt reasoned. Ada shook her head at him before turning her eyes away to the window once more.

  Flynt leaned back in the carriage as it rocked from side to side, rumbling along on the cobblestone road. He watched Miss Ada for some time, trying to read her thoughts and determine her opinion of him. During the performance, he had snuck glances at her, seeing the excitement and happiness on her face. Such joy had really resonated with him, and a part of him yearned to feel the same way.

  Now, however, he was certain that Miss Ada was rather cross with him. Since they occupied the same townhouse, he was certain she had already heard of his bad choices in life from his mother and aunt. He had hoped that perhaps he and Miss Ada would be able to form some sort of mutual relationship since she was his mother’s companion. But all of that seemed to have been trampled down by the way the evening had ended.

  When the carriage arrived at the townhouse, Flynt stepped down and turned back to help Miss Ada. The feeling of her gloved hand in his seemed to stir a desire within him that he really hadn’t felt in a while. It wasn’t lust that rose in his body as he often felt when he was at the gentlemen’s clubs. It was more of a yearning to feel something more, whatever that feeling might be.

  The moment they were inside the townhouse, only a few candles lit for their arrival, Miss Ada pulled away from him and picked up a candlestick. She turned to him for only a moment and said, “Thank you for escorting me this evening so I could enjoy the concert. I still believe it was worth the effort.” Then, she quickly turned, her satin gown flowing as she walked up the stairs.

  Flynt sighed once more as he picked up a candlestick of his own and made his way towards the kitchen. He was hungry for something yet wasn’t sure what he wanted to feast on. When he saw the bottle of brandy on the counter, to be used for brazing meats, he considered taking that up to his bedchamber to drink the night away.

  Not wanting to invoke the wrath of his mother once more, he decided not to go with a brandy and instead found a knife to cut off a few pieces of cheese from the cheese wheel, and a few apples to take up to his room.

  The moment he was alone in his bedchamber, he took his small meal over to the sitting area in front of the windowpanes. He looked out over the gardens, watching how moonlight fell from the sky and danced around the trees and rose bushes. It was a beautiful sight, yet Flynt couldn’t seem to find a better mood. All he could think about was how wonderful it had been to see the concert with Miss Ada and the joy he had seen on her face. It had been the disastrous events afterwards that had surely ruined the evening.

  As Flynt finished his small meal and prepared for bed, he hoped that in the future, if he was tasked with taking Miss Ada anywhere, that this sort of thing wouldn’t happen again. But, as he thought about the documents he had signed for Lord Locke, he wasn’t sure how many more opportunities he would have to go out of the townhouse if he didn’t think of a way fast to secure the money he owed. Falling to sleep that night was as difficult as sleeping during a thunderstorm at sea.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, Ada was slow to rise. She was tired from her night out but didn’t want to keep Dowager Statham waiting for her if she was feeling better and would be in need of Ada. Therefore, she threw back the covers and pushed herself from the bed to get ready for the day.

  After stripping out of her nightgown and undergarments, she washed thoroughly with the water from the basin and a clean cloth. Then she pulled on new garments, a petticoat, and a simple day gown made from crème linens.

  After securing her hair back with a piece of ribbon, she ventured down the hallway to Dowager Statham’s bedchamber and knocked softly. When she heard the chipper voice of her employer, she opened the door with a smile and stepped in to find Dowager Statham in the process of dressing, Dowager White sitting in a chair while she waited.

  “Ah, good morning, Miss Ada. We’ve been expecting you,” Dowager Statham said.

  “I am sure that you want all the details of the evening last night,” Ada said, knowing how much the two of them enjoyed gossiping. If they had been able to attend the function last night, they would have been talking only of who they had seen and with whom. As well as the state of everyone’s dress. There would have been little talk about the concert itself.

  “Yes, my dear. Do have a seat while I am finished getting ready for the day,” Dowager Statham said, gesturing to the chair next to Dowager White.

  “My word, I can only imagine how your night went,” Dowager White said with enthusiasm. “When I was a young debutant, I would have countless suitors and escorts take me to the opera house for one show or another. It was my favourite way to be seen in public.”

  “I can attest to the fact that there were many people at the opera house last night,” Ada said.

  “No doubt because of the beginning of the Season,” Dowager Statham pointed out.

  “The concert was very lovely, as were our seats in the opera house. I could hear the tenor singer as though I was standing on stage with him. I enjoyed every song and moment of the concert,” Ada explained. She thought of the moment when she had been lost in the music, looking into the eyes of the tenor player and had rested her hand on Lord Statham’s. The thought caused her to blush, and she quickly tried to think of something else to distract herself.

  “And what about my Flynt? Did he behave himself?” Dowager Statham asked as she sat down in front of her vanity and waited for her lady’s maid to do her hair.

  “Lord Statham was a gentleman the entire time; you can be assured of that. However, there were a few instances I should probably mention,” Ada said as she folded her hands and looked down at them, feeling nervous.

  “Oh no … what happened?” Dowager White asked, looking as nervous as Ada felt.

  “A woman accused Lord Statham of being forward with her. I suppose she thought he was going to ask her to marry him and then slapped him in the face when he explained he did not recognize her,” Ada explained.

  “Good Lord, a woman assaulted my Flynt?” Dowager Statham asked, her voice rising in pitch. Ada only nodded her head in return.

  “Oh, Miss Ada. You must have felt so embarrassed,” Dowager White said as she clicked her tongue as to tut at her nephew.

  “It was unlike anything I had ever seen before,” Ada felt safe to say. “And then … there was the instance with Lord Locke.”

  “My God, what did the man want?” Dowager White was quick to ask. Ada looked up and saw the pale expressions on both of their faces.

  “The man said that Lord Statham owed him money. That he had a week to pay it before he would send for the constable to take him to debtor’s prison,” Ada said in a weak voice, feeling as though she was bringing grave news to the family she worked for. Seeing their grief-stricken faces made her wish she hadn’t told them a thing and had left the conversation to the Earl.

  “Excuse us,” Dowager Statham said to her lady’s maid. The woman curtsied, leaving her hair half done, as she scurried from the room. Once it was just the three of them, Dowager Statham turned
in her chair to face them.

  “Miss Ada, I can’t imagine how embarrassed you must feel to have experienced such a thing with my son,” Dowager Statham said. “As you have known since coming to stay here, Flynt hasn’t made the best choices in life. And though I thought sending him away from the militia would help tame much of his wild nature, it seems it has only made matters worse.”

  Her voice was so low and sorrowful that Ada couldn’t help tearing up around the eyes. She knew Lady Statham to be a lovely woman who truly cared about others. She spoke highly of her late husband and had even taken in her sister when she became a widow as well.

  More so, Dowager Statham always treated her with a higher respect than she did her own lady’s maid. Ada was immensely grateful to be employed by such a wonderful woman. If only her son could shape up and not cause his family so much grief.

  “Dowager Statham, I am not upset with the way the night went,” Ada said, trying to comfort the older woman. “Lord Statham was very much a gentleman, and I truly loved the concert. I honestly think nothing of the way it ended for it doesn’t directly affect me.”

  “Nevertheless, his past actions led to a very undesirable ending of the night. If you don’t mind, Miss Ada, I wish to speak to my sister alone,” Dowager Statham said with a sigh.

  “Of course,” Ada said as she rose from her chair and curtsied to the women. Then, she promptly left the bedchamber of her employer, thinking it was time she went down to have a bit of breakfast.

  ~*~

  “Lavinia, what on Earth is Flynt going to do if Lord Locke is only giving him one week to come up with all that money?” Dowager White asked, her breathing coming harsher as she felt a panic attack coming on. She often felt like this when she started to really worry about her future and the state of her family. Having no children of her own, she thought much about her nephew.

  “Bertie, there may be only one way Flynt can really turn his life around and get out of this mound of debt,” Dowager Statham said as she raised her hands slowly and finished fixing her hair in a presentable way. Then, she joined her sister by taking the chair next to her.

  “What is that?” Dowager White asked in a shaky voice.

  “Flynt will just have to marry. He’ll receive his inheritance and all the responsibilities of being a married Earl. He’ll have more control over the family’s finances and can focus more on matters of business,” Dowager Statham explained.

  “But who would be willing to marry a man like Flynt. I love him dearly as if he was my own. However, no woman of good sense would agree to marry the man.”

  “That is very true. However, I think Miss Ada would be the perfect one to tame Flynt and make sure he starts to make good choices. Especially with all the wealth he is to inherit when he is married.”

  Dowager Statham watched as her sister stared at her for a moment, her lips parting as she seemed shocked by the idea. But Dowager Statham knew to wait patiently for Bertie to make a decision even though she was often quick to react.

  “Lavinia, I know that Miss Ada has all the qualities any eligible gentleman would be pleased to have in a wife. But do you think she would really agree to marry Flynt after everything he has done?” Dowager White asked.

  “Miss Ada is a good girl. I am sure that she would do anything we asked her to. And, she did admit that Flynt was a sure gentleman last night at the concert. She would rise in rank, be able to be a proper lady once more, and have all the wealth she could want for whatever she desired. Despite his choices, Flynt is still a decent person.”

  “Even if Miss Ada agrees to marry Flynt because it would improve her position in society, how will we convince Flynt that he needs to marry in order to improve his life? After all, he’s been very reluctant to marry in the past.”

  “Bertie, I will just have to make him an offer he can’t refuse. He either marries Miss Ada to use his inheritance to settle this debt or he can lose his inheritance altogether and be exiled from the family. He may retain the title of Earl, for only the King can take that from him. But I will give his inheritance to someone else, like the poor orphans.”

  Dowager White’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Dowager Statham, leaning heavily back in her chair. Dowager Statham took a deep breath, knowing that this would probably be the harshest thing she had ever done to her son. But she knew that it was truly the only way that he would be able to straighten his life out and hopefully become a better version of himself.

  “I am determined to help Flynt settle down. In his immediate state, he won’t be able to manage his inheritance the way he has been currently acting. I’m confident that once he is married and is influenced heavily by Miss Ada, he will decide to make better decisions for them and their family,” Dowager Statham said. She stood to her feet, ready to talk to Miss Ada first about her idea.

  “I agree with you, Lavinia. It all sounds like a good plan. But it will require first convincing Ada,” Dowager White said as she stood to her feet as well.

  “Then let us go down to the dining room to speak with her. Perhaps we can talk with her before Flynt comes down to breakfast,” Dowager Statham reasoned. Dowager White nodded in return, and together they made their way downstairs.

  Chapter 9

  Ada had just finished eating her breakfast, the footman having claimed her empty porcelain plate when Dowager Statham and Dowager White came into the dining room. She smiled pleasantly towards them as they came to sit across from her at the table. They were quickly served, but she noticed that neither one of them was eating what they had been given.

  “Is everything alright?” she asked, feeling nervous by the tense way they were both looking at her. Ada watched as Dowager Statham folded her hands in her lap and breathed in deeply before letting it go slowly.

  “Miss Ada, I have come to a decision for my son,” Dowager Statham said. “I know that his marrying is the best option. If he can marry this week, he’ll receive his inheritance and be able to pay Lord Locke.”

  “My word. Marry this week? That is a rather hard thing to accomplish when he isn’t courting anyone,” Ada remarked.

  “Yes, my dear. It seems like an impossible task,” Dowager Statham said with another sigh. “That is why Bertie and I have decided that if you will agree to marry Flynt this week, his debt problems can be solved, and you will surely be able to straighten him out with your kind-heartedness. Being such a pure soul, you’ll surely be the one to turn Flynt around.”

  Ada felt like the air in her lungs had been forced suddenly out, as though she had fallen and landed on her back. She couldn’t believe what her employer was suggesting. She understood the reasoning but didn’t quite know how to respond. Ada always worked hard to impress the widowed sisters. However, how far was she willing to go to please them? And, if she refused this plan, did that then mean she wouldn’t have a safe position within the household?

  “Dowager Statham, though I agree that Lord Statham is an attractive man who most likely has many good attributes about him, I highly doubt a woman like me could have any sort of power over a man like him,” Ada said, trying to choose her words carefully. The sisters chuckled then, and Dowager White even managed to take a bite of her toast.

  “You’d be surprised how much power a wife can have over her husband when she learns to use such power,” Dowager White said when she finished chewing.

  “I have great hope in you, Miss Ada, that you could be the type of woman to straighten Flynt out once and for all. He needs motivation and persuasion, and someone kind and gentle to lead him. I am not so gentle when it comes to my son,” Dowager Statham said.

  “I always had plans to marry for love and not just convenience. I don’t think I can do something like this,” Ada confessed, her skin feeling feverish as she imagined being Lord Statham’s wife. She would not only try to influence him for the better, especially when it came to money. But that would also require her to perform wifely duties, including producing an heir to the title of Earl. She wasn’t sure she could e
ven do that with a man if she didn’t truly love him.