by Ella Edon
The Earl’s Wicked Seduction
They lied about everything, except for their love…
Ella Edon
Contents
Thank you
About the book
1. A Fortune Hunter Schemes To Catch An Earl
2. An Earl Schemes To Avoid A Fortune Hunter
3. A New Family Visits Birdwell
4. The Earl Becomes A Coachman
5. Outfitted For Finding A Husband
6. Meeting The Most Perfectly Wrong Man
7. Chapbooks And Confections
8. The Earl Plans A Deception
9. A Whirlwind Of Preparation
10. Mr. Wheeler Drives The Landau Into Birdwell
11. Mrs. Clarke Arrives At The Ball
12. An Accident Diverted, Despite Kid Gloves
13. The Ladies At The Ball Reveal Their True Nature
14. The Kitty Kickaway And Two Suspicious Servants
15. Riding To Market In A Governess Car
16. Fording The Feathering River
17. Many Small Secrets And One Shocking Discovery
18. Decisions, Consequences, And Further Plans
19. The Dowager Countess Makes Plans, And Miss Miller Is Revealed
20. The Dorking Hen And The Banty Rooster
21. Bejeweled Birds And An Inquisitive Driver
22. The Primrose And The Highwayman
23. An Imposter Is Revealed; A Battle In The Streets
24. With Plans In Ruins, All Is Reconsidered
25. Answers Will Be Had
26. King George Comes To Call At Applewood
27. The Coachman's Tragic Tale
28. One Night To Sustain A Lifetime
29. Miss Miller Meets Earl Worthington At Last
30. An Unforgettable Night Among The Apple Blossoms
31. The Earl Finally Arrives At The Ball
32. A Visit To Worthington Estate
Extended Epilogue
Afterword
Do you want more Romance?
Abducted by a Fiery Lady
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About the Author
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About the book
Is it possible to find love when you are so deeply tangled in a web of lies?
All Grace Miller wanted, was to live an honest life, provide for her family, and protect their secrets…
When they move to Birdwell she is entrusted by her aunt and uncle with an impossible task: create a new identity, reinvent herself and seduce the Earl of Worthington into marriage.
Grace agrees unwillingly to this plan, but soon she finds herself deeply enamored by the ruggedly handsome Adam Wheeler...
Thomas, Earl of Worthington, was tired of all the society girls parading in front of him like cattle. His romantic heart wishes to find a wife who will care for him and not for his fortune.
With the Assembly Balls approaching, Thomas conceives the most devious plan, in order to meet his possible future bride...
They lied about everything, except for their love…
Chapter One
A Fortune Hunter Schemes To Catch An Earl
Applewood Cottage
Birdwell, England
April 1813
"Mother! Someone's coming!"
Grace Margaret Miller hurried through the little stone cottage, stepping over and around the many crates and boxes still scattered over the floor. The family had arrived at Applewood Cottage only three days before and there was still so much to be unpacked, sorted out, and put away.
And, in some cases, very carefully hidden from view.
"Who is it, Grace? We’re not expecting anyone!" Her mother, Patience Vane Miller, came rushing out of the larger of the two sleeping rooms.
"I don't know who it is." Grace peered out through the heavy glass of the windows. "It looks like a man – a tradesman – and a woman walking with him. I would guess she’s his wife. They just turned off of the road and they're coming up our lane!"
"Oh, my heaven! It could be anyone, come to welcome us to Birdwell! Run and find your brothers. Tell them to get their – tell them to find him and bring him inside. They must hide him and keep him quiet, as always. Remind them to be gentle! They know where the bottle is, if needed."
"Are you sure they know where anything is in this place?"
"Oh, my dear, the bottle was the first thing in their young lives that John and Noah learned about. They know where it is at all times. Now run and tell them, and then you run right back out here and help me with this!"
Grace sighed, gathered her rough woolen skirts, and stepped quickly over and around the clutter on the floor. In a moment, she was out through the rear door and into the high-walled garden attached to the back of the cottage. A quick glance showed her the silent, motionless figure sitting on a stone bench in the far corner.
Reaching into her apron pocket with shaking hands, she found the key and opened the solid wooden gate that led outside. "John! Noah!" she cried, looking out at the large, three-acre apple orchard with its hundreds of bare trees in neatly spaced rows. "Come in! Quickly! Come in now!"
To her relief, the two boys appeared from where they had been playing some game around the trees. John, fourteen years of age, was shy and soft-spoken while Noah, just twelve, was a little bundle of mischief. "Bring him in. Immediately. Someone is here! You know what to do."
Grace had been worried that her brothers might complain or simply ignore her, but they seemed to understand and came running in. She waited just long enough to lock the gate after them, and then ran back inside to join her mother.
Who would be calling on them now? They hadn’t had enough time to get their home in order and were in no position to receive any sort of guests, not even the tradesmen and servants who lived in Birdwell. But as she got back to the half-open front door, she realized that her mother's high-pitched voice sounded quite happy and excited.
"Oh, yes, come in, come in!" cried Patience, holding the door partly closed behind her. "I'm so glad to see you! Though I am sorry we have so little for you to see. We’re still moving in! Grace! Where is that girl? I'm sure she's here – just let me go and see – "
She turned around, pushing the door open, nearly hitting Grace with it. Quickly, her mother caught Grace's arm, pulled her out to the front lawn of the cottage, and shut the door.
"It's all right, dear," Patience said brightly. "Your Uncle Leonard Vane and Aunt Betsey are here, come to visit!"
With a small curtsey, Grace smiled at their guests. She had only seen them once or twice before in her life, but was well aware that they were her mother's brother, Uncle Leonard, and his wife, Aunt Betsey – and that they were the people who owned this cottage.
"Thank you for coming," said Grace. "I'm looking forward to getting to know both of you, now that – now that we’re all here."
"Oh, quick, now, Grace, go back inside and move some of those crates and things. We must have a place for our guests to sit down! And do we have anythin
g to serve? Cake, anything?"
"Patience Miller. Please. I beg you," said Aunt Betsey. There was great weariness and exasperation in her voice. She was an older, grey-haired woman in the plain dress, apron, and woolen shawl of a tradesman's wife – which she was. Grace noticed that she carried a large cloth bundle beneath one arm.
"We know you just arrived," her aunt went on. "We didn’t come expecting dinner at Worthington House."
"Worthington!" Patience turned and glanced out at the great estate up on the faraway hill. It was over a mile from Applewood, but easily seen due to the supreme height on which it rested. "We have no hope of being invited to Worthington. Though I do hear there is an unmarried earl living there – "
"We don’t need to go inside the cottage," said Uncle Leonard. "We are perfectly fine to speak with you right here, in the front garden." He was a man in his fifties, of medium height, dressed in the old and threadbare suit that was his daily uniform for managing his little fabric and ribbon shop on the main street of Birdwell. "We have simply come to ask after your well-being and see if there is anything else you and your children might require."
Patience seemed to relax slightly and stood close to Grace while holding onto her arm. "We couldn’t ask for anything more," Patience said, a little more softly. "This cottage – it's – I'm well aware that it's – " Her voice broke and she dropped her head into her hand, leaning against her daughter.
Grace patted her mother's shoulder. "Uncle Leonard, I have not had the chance to thank you properly, either. We know this is your cottage. And we are very grateful that you are allowing us to stay here."
"Yes, yes, very grateful!" said Patience, straightening up and fumbling for a handkerchief in her own apron pocket. "Very kind of both of you to allow a widowed sister and her three poor children to live in the cottage you own."
All three of them shot Patience a look, but she simply went on talking. "One day, I promise we will invite you for the finest supper! I'll make it myself – I was a kitchen maid at Northcliff, you know, for five years – and Grace will help – "
"That is all very well, Patience," said Betsey. "But for the moment, do you suppose we could sit down on the benches under the tree?"
"Of course, of course!" Patience led Grace over to the three worn wooden benches beneath the single oak tree that grew between the cottage and the road. Grace sat down close to her mother and waited for Leonard and Betsey to join them.
"I promise," said Patience, "that we will be ready to show you some proper hospitality very soon. Won't we, Grace?"
"Of course." Grace glanced at her aunt and uncle as they sat down on their own bench. "Of course. You are welcome here anytime."
Aunt Betsey simply rolled her eyes and settled the large cloth bag on her lap. "Don't worry about us. We didn’t come here looking for an invitation to our own – " She stopped suddenly as her husband nudged her with his elbow. "That is, we have more important things to discuss with you and Grace."
It was Betsey's turn to nudge her husband, and he responded by reaching into his coat for something in an inner pocket.
"Discuss with us? What do you mean?" said Patience, holding more tightly to Grace's arm. "What has happened now?"
"Oh, I think you will both like this," said Leonard. From inside his coat, he drew out what looked like a small piece of white paper and offered it to Grace. "I think you will like this very much indeed."
Quickly, Patience snatched it out of his hand and studied it. "Oh! Oh, my – it's – Grace, do you know what this is?"
"No. I don't. But I might if you will let me see it." Still sitting on the bench, Grace took the piece of paper from her mother and examined it closely. "I'm sorry. I still don't know what this is."
"Of course you don't!" Patience cried. "Poor girl that you are – no coming-out, no fine gown, no invitations to anything out there at that northern house – not with you and your mother being servants there – your young brothers with no schooling and working all day in the barnyards, and your father nothing, but a coachman – "
"But now, Grace," said Uncle Leonard, quickly breaking in and trying to ignore his distraught sister, "all that is over. You are holding the first of what will be many new opportunities for you."
"It's a ticket to an assembly ball! In just ten days!" Patience grabbed the ticket from Grace and held it as though it were made of pure gold. "And you, my dear, are going to attend!"
"An assembly ball?" repeated Grace. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the memories of endless drudgery at the isolated Northcliff estate where she had lived for most of her life.
"That means," cried Patience, "that anyone with a ticket may attend! Oh, how exciting!"
"That's right," said Aunt Betsey. "Now give that to me." She held out her hand until Patience reluctantly handed back the ticket, and then tucked it into the little knitted bag that hung from her wrist. "Thank you. Now, this is the very first assembly ball to be held for many years here in Birdwell. There have been private dances up at Worthington, of course, from time to time, but those were far too fine for any of us who are merely in trade."
Uncle Leonard nodded. "But rumor has it that now, since our town has been growing of late, the family at Worthington wants to see some wholesome amusements provided for we working class folk. Most likely it is done in an effort to keep us to more, shall we say, 'respectable' means of passing the time."
Patience froze for a moment, but Aunt Betsey actually managed a smile. "I hope that the first to benefit from Birdwell's revived assembly ball will be Grace."
Grace nodded, her eyes wide. It felt strange to be the one receiving such generosity. "I am sure I will benefit," she went on, a little puzzled. "Attending a ball would be such fun! I cannot imagine what it might be like. I used to see the ladies arriving for such things at Northcliff, and occasionally the servants would try the dances out in the yard when no one was looking. But I never thought that I myself – "
"Miss Miller," her uncle said sternly, leaning forward, "you must be very clear about this. We are not sending you to this ball solely for your own amusement. You have a very serious task ahead of you."
"Task?" Her heart began to beat faster and she suddenly felt very nervous. "What – what do you mean? What kind of task?"
Uncle Leonard started to speak, but then stopped. He glanced at his wife as though pleading with her to say what he could not.
With another deep sigh, Aunt Betsey looked straight at Patience. "You are all well aware that this was my home before you came here. This little cottage was very comfortable for my husband and I, and near enough to Birdwell that we could easily walk to our shop there. And frankly, I should like to have it back again before too much time passes."
Grace looked down, feeling suddenly very low for having turned this woman out of her home. It did not matter that neither she, nor anyone else in the Miller family had had any wish to do so.
"But Mr. Vane and I discussed the matter," Aunt Betsey went on. "We agreed that this was the only Christian thing to do. We sold the three acres of apple trees surrounding the cottage and kept only this half acre, which has just enough room for the cottage and the walled vegetable garden."
"That sale provides the money for your upkeep," Uncle Leonard explained. "But it will not last forever."
Aunt Betsey glanced him. "I will not be so polite," she said. "We are all in need of money. My husband and I have our shop, which provides a small income. Patience, you were a kitchen maid in a great house. We propose that you create pastries and dainties for us to sell in our shop a few times per week, and we would share the profits with you."
"Oh, I should love to do that! I could put my name on them, just like the city bakers do!"
"No. No. You could not," insisted Uncle Leonard.
"But – "
"No one is to know that you do aught but care for your lovely daughter and your two young sons, living at ease in your country cottage," Uncle Leonard continued.
"I could work, to
o," Grace said, rising to her feet. "I was a maid-of-all-work at Northcliff. I can clean, polish, launder, haul water, carry wood – whatever is needed. Surely someone here – "
"Again, no," Uncle Leonard said firmly. "You will work, Miss Grace. But not in the way you think."
Slowly, Grace sat down on the bench again, almost afraid to ask anything further.