The Complicated Earl

by Audrey Harrison

  “Oh God, don’t tempt me,” Tom moaned, but at the look in her eyes he bent down and kissed her neck and down to her shoulders. She moaned his name as he kissed every inch of her bare skin and moved down to the front of her dress. She gasped as his mouth found the edge of her dress and he stopped. He raised his head to meet her wide eyes with a smile. “So far I have done everything wrongly and I am determined to do this correctly. You can have the satisfaction of knowing that with your every look you will be driving me insane until we are married, but I am determined we shall have a perfect wedding night.”

  Isabelle was partly disappointed, partly relieved, she was nervous about her lack of experience and knowing that he must have been with many women in the past only added to her nervousness, she would hate to be a disappointment. “I hope I won’t....what I mean to say is, I hope you won’t be.....are you sure it will be perfect for you?” she asked hesitantly blushing furiously.

  Tom smiled and kissed her before answering. “Isabelle, it will be perfect for both of us, I promise you.”

  “But you have.....and I have not,” Isabelle stammered, for the first time in her life struggling to express herself in any coherent way. How did you question your future husband about his past mistresses and conquests?

  Tom did not know whether to laugh or be angry, he cursed his reputation and the damage it could do to his marriage. He took Isabelle’s face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. “Isabelle listen to me, my reputation has been over exaggerated in some cases and deserved in others.” He saw a flicker of pain pass over her face and his stomach lurched. He never wanted to inflict pain on this woman and yet he seemed to at every turn. He quickly carried on talking to try and reassure her. “Whatever has gone on in the past, it doesn’t matter, our marriage is all about us and we can learn about each other together. Please do not worry, I promise there is no need.” He bent and kissed her gently, she was more precious to him than he thought possible, he was determined not to make her unhappy. Whether she would make him unhappy as his mother had his father remained to be seen, but he refused to dwell on such thoughts with Isabelle standing before him, her face flushed with passion and embarrassment. At the moment she only wanted him and he would content himself with that.

  Isabelle suddenly wanted to be married and she was ashamed to admit to herself that it stemmed from wanting to experience everything that a man and woman could. She had known that she loved him, only that he did not love her, but after what he had said in the library and the way he had looked at her, he must feel something for her. Every time she closed her eyes she saw his face and felt as if she could feel his touch again. She was sure she was not meant to enjoy a man’s touch as much as she did his and she questioned her morals at her longing for it to go further, but she wanted to be with him and wished for the time to pass quickly.

  *

  Isabelle was to go to Bath before Tom, he was travelling to London first to collect some jewellery he had asked Isabelle to wear on their wedding day. James and Mary left for London the morning Isabelle was leaving, they had decided to take advantage of the arrangements and spend two weeks in London before travelling to Bath. They would all meet again the week before the wedding.

  Isabelle waited for Sophie to arrive, she had stayed in an inn a few hours away. The excuse had been used that Sophie wanted to break the journey up but in reality it had not felt right to have Sophie in the family home. Everyone would meet at Bath, but it was out of respect for Mary that Tom and Isabelle had agreed on this course of action. As soon as Mary and James had left Tom took Isabelle by the hand and led her into the library.

  Isabelle followed, laughing and pretending to protest. “Tom, I need to be ready for when Sophie arrives!”

  “She will not be here for at least another hour and this is the last time I will see you alone before we are married,” came the quick answer as he shut the door firmly.

  Isabelle’s eyes widened, “What do you intend to do?”

  “This.” He pulled her to him and kissed her as always, wanting to be restrained, but the moment their lips met, he was taken over by a passion that shook him. He leant her against the door as he devoured her mouth with kisses that took her breath away. When she moaned he moved down to her shoulder and left a trail of kisses along her shoulder to the edge of her dress. “I have dreamt of having you alone again, do you know how you drive me mad?” He asked as he moved his hands up her body to brush past her breast.

  “I wanted you too, but felt ashamed,” Isabelle whispered back feeling young and inexperienced.

  “Never, never feel ashamed of your feelings, as long as they involve you wanting me!” He said with a rakish smile. “I just want you to know that I am counting the days until I can have you fully.”

  Isabelle flushed a little. “I am too.”

  Tom moaned and held her head to his chest. “Why didn’t I find you years ago? All those years wasted, we have to promise to make up for lost time.”

  Isabelle felt comfort from his words. He was formal when they were in the company of others, but when they were alone, he was passionate. The niggle that came to her after each encounter was that passion was not love was not dwelt on during their encounters. How could she not be captivated by his attentions? She would wonder late into each night if passion could turn to love for him, for it was becoming more important to her that he loved her.

  The sound of a carriage made them quickly pull away and Tom cursed. “My sister and her timing as always,” he muttered as he pulled away from Isabelle and straightened his jacket. He leant over and kissed Isabelle quickly on the lips. “Until our wedding night Miss Crawford.”

  Isabelle quickly straightened her hair and followed Tom out into the hallway. She hoped that Sophie would not notice how flustered she was, but when Sophie entered she was so full of hugs and congratulations that she did not notice anything amiss. She soon hurried Isabelle into starting on her journey, they had a lot to do and Sophie was desperate to set off.

  Isabelle felt a lump in the pit of her stomach as she waved goodbye to Tom. She knew it would not be long before she saw him again, but it almost felt like a physical pain to know how far they would be apart. At least he was joining them a few days before James and Mary, so she would see him in just over a week. She hoped she would be able to cope that long without him.

  The two day journey to Bath was uneventful. Sophie had much to tell Isabelle and so the time passed quickly enough. Isabelle was pleased to see how Sophie had changed in the weeks since they had last met. Marriage seemed to suit her and she had matured in the way Isabelle had hoped she would when she had planned to marry James. She was still the same Sophie in some ways though, making grand plans for how she was going to help Charlotte when she returned to London.

  They were ready for firm ground by the time they reached Great Pulteney Street. Isabelle felt strange returning, so much had happened since she had been here last, but it still felt that she was returning home. This visit would be bittersweet, they had decided that there was no reason to keep the house, Tom had offered, but Isabelle had acknowledged that in reality they would probably not return to Bath often enough to justify keeping a house. They could rent whenever they did venture here.

  As Sophie settled into her room Isabelle wondered around the house, she wanted to imprint each room in her memory. This home had been her sanctuary. When she had moved to Bath, although she had been determined that she would have her independence she had not been really sure that it would work out that way. The house had seemed to welcome her from the moment she stepped through the door into the large hallway. As she walked around each room thinking about her future, she became more convinced that her decision had been the right one and had felt settled for the first time since her debut.

  A notice had already been sent to the Times to announce her engagement, so she knew her friends would already know her situation. She smiled wryly to herself, she doubted that she would have her usual beaus around her now
that she was unavailable.

  Isabelle, Sophie and Sidney all ventured to the Pump Rooms the morning after their return. Sidney and Sophie had dined with Mrs Arnold the previous evening, but Isabelle had declined claiming to have a mild headache because of the journey. Her real reason was to spend as much time at home as she could. Once word spread that she had returned the usual round of visits would take over and intrude on what time she could spend in quiet reflection.

  As they entered the Pump Room they were accosted by Mrs Arnold, who had obviously been on the lookout for them. “Good morning, good morning!” She greeted them, hugging Sophie close. “How fine it is to see you all returned to Bath and looking so well. Miss Crawford, when Sophie wrote of your news I must say we were all delighted. Who would have thought that finally the Earl would settle down? Perhaps he saw how happy Sophie and Sidney were and took a leaf out of their book. Aren’t they happy? Isn’t it a wonderful thing that my boy has done in securing Sophie? I have two daughters of my own Miss Crawford, but I assure you that Sophie is as precious as either of them, yes, yes, just as precious.”

  Isabelle had listened to the outpouring with a serene smile on her lips. She was very glad Tom was not here to listen to this, quite a bit of what Mrs Arnold said would have caused some caustic comments from Tom of that she was sure. “As Sophie’s soon to be sister I am happy that she has fitted in so well with your family,” she replied.

  Mrs Arnold had settled well into Bath life since Isabelle’s departure. She now had a wide circle of acquaintances whom she met each morning in the Pump Rooms. Isabelle was sure that most of her conversation was around Sophie and Sidney and what plans they had, luckily Sophie’s wealth would ensure that Mrs Arnold’s ways would be tolerated in society more than they would have before the connection.

  Isabelle stood to the side of the group, looking for any of her acquaintances and smiled when she saw Mr Beckett approaching her.

  “Miss Crawford, what a delight to see you returned to Bath, it has not been the same without you I assure you,” he smiled a warm smile and bowed in greeting.

  Isabelle laughed with pleasure, “Mr Beckett, it is good to see you too, especially as you flatter me sir. I am sure you can cope handsomely without me being in residence.”

  “From the announcement I have read it is a state it seems I will be forced to endure again soon. Would you like to take a turn around the room?”

  Isabelle smiled and took his arm gratefully. She had only been in Mrs Arnold’s company for ten minutes and already she was grateful for an escape. “Yes, thank you.”

  “So tell me all your news,” Mr Beckett spoke again as they moved out of Mrs Arnold’s hearing. “How did the Earl persuade you to marry him and more importantly how are you going to be able to cope with Mrs Arnold as a distant relative?”

  Isabelle giggled. “I intend avoiding her at all costs, Sophie may have willingly made the connection with the family, but I cannot. The Miss Arnolds seem to be nice girls and although there is no malice in Mrs Arnold, she is the one person that can give me a headache! It is very wrong of me to criticise her though, you always did bring out the worst in me. I must remember to keep you apart from the Earl or he may change his mind before the wedding!”

  “If he has any sense he won’t do that,” came the affable reply. “I still want to know how he persuaded you to marry him, you cannot avoid answering my questions you know. I shall accept no false modesty from you my dear.”

  Isabelle was tempted to reply that he had almost ruined her and it was the lesser of two evils, but although she would have risked a comment like that to Tom, even with Mr Beckett’s easy nature he would be shocked at such talk. “I realised that the thought of not seeing him every day was something that I could not bear,” she finally said, quietly serious.

  Mr Beckett paused and looked at her, his eyes narrowing a little. “A love match for you? I am truly glad Miss Crawford and wish you every happiness.”

  Isabelle felt her throat tightening at his words and smiled, replying with a quiet “Thank you.”

  They walked around the room stopping to talk to everyone they knew. Each person was keen to ask Isabelle about the wedding and her plans for the future. Their progress was slow but pleasant. As they moved on from a group Mr Beckett reached and squeezed Isabelle’s hand that was still resting on his arm. “I do not want to spoil the congenial mood of this morning, but I feel as your friend I must.”

  “What is it?” Isabelle was genuinely puzzled as to what he wanted to say, she could think of nothing that could be amiss.

  “One of our friends may no longer be as pleasant as he was used to be,” Mr Beckett said with a small smile. “He has not been as pleased with your engagement as the rest of us have.”

  “Who?” Isabelle was puzzled, she had flirted with men, but had always been clear that she was not going to accept their proposals.

  “Mr Ollerton,” Mr Beckett said simply.

  Isabelle groaned. “I told him at his ball that I would never change my mind. Surely he understood that I was never going to marry him whether or not I married the Earl?”

  “There are things I don’t think you are aware of that made Ollerton more determined than most to secure your hand. I must say I have only discovered it after we read the announcement in the Times. It seems that he is in dire need of cash, a large amount of cash. He has been fooling all his acquaintances for a substantial amount of time that he had a comfortable income, but in reality unless he makes a good match with someone of fortune soon, he is in danger of losing everything,” Mr Beckett said, being unusually sober.

  “Oh dear, he must be frantic, but why oh why do I always attract those who want my fortune?” Isabelle sighed, genuinely sorry for Mr Ollerton, but annoyed that yet again the loss of her fortune would be felt far more than the loss of herself.

  “Be reassured that he has always wanted to marry you, even when his finances were not in such a sorry state. From what I can gather some bad investments when he was away last and deep gambling to try and recover his money led him to renew his addresses to you at his ball and from what you have said previously in a more suggestive manner than was appropriate. Your refusal and then sudden removal from the area, which you have yet to tell me what happened, made his position more desperate. He could not change your mind if you were not here.”

  Isabelle ignored the comment about her explaining her sudden absence from Bath for the moment at least. “It seems I had a lucky escape,” she said ruefully, “I cannot express being sorry at having missed being hounded for my money.”

  “I can understand your feelings. He went to Bristol soon after you left, to gamble further it appears, but had returned a day or two before the Times announced your engagement. I was with him and saw the man fall into despair and anger.”

  Isabelle stiffened slightly, “I should feel remorse if he was despairing at losing my affection, but I have little concern at him being angry about losing my fortune. I have always been clear with him from the very start. Why did he not realise I was telling the truth when I told him I did not want to marry him?”

  “A desperate man will cling to any ray of hope. Your friendliness gave him hope, but I think you should be prepared for a different reception when you next see him. You will no doubt come across each other at some point, Bath society is too small to avoid him.”

  Isabelle nodded in agreement. It was a vain hope, but she hoped that she would not see Mr Ollerton until Tom had arrived in Bath. She did not think Mr Ollerton would be foolish enough to be anything but politeness with Tom as her protector. For the first time she felt a little vulnerable, Sophie and Sidney seemed too young to be included in her concerns. She was beginning to see the advantage of having a husband’s protection.

  Chapter 18

  Isabelle did not come into contact with Mr Ollerton for the first four days of returning to Bath and her worry eased as other activities took precedence. She was busy shopping and going through her household, deciding wi
th her housekeeper what would be packed and transported to Kent, or what could be given away. Sophie accompanied her on every shopping expedition, but her work with the housekeeper was carried out alone. Sophie and Sidney usually used this time to visit Mrs Arnold. With the usual rounds of morning visits, Isabelle had little time to attend to much else.

  She had left her horses in Hampshire, to be sent down to Kent on James and Mary’s return home. Instead of riding out each morning, she made sure she walked, usually through Sydney Gardens. Sophie and Sidney were willing escorts, both were keen to be outdoors. As the week progressed Isabelle felt more relieved to be outside, her house was losing a little of the homely feel it had as things were packed away and she was beginning to relish the escape each morning.

  On her fifth day as they walked through Sydney Gardens they were approached by Mr Ollerton. Isabelle had recognised the oncoming figure and had braced herself to be ignored, so was pleasantly surprised when he stopped and bowed at the group.

  “Miss Crawford, Mr Arnold, Mrs Arnold,” he bowed. “I had heard you had returned to Bath. It is a pleasure to see you again. Is your visit to be a long one?”

  “Just a couple of weeks longer,” Isabelle said, watching for any sign of animosity, she was ready to move away if needed.

  “Are you attending the Assembly rooms tonight?” he asked smiling at the group. They all assured him of their attendance. “As this will be one of the last times we may meet, could I claim the first two with you Miss Crawford?”

  Isabelle did not really want to spend such a long time with Mr Ollerton if what Mr Beckett had said was true, but so far he had been his usual self, so could think of no reason to refuse. “It would be a pleasure to dance with you, although I am sure we will see each other in the future. I am moving to another County, not another Country.”

  “Ah things change after one agrees to be married as I am sure you will find out,” Mr Ollerton said. “I offer my congratulations on your engagement by the way. It came as a surprise to your Bath friends.”