Then Selina saw the perspiration. She hadn’t seen it before. Patricia was sweating profusely. Now she realized what was going on; Patricia was not well at all. She was struggling with a fever.
How had Selina not noticed that? She laid a hand on Patricia’s arm, not pulling back when her friend flinched.
“No. I don’t want to do that. But I think you need to rest. You’re not well.”
“I think I’ll decide that. I’m fine.”
Selina reached up and wiped a bead of perspiration from Patricia’s forehead. She showed Patricia her fingers.
“Are you certain?”
Chapter 10
Clearing the
Misunderstanding
P atricia wouldn’t allow Selina to take her back to her room right away. From what Selina could find out, Patricia’s fever had broken momentarily, so she let her guard down. It came back, so Patricia was not acting her normal self. With the fever’s return, she had turned into a different person. Selina had a similar experience years before when she had pneumonia. It was unpleasant.
Evidently, Patricia had not yet fully recovered.
Even if she had been delusional, some of her words had struck a chord. Did she suspect Selina of harboring feelings for Newark? It had shaken Selina. She didn’t want to argue with her best friend, and it had been a good thing nobody had witnessed the outburst. Selina didn’t want to explain it. And she didn’t want to explain to Patricia what happened.
Hopefully, her friend wouldn’t remember it.
Patricia was asleep before she had even laid her head on the pillow. Selina and Patricia’s maid put her to bed and arranged the sheets before tiptoeing out. Patricia was snoring as Selina closed the door.
Selina returned to the library to calm down and have some alone time.
She was surprised to find Newark sitting on the sofa, reading the book she had picked out from the shelves a few hours before. He looked up as she entered and smiled.
“Hey, Selina. Where’s Patty?”
Realizing she couldn’t turn and leave, Selina swallowed and closed the door.
“She’s gone back to bed. She had a fever, and it took hold again.” Selina entered the room. “I’m sure she’ll wake up in the next few hours.”
Newark was silent. He closed the book and stood, placing the book on the sofa.
“I heard she was making a lot of accusations towards you.”
“Who told you?”
“The butler.” Newark shrugged. “He listens at keyholes.”
Selina closed her eyes and self-consciously wondered if Newark now knew the details. She jumped when he touched her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze.
“Don’t worry about what she said. She’s just lashing out.”
“But she had a fever. She didn’t know what she was saying.”
“Oh, she knew what she was saying, all right. Patty doesn’t do things lightly, even if she’s under the influence of an illness.” Newark shrugged. “She wants something she can’t have.”
Selina nodded her head in agreement as she had seen that in Patty for some time.
She also found she was struggling to concentrate when Newark’s hands were on her shoulders. Selina shrugged his hands off and stepped back.
“Then why don’t you tell her you will not marry her?” She demanded.
“Because she’s not listening.” Newark rubbed his hand over his face. “I care for her like a sister, but I can’t marry her.”
Selina wanted to believe, but she knew about his deadline.
“Well, isn’t it true you must marry in a year or lose your title and your wealth?” She demanded.
Newark blinked, looking at her.
“How do you know about that?”
“Patty just told me. You need a wife, and she wants to be that. It’s a perfect scenario.”
Newark shook his head.
“I can think of something much better.”
“Really?” Selina wanted to look away, but something in Newark’s face changed, and she couldn’t stop staring. “What would that be?”
Newark stepped forward and took her hands, giving them a squeeze.
“You and me.” He whispered, reaching up and cupping her cheek. “Man and wife. That’s a more perfect scenario.”
“Me? I…”
Selina didn’t get far before Newark pulled her to him and kissed her. It was soft and gentle, pressing her lips against his. He didn’t make it go any deeper or touch her anywhere else. His lips trembled against hers whether from nerves or restrained emotions.
The kiss left no doubt about his feelings.
Selina pulled away, staring up at him. Looking at him now, she realized he looked like a different person. He was looking more self-assured, more confident of his actions. Nothing like the nervous, unsure man she had known before.
Selina liked this change. It was all for her.
“Why did you never tell me?” She asked.
“You know I’m not good at talking to women.” Newark slipped his arms around her, resting his hands on the small of her back. “Right from the moment we first met, I knew you were the one for me. Unfortunately, I was clumsy and came across as though I was displeased with you.”
“You gave me that impression.” Selina couldn’t quite believe it. She was the one Newark desired, not Patricia? She stared at Newark’s chest, splaying her fingers over his shirt. “But I’m not of your class…”
“That is of no regard.”
“And this isn’t an ideal match if it’s not love,” Selina rambled on, not hearing him. “I can’t marry someone who doesn’t love me. That’s a certainty of future unhappiness.”
“Could you be quiet for a moment?”
Selina started when he spoke in a firm tone she’d never heard before. She blinked up at him.
“I beg your pardon?”
Newark pulled her closer and kissed her, cupping her face in his hands as he pulled back.
“I love you.” He whispered. “Is that what you want to hear? And I’m not saying it because you want to hear it. I love you, Selina.”
Selina’s mouth open and closed a few times. She was in disbelief.
“You love me?” She echoed.
“I will not say all the flowery things you’re supposed to say when you’re in love.” Newark snorted with a slight smile. “I’m lucky I can talk to you. But I know I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Forget Patricia and your loyalty to her.” He kissed her. “Think about yourself for once.”
Selina let out a shuddering breath. She was overwhelmed. Now she was dithering between love and loyalty.
“I don’t know if I can forget my loyalty.” She swallowed. “This will hurt Patricia terribly.”
“Henry will talk to her later, and I’m sorry about that.” Newark smiled. “I needed this time with you first. Just so you know, it’s real.”
Looking at him smiling down at her, Selina smiled back. Love was outweighing everything else right now. And she knew what she wanted.
She wanted Earl Newark.
“I love you.” She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I didn’t think this would happen.”
Newark chuckled and hugged her.
“Well, it’s happening. You’d better get used to it because it will take a long time before you get rid of me.”
Selina laughed and looked up.
“I don’t plan on getting rid of you.” She whispered.
Then she reached up and tugged his head down.
*** The End ***
Rescued by
the CompassionatE earl
Regency Romance
Grace Fletcher
Chapter 1
A Secret Surprise
M aryam’s lungs burned as she coughed again. She thumped the pillow in frustration. She just wanted this cough to stop. Every time she tried to clear her throat her chest hurt. It was feeling painful low on her left side.
She hated being ill. Even tho
ugh she had been suffering from infrequent bouts of pneumonia since she was a baby, Maryam was caught off-guard when it happened again. The doctors had told her that her lungs weren’t as strong as other people’s and she would need to take it easy. Her mother scoffed at the suggestion to keep Maryam inside and treat her like an invalid.
As if she could keep a headstrong teenager indoors all day, especially when there were many beautiful things to see in the park opposite their house in Bath.
It scuppered her move into society and her first season had been delayed due to this latest bout of illness. But Maryam wasn’t too fussed. She didn’t like the thought of being paraded around as a marriage choice when she hardly of age. She was eighteen but even she could see she wasn’t ready for marriage. Who would want a constantly sick wife? How would she ever cope if she was pregnant?
A gentle tap at the door shook her out of her thoughts. Maryam sighed and sat up gingerly, her head feeling heavy.
“Enter.”
The door opened and a tall, raven-haired woman dressed in dark blue entered the room. She shut the door quietly and approached the bed with a gentle smile that lit up her tired eyes.
“Hey, darling.”
“Mama.”
Maryam couldn’t help herself. She reached out to her mother. Judith Arens sat on the bed and hugged her, stroking her hair the way she would when Maryam was a child. She eased her daughter back and inspected her face.
“How are you feeling? You’re not as pale now.”
“A little better.” She was, even with her head feeling like a dead weight. “That sleep helped.”
“More sleep and more medicine and you’ll be fine.”
Maryam made a face. She hated the medicine; it tasted foul. And something that tasted foul made you feel better? She didn’t believe it.
Judith chuckled at Maryam’s expression. She settled back and laid her hands in her lap.
“I’ve got news. Michael has sent us a letter.”
“Michael?” Maryam up in bed. “Uncle Michael?”
“The same person. He’s offered to let us stay with him for a few weeks until you’re better. That the fresh air at his estate will do you good.”
Maryam at once felt better. Michael Burnett, the Marquess of Lindsey, was Judith’s oldest brother and her favourite uncle. His daughter, Elizabeth, was a little older than Maryam and they were close. They spent every Christmas and Easter together until Elizabeth went off to have her first season. Maryam missed those.
And their estate was gorgeous. Maryam could walk around the entire grounds for days on end and not get bored; she could always find something new.
“That would be great, Mama. Will I be a burden though? Uncle Michael likes to have people for visits and I won’t be able to socialize if I’m meant to be recuperating.”
“I’m not worried about that part.”
Then Maryam fell silent. What did that mean? Her mother’s had a concerned look on her face. Ever since Maryam’s father had died shortly after Maryam’s tenth birthday, she and her mother was close. They didn’t hold secrets from each other. And she could see something was bothering her mother.
“Mama?” Maryam touched her mother’s hand. “Mama, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just something in Michael’s letter. He said he had a surprise for us once we arrived.” Judith frowned and shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure I want to go if there’s a surprise happening.”
“Maybe it’s a good one.”
“Michael knows I don’t like surprises. I never liked them as children. And I’m apprehensive about this one.”
She laid a hand over her stomach. Maryam understood that. The marquess was a loving brother, father and uncle but he did things that made it uncomfortable for everyone. Judith expressed her opinions on surprises.
It could be a nice surprise, one that would help them while Maryam was nursed back to health. It could also be something dreadful like a marriage arrangement. Maryam almost giggled at the thought. Her uncle could be daft but he wasn’t that stupid.
“Let’s not worry about that now.” She whispered. “Uncle Michael has a beautiful estate, and it’s away from Bath. It’ll do me good.”
Judith smiled. She grasped her daughter’s hand.
“And that’s all that matters.”
***
“Garrett?”
Garrett Falk turned around. A tall, beautiful woman with golden blonde hair piled up on her head wearing a pale yellow dress was approaching him across the lawn. She was the vision of an angel with the sun glinting on her. But Garrett felt no stirrings.
He groaned.
“Your father sent you out here to talk with me again, didn’t he?”
“I’m afraid so.” Elizabeth Burnett made a face. “He’s sure you and I will be married soon.”
Garrett grunted.
“That would be impressive considering you’d need consent.”
“On both sides.”
Much as Garrett liked the Marquess of Lindsey, and knew he should be flattered, he found it an annoyance. The Marquess was adamant that Garrett and his daughter Elizabeth, a childhood friend, would marry before the end of the summer. There were no feelings beyond sisterly affection for Elizabeth and he resented her father for constantly pushing them together.
Thankfully, Elizabeth thought the same thing. She kept protesting she didn’t want to marry Garrett but her father seemed to have gone deaf lately. She had hinted to Garrett a few times that she had a fancy for someone else, someone the Marquess wouldn’t approve of at all. But Garrett didn’t push. It was her decision and her secret.
Garrett wasn’t about to turn away from his friend. He held out his arm and Elizabeth gave him a cheeky grin as she put her hand in the crook of his elbow. He watched her as they walked across the lawn, moving into the shade of a tree.
“I hope you don’t feel like I’m being mean to you, Liz. You’re a beautiful woman and you’re everything a man would want…”
Elizabeth laughed.
“Stop the speech, Garrett. You’ve given that several times already.”
“Oh.”
“And my answer is the same. You and I have known each other for a long time and marrying you would be like marrying my big brother. That’s not a pleasant thought.”
Garrett chuckled. At the start it had been frustrating that he and Elizabeth would be shoved together and rumours flew around that they were courting, and soon to be married. He was under no illusions who started those rumours. But now it was more amusing, albeit a little irritating.
It had some upsides. They were off the marriage block and Elizabeth was not getting attentions from unwanted men. Garrett, the Earl of Coventry, known to everyone else but Elizabeth as Coven, acted as her protector and ‘lover’. They used to laugh about it.
“Just be careful.” He glanced towards the house. “Uncle George has said this morning he’s looking for a wife and if you’re available, he might set his sights on you.”
“Oh, God, no!” Elizabeth shuddered and pulled away, shuddering with a disgusted look. “That man is fifty! Father is not that desperate to have me marry.”
“That’s something, at least.”
George Kline, the Earl of Warwick and Coven’s uncle on his mother’s side, wasn’t a catch, as it was. He was middle-aged, fat and balding, something he hid with a wig. In his own misguided opinion, he had a charismatic way with the ladies. Coven wondered who stuck the delusion in his head.
Having never married, he was now looking for a wife. That worried Coven as every woman in society who was single or widowed was fair game. He pitied the woman who willingly chose him as a husband.
Elizabeth frowned, leaning against the tree.
“Speaking of the Earl of Warwick, I am a little worried why he’s here.”
“Oh?” Coven caught a low-hanging branch and hung his arms off it. “Care to explain, little Liz?”
Elizabeth scowled.
“I hate it when you
call me that.”
“You love it, really.”
Coven laughed as Elizabeth swung at him and missed when he moved back. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sat on a high-rising tree root, lifting her skirts a little to watch her shoes trace patterns in the dirt.
“My aunt Judith and cousin Maryam are coming to stay for a few weeks today. Maryam suffers from pneumonia almost regularly and while she’s getting better Father wants her to come here and take in the fresh country air instead of the air in Bath.”
“And here I thought Bath was supposed to be the place to convalesce.” Coven shook his head and frowned. “Why is that so suspicious to you?”
“Maryam is Father’s favourite niece and Judith is his only sister. He adores both of them. But before when they were coming to visit I would know days ago, not last-minute on the morning of their arrival.”
“And that’s unusual?”
“For Father, yes. And it’s the first time your uncle has been here when Aunt Judith has visited.”
Coven didn’t need to be a genius to read between the lines. Elizabeth had already come to that conclusion.
“You think your father is considering marrying off your aunt to my uncle?”
“I wouldn’t surprise me.”
Coven snorted.
“That will not go well.”
“Aunt Judith will hate it. She’s vowed never to marry again after her husband died eight years ago. She’s been firm on that and she’ll object.” Elizabeth grimaced. “I think we’ll need to intervene.”
Coven could see that happening. From the paintings he had seen of Judith Arens, she was a beautiful woman. She would complement any man; but certainly not the Earl of Warwick.
Coven could only hope Judith could convey her thoughts on the matter.
Chapter 2
Uncomfortable
Suspense
M aryam loved coming to her uncle’s estate. It was a beautiful place with huge gardens and was right alongside a huge forest. When she had been little, Maryam and Elizabeth had spent their childhood playing in the forest, exploring and playing hide and seek. Those had been fun times.
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