The Unwilling Earl

by Audrey Harrison

  Daniel shook his head, feeling relieved beyond his understanding. “I had thought you were promised to each other.”

  “No, not at all,” Penelope said quietly. “Which is why my father reminds me that I am an old spinster and the only way I could get a marriage would be to compromise someone, hence my stopping my walks. I do not wish either of us to be placed in that position.”

  “An old spinster?” Daniel fumed. “You are the most vibrant female of this village!”

  Daniel had grabbed Penelope’s hands when he spoke. This was beginning to feel a little out of Penelope’s experience. She did not know what to say to such a heartfelt compliment, so she acted instinctively. She pulled one of her hands free and placed it on the side of his cheek. His cheek felt smooth, although she could imagine it would grow rougher as the day progressed. She could do no more than say one word. “Daniel?” she asked.

  Hearing his name on her lips was all it took for Daniel to throw caution to the wind and pull her into his arms. He had stopped breathing when she had touched him, scared that she would move away, but to his delight, she melted into him with a soft moan.

  “My darling girl, I cannot resist you a moment longer, I have been tormented by you since we first met,” he whispered into her ear, before his lips moved around to kiss hers, gently at first, teasing responses out of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her deeply in response.

  Penelope forgot there was a world around her, all that mattered was that the kisses did not stop. She had never felt so alive, so wanted, so wanting. She let Daniel take the lead but she copied what he did and it stirred feelings within her that she had never experienced before when he groaned with pleasure.

  Daniel pulled away from her lips with an effort, he nibbled her neck, pushing back his frock coat, to reach her more fully. As he nibbled her skin, Penelope gasped and plunged her hands into his hair, he smiled against her neck, she may be an innocent, but she had the ability to respond to him in a way that sent pleasure coursing through his body. He had to remain a little in control, he could quite easily lose himself and take advantage of her in the cottage. The way she was responding to him, she would not be able to resist if he began to show her real pleasure, but she was worth more than that to him, so with a force of will that he did not realise he possessed, he stopped his kisses.

  “We must stop,” he said, his voice husky.

  “Yes, we must,” Penelope sighed, but her eyes were dilated with desire which were almost Daniel’s undoing.

  “I have wanted to do that to you since the first moment we met,” he said candidly, kissing her gently.

  “Have you? I thought you were so angry,” Penelope said, trying to focus her senses, but keeping her arms around his neck. She could not let him go just yet, he felt wonderful, so strong and yet gentle.

  “Not really, not when I got over the surprise of seeing you there. Penelope, I want to be able to do this to you and more every day. Will you allow me to speak to your father?” There was no point in Daniel trying to wait, she affected him more than anyone had ever done in the past and he wanted to have her near him every moment of every day.

  Penelope placed her head on his shoulder, it seemed to fit perfectly, but his words had disturbed her a little. She sighed into Daniel’s neck, sending goosebumps of pleasure across his skin. “Could you wait a few days? Can we have some time together before you speak to him? I want to enjoy my time with you first.”

  Daniel lifted her away from him. “You will marry me?”

  “Yes, oh yes,” came the sincere reply.

  “Well we can wait a few days to make it official. As long as you promise to meet me here every morning, I can wait to speak to your father.”

  Penelope kissed him to show her agreement. The day had started off so badly, but had turned into the happiest day of her life and with Daniel by her side, the happiness would continue, she was certain of it. She put the doubts about her father to one side, she would not let him spoil this moment for her. She had finally found the man she was going to love for the rest of her life.

  Chapter 6

  The three days in the lead up to the ball were the happiest of Penelope’s life. Each morning she met Daniel in the cottage and they spent the morning in each other’s arms. Daniel was always careful not to overstep the boundaries too much, he was content to savour Penelope, a few more weeks of restraint were not going to spoil the years of enjoying her body that lay ahead of him.

  Almost as precious as the kissing were the times that Penelope sat on his knee and they talked. They planned their future together, it was without the real details a match would bring. It was the silly nonsense of two people in love, involving how many children, dogs and chickens they were to have and how many parties they would hold. After so long of thinking herself a spinster, aided by the constant barbing of her father, Penelope was delighted to be planning her future with a man who cared for her as she did for him.

  Each morning Daniel brought her a present. The first morning it was a posy of flowers, picked and tied by himself. The second day, he brought her fancies that he fed to her in between kisses. The third day he brought her a pearl necklace, kissing each pearl he asked her to wear the necklace at the ball, so that every time she moved, she would feel one of his kisses on her neck. Penelope had protested at the gift, but his words had removed any protestations she had and she had flushed with pleasure.

  They would not meet on the day of the ball. Penelope’s mother insisted that Penelope did not over exert herself, no-matter how Penelope protested that she could do both, but Daniel secured the fourth and fifth dances with her. After her first two with Mr. Wiseman he did not wish to seem to be monopolising her, so he would wait another dance before he spent an hour in her company, even if it would be in a crowded ballroom.

  *

  Daniel stood by a pillar at the Ballroom, he had positioned himself thus, to enable him to watch Penelope dance without it being too obvious to the rest of the room. He nodded to Mr. Clark as he approached. He would have preferred to continue watching Penelope without any interruptions, but politeness made him turn his attention to the Vicar.

  “Are you enjoying your little gathering my Lord? I am sure you are used to far larger assemblies in Norwich,” Mr. Clark began.

  “I often find the enjoyment is in the company, rather than the size of the gathering,” Daniel replied. His tone was always formal with the Vicar since he had realised that there was some ill-feeling on his part towards Penelope. When she was his wife, if she received a slight by the Vicar, Daniel would have no qualms about removing him from his position.

  “Quite so,” came the sycophantic response. He stood with his arms behind his back and rolled onto the balls of his feet. It was clear to anyone who looked at him that he considered himself superior to the company in the room. “Miss Hall seems to have enjoyed the addition of Mr. Wiseman and yourself to the local number of gentlemen.”

  Daniel stiffened, but gritted his teeth in an effort to calm his retort. Until he had spoken to Penelope’s father it would not do to let anyone see he had a preference for her. “I would expect any young woman would appreciate more male partners when a dance is being held,” he responded with forced calmness.

  “Ah this, yes of course,” Mr. Clark waved his hand as if dismissing the assembly. “I meant more since the death of the last Earl. The whole family were devastated.”

  “Yes, I believe they were good friends,” Daniel replied coolly.

  “Oh yes, they were good friends indeed. There was an agreement that when the Earl had finished, ah, how shall I put it? When he had seen as much of life as he wanted, he would come back and marry Miss Hall. It was all arranged.”

  “Was it?” Even though Daniel had believed Penelope when she had said that they were just friends, there was a possibility that she did not know about an agreement between the Earl and her parents, it would not be unheard of that such an agreement was made. It made him sick to his stom
ach that a man would want to have his fill of other woman and then come back to Penelope, she deserved to be wanted as the irresistible woman she was, not someone purely to settle down with and use as a brood mare.

  “Oh yes, it was a real blow to the family when the accident happened, you see the will of the Earl had not been changed to care for Miss Hall, no-one expected such a tragedy. As an upstanding citizen of this community my Lord, I do feel duty bound to warn you.”

  “Warn me? Why on earth would you need to warn me?” Daniel asked, feeling a little like a moth to a flame at Mr. Clark’s words. His heart had started to pound.

  “Mr. Hall was disgusted to find out about your background, if you will excuse my bluntness, not all the citizens of the village share his opinions I am happy to say. “ Mr. Clark seemed encouraged by Daniel’s slight nod. “Once the news came that you were to be accompanied by the son of a Baron he was over the moon, he was very vocal in the fact that your friend would soon be wooing his daughter. We all ignored him, as we are wont to do, but recently he has been saying as long as she gets a title, he does not care which title it is, after all she should have been the wife of an Earl, so perhaps your background did not matter. When challenged about the lack of proposals to Miss Hall, he said that he had instructed his daughter to get a title by whatever compromising situation she could. I know my words must shock, but I would hate for a fellow gentleman to be tricked into matrimony. As a man of the cloth, I cannot condone such behaviour.” Mr. Clark failed to mention he had only been able to get the information from Mr. Hall after a very expensive bottle of brandy had been drunk and that they were alone at the time.

  Daniel’s mind raced. Penelope had mentioned the risk of being compromised and although she had said that she did not want that to happen, she had continued with their meetings. She had also been a willing participant when they kissed, when if she was afraid of being compromised, surely she should have restrained herself? Thoughts chased one after the other, each being more unreasonable than the last, he forgot that he had offered to speak to Penelope’s father, that he had asked her to marry him and that they were for all intents and purposes engaged. The usual cool-head that stood him in good stead in business, disappeared when he gave credibility to the words of the Vicar and believed that Penelope could be using him. Perhaps if she had been there and had looked into his eyes, he would not have believed one word, but his insecurities about her relationship with the last Earl and his experience of being rejected because of his background gave support to the comments made.

  Mr. Clark saw from the expression on Daniel’s face that his words had done their job and made his excuses. He had achieved his aim, he could go home well satisfied with the evening’s work. Daniel was left to brood until Fred approached.

  “What’s wrong Danny boy? You look as if the world has placed its troubles on your shoulders,” Fred asked easily.

  “I’ve just realised how I’ve been taken for a fool,” Daniel snapped.

  “You? I don’t believe it!” Fred laughed, but he could see that something was seriously wrong with his friend.

  Before Fred had time to question further, they were approached by Penelope. “My Lord, this is very poor of you, we are promised for the next two sets and you have left me to seek you out.” She smiled at him, glad to be finally able to spend some time with him.

  “I do not intend to dance at the moment,” came the clipped reply.

  Penelope searched Daniel’s face for any hint of amusement, but found none. She immediately became concerned. “Are you unwell? Would you prefer to sit and take some refreshment instead?” There was nothing but tenderness in her voice.

  Daniel looked at the woman before him, he wanted to respond to the tenderness and concern he heard, he wanted to believe her feelings were true, but the Vicar’s words niggled at him, he could not shake them off and believe that she had genuine feelings for him. His doubt in himself made him believe the poison he had heard. He hurt like he had never hurt before at the thought of her not loving him, but loving his title and because of that he lashed out in the only way he could.

  “I am surprised that you are offering just refreshment Miss Hall. Would a stroll outside not be more useful? That way you could ensure we were somewhere dark and secluded when your father discovered us and shouted ‘Compromise’! All the better to ensure you obey his wishes in gaining a forced marriage to one of us don’t you think? I presume a walk with either myself or Mr. Wiseman would suffice? I’ve heard it doesn’t matter which one you secure as long as we come with a title.” The words were snarled out.

  Fred looked stunned, but Penelope reacted as if she had been physically struck. Daniel would normally have tried to comfort her distress, but his humiliation and hurt prevented his natural protectiveness from surfacing. The look on her face had caused him to pause, but any doubt he felt had been quickly dismissed as he maintained his anger.

  After a few seconds that seemed to last an eternity for the three gathered, Penelope broke the silence. She raised her chin and although flushed with mortification, her voice was steady. “I am afraid I do not take your meaning my Lord.”

  “Let me make myself clear then madam, this Earl will not be tricked into matrimony to compensate for your perceived losses by the death of my cousin, so your plans have failed.”

  “But it was you who asked me......” Penelope said in confusion.

  Daniel realised she was going to mention his proposal and was angry that he had been so foolish and offered matrimony at virtually their first kiss. “That was before I was informed that you were trying to charm one of us into marrying you and if that failed, you were going to compromise one of us. I cannot believe I allowed myself to believe your words and nearly paid the price,” he answered with a sneer.

  Both men saw the moment that Penelope changed from embarrassed confusion, to anger. Her eyes flashed at the men before her and her whole body seemed to quiver with suppressed tension. “How dare you?” she whispered, but there was nothing tender in her tone. “I have not and never shall try and trick either of you, or anyone else into matrimony. I may not have your wealth, my Lord, but I do have standards of which openness and honesty are top of the list when dealing with all the people within my acquaintance. I may be a spinster, but I would never, and I mean never trick someone into marriage. I am vain enough to want to marry someone who cares for me, not someone who would resent me for the whole of our marriage for tricking him into marriage to me. I wish I had realised you had such a low opinion of me sooner, I can only be sorry for my foolishness in believing you meant the words you said.” She reached round and unclipped the pearls, no longer caring if anyone saw her. “I shall return these to you and like you, I have suddenly lost the inclination to dance.”

  The two men were left as Penelope turned on her heel and with her head held high, walked across the room and out into one of the ante-rooms. Daniel stuffed the necklace into his pocket, doubts creeping into his convictions at Penelope’s response.

  Fred was less controlled than Penelope had been and turned to his friend in disbelief. “My God man! What the devil was all that about?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Daniel snapped.

  “Well you had bloody well start talking about it if you don’t want me to start a brawl with the Earl of Rivington in the middle of an assembly. You have just insulted the finest woman in the room and with no excuse as far as I can see. It appears that you had an understanding between you and you have just withdrawn it in the most barbaric of ways. No-one deserves that kind of treatment, let alone a woman as fine as Miss Hall. She did not deserve that from you as a man, let alone you as an Earl.”

  Fred’s words struck home to Daniel. He had never spoken with such anger in all their years of friendship and it acted as a reality call for Daniel. “I went too far didn’t I?” Daniel asked, beginning to calm down.

  “That is the understatement of the Century. I want to know exactly why you behaved in such an appalling
way, causing such an unreasonable scene, but I suggest you go and try to apologise first.”

  Daniel nodded and left his friends’ side. He needed to find Penelope and try to explain, if he could explain jealousy, insecurity and anger within the confines of a ballroom, but he had to try.

  The assembly was not large enough to shield anyone for long and it soon became apparent that Penelope and her mother had left. Daniel’s discomfort increased when he approached Mr. Hall in the card room and enquired after his daughter.

  “She has accompanied her mother home. My wife complained of a headache, which I said she could manage perfectly well alone. My daughter insisted on accompanying her, I pointed out that she should not waste any opportunities at her age, but she insists on doing the opposite of what I say, foolish girl.” It was obvious Mr. Hall was enjoying his port, perhaps a little too much, by the way he stumbled over his words.

  Daniel paused on re-entering the ballroom. Mr. Hall’s words rang in his ears, his daughter insists on doing the opposite he said. If the Vicar was right in what he had said were Mr. Hall’s sentiments, it was likely that Penelope was dead set against them. He remembered on the day of the rain how she had been escaping her father and how upset she had seemed. A feeling in the pit of his stomach started to develop that would become as unpleasant as the anger had been, only this would likely last longer.

  He was soon approached by Fred. “Have you apologised?” His friend demanded, his usual banter gone.

  “She has left, gone before I could speak to her,” Daniel replied.

  “Well that’s no real surprise is it? She, like me, is probably wondering what the hell she could have done to cause such an outburst.”

  “I want to leave, I need a drink,” Daniel replied, moving away from the wall. A pounding in his head was developing, it was going to be a long night.