Regency Romance: Loving The Reluctant Viscount (The Fairbanks Series - Love & Hearts) (Historical Regency Romance & Mystery)

by Jessie Bennett

  “I do plan to pursue Miss Dowling, Your Grace,” he finally said, when their laughter died down. “And I do appreciate the vote of confidence from both you and your lovely wife.”

  “You are welcome, Lord Gray. I am glad to give it. And to speak seriously of the subject, should Lord Miner also pursue her hand for some outrageous reason, we will deal with that accordingly. You will have my vote, Sir.”

  Shawn lifted his glass and met Allan’s in the air. The glasses clinked softly.

  “Again, thank you, Your Grace.”

  “You are welcome in my home at any time. And if you and your sister would like to stay for a few weeks, you are welcome to remain in the rooms we have given you tonight.”

  “I thank you, Your Grace and would like to decide on that right now. We would like to stay. We have not made any reservations anywhere in Fairbanks.”

  “Let our home be yours.”

  “I will sleep well tonight knowing that I have somewhere to lay my head at night.” Allan meant the words more than Shawn knew. He lifted the glass of wine to his lips and realized that it was empty.

  “I am not a good host.” Shawn said. “I have let our glasses run dry. Would you like another glass, Lord Gray? We have liquors and several types of wine in the cellar.

  “I will be honest with you, Your Grace, this wine is one of the best I have tasted in a while. I would like another glass of the same.”

  “It’s getting late for me, Shawn.” Abe pushed himself up from the balcony chair. “I will be leaving early in the morning and may not see you. Thank you for offering your home to me for the night.”

  “It was grand of you to come, my friend and cousin. Come back whenever you desire a short vacation.”

  “I will do that. Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  Allan and Abe nodded at each other before Abe turned to go through the glass doors.

  “You have wonderful weather here. It is cool but not cold. The sky is filled with stars. The moon is full and bright. I can see your beautiful landscape almost as well as during the day. What lovely land you have.”

  “We are proud of it. I cannot imagine living anywhere else. As I told you, I grew up here. I will die here, most likely.”

  “How many pieces of property do you have for sale?”

  “I can show you several areas tomorrow. Shall we discuss it at breakfast? My head is not prepared to go over numbers and geographic locations. I would like to have one more glass of wine and then retire to the bed.” As he spoke, he moved to the table just inside the double doors, where the bottle of wine they had been drinking from sat waiting to be finished off.

  “Yes, that is a good idea.” Allan followed him into the room. Shawn topped off both glasses with the wine that was left. They chatted quietly about the upcoming holidays. Soon it would be Christmas and the manor would be thriving with relatives pouring in from the woodwork.

  “That is the time you want to visit, my friend.” Shawn said, his eyes gleaming with memories of good times at Worthington Manor during the holiday seasons past. “The house is filled with laughter and happiness. It is one of the most wonderful times of the year.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SIX

  EMILINE IS UNHAPPY

  EMILINE IS UNHAPPY

  Allan woke abruptly when his shoulder was grabbed and shook. He was ready to pounce and saw that the intruder was his small sister just in time to stop himself. “Emiline!” He hissed. “What are you doing in here?”

  “I am sorry, Allan. I cannot sleep.”

  “Why? What is troubling you? Did you have a bad dream?”

  “I haven’t been to sleep.”

  “What time is it?” Allan didn’t really want to know. His head was spinning from the wine.

  “It is about two in the morning.”

  “Two?” He dropped himself back against his pillow. He’d been able to sleep for only thirty minutes before his sister had come in and woken him. He groaned. What had he done to deserve this? He could feel an impending headache before it pulsed through his head full blast. It wouldn’t be long before he was in pain. Sleep would have prevented him from feeling that pain.

  “Em, I haven’t been asleep very long. I stayed up talking to the Duke.”

  “I said I was sorry, Allan!” Emiline pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I can’t sleep!”

  “I would think that after all the traveling we have been doing, you would be able to sleep in a strange place more easily by now.” Allan pushed himself up on his elbows. He frowned at his sister. “I don’t want you waking me up when I didn’t get to sleep more than half an hour ago. You need to let me go back to sleep.”

  “I can’t sleep here. I feel cold and uncomfortable.”

  “What do you expect me to do about it, Em? I don’t own this manor. I can’t move you to another room. I can’t send you home. And you certainly are not sleeping here with me.”

  “I am so worried, Allan.” Despite what her brother had just said, Emiline pushed herself against his chest, curling up against him on the very edge of the bed. Allan rolled his eyes and scooted over slightly to allow her more room. He didn’t want her right on top of him. “If we had not been offered the opportunity to stay here at Worthington Manor, we may not have had a roof over our heads.”

  “I am aware of this, Em. But we are here. So why are you still so troubled?”

  “What will we do tomorrow? What about the holidays? We have no money left to live on.”

  Allan was finding it difficult to control his anger and humiliation. It was true that they did not have any money left to travel on. And they could not get any from home. They were too far away and had not communicated with their homeland or their parents for almost a year. Allan’s business dealings had not been successful throughout their travels. He had not made any money to sustain himself or his sister as they went from one continent and country to another for eight months.

  They were at the very bottom of their purses, with only coins left. There was no money to go home with.

  “I have a meeting with The Holmes’ Brothers Company the day after tomorrow. Well, tomorrow now because it’s 2 o’clock in the morning…” he added the latter with disgust in his voice. “It will be successful. They will invest and we will have money in hand. You can use some of it to return to Australia if you desire.”

  Emiline, curled up in her ball, bit on the nail of her thumb. Her mind was fogged from the alcohol she had consumed and the verbal beating she’d received from Steven. She wished he did not make her feel excited. He set her body on fire, even though he used angry words more often than kind ones. She didn’t believe Allan’s business deal would be successful. He hadn’t been successful in so long, she had lost her trust in him.

  “We’ll be all right the day after tomorrow. You must trust me.”

  Emiline squeezed her eyelids together and cringed. “I do, brother. I do.”

  Allan had his doubts. Their situation was dangerous. It was a place they had never been in before. Much of it was due to Emiline’s insatiable appetite for spending money. Now that they didn’t have any to spend, she was unpleasant and surly most of the time.

  Allan hadn’t meant to lie to his new friends about his sister. He knew why her behavior had changed. It all had to do with money. She was used to being spoiled. It was because of that she had been sent on the trip with him.

  Originally, Allan’s father asked him to go on a trip, visiting foreign countries to procure land and make deals for the business. Around that same time, Emiline was caught up in a relationship their father didn’t approve of. Rather than take drastic measures, he insisted that Emiline accompany Allan on the trip, hoping it would settle her down some.

  The only thing keeping Allan from getting the money to send her back home was the thought that his father would be disappointed in him. He didn’t know what it would take to make Emiline mature and be responsible. But he had his doubts this trip would do it. At f
irst he’d been hopeful. He clung to his love for his family to keep him going.

  “You cannot stay here in this room, Em. You have to go back to the one they put you in.”

  “Why? I want to stay in here with you.”

  Allan suppressed a heavy sigh. He didn’t want his sister in his room. He didn’t want to be kicked out of his bed. He’d slept on the floor in some places, a humiliation for someone with his title. “I am not sleeping on the floor and do not want to sleep in this bed with you. Go back to your own bed.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “You are acting like a spoiled child.” He pushed one hand against her shoulder gently, not enough to push her off the bed but enough for her to feel it. “Go back to your room.”

  “No.”

  “Em, please. You are trying my patience.”

  She stiffened, not wanting to leave. Her head was aching. She wished that Steven was somewhere nearby. She would go to his room. He would have let her stay with him. The thought of Steven made her more alert. She wondered where he was staying. She had been disappointed the night before when Steven did not take up the offer to stay in the Worthington Manor. She thought it would be perfect and the two of them could have met up and talked for a short time while everyone else was asleep.

  But he had turned down the offer and left when the party began to wind down with the promise to return the next day or the day after.

  Allan jogged her shoulder again. “Emiline, go back to your room. I will push you off this bed, don’t tempt me. I have slept on the floor before. If you want to stay in my room, you will be the one sleeping on the floor. There’s a lounge chair over there. Go sleep on that. But you are not staying in my bed.”

  “You are cruel and heartless, Allan.” Emiline huffed, pushing herself to the very edge of the bed and sitting up. She looked back down at him. She could barely see him in the moonlight.

  “I am not. Now go. Just go. Go.” He waved his hand at her and turned over so that his back was to her. She stared at him for a moment. She pressed her lips together and sighed.

  “I wish you loved me more. I am your sister, you know.”

  “I love you as a brother should love a sister, Em. I am not beholden to you for any more than father asked me to give. You are responsible for our situation in many ways. You know that. I am the one who is going to fix it. And I am the one who will take the blame when we go back to father and explain to him why the money is gone and some of the investments we seek will be used simply to live on. This is all your fault.”

  “All my fault! Oh, you are so cruel and heartless.”

  “Please do not play innocent with me. You have been careless. You have only thought of yourself. It is because of you that we are near to begging for scraps to get by. It is because of you that we have gone a day or two without food.”

  “You are angry with me!”

  Allan sat up, turning to her again. He shook his head and sighed. “I have a right to be angry with you, sister. But I am not. I just want you to learn responsibility. Perhaps this trip wasn’t a good idea after all. Perhaps I am not the one to teach you to be more responsible. But it is too late for that now. We are here, we are in a bad situation and we must do what we must do. Going back to bed is one of the things you must do. And I want you to do it right now. Because I would like to get some sleep. I have a carriage ride to attend tomorrow and I want to be refreshed and awake.”

  “You are going on a ride with Miss Dowling?”

  “Yes.”

  “She seems very nice. And her family is very wealthy.”

  “They are. But that is not why I am taking her for a ride.”

  “You don’t even have a carriage. How will you pull that off?”

  “The Duke has offered one of his carriages for the ride.”

  Emiline turned to look at him. “He must trust you tremendously. You have only just met him.”

  Allan smiled. “We are men of the same mind.” He was getting tired of talking. It was too early in the morning for such conversation, especially after dancing and drinking most of the night. “Em, I want you to go back to bed. Go. I want to go back to sleep. I am tired.”

  “You will not let me stay in here with you?”

  “You don’t need to sleep in here. The bed they gave you is large and comfortable, just like this one. You can stretch out and relax just fine.”

  “We wouldn’t be cramped in this bed. I…”

  “No.” Allan shook his head vehemently and put one hand up to prevent her from continuing. “For the last time, you are not staying in here. I don’t know what has gotten into you, sister. Go back to the room they gave you and go to sleep. Do not come back in here and wake me up. My head is still swimming and I want to go back to sleep.”

  “Oh!” Emiline pushed herself off the bed and stalked to the door. Once there, she turned and looked back at him. She could only see his outline in the dimness of the room. “I hope that you do not treat your future wife in such a callous way.”

  “I promise you I will not treat my wife the way I treat my sister,” Allan retorted. “And there is nothing cruel about the way I treat you. I just don’t want to have you in my bed. Especially in the morning when the servants come in. I can only imagine the type of rumors that might start. I am not prepared to defend myself against such vile accusations.”

  Emiline shook her head. “All right, I will see you at breakfast.”

  “Yes. Good. See you at breakfast.” Allan dropped himself back down to the pillow and tried to get comfortable. Emiline pulled the large door shut, disappearing on the other side.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SEEING THE SIGHTS

  SEEING THE SIGHTS

  Allan was surprised he felt refreshed at all when he woke up the next day. He decided it was because of his dream. After Emiline left his room, he’d laid awake for some time, thinking. He did his best to resist thinking about money problems and the upcoming business venture that could possibly secure himself and Emiline with the money and land they needed. He filled his mind with thoughts of Janelle. He wondered what the carriage ride would be like. He was looking forward to it very much.

  The servant came in to wake him at nine. She explained that breakfast was being served later than usual because the Duke had been awake so late into the early hours of the morning. Allan had half an hour to prepare himself.

  He dressed quickly and ran a brush through his hair. Janelle would not be there, which was somewhat of a disappointment. She told him the night before during the last dance that she had plans this morning. She had not told him what they were.

  He ran a wet towel over his face and looked at himself in the mirror. “You are a fine gentleman.” He said and then smiled at himself.

  Breakfast with the Duke and his wife went well. They were talkative and friendly, offering their guests whatever they needed.

  “I would like to take a walk through the town today.”

  “There is much land in this area of Fairbanks. Would you like to use the carriage all day?”

  “I would, thank you.”

  “I will send the message boy to one of the driver’s. You may use him and the carriage as long as you stay here, if you like.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace. I do appreciate it.”

  “And what will you be doing with your time here, Miss Gray?”

  “I have no plans currently. I suppose I will go into town with my brother and look around the shops there.”

  “Would you like some company? I would be glad to show you around.”

  Emiline smiled at her. She turned her eyes to Allan, noticing he looked worried. “I would like that. What do you think, Allan?”

  “I’m sure it would be a lovely time for you, Em.” He wondered if he should warn the Duchess that Emiline was a great consumer of wine and would spend all the Worthington money if she had a chance.

  Emiline looked back at Elizabeth. “I would like that, Your Grace. Thank
you for inviting me.”

  “Well, I did invite myself in a way, did I not?” Elizabeth laughed softly. “I’m sure we will have a lovely time.” She looked at Allan. “Do not worry yourself at all, Lord Gray. I will keep her safe from the ravenous wolves.”

  “Thank you, Duchess. I was worried.”

  After breakfast, the men separated from the women. Shawn took Allan outside, where a carriage was waiting for him. Allan was impressed. It was a large carriage with room for six people. He ran his eyes over the majestic horses, the white carriage framed with gold trimmings and the young driver sitting up top.

  “This is quite nice, Your Grace. Thank you for loaning it to me.”

  “You are most welcome. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask.” Shawn directed his words to the driver. “Charles, take Lord Gray to Duck’s Row first so that he can see one of the most beautiful places in Fairbanks, please.” He looked back to Allan. “It is one of the plots of land that is undeveloped. You might like to buy it, once you see it. As a matter of fact, Charles, take Lord Gray to all the areas we have for purchase. Perhaps we can convince him to stay in our homeland for some time to come.”

  Allan moved to step up into the carriage. He settled himself in the seat and looked through the door as Shawn went to close it. Just before he did, he smiled at Allan. “I believe Duck’s Row is one of Janelle’s favorite areas to take a walk. You will see why when you get there.”

  Allan grinned automatically. The Duke and Duchess had noticed his attraction. He was glad to know that he appeared to have their blessing, should he decide to court her. “Thank you for all that you are doing for me, Your Grace.”

  “You are welcome, Lord Gray. Have a good time today. I will see you this evening if not sooner.” He closed the door and called up to Charles.