The Lady and the Earl

by Clark, Diedre

  “Trust me. I realize it,” Connor replied. “That is why I don’t want you seeing him anymore.”

  “I refuse to let you tell me who—”

  “Listen to me first before you get angry again,” he growled, silencing her. “He’s not loyal. When your back is turned, he will seduce your best friend. Let any other man court you, but not Lucas.”

  “Connor, Lucas loves me. He’s willing to change for me,” she said.

  “No, Allana. He does not love you. I don’t believe he is capable of love. He’s after one thing, and if he said he loves you, it was only to get it,” Connor said, trying to make a point.

  “Were you not telling him earlier he needed to find love or he would end up callous and immune?” she asked in bewilderment.

  “How much did you hear?”

  She looked at him sheepishly, not answering the question.

  Connor sighed in frustration. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is, I may have said that, but truthfully I think Lucas is already past the point. I believe he’s already too calloused to understand what love truly is.”

  “Connor, give him a chance,” she pleaded.

  “No, not with my ba—not with my sister, I will not,” Connor spat out.

  “What choice do you have? Father’s willing to give him a chance as well as Lilly. And right now he is my choice, so you had better find a way to accept him,” she said angrily.

  “Allana, you don’t know what he’s like—”

  “No, I do not, but I am not going to let you tell me either. I prefer to give a person a chance before passing judgment,” she said stubbornly. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to change for supper,” she finished before he could say anything else. She opened the door, waiting for him to leave, slamming the door behind him when he was finally out in the hall.

  Connor cursed. That was a waste of time.

  A short while later, Connor found himself confronting his father and Lilly. He came to them hoping he might be able to persuade them to talk some sense into Allana.

  “Connor, I’ve seen the way he looks at her. He cares for her deeply, and she is smitten with him as well. Until he gives me a reason to doubt his intentions, I will support his courtship of her,” Lord Tananguard said to Connor.

  “But Father—”

  “No, this conversation is finished,” Tananguard said, putting his foot down.

  “Lilly?” Connor asked hopefully. Maybe she would support him.

  “I’m afraid I agree with your father, Connor. Give Lucas a chance. He seems to truly care for Allana,” Lilly replied apologetically.

  “I know him too well to be able to do that,” Connor said irritably. What was wrong with everyone?

  “Then trust Allana to make the right choice. She is a smart girl, Connor. If something is not right, trust her to know it,” Lilly said wisely.

  Connor sighed in frustration. How could he argue that?

  Chapter 9

  Allana strolled into the sitting room where Connor, her father, and Lilly were relaxing after their afternoon tea. Connor and her father occupied the two cozy chairs, while Lilly worked on some needlepoint in a chair at a small table near the window.

  “I am going for a ride to Lord Hoffman’s,” Allana announced. Normally, she would have simply called out from the hall that she was going for a ride, not even bothering telling anyone where she was going. Today she wanted to annoy Connor. He’d been a nuisance since the day he returned home, shadowing her and Lucas everywhere they went, occupying as much of Lucas’s time as he could before she could force him to allow her to join. He would not leave them alone. He was always there. It was as though he were trying to keep them apart by hounding them with his presence. Of course, it was probably a good thing considering it forced Lucas to be a gentleman. But that was beside the point. It was simply condescending, showing how little he trusted her. Her father trusted her, why couldn’t Connor? Her father never required her to have a chaperone, but Connor insisted upon it and insisted on being the one to do it. But today that would change. Today she would finally get a chance to be alone with Lucas. And all because Connor needed to stay here and help Father. She smiled triumphantly from the thought.

  “Wait a moment, and I will come with you,” Connor answered, smiling pleasantly.

  No! Her smile turned to ice as she glared at her brother. You are supposed to be helping Father today. No sooner had she finished the thought than her father spoke.

  “You were going to help me with paperwork today, remember? I’m very behind on it, Connor. I need your help.”

  Victory! Allana thought as Connor’s smug smile slipped from his face with their father’s words. She smiled sweetly to her glowering brother. “Perhaps another day, Connor,” she said. It was his turn to wear the dark scowl, and that was the reaction Allana was hoping for. She turned and strolled out of the room, relishing the feel of finally putting Connor in his place.

  It was a lovely day for the nice, long ride to Lucas’s estates. There was a warm breeze in the air foretelling of spring. Allana tried to think of Lucas as she rode, tried to force her heart to soar at the thought of him…it did not. She sighed. He was leaving for London tomorrow on business and wouldn’t be back for a month, possibly even two. Maybe their time apart would make her finally find her love for him. As though daring her to let it try, a dark-haired, blue-eyed man surfaced in her mind, causing her heart to flutter as it should have done with her thoughts of Lucas. Lord Cunningham.

  She sighed. Oh why did she keep thinking of him? It was infuriating. He was a child’s dream, nothing more. She needed to put him behind her once and for all! But how was she to do so? Perhaps if she braved her fears and officially met him, she could stop her heart from pining for him. She would see him for what he was, a man with as many flaws as any other man. She would realize he was not the perfect man she’d created in her mind, and finally be rid of him….But what if, even with his flaws, she still desired him? And if she did, who is to say he would desire her as well? He might simply see her as Connor’s young sister eligible for marriage. Then again, what if he saw her as more than that? What if he saw her as someone of interest, but then discovered she wasn’t as elegant and refined as she pretended to be? He would detach himself from her immediately, crushing her heart in the process. Why put herself through such a situation? She would not meet him, and that was that. She would have to find another way to detach her heart from him, especially if she wished it to love Lucas.

  Her stomach grew tight as a dangerous thought entered her mind. Perhaps if she gave herself to Lucas, her feelings might change. She knew he desired her. Even with Connor’s constant presence, that much was obvious. If she gave herself to him…no, she mustn’t think of such thing. But if she did give herself to him, she might finally be rid of Lord Cunningham. No, there must be another way. What if there wasn’t? What if this was the only way to finally fall in love with Lucas? Perhaps today she would….

  Her stomach tightened once again. She glanced up, looking around nervously as though someone might be around to hear her unfinished thought. Her body tensed as she spotted Lucas’s estates looming in front of her.

  Oh goodness. I’m here already, she thought anxiously as she guided Lancelot toward the stables.

  Irritation welled up inside her. She should be excited to see Lucas, not nervous. If she could just force herself to love him, she wouldn’t be feeling this way. Of course, if she could force herself to love him, she wouldn’t be having these inappropriate thoughts either. Why couldn’t she love him?

  Movement by the stables caught Allana’s attention as if in answer to her question. Her mouth dropped open in shock. No, she thought. No, this cannot be!

  Lucas and a young woman close to Allana’s age were kissing quite vigorously in front of her. He had the girl pressed up against the stable doors, trying his best to open the doors behind her to find privacy for the act they were about to perform. Allana’s eyes bulged in horror as a small squeak of
protest escaped her lips. She needed to get out of here. In one fast motion, she turned Lancelot around and spurred him to a dead sprint, but not before hearing Lucas curse behind her.

  Tears burned her eyes as she rode. She sobbed from the pain and humiliation she felt. How could he do this to her? Didn’t he say he had changed for her? Didn’t he say he loved her? Apparently, it had all been a lie. Connor had been right. That thought pained her almost as badly as Lucas’s disloyalty. Suddenly, she wanted to hit something. No, not just something, Lucas. She ground her teeth in anger. She needed to think. There was only one place to do that. With a slight tug of the reigns, she turned Lancelot toward Lord Cunningham’s land. She would go to the one place she knew she could be alone with her thoughts.

  Allana found solace by her lake and cried for what seemed like hours before she finally came to the realization today’s events had been a blessing. What if she’d married Lucas before finding out what he was like, or worse, given herself to him? She would be used property, and then no one would want her. Yes, today was definitely a blessing. Calmness spread over her body with these thoughts. Resolutely, she mounted Lancelot and headed home. She would be okay, better than okay…wouldn’t she? Sadness returned. If Lucas wasn’t the man for her, then who was?

  After returning home, Allana headed to the garden to be alone once more. She wasn’t ready to be around anyone just yet. She had to plan a way to explain her tear stained cheeks and sudden lack of interest in Lucas. To her dismal surprise, she found Lucas waiting for her there by the rose bushes.

  “Go home, Lucas. I don’t want to see you ever again,” she said coldly to him. She walked straight past him.

  “Allana, please listen to me. It was nothing. She does not mean anything to me,” Lucas said pleadingly.

  “Nothing to you?” Allana whirled around fiercely. The anger she felt was beyond anything she had ever experienced. She wanted to tear him to pieces. “It looked like something to me. You don’t kiss someone so passionately if she does not mean anything to you.”

  “Allana, I was weak. We’ve not had any time alone, and I haven’t been with a woman for the entire four months we’ve been together. With all of this…tension I’ve been feeling, I needed some release.”

  “You—What!” she cried, shocked and disgusted by his remark. She slapped him as hard as she could.

  His hand caught her arm tightly after the slap. “Never do that again,” he said dangerously.

  “Connor was right about you. You haven’t changed. Not for me, not for anyone. You want one thing. Well, you will never get that one thing from me!” She yanked her arm from his strong grip, feeling bruises begin to form. “I never want to see you again, Lucas, so go home and enjoy your maid,” she hissed before turning and storming out of the garden. Tears returned and began pouring down her cheeks even though crying was the last thing she wanted to do. The pain and humiliation were too much.

  “Allana, stop!” Lucas called out to her.

  She ignored him, furious and hurt.

  He chased after her and caught up to her just outside the house. “You cannot escape me that easily.”

  Her arm ached where he had grabbed her, and to her dismay, he grabbed the sore arm again, causing it to throb even more. “Let go of me,” she hissed further. He ignored her, pulling her to him for a passionate kiss. She tried fighting it at first, but surrendered in the end, knowing he would not stop until she did.

  “Allana, can you not feel it? Can you not feel the passion between us? I know seeing me and Maggie together was a painful sight to come upon, and I am sorry you witnessed it. It was humiliating as hell for me. It will never happen again. I promise,” he said gently to her. “We can get past this and still be together. I cannot let you go. I will not,” he finished with determination.

  “No, you are wrong,” she replied. “You will let me go because I don’t want anything to do with you ever again.”

  “You don’t mean that,” Lucas stated.

  “I do!”

  He studied her a moment before laughing darkly. “Well then. That is interesting because I’m not letting you go.” He grabbed her sore arm tightly once more, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “You belong to me,” he said darkly. He kissed her hard this time, splitting her lip in the process. “Just remember that before you start digging your clutches into someone else.”

  “Get away from me!” She pulled at her arm, trying to get him to release her. “You’re nothing like the man you pretend to be.”

  He laughed cruelly as he let go of her arm and watched her stumble backward and to the ground. “But I can be that man, or I can be the one you are seeing right now. So you have a choice. Let your temper calm, think about the good things in our relationship, and marry me when I get back from London. Or you can find out how possessive and cruel I can truly be.”

  She climbed to her feet, staring at him angrily. “Go home, Lucas. Sleep off whatever it is you’ve been drinking, and when you wake up, do not come crawling back to me, begging for forgiveness. I have had enough,” she said as she turned and went inside the house.

  “I won’t let you go. Do you hear me,” she heard him say behind her. She closed the door on him before he could say anything else.

  She leaned against the door and realized she was trembling. She had never seen him so angry. He’d shown her a side she didn’t want to see again, a dark side that frightened her. Had he been serious? She rolled her eyes. No, he’d been desperate. It was just a tactic to manipulate her into submission. Well, it wasn’t going to work on her. He was in for a surprise if he thought she would give in so easily.

  Chapter 10

  “You know I won’t be around forever, Connor. You have to learn these things if you are going to be the next Lord of Tananguard,” Marcus Tananguard said to his son.

  “I know, Father,” Connor said irritably. “And I do know how to do these—”

  “Well, then pay attention to what you’re doing,” his father interrupted impatiently. “You are supposed to be helping, not making my job harder. I cannot afford mistakes on these,” he finished, examining the papers Connor had accidentally dumped a bottle of ink over. “Luckily, there’s no damage done. You will just have to rewrite it.” He handed the papers back to a scowling Connor.

  “I could have told you that,” Connor grumbled.

  “What?” Lord Tananguard asked dangerously.

  “Nothing,” came the reply.

  Connor was on edge. Allana had been seeing Lucas for almost four months now, and Connor couldn’t shake the sense of doom he felt for her. He needed to do something, but what? He looked down at the paperwork he was attending to and at the smudges of ink he’d just made, when the perfect plan finally presented itself.

  “Of course! Why did I not think of it before?” Connor said aloud, as Lord Declan Cunningham, the Earl of Westbrook, settled in his mind.

  “What is it now?” Lord Tananguard asked. “Is everything all right?”

  “What? Oh, yes. Everything is fine. Sorry, Father,” Connor said, feeling a little foolish. He hadn’t meant to burst out like that.

  “You worried me for a moment there,” said Lord Tananguard with a bit of worry still on his face.

  “Well, actually there is something.” Lord Tananguard looked at his son expectantly, and Connor continued. “Did you not tell me once that Cunningham desired this property to the east?” Connor asked flashing the ink-spilled-papers he had in front of him to his father.

  “He mentioned wanting to buy it if I was willing to sell. Why?” Lord Tananguard asked curiously.

  “I know how we can save those farms,” Connor said with a smile. They were short on finances this year because of hardships the crops had suffered. Connor’s job was to work out any possible way to continue to support the property without selling or accruing debt to maintain it. Lord Tananguard was intent on staying out of debt. But if he couldn’t provide the finances to those farmers who had lost so much money on the poor h
arvest, some would most likely have to look elsewhere, possibly even move elsewhere. That would mean serious losses for Lord Tananguard and his family’s future.

  Lord Declan Cunningham wanted the land to expand Westbrook, and Connor wanted Allana out of Lucas’s clutches. Cunningham had been a widower for over two years, making him the most eligible man in this area as well as in London. He was also an earl, and a very wealthy one at that. Mothers hounded him with their daughters, while aunts introduced him to their nieces. Connor knew Declan grew weary of these matchmakers, so he decided Declan simply needed a wife. Allana was the ideal candidate. She was beautiful, refined, and intelligent. Surely, Declan would see her as someone he could marry. If not, then maybe the land would be enough to persuade him. Either way, Declan Cunningham was the man for Allana. He was the one man Connor could stand seeing his sister marry. He was smart, polite, handsome, and of course an earl. They had become friends instantly, and Connor knew Declan would treat Allana with the respect she deserved.

  The plan was simple. Connor would propose an arranged marriage. For Allana’s dowry they would give the Earl the property he wanted, including the farms, the tenants and anything else on the land. It was perfect. Declan could stop the matchmaking and expand his land. And in one easy move, Allana would be safe from Lucas. The only problem Connor could see was Allana’s stubbornness. She was too willful to be forced to marry. She believed in love, not arranged marriages. He needed to make her want to be with Cunningham or else this plan might not work.

  “Well?” Lord Tananguard asked as he waited patiently for Connor to tell him his idea. “This doesn’t have anything to do with you wanting to go to America, does it?”

  Connor had had that conversation with his father, and surprisingly, his father had agreed, asking Connor to wait until Allana was wed before he actually left. Fortunately, that had been Connor’s intention already. He wasn’t about to leave before he knew his sister was safe from Lucas. “No, it doesn’t. But now that you mention it, it might help you when the time comes,” Connor finished with a smile. Without this land to worry about, the stresses of Lord Tananguard would be reduced, meaning it wouldn’t be as hard for his father to run his estates in the years to come.