Improperly Enticed By The Rascal Earl (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Olivia Bennet

  “That is true, I suppose,” their papa murmured, looking somewhat relieved.

  Though she was usually so curious to know more about her papa’s relationship with their aunt, Tabitha was too exhausted to care overly much at present. She wanted to end the conversation so she could go upstairs, but she did not wish to hurt her papa’s feelings, so she kept her impatience to herself.

  “What else did my beautiful daughters do for entertainment while they were away from me?” he asked eagerly.

  Please, Papa, let us rest first…

  “We are very excited to tell you everything, papa,” Unity said with a grin as she rested her hand on his arm. “But first, might we have some time to refresh ourselves? We have been traveling for hours, and are all quite worn out. Perhaps we could regale you with our stories at dinner?”

  Bless you, Unity.

  “Of course, my dears!” the Baron replied. “You all must be tired. Do not let me stop you from getting your rest. Go, go. We will speak more at dinner.”

  Tabitha wanted to sigh in relief, but restrained herself as she and her sisters hurried up the stairs to the second floor. She turned to walk to her room, which was on the opposite end of the hall as her sisters’ shared room. Before she had gone two steps, however, Sophia’s voice stopped her.

  “Shall we go into town before dinner?”

  Frowning, Tabitha glanced back at her youngest sister. “What? Why on earth would you want to go into the town at this time of day?”

  Sophia glanced between her and Unity, who was also staring at her with a furrowed brow.

  “I simply wish see if any of my friends are about,” Sophia explained at length. “To hear what all we have missed in our week away.”

  “No one will be about,” Unity assured her.

  “You will not be able to catch up on your gossip yet today,” Tabitha added. “Best put the idea from your mind. We will not be going.”

  She turned, dismissing the conversation, but Sophia protested.

  “But, how will we know what has happened with Lord Morrington? What if someone has caught his eye? What if the Countess of Brookshire has had her way, and he is already engaged to Miss Sour-Faced Jane?”

  Tabitha whirled back around, bewildered and annoyed. She had expected to be bombarded with the topic of Lord Morrington up their return home, but she had not expected the onslaught to occur immediately.

  Or for it to be instigated by her own sister.

  “Is that what you are so concerned about? The happenings of Lord Morrington? What does any of that have to do with us?”

  “Should we not be concerned?” Sophia replied. “I would have thought you most concerned, Tabitha?”

  “Why would you think that?” she cried.

  Sophia shrugged. “You like him. Unity said so.”

  Tabitha shot a glare to her first younger sister. “I told you I did not.”

  Unity held up her hands in mock surrender. “I did not say a word. I merely suggested he might have sparked some small interest within you. That is all.”

  Tabitha wanted to pull at her hair and shriek her frustration, but she settled for leveling both her sisters with her most disapproving scowl.

  “I will say this only once more, so listen carefully the both of you,” she hissed. “I have no interest in Lord Morrington. The brief encounter we had with each other left an unfortunate impression of him upon me, and I do not wish to pursue him in any manner. Do you both understand?”

  Like scolded school children, the two ladies hung their heads and each murmured, “We understand.”

  Tabitha nodded in approval. “Good. Now, Sophia, if you truly wish to go to the village, we can do so tomorrow after breakfast. It is too late in the day to do so now. All right?”

  Sophia glanced up with a small half-smile. “All right, Tabitha.”

  “Very well,” Tabitha confirmed. “Now, off with the both of you. Tidy yourselves up and prepare to spend the evening showering our papa with all the love and affection he has missed from us this week.”

  Like two obedient soldiers following their commander’s order, Unity and Sophia turned from Tabitha and marched down the hall toward their room. She waited until they had entered their room and shut the door before releasing a sigh of resignation.

  Turning toward her own room, Tabitha moved down the hall at a slower pace, her mind a whirl with thoughts she had been able to suppress the past week. She could not stop herself from thinking back to her brief meeting with Lord Morrington.

  With the distance of time, she focused less on his arrogant flirtations, and more on his breathtaking smile and captivating gray eyes. She flushed, thinking of his sharply featured face and tall frame. He was by far the most handsome man she had ever encountered. Few men before him had left such a burning impression of themselves in her memory.

  She could never admit out loud that she found him attractive. Her sisters would never let her hear the end of it. The night after nearly being run down by him in the field, she had lain awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling as his image floated through her thoughts. She had felt strange thinking of him. Her body had felt flushed from head to toe, her heart had raced at an unnerving speed, and a strange pressure had developed low in her belly.

  She had clutched the covers to her chest, too anxious to find much rest.

  Only when they had been away from Laurelborough had she been able to find any kind of calm within her. When she was not surrounded by the babble and gossip of Lord Morrington, her mind had been able to move away from him and focus on other things. Now that they were home, though, she feared she would be unable to escape thoughts of him for any length of time.

  Already, Sophia had refocused Tabitha’s attention to him, and she had not even come face-to-face with him yet.

  The poor thing would lose her wits were she to see his face. She would no doubt think herself instantly in love with him.

  The thought made her stomach twist unpleasantly, just as it had when Sophia had suggested Lord Morrington might already be attached to someone else. Reaching her room, Tabitha entered and shut the door with a sigh, pressing her back to the wood.

  Why did the thought of him with someone else irk her so? They had only met once, and it had been so brief, she was not sure their interaction could count as a full conversation. The gentleman did not even know her name. Feeling any type of attachment or sentimentality toward him was ludicrous.

  I do not even like him. There is no reason for me to feel slighted should he turn his attentions on someone else.

  It was not a generous thought, but it helped her to reaffirm her dislike of him. She did not have the time nor patience for arrogant men who enjoyed the sound of their own voices. If she were ever to marry, it would be to someone quite the opposite of Lord Morrington.

  I will never want a gentleman like him. Eventually, he will leave Laurelborough, and I will not need to waste another thought on him.

  Chapter 8

  The red-headed beauty would not leave his mind. No matter how hard he tried to think of anything else, Edwin could not stop seeing those intensely green eyes, or the soft curl of her thick hair. Sitting in the Manor’s study, he stared out over the estate grounds contemplatively. He held a crystal tumbler of scotch in one hand, but he had hardly touched the drink the entire time he had been sitting there.

  His mystery lady was consuming his every waking thought. Curiosity as to her identity burned within him, and he feared it was a fire that would only be quenched when his questions were satisfied. He had hoped to stumble upon her the past Saturday when he and Habtage had attended Lord and Lady McKenzie’s gathering, but alas, the lady had not made an appearance.

  The social function itself had been a trial. It had been a small, intimate affair with only the McKenzies’ closest friends in attendance. Had either he or Habtage known this about the evening, they would have turned the invitation to attend down. Lord and Lady McKenzie were gracious enough hosts, but he had quickly learned the
y had a daughter of marriageable age who they claimed to be remarkably accomplished and fair of face.

  He had nearly turned to march back out the door right then and there, but Habtage had forced him to stay. His friend had reminded him how difficult life could become for them in the country if they did not make an effort with the local ton. Edwin had seen the wisdom in his words, and not wishing to become a total social pariah, had forced himself to be on his best behavior.

  The McKenzies had not been the only couple with eyes on the wealthy bachelors that night, however. It seemed that no young lady in Laurelborough was capable of securing herself a favorable husband, as every mother and father he encountered made it a point to inform him of their child’s unique traits and desirable characteristics.

  By the end of the evening, when Habtage had finally allowed them to return home, Edwin had been exhausted and irritated. He had come to the country to escape such scheming and matchmaking, and he was quickly realizing how impossible a feat that truly was.

  Were Lady Red to appear before me, however, I might not find pursuing her such a trial.

  He had dubbed his mystery lady Lady Red for her hair. He had caught himself on several occasions wondering what the long strands would feel like slipping through his fingers. Silky and soft, he was certain. Just like her pale skin. He had found himself fantasizing about the lady often throughout the week. She, in truth, seemed more fiction than fact at this point. He wondered if her cheeks would flush a deeper red if she were being pleasured.

  Would it spread from her face down to her chest? Would her delicate skin be transformed into a hot blaze that would scorch him when he touched her?

  Whenever he imagined such things, his manhood would stiffen, and a hunger would bloom in his belly. His body’s reaction was strange given he knew next to nothing about the lady, but he had never found himself so intrigued by a member of the opposite sex before. Every day during his morning rides, he would return to that spot in the fields where he had nearly run her over, hoping she would be there.

  She had yet to reappear, however, and each day he returned to the manor disappointed.

  A sudden knock on the study’s door startled him from his musings.

  He crossed his legs to hide the evidence of Lady Red’s hold on him before calling out, “Come in.”

  The door opened and Habtage strolled into the room.

  “Ah, I thought I would find you brooding in here,” his friend said with a grin. He made his way directly to the liquor service to pour himself a tumbler of scotch.

  “I am not brooding,” Edwin insisted in a surly voice. “I am simply thinking.”

  Habtage crossed the room to sit in the chair in front of Edwin. “Oh? Thinking about what, exactly?”

  Edwin refused to say. After telling Habtage about his encounter with Lady Red, he had refrained from divulging just how much she remained on his mind. He did not want his friend to get the wrong idea about his fascination with her.

  “It is nothing of import,” he replied, turning his gaze back to the window, hoping his friend would take the hint and not press him further.

  If Habtage realized Edwin did not want to speak more on the subject, he blatantly ignored his desires.

  “Nothing of import? That seems highly unlikely, as you have been visibly distracted by something all this week. Is it your mystery lady from the field?”

  Edwin turned to scowl at his friend. “Of course not. Do not be preposterous.”

  Habtage chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “Ah, so it is her. What about her has you so obsessed, I wonder?”

  “I am not obsessed with Lady Re…with that lady,” Edwin insisted. “It was a brief encounter, and I have told you before, I find the fact that she was wholly uninterested in me intriguing. I am not obsessing over her, however.”

  Habtage sat back in his chair and regarded Edwin with a critical eye. “For the past week, you have spent more time alone in this room lost in thought than I have ever seen you. You are pensive and irritable, as though something is constantly nagging at your nerves. What else could it be, if not her?”

  “Are you forgetting the scandal I fled London to avoid?” Edwin pointed out. “Did you not stop to consider that that is what has me so lost in thought? Or, perhaps that I am worried for my dear friend who also is suffering?”

  Pursing his lips, Habtage seemed to consider that a moment before shaking his head dismissively.

  “No, that is not it. The scandal angered you, no doubt, but you came to the country so you would not have to think about it anymore. While I am sure you are worried for the Countess, you also know there is little that you can do for her at present, and you are not one to allow matters outside of your control to clog your mind. So, what is it about the redhead that has you so twisted up inside?”

  Edwin sighed, annoyed. “I can assure you I am not twisted up inside. I am merely feeling reflective as of late and have decided this stay would be a good opportunity to take some time for introspection.”

  “Oh, is that it?” Habtage’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Well, then, do not let me stop your process of introspecting.”

  He fell into silence, staring at Edwin as he slowly drank his scotch. Frowning, Edwin turned to look back out the window, but he could feel his friend watching him. It was unnerving, sitting in such absolute silence as another person observed him so. He felt like some poor creature put on display, or laid out for examination. His fingers dug into the arm of his chair as his discomfort grew and grew with each passing moment.

  When he could take no more, he turned back to his friend and snapped, “Do you have nothing better to do than irritate me?”

  Habtage shook his head. “In all honesty? No.”

  With a growl, Edwin shoved himself to his feet. He drank down his own scotch in two deep swallows, then stormed toward the service to refill his glass. He did not return to his seat right away, however, and instead paced the length of the study like a caged beast.

  Habtage watched him with a bemused expression.

  “Perhaps there is something we could do to lure your redhead out into the open.”

  Edwin froze mid-stride. Slowly, he turned to face his friend with a suspicious frown.

  “What exactly did you have in mind?”

  Habtage stood and walked closer to him so they stood nearly toe-to-toe.

  “What if we threw a ball?”

  “A ball?” Edwin gawked at his friend. “Are you mad? Why would ever want to do such a thing?”

  Habtage patted Edwin’s shoulder. “First, it gives us the opportunity to meet our new neighbors without having to drag ourselves to and endless array of social gatherings.”

  Edwin could not argue the logic of that. “All right. What else?”

  “It also provides us the perfect excuse to invite every well-to-do family in the area to our home. You said the lady walked with a maid? She has to come from some type of wealth. If we invite the entire village, she is sure to be in attendance.”

  “How can you be so certain she would attend?” Edwin asked, though he hated to admit he thought the idea had merit.

  Habtage shrugged. “She may not find you interesting, but I am certain every other lady in the area does. She may have sisters or friends who insist she accompany them. Or perhaps an overbearing mother, or a father worried for her reputation will force her along. However it happens, I am very confident that your mystery lady will find it impossible to avoid such a grand event as we will throw.”

  “When do you plan to host such an extravagant affair?” Edwin murmured.

  Tilting his head, Habtage thought for a moment. “We could have it in June.”

  “Why so far from now?” Edwin asked. It was still early into April. “Is this ball not supposed to introduce us to the neighborhood?”

  “Indeed it is,” Habtage assured him. “By June, all the rest of the folks from town will have arrived to their summer abodes, and we will be able to host the grandest event in the county.
Your lady will not be able to avoid it, no matter how much she may wish to.”

  “She may wish to avoid it very much,” Edwin grumbled. Habtage seemed so certain that Lady Red would not be able to resist attending their ball, but his friend had not been present when he had encountered her in the field. Having met her, Edwin was not so sure she could be swayed into entering his home.

  “Fear not, my friend.” Habtage winked at him. “I promise to deliver your mystery lady unto you, one way or another.”

  Edwin frowned. “Why is it so important to you that I see her again?”

  His friend released a dramatic sigh. “If you see her again, and your interest in her remains upon coming to know her better, I believe she may be your destined match.”