Romancing the Earl

by Heather Boyd

  The dog rushed toward him, and he patted his head absently. “Hero seems well trained.”

  “Oh, he’s impossible only occasionally but always behaves for people he likes. He must like you. He was once so fascinated by the feathers on one of my previous employers’ turbans that he nearly got me fired. He was forever following the lady about and staring at her head. She, of course, made it worse by almost running from him.”

  Price laughed. “Dogs have a unique ability to sense kindred spirits.”

  “That’s why you gave me Hero. You said he would warn me away from unscrupulous or cruel employers. Hero has gone everywhere with me and really is a fine judge of character. I’ve turned down several positions because he didn’t warm to the people we met. He’s been the best companion and protector a woman could ever want.”

  “Let us hope in your next position Hero loves everyone you meet.”

  She looked at him strangely for a moment. “It seems so already. Do you have as many dogs at Edenmere as you did before?”

  “No. None now,” Price said as Hero jumped up, putting his paws against Price’s thigh. He gave the boy a good rub and then pushed him down, but the room spun. Price pressed his fingers to his temple and rubbed hard. “I never quite got around to finding replacements when the others died.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I used to be envious of how cleverly your dogs were trained. It took me two years to stop Hero from jumping up on people.” She smiled quickly. “I’d happily help train more if you want another again.”

  Price shook his head. This was a strange conversation to be having. “When did you arrive in London?”

  “Yesterday. Unfortunately, you were out at the time. My belongings are settled into the servants’ quarters upstairs.”

  He stilled, and then looked at her quickly. “Whose servants’ quarters?”

  “Yours.” She seemed to shrink, and her head dipped low. “I know I should have written and waited until I had a response from you, but the money you sent seemed to suggest an immediate start was preferred. The housekeeper didn’t know what to do with me when I arrived, but I showed her your letter, and she, and the butler, agreed I should wait and talk to you.”

  Price scratched his head. Why would he have written to Lenore and offered her employment when he obviously had no use for a paid companion? He had no female relatives, or a wife, either.

  She caught his eye. “Could we talk today, after you change perhaps?”

  He nodded slowly and glanced outside. Yes, it was definitely afternoon, and judging by the increased traffic of elegant carriages heading toward Hyde Park, it was almost time for the promenade. He’d lost track of another day. But he’d also lost track of his reason for writing to Lenore, and that seemed the more pressing problem. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  “You’ve slept the day away, but I’m glad you’re finally awake to sort things out.” She grinned. “Do you think… Would you mind very much putting some trousers on while we discuss my new duties?”

  He stared at her, and then looked down. His legs were bare. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  Lenore’s laughter followed him into the dining room while he blushed.

  Price found his trousers atop the dining table, crumpled into a ball. He must have used them as a pillow. He struggled into them and snatched up his footwear.

  Lenore laughed softly again, somewhere behind him. “You’ve still got skinny little chicken legs, my lord.”

  He looked back with a look he hoped would fell her where she stood. “Stop laughing, Piggy.”

  “It’s not as if I haven’t seen them before. Remember that time one of your dogs stole your breakfast one morning? You chased it down the hall, wearing even less than you are now. Just a linen shirt covering you. Still everyone at Edenmere saw more of you than we should that day.” And then she schooled her features. “Sorry. I know I should never make fun of you, now you’re the earl. I promise to remember my place in the future. I’m just so happy to be here.”

  He sighed. Lenore, despite being a servant’s offspring, had been his friend for a long time, and he would forgive her for laughing today. There was no meanness in her. They had never really been master and servant to each other anyway. “Accepted, if you’ll forgive me, too, for the horrible view you just had to endure.”

  A blush colored her cheeks. “We’ll never mention it again, just like last time.” And then she laughed heartily and scurried away, trying to smother the sound in her hand.

  Resigned to hearing that sound for a while, Price finished dressing in peace. As he swept his hand over his coat sleeves to remove any dust, his fingers brushed over the spot where a band of mourning he wore tied over his shirt sleeve was tied. He sobered and cast a quick look toward where Lenore Griffin had recently stood.

  What the hell had he be thinking to offer employment to Lenore by letter when there was no companion position here for her? He must have brought her here to be companion to someone else, though damned if he could remember whom it was now.

  Price hurried back out to the hall and found Lenore waiting in the drawing room doorway. She was standing but when her dog hurried to her, she bent low to pat him. “Be good now. We can’t afford to lose this position.”

  Price winced and gestured for her to enter the drawing room ahead of him. “Please, take a seat while we sort this out.”

  “I know I should have written first to accept, but there was no reason to delay. Lady Kelly was about to marry and had no further use for me.”

  He nodded. So Lenore was entirely without ties elsewhere. He’d find something for her to do until he remembered what he’d really summoned her for. Then he’d find her a fitting situation in a good household. “I trust the journey wasn’t too arduous.”

  “Indeed, no. The funds you sent made everything simple.” She dug in her pocket, and then held out a handful of money to him. “Your change.”

  He took the money and stared at his palm, confused even more by the leftover amount. Just how much had he sent her that she could return such a large sum? “I am afraid I cannot offer you a position at this time.”

  She gaped, obviously upset by the news. “Did you ask someone else and forget about me? Was I too slow in coming?”

  He frowned. “There never was a position to fill here.”

  “But you sent for me. Paid for the journey to London.”

  Price shook his head. “Let me see that letter I sent you and we can clear this up,” he demanded. “There must be a misunderstanding.”

  “I’d never lie about something so important. I really do need a position, my lord. I gave up everything for a fresh start here with you.”

  Price shook his head. “You know you can’t stay.”

  “But I can. Once I explained my connection to your country estate and then with everything you put in the letter, they were very eager to make me welcome. They even wanted to put me in a guest room, which of course I refused to accept. I know my place in the world. I’m sure there’s much I can do in so large and grand a house as this.”

  He took a pace toward her, and the dog was immediately between them, teeth bared and snarling.

  Lenore clucked her tongue. “You shouldn’t rush at me like that, my lord. Not until Hero knows you mean me no harm.”

  The dog started to bark again.

  “Hero, sit,” Price demanded, and the dog submitted, lowering his head to the floor.

  “Ah, how unfortunate that he remembers you were the man who started his training,” Lenore said as she looked down on her dog sourly. “He has always been my protection. But I suppose he sees no danger in you.”

  Price didn’t believe Lenore would lie to him to get a better position somewhere else, but he wanted to read that letter to know exactly what he’d said to her that could be so persuasive she’d give up a perfectly good paid companion’s position in the country. “Perhaps we should start over.”

  She nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Try and f
igure this out together.”

  Price agreed, seeing no other option. One thing was certain, though. He had uprooted Lenore Griffin’s life. Without question, he had to see her settled again. He was responsible for her now.

  “May I see the letter?”

  “All right.” She produced it and held it out.

  Price turned it over in his hand, noting the shabby condition it was in. It was well folded and far from pristine. Something had been spilled upon the paper, blurring the letters of her mailing address.

  He unfolded the sheet and noted the blurring continued on the inside, too. He barely recognized his own handwriting. It was so untidy, the letters almost illegible. But it was written by him—and very clear about his intentions.

  In no uncertain terms, Price had offered, not employment, but himself in marriage.

  Chapter 4

  Price was rendered speechless for several minutes. He had proposed, by mail, to make Lenore his wife, countess, and mother of his children. A marriage of mutual respect and comfort, he’d claimed. He read a bit more and paled further at what he’d done to himself.

  He looked at Lenore, noting her happy smile was back in place. “See. It is quite clear about the position,” she said.

  She’d said she had come to take up a position as a companion, not as a wife. “Did you read this? All of it?”

  “As best as I could. I must say, your handwriting has declined quite markedly since last Christmas. The stain didn’t help, but with the money enclosed, it was easy to catch the gist of your meaning. You’d married, or were about to, and wanted a companion for your wife. I was to come immediately to London and use the money enclosed for the fare.”

  Dear God, Lenore didn’t even suspect the truth.

  Price wiped his hand across his mouth, mind reeling at the realization that he’d chosen a bride in the last few weeks and had forgotten. Failing to remember he’d proposed made him feel quite idiotic. He hoped to God no one heard about this or he’d be the laughingstock of London.

  But this could all be smoothed over and Lenore sent on her way if he acted quickly with none the wiser.

  And then he remembered a few things Lenore had said earlier. “Did you say you showed my letter to my housekeeper?”

  She nodded, her eyes bright. “And the butler as well. They were beside themselves with happiness that I had arrived safe and sound.”

  “I bet they were,” he grumbled.

  If his senior servants were happy about Lenore’s arrival, then they both knew he had no use for a companion. They must have read the letter properly and seen the truth in his blurred handwriting.

  Whereas Lenore had seen only what she wanted to see. What she had expected from someone like him.

  An offer of employment out of the blue must have come as a surprise. That she’d traveled half the country to accept seemed a little odd, though. But then, she’d cobbled together only the words that made the most sense to her. He had, after all, been instrumental in finding her that first companion’s position. She trusted him to look out for her.

  Lenore hugged her pet again. He listened to her gentle promises of treats with half an ear. “I’m sorry we have to stay inside today, Hero. We’ll go for a nice long walk in the square at first light tomorrow before I start my duties.”

  Lenore Griffin was a kind person, loyal and generous. A hard worker. They had always gotten along well.

  But surely he hadn’t meant to propose to her…and yet, how could he explain the letter any other way? The letter was in his handwriting. No one could make a forgery look so bad.

  So he had written a proposal to Lenore Griffin, and now he had to get rid of her with as little fuss as possible.

  He put his head in his hand and groaned.

  “You should eat something,” Lenore whispered softly. “If you don’t mind me saying so, you’re not looking very well today.”

  Why would he be after this? Price sat up and ran a hand through his hair, and then smoothed his beard. He’d made a horrible mistake in writing that letter. The housekeeper’s and butler’s silence could be bought, but what would Lenore think about him when she discovered the truth? It would be better if he explained the situation, the mistake, before anyone else could enlighten her.

  “So about my position?”

  He held up his hand. “There is a complication.”

  “Oh,” she said, looking worried. “What’s wrong?”

  He considered Lenore a friend, an old, good friend, and she deserved the truth whether he liked it or not. He held out the letter to her. “You need to read this again. Properly this time.”

  Her brows knitted together. “What do you mean, properly? It is as clear as day you employed me to be a companion to your wife.”

  “I’m not married,” he said.

  “So, I’ll work as a maid or whatever you want until you do.”

  He bit his lip and moved to sit beside her. “I never offered you a position as a companion, Miss Griffin.”

  “Certainly you did. It is there in the letter.”

  He swallowed hard. “I did ask you to come to London,” he whispered. “To be my companion…for the rest of my life.”

  She burst to her feet. “No, you didn’t!”

  Her denial was music to his ears. He could most likely escape the offer with no slight given. “Oh, yes, I did.” He moved toward her and showed her the letter again, using his finger to highlight certain words she’d obviously misinterpreted. He read the letter to her, word for word, until her eyes widened. “Wife.”

  She moved away and stared at him with huge eyes. “Why would you write that to me of all people?”

  “Why indeed?” He and his friends had been talking about the necessity of choosing a bride recently. Had they goaded him into picking out a bride when he’d been drunk? He did vaguely remember deciding not to take a wife from within the ton. Choosing Lenore, a lady’s companion, was as far from the ton as he could have picked from. She had no family, no important connections, no dowry, or funds of any significance.

  Price raised his hand to his aching head, struggling with what to do. He would prefer to tell the truth, and hope she didn’t attempt to hold him to his offer. He couldn’t marry Lenore. “I don’t recall exactly why I offered for you at the moment. I confess I might have been very deep in my cups at the time. I can only ask you for your understanding in this matter and beg that you will release me.”

  “You didn’t mean it,” she whispered, taking back his letter and ripping it up. “I suspected you might have been drinking when the letter arrived stained and boasting an odor of stale spirits. It doesn’t count if you were drunk. I know men often say strange things when they’ve overindulged. I’d never hold you to this.”

  “Thank you.” He breathed a sigh of relief as the pieces fell into her lap. She’d released him, destroyed his letter, and now they could both get on with their lives—separately.

  The silence lengthened.

  “Shall I call for tea and something for you to eat, my lord?” Lenore asked suddenly. “Perhaps when you have a full stomach, you’ll help me find a situation better suited to my talents.”

  Price would certainly help Lenore after this. At least they agreed that her future lay elsewhere. “I remember your mother was forever suggesting food before I made important decisions. Truth to tell, I’ve missed your counsel as much as hers.”

  “I’ve missed yours, too,” Lenore admitted shyly and then shook her head. “I am sorry that you’ve not found a proper wife yet.”

  “No, not yet.” he lied easily. There was no reason for Lenore to know his heart was broken.

  Lenore smiled. “Perhaps next season you’ll meet someone special and you can ask them to marry you.”

  He studied Lenore. He remembered her sense, her humor and optimism had always cheered him from a low mood in the past. She was easy to talk to. It was that aspect of her character that made him gesture for her to sit again.

  They made small talk, mo
stly about her pet’s antics and the weather. His proposal had thankfully changed nothing between them. It truly was a shame that she had to leave. He supposed he might never see her again after this debacle, unless she took a position with a friend again.

  Would it be strange to see her in society as someone else’s companion? To know that she could have been his wife instead.

  Price knew he would never marry for love. And he’d already decided that a dowry, connections, family were not as important to him as they’d once been. The best he could hope for when he married was to like his wife. To pick someone he could get along with. Talk to easily.

  Lenore actually met every one of his requirements for a wife. But it was obvious she didn’t want to be the one. Price found her response to his mistake intriguing. She acted as if his blunder had never happened already. “Why not marry me?”

  She snorted softly. “Well, for one, I am not a lady.”

  He folded his arms across his chest and looked her over. Her poise was perfect, back straight, legs neatly tucked beneath her skirts. Admittedly, her gown wasn’t the height of fashion but a few hours with a better dressmaker and unlimited funds would fix that problem. And if they hired a lady’s maid they could do something better with her hair. She could easily pass for a proper lady. She certainly spoke like one. “You’re no longer the hoyden who raced me to the kitchen, skirt hem caked with mud and six inches wet from rain-soaked fields. You’ve improved your mind, too, since then I expect, but you’re still honest, which makes you an ideal candidate.”

  “Oh, please. You must still be under the influence.”

  “Not enough to matter,” he warned, getting to his feet. He was at last steady and clearer headed. Perhaps he’d been on to something on the night he’d written to Lenore. He could marry her if he wanted to. He had no family to disapprove of her. She was already of age and didn’t need anyone’s permission. “I believe that my actions and behavior requires a permanent solution for both of us.”

  “Such as?”

  “The housekeeper and butler read that letter, too, Miss Griffin. They are unlikely to forget what I’ve done, and I cannot have another word of gossip spread about me this year. We will have to marry after all.”