CHAPTER 4
ABIGAIL MOUNTED THEsteps to her room at a near run, propelled by a conservation instinct. The heavy folds of his coat enveloped her in a cocoon of warmth, but instead of calming her, the sensation added to her agitation.
Why would she feel this near panic? The Earl wasn’t threatening. In fact, now that she had met him, she could almost breathe a sigh of relief. He seemed kind enough, even if he looked big and forbidding.
There was little resemblance to the sweet boy she had known. That boy had been small and skinny, with a bookish sort of appearance and a slight hump on his back. This man was a hulking stranger with a stern face and curt demeanor. Good looking in a rugged kind of way, with his long hair and big capable hands.
Good looking? Surely not! Maybe she was coming down with a fever as a result of the chill. At the top of the stairs, just before turning into the corridor that led to her rooms, she looked down towards the foyer. He stood there, looking around as if familiarizing himself with the house.
His face was not soft or charming. Even if his chin had an adorable dimple, and his lips were plush and well shaped, his jaw was too chiseled and his eyebrows too strong to be called that. Deep brackets framed his mouth. But he did not seem cruel, more so... haunted.
Reaching her room, she called for a maid and asked for a hot bath, as he had suggested. Before his arrival, she would have used the bathing chamber the old earl had installed in the dressing room between the master and mistress chambers. The countess had given her the use of it, and she agreed to use it because the piped bathtub saved the servants from having to haul buckets of water. But with him in residence, she didn’t dare use it.
That chamber was his now. Connected to his room. In fact, she mused frantically while she worked to remove her sodden garments, she and the countess would probably have to move to another wing, or to the dower house. Thinking of the old, dreary and poorly maintained dower house, she did not relish the prospect. And with the earldom’s affairs in such disrepair, she did not think there would be enough money to do even the most basic improvements.
A frown worked itself between her brows before she shook her head and banished her worries. She was getting ahead of herself. The important thing was that he had arrived, and he seemed benign enough. Now he could start setting things to rights.
The maid arrived at that moment carrying a tin bathtub, followed by two footmen carrying pails of water.
As she gratefully lowered herself into the steaming water a few moments later, her thoughts turned again to the Earl. An image of his rugged, handsome face and powerful body came unbidden to her mind. Why did he look unhappy?
She pondered the old scandal involving his mother. Was he saddened to be here? She had also heard some rumors about a scandal at Eton involving him directly. It led to him leaving the school and shortly after leaving the country with his mother. She had never returned. And he only did so after a year of inheriting his earldom. There must be a lot of sorrow and conflict there.
It was none of her business, of course. The earl was a grown man, and he looked strong and capable. Any imagined sorrow must be a product of her overactive imagination. He didn’t need her help, and she would do well to stay away from him. Even if her inclinations pulled her towards him.
***
“IDON’T THINK YOU NEEDto worry. The earl seemed to be a kind man. He offered me a ride when I was caught in the rain. And seemed genuinely interested in you and his sister.”
“He does not harbor resentment toward us, then?” They were ensconced in the countess’s sitting room, off her bedchamber. Having tea and a chat after her bath.
Abigail shook her head. “I don’t think so. He doesn’t seem to be a spiteful man. If anything, he looks a little sad.”
“Ah, I see. Do you think he mourns his father? I didn’t think they were close.”
“I don’t know. But in any case, you will be able to see for yourself. He has invited us to dine with him tonight.”
The countess sighed. “I guess I had better call Eliza to help me prepare, then. It will take me the full two hours until dinnertime to get ready. And Abby?”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Wear something nice to dinner tonight. Nothing gray or brown. One of your prettier gowns. Maybe the garnet silk?”
Abby paled. To look beautiful in front of a man? This man in particular? The idea was oddly tempting. And that temptation scared her to death.
“I don’t think that would be appropriate, madam. Nor necessary. I am not a guest. Merely your companion.”
“Pooh, child. You are my friend first. I wish you would dress more becomingly, not like a dried up old dowager. You are vibrant and beautiful. And now there’s an eligible bachelor in residence. One that, by your own assessment, seems kind, and with whom you share a long acquaintance. You would be a fool to let this opportunity to know him better pass you by.”
Abby shook her head frantically. “I’m not seeking to get to know him, or any man, better. As I’ve told you before, Esther. I’m quite content with my life as it is. I don’t want, or need, another husband.”
The countess tilted her head to the side, assessing her. “I understand you did not have an easy time of it with your first marriage. And I’m sure I don’t know even half of what you went through. But you need to open yourself up to life and love Abby. Not all men are brutes. And you are too young to cloister yourself in the country as the shadow companion of an invalid.”
“Now who is being defeatist? You are not so old yourself. And I don’t believe your case is hopeless. You should seek treatment for your injury. Maybe now is a good time to take a trip to the continent. I would go with you. We could–”
“No.” The countess’s voice was gentle, but no less firm. “You know I can’t do that. I have Elizabeth to settle. She is about to have her first season, and I need to be here for her. After she is married... perhaps. I put little faith in any treatment, though.”
“Oh, Esther. What a pair we are. Maybe that’s why we get along so well. Let’s make a pact. I won’t badger you about treatment if you won’t insist on matchmaking for me.”
