“He should be in jail!” Luke protested.
“I agree,” John said angrily. “Unfortunatelly, he is far too charming. From what I hear, he never forces himself on them. The girls submit willingly, and then he uses their spoiled reputation as leverage. No one will come forth because that would ruin their own family name.” Shaking his head he added, “I am ashamed the pig is called a Merritt.”
Luke interrupted the earl’s rant. “Can we simply kick him out?” he questioned, “threaten him, should he return?”
“He will come back without us knowing,” Lord Merritt grumbled. “No, we must keep him where we can see him. It is our best chance.”
“So we are going to let him stay here?!” John obviously disapproved.
“Yes.” Lord Merritt’s words held regret. “Yes, but we shall take precautions. John will stay home and keep an eye on Everett. Luke, you protect Clara. I will inform the servants, and have them watch as well. Hopefully, when he realizes there is no potential here, he will leave.”
“Surely, Clara is too smart to fall for his trap,” Luke protested.
Lord Merritt sighed. “She has heard stories, and yet, she let him into the drawing room without any of us home.” He rubbed his temples. “I love her, but she is still an eighteen-year-old girl. She does not realize what she is up against.”
After a bit more strategizing, the men set out to put their plan into action. John left to find Everett, but Luke held back just a moment longer. “Clara should go home,” he pleaded with her father.
Lord Merritt shook his head. "He can easily follow her to Rosecrest.”
Luke had not been thinking of Rosecrest.
“Luke,” Lord Merritt continued, “I trust you, more than any other man on earth, to protect my daughter.” They both could feel the weight of his words, and Luke took a silent oath to let no harm or accident befall Lady Clara. He would spare no effort to keep her safe.
“But,” Lord Merritt’s voice turned somber, “I also know, should Mr. Merritt somehow fool us all, you will think no less of my little girl.” Luke nodded. His opinion of Clara would never change. “Do not get me wrong, I have faith in your success, but you will have to remain close to her, closer than you have ever been.” His eyes sparkled with that ‘knowing’ look. “As her father, I demand it.”
Chapter 12
A Ridiculous Plan
All three of Clara’s male protectors urged her to keep her distance from Everett, though they did not give her a chance to prove she would take their advice. At least one of them was always nearby, and that ‘one’ was usually Luke. At first, Clara found his big, silent presence distracting, but after a while, it became second nature. He insisted on escorting her to every activity she attended. Even when she did her drawing room visits, a strictly female practice, he stood in a corner and waited. “When did you hire a bodyguard?” her friends teased.
“I think he prefers the termknight,” Clara responded. The women simply shrugged, but Luke gave a small smile from his stiff position against the wall.
Everett had been at the Merritt townhome for three weeks, and had not made any sort of indication that he would behave immorally. Clara, being the loving person she was, started to believe that her father had judged him unfairly. They had no proof he had done the things people whispered about. He could be a perfectly reasonable person who had not been given a fair chance. The more she thought about it, the more Clara convinced herself that the threat was imaginary, and she began to feel sorry for poor Mr. Merritt.
One day as they all sat at the breakfast table, Walters, the butler, placed a silver platter in front of Clara with several envelopes placed atop it. This was notunusual, all of her invitations came this way. The strange part was that the seal on one of the envelopes had been broken. Clara did not alert anyone of this, but instead took the letter with her when she went to change into her riding habit. In the secrecy of her bedchamber, she opened it to find someone had slipped a small piece of paper in her invitation to the Smith’s dinner party. Only, the message did not come from anyone at the Smith’s residence.
We need to talk. Meet me tonight, 2 AM in the library. -ECM
Thankfully, Clara was not stupid enough to entertain such an inappropriate invitation, but she was curious to hear what Everett had to say. Before retiring for the evening, she placed a response on the library’s tea table.
The men shall be at the House of Lords on Friday, and I will be spending the day with Miss Smith. Around five o’clock, we will be at Maria’s Hat Shop, which I have always considered a great place to have quiet conversation.
The following evening, Clara stayed home for dinner. She had been invited to four different dinner parties, and rather than selecting one over the other, decided it would be the perfect time to be with her family and learn a bit more about Everett.
Clara sat in her usual spot, Papa on her left, Luke on her right, and John across the way. Everett sat across from Luke, and the two men glared at each other for most of the meal. It was a good thing none of the men knew about Mr. Merritt’s note, for they all seemed ready to attack should he so much as look at Clara. There was no way she would become better acquainted with her cousin under her knight’s watchful eye.
“Lord Maxwell,” Papa addressed Luke during the second course, “after dinner, John and I would like to have a word with Mr. Merritt. Family business, you see. Would you please take my daughter for a turn about the town?”
“I would be honored, my lord,” came Luke’s dutiful response.
Clara looked between Papa and John.What did they need to tell Everett? Did they know about the note?She spared a quick glance at her cousin, and noticed he was no longer eating his meal, but simply pushing it around the plate.A shame, Clara thought, for Luke’s cook had made the dinner.
Soon, Clara and Luke found themselves on the townhome’s front steps, a maid trailing behind as chaperone. The sun was setting and it made the windows golden and the lamp posts shimmery. They were both dressed in their dinner finery. Clara wore a pale green gown with an ivory sash, adding her outdoor gloves and bonnet, which were the same ivory color, the headwear boasted faux yellow daisies around its lip. Luke wore a black suit with a large, grey top hat. He offered his elbow, and she readily accepted. As they walked, Clara talked about everything and nothing. She pointed out different houses, sharing who lived there and what was going on in their lives. She spoke about dresses and functions, but also about concerns for her friends, things she hoped to do to help a newly widowed mother, and a plan to bolster a rather unsuccessful debutante. Luke simply listened, feeling blessed to be walking down the street with such a beautiful lady on his arm. Blessed to hear her thoughts. Blessed to see her face. Blessed to be her confidant and friend.I wish I could do this every day for the rest of my life, he thought as the sun continued to sink below the horizon.
They turned to head back to the house when Clara commented, “My goodness, I have not let you get in a single word! Though, I know you do not mind.” She smiled at him. “How are you, Luke? How are you liking London?”
How was he liking London?Well, usually he found the streets to be smelly and crowded, events stiff and boring, and the general atmosphere loud and presumptuous. But in the past few weeks, he had also been able to spend more time with Clara than he ever had before. He had been able to be part of her life on a whole new level, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. London was just a city, but any city that could make the woman he loved happy, deserved high praise in his mind.If all that wasn’t enough, tonight had changedTownfor him. With the setting sun and Clara on his arm, Luke felt peaceful. Confident. Tranquil. The same feelings he used to believe were only available at Rosecrest, but they had then followed him to Maxwell Manor, and were now here once more.
