Page 44 of One Night with an Earl

All the older women nodded in agreement.

“I was a fit of nerves. My biggest fear was an empty dance card,” Lady Thorn added.

“I met Lord Stevenson at my first event and promptly stepped on his toes while dancing. Horrid,” Lady Stevenson said.

Lady Oslow chuckled. “You still step on his toes.”

Lady Stevenson’s lips quirked. “You’re right, and he still knows better than to complain.”

The women laughed, and Ana found them likable and amusing.

Just then, a butler appeared. “You have a visitor, my lady. The Earl of Drake.”

Heavens, no. If her nerves were tense before, they were tightly wound as clock springs now.

“Please see him here, Harvey,” the Dowager said.

Moments later, a tall figure appeared in the drawing room doorway. The dowager’s eyes lit with pleasure. “Ah, here is my grandson now.”

The earl bowed. “Good day, ladies. You are all looking lovely as usual.”

As he walked close to greet each lady, Ana’s gaze was riveted. Dressed in a navy coat of superfine wool, a striped waistcoat of paler blue, thigh-hugging trousers of soft doeskin, and Hessians, he was strikingly handsome. A dark wave of hair fell rakishly across his forehead as he bent to kiss his grandmother’s cheek. Ana’s eyes took in the divot in his chin and his full lips. She vividly recalled the brush of those his lips upon hers—skillful, sensual, seductive.

He greeted each woman personally, and when his gaze finally met hers, the timbre of his voice resonated deep in her bones. “Miss Gardner.”

Her corset felt laced too tight, and she found it difficult to draw breath. Her own voice escaped her, and she could only nod in greeting.

Madame Crescent’s words came back. From my experience, a dominant man will not easily be dismissed.

His attention was brief, and no one present would suspect what had occurred between them…what continued to occur. But Ana saw and she knew.

How could one glance convey so much?

Madame suggested she make up her own mind and that it was her choice. The rules of propriety only apply in the daylight.

She feared her heated cheeks would give her away, but the ladies in the room remained oblivious. Only Penelope’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“If you will excuse me, ladies,” Drake said, “I must depart to conduct business, and I shall leave you to your needlepoint.” He flashed a charming smile, then was gone.

It took a long time before Ana was able to breathe easily once more. As the women continued to talk about members of the ton—who was recently married, who was expecting a babe, and such—Ana’s own thoughts took a disturbing turn. One day, Oliver would marry and visit here with his own wife on his arm. If not Penelope, then another well-born lady.

The notion did not sit well, and she inwardly admonished herself for her foolishness. As the earl, he’d have to marry and produce an heir and spare, and earls did not marry chaperones. Both the earl and his grandmother would desire a lady with an excellent pedigree without a hint of scandal. Ana may have been born the daughter of a baron, but her father’s suicide tainted the family name, and her mother’s Middle Eastern roots had merely been tolerated by members of the haut ton while she’d been alive. Ana herself would never be accepted, let alone as a prospect for the earl.

Despite the madame’s advice, whatever existed between them was perilous, not just to her position, but to her heart, and she could not allow it to continue.

…

Oliver let out a puff of air, then leaned back in a large leather chair behind a desk—his grandfather’s former chair, desk, and library. “What trouble at Rosedown?”

Oliver had hired Mr. Hamilton, a steward known to keep good books, to look after the dowager’s investments as well as a few of the earldom’s estates. He’d planned a quick visit to review his grandmother’s latest affairs, then wanted to leave to meet Warwick at the boxing salon. Lately, he’d had a good dose of frustration, and looked forward to the ring’s release.

It was difficult enough that Ana was beneath the same roof and he was powerless to speak with her alone. He also knew his grandmother’s intent in inviting the Malverns to her afternoon needlepoint gathering. She knew he had an appointment to meet with the steward today, and she’d purposely invited Lady Malvern and her daughter to join her friends. The dowager’s hope in thrusting Lady Penelope before him at every opportunity was clear as day.

For a perceptive woman, he was surprised his grandmother hadn’t noticed the sizzling gaze he’d given Miss Gardner instead.

He’d decided to reschedule his appointment with Mr. Hamilton rather than succumb to temptation and do something stupid. But Mr. Hamilton would not be waylaid.

Hamilton occupied the chair opposite him. Thankfully, the man came straight to the point. “There is a dispute between two tenant farmers at Rosedown. Benjamin slept with Aidan’s betrothed. In retaliation, Aidan threatened to kill Benjamin.”