Page 47 of The Earl’s Inconvenient Nemesis

“Rosalind!” Alice cried in delight as she recognised the mare. “What is she doing here?”

“I thought you would enjoy riding her while you were staying. I know your estate does not have a suitable mount for you at the moment . . .”

Alice blushed at the mention of her family’s financial circumstances. Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about, she reminded herself. It seemed Anthony already knew the finer details of their estate’s accounts.

“Thank you,” she said, stroking Rosalind’s neck. “That was very kind of you.”

They enjoyed their ride together, racing for part of it, and reminiscing about the games they all used to play outside when they were younger. “Not that you often let us girls play with you,” reminded Alice.

“You were quite a bit younger than your brother and I,” argued Anthony. “And you in particular had a habit of never doing what we had asked you to. At least your sisters listened.”

“I listened! But one time you told me to be a tree and made me stand still for an hour while you and Henry were knights besieging a castle.”

“It sounds like that was not a suitable game for young ladies,” Anthony responded. “I am inclined to believe I made the right choice making sure you were out of harm’s way.”

Alice shot him a glare but was quickly distracted by the sight of her home as they reached the brow of the hill. It had only been a matter of weeks but it seemed so much longer and it was wonderful to see the building which held so many memories for her. Of course, she planned to head straight to the stables to introduce Rosalind to the horses there.

Anthony smiled as she slid off Rosalind and greeted each of her family’s horses in turn. He tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a bag of apples he had retrieved from his saddle bag. “Thank you,” she said, rewarding him with a grin before turning her attention back to the animals.

She was beautiful in London, but in the country, she was luminous. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed with happiness, and her hair shone in the spring sunshine. The thought of all the eligible men arriving in just a few hours' time made him clench his fists. The next few days were not going to be easy for him to get through, but he had to do his best to help Alice in her quest. Finding a husband was what she wanted, and he wanted her to be happy. He wanted that more than anything. At least this way he could do his own research into any man showing any particular interest in her. Make sure that he was worthy of . . . of . . . of everything that was so wonderful about Alice.

Henry eventually came out to find them. “Were you planning on coming into the house at all, or were you just going to stay out here with the horses?” he enquired, leaning on the door of the stall Alice was in.

“I imagined you would wander out here eventually,” Alice laughed and came over to give her brother a hug.

“And should I have a pot of tea served out here as well?” Henry enquired.

“No, I will come in,” Alice said. “For a little while anyway.”

She would be so glad to be done with London and back here properly. Hopefully, this house party would mean her meeting her future husband and she could return home. Until her wedding at least. After which, she would have a new home who knows where, but ideally not too far from her family. And hopefully her husband would want to spend plenty of time in the country.

She took in the house as they walked around the outside of it to the front door, examining it as she maybe never had before. If Henry did not manage to get a grip on the estate’s finances, would he be forced to sell? Perhaps he could rent out the house. She had heard of families doing that and then leasing a smaller place to live in. At least then it would remain in the family until such a point as Henry could afford to reside in it again, but Alice hated the idea of strangers living in the house she had grown up in and in which she had said goodbye to both of her parents. She blinked away tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. She was being silly and getting ahead of herself. One step at a time. She could help. She would find a husband who would be willing and able to stabilise the finances of her family’s estate. Maybe he could invest in the farmland attached to the estate to make it more profitable, build more houses for the farmworkers . . .

Alice jumped. Electricity coursed through her as she felt Anthony place his hand on her arm. “Are you well?” he mouthed to her. She nodded in response and he gave her a kind smile before removing his arm.

When it was past time for them to leave, Alice had to be practically dragged away from her precious horses so they would not be late for the guests at Anthony’s house.

“I am doing this for you, you know?” he said grumpily.

“I know, I am sorry. I am coming now,” said Alice, giving one last glance over her shoulder at the stables.

The first carriages began to arrive as Alice was still getting changed. She found she was in no hurry to greet the newcomers and she was very tempted to ask Beth to redo her hair again to delay her needing to go socialise for longer. There had been something so lovely about being here just with family. But that was not going to get her a husband she told herself firmly, and she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, thanked Beth, and headed downstairs to meet her future husband.

“There are rather a lot of very good-looking young ladies here,” grumbled Alice quietly as she joined Anthony outside the house to greet the arrivals.

Anthony chuckled. “It would look a little peculiar if I had not invited any females along. Anyway, none of them stand a chance with any of those gentlemen with you here,” he stated firmly. He walked away to say something to a friend of his, leaving Alice smiling.

Anthony greeted everyone as they arrived and directed them inside the house to where refreshments awaited them. Finally, Alice saw her siblings coming up to the house on horseback, with someone with them. On a chestnut stallion she recognised.

Alice caught Anthony’s eyes and gave him a questioning look.

“Sir Marcus Payne,” Anthony explained. “I believe you wished to be introduced to him.”

“I did,” confirmed Alice, feeling flustered and suddenly like she wanted to run away. Thankfully the riders reached them before she could follow through with her inclination.

Her sisters were fake swooning and desperately trying to signal to her from behind Sir Marcus’ back but she ignored them as Anthony said, “Sir Marcus Payne, allow me to introduce Miss Alice Fairfax. I believe you are both keen riders and will have plenty to converse on over the next few days.”

Sir Marcus Payne was even more handsome than she had believed him to be when she saw him briefly on Rotten Row, but he had an easy smile and kind eyes which she liked and helped him seem more approachable and less like some kind of Greek god.