Page 4 of Miss Ellis Unleashed

His only amusement was that Miss Ellis hid the swains in some of the most awkward places about the house, and they still came back for more.

He wanted the minx respectably wed, not ruined during the guardianship, even though her father’s instructions had been quite vague in that regard. But Max had a code he followed when it came to innocents. The household staff had strict orders to watch over her when he was out and report any caller to him immediately after he returned.

To date, most of the fellows he was close acquaintances with had valued their continued freedom and their friendship with him and behaved. While polite to Miss Ellis in public, they had thankfully given her a wide berth at other times. However, some of the younger fellows new to Town hadn’t heard about his expectations…but soon learned their lesson after a brief and pointed discussion of the benefits of owning a good pair of dueling pistols or swords.

Perhaps he had done her a disservice by being so strict with her suitors, but he knew the way men thought about women deep down. If a fellow could flirt and seduce without a thought for the consequences, they certainly would give it a try.

He should know. He’d been just like them once.

He and his friends, Lord Abelton and other, less polished rakes, had thoroughly enjoyed all the delights of London away from proper society until the wee hours of the morning since coming of age, and even before that.

But the guardianship had reformed Max, at least temporarily, and while his friends continued to chase skirts in low places, gamble, and imbibe freely, he had chosen abstinence and the pursuit of respectability. He mingled in high society for Daisy’s sake, as if he’d always been an essential part of the ton.

Though he easily remembered being barred from balls early on, after disgracing himself in any number of settings by his drunkenness and flirtations.

Yes, the guardianship had changed him in many ways. He cared more about a lady’s prospects than he ever had before. Nothing was amusing about a man leading a virginal woman astray, but most men viewed it as a challenge.

Not that Daisy Ellis would probably voice much of an objection if the right rogue came along. He’d overheard a few of her private conversations with her friends and saw the twinkle in her eye when she’d openly admired men across the room. He probably understood her better than anyone, something she would not care to hear, and that was why he continued to be so strict about propriety.

Daisy deserved a respectable marriage, and setting a good example might be the only way. It was for her own good, and for his peace of mind, too.

He could not hand her off to just any scoundrel.

Not like her father had done with him.

To this day, he still did not comprehend why Jonas Ellis, a man he’d met once while drunk in a pleasure house, had decided Max was just the person to stand in a father’s place after his death.

Of course, at the time they’d met, Max had not understood the older man was dying. He lasted all of three months after that first inauspicious conversation, and the arrival of a solicitor with documents was the first Max knew of any guardianship for the unknown daughter.

That was the first Miss Ellis had heard of Max and the guardianship, too, when she’d been dragged to his door. He’d narrowly missed being struck by a poorly aimed vase as her rage overflowed her good sense at their first meeting.

She’d stopped throwing things almost immediately after he promised to send her home again, but still wept over a father who’d left her a pauper in Max’s charge. Over the next four years, Max had improved her finances to a degree that made her comfortably dowered but not by any means rich. The frost between them, though, had never thawed.

With the ball well underway, he was counting the minutes until they could leave. Daisy had danced twice, she’d whispered to several gentlemen she’d met before, made them laugh, and brought a twinkle to their eyes. Since it was still up to him for one more day to guard her reputation, he’d scowled until those fellows had slunk away again. Those men would never have honorable intentions toward someone like Daisy, someone without pots of money to fund their excesses or connections to elevate their family. He refused to see her heartbroken when they inevitably disappointed her.

He’d endured enough of her tears over her wastrel father’s demise and what she saw as his betrayal to allow more heartbreak under his own watch.

But after tomorrow, he would leave all the bothersome guardian business behind and let her servants deal with any roguish encroachment. He’d trained them well. What happened to Daisy after that was none of his business, though he had the occasional nightmare about what the young woman’s future could entail, once Miss Ellis was unleashed upon society.

However, he could not help looking forward to his own freedom, and a return to true unencumbered bachelorhood. His London town house was waiting. The new suits he’d ordered to wear had already arrived, and although he would only have limited staff to begin with, he was looking forward to having the ability to come and go at his own schedule once more and to entertain.

Abelton, his best friend and neighbor since childhood, had decided that a month-long celebration was in order, in honor of his release from what the man claimed was cruel servitude, and Max was keen for it as well.

Eventually, Daisy turned to him. “I should like to go home now, my lord.”

He glanced at his pocket watch. “So early? It’s not even midnight.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll speak to our hostess and tell her I’m not feeling the best. She’ll understand.”

“Are you ill?” he asked, instantly concerned. The last thing he wanted was to leave an unwell young woman in the hands of only servants to supervise her recovery.

“I’m fine.” She put her hand on her belly and her cheeks colored. “Just a bit of pain.”

He nodded quickly and did not ask for further clarification of what must surely be a woman’s complaint, though that certainly explained her odd mood tonight, as well.

He followed at a distance as Daisy bid goodbye to the hostess, and then accompanied her outside when his carriage arrived. He was glad to be done with such stuffy balls, to be honest, and the constant worry that Daisy would slip away to meet a suitor and be ruined on his last night as guardian.

He handed her into the carriage, and they sat in their usual silence for the journey home. It wasn’t uncommon for them to go long periods without speaking to each other, and he enjoyed the silence while it lasted. It was preferable to hearing how much she disliked him, to be honest.