Page 8 of Discovering Her Earl

Everyone.

*

“You can’t possibly be serious,” Lainey said when the ball was over and she was alone with her aunt and uncle, currently known as the traitors who’d raised her.

She’d hardly been able to wait until the last guest had left so she could broach the subject of Lord Melville again. She’d planned to point out all the ways he wasn’t suited for such a voyage, but her pleas went unsaid when Uncle Henry cut her off with his counterattack.

They couldn’t really mean for her to accompany the man to Scotland. It was preposterous.

“Oh, but we do,” her uncle said with a steely look. “You will oversee the earl’s training in Scotland.”

She shook her head, unsure of how she ended up in this situation.

“Please.” She had resorted to begging, it seemed. Not a noble trait, but if it worked, she would continue until she was free from this madness.

“I see now, I was out of line,” she continued. “I will… apologize to Lord Melville for my behavior and everything will be put to rights.” Apologizing to that rotter would possibly make her ill, but she’d do it if it meant getting out of this impossible situation. The lesser of two evils was an apology.

“You will apologize to his lordship and accompany him on the expedition to Scotland,” her uncle said. “You are the one who challenged his fortitude and questioned his abilities to learn the skills needed. It will be you who teaches him and reports back whether or not he is permitted to join us on the larger voyage to Egypt.”

“If it’s my decision, I can say now, he can’t go. There. The matter is settled.”

“Do you think that is the fair thing, Lainey?” her aunt questioned, causing guilt to twist in Lainey’s stomach. “Is there a reason you dislike the man?”

She couldn’t bear to talk about the reason she despised the earl. How embarrassing that conversation would be. Even with the woman who was like a mother to her.

“Is it because he’s a Scot?” her uncle asked.

“No. Of course not.” She let out a breath. “But do I need a reason? It’s clear he’s a rake and a scoundrel. Everyone knows it.”

“Because the gossips say so?” her aunt asked skeptically. “You are too smart to believe what people say. You are a person of facts, and always insist on getting information first-hand. You must give the earl the chance to prove himself. If he fails as you expect, he will most likely bow out of the larger expedition. But if he prevails, then you’ll be reassured he is able to handle himself in Egypt.”

Their request was more than fair, but she still didn’t like it. She couldn’t spend a minute with the man let alone a month in Scotland.

Alone… She quickly grasped onto a possible way out of this.

“For propriety’s sake, I can’t travel alone with a man. I will be ruined.”

Her aunt and uncle exchanged a look and then laughed.

Laughed at her very viable excuse.

“I’m sorry for laughing,” Aunt Rose was the first to recover from her mirth. “It’s just that you spend your time wearing men’s clothes and digging in the dirt. You refused a lady’s maid when we offered to have one assigned. You have never whispered a word about your reputation and now all of a sudden it’s a matter of great concern?”

“I should have forced a marriage with that maharajah who helped you climb up on the roof, or the emperor’s youngest son you convinced to go swimming with you,” Uncle Henry said, with an amused smile.

“Don’t forget the comte,” her aunt mentioned unhelpfully.

“Of course, the comte, you’ve surely been alone with him numerous times over the years.”

“Very well, you’ve both made your point, but you can’t mean to have me travel with a suspected rake.” Lainey held up her finger to stop her aunt’s retort and continued. “I said suspected. As you pointed out, until I ascertain whether he is or isn’t guilty of his reputation it doesn’t seem wise to put me at risk of his wiles.

“Very well. We will obtain a chaperone to accompany you.”

“A chaperone?” Lainey frowned. “Never mind. I don’t require a chaperone.”

“But your reputation!” Uncle Henry declared in a mocking tone.

Lainey was glad they were amused by her distress.