Page 54 of The Lady’s Sweet Revenge

Harlow wasn’t sure which part of her statement the woman disagreed with. Likely that she had not been invited, but ordered, to come.

“Does the earl sleep so late frequently?” the countess changed the topic so quickly Harlow blinked before answering.

“No. He’s usually down before I arrive, and I’m an early riser. Belle needs to go out and since she stays in my room I get up to let her out.”

“I see. I thought I heard someone wandering about at an ungodly hour. I didn’t note the time.”

Harlow swallowed a bit of ham and nearly choked. Had the woman heard Harlow returning to her room after she’d spend a large part of the evening in bed with the woman’s son?

The room suddenly took on the temperature of the sun as Harlow took a sip of ale to clear her throat.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Harlow spent much of the meal worrying Reese had fled the castle to get away from her and what they had done.

She was relieved when Mrs. Garrison slipped into the room and gave a nod to the countess, assuring her the earl was still abed sleeping soundly.

Apparently Harlow hadn’t been the only one worried over the earl that morning, though for a vastly different reason.

With her worries cast aside, the woman moved on to other topics. She asked if Harlow was good with needlepoint and Harlow was able to assure her she was. Though she didn’t care for it, or sitting still in general, Harlow’s mother had made sure her only daughter was taught such tasks.

“Do you play an instrument?”

“Yes. The pianoforte is my favorite, but I also play the harp.”

“Hmm. Good. What about dancing?”

“Of course.”

“How is your French?”

“Très bien, madame,” Harlow answered before adding, “e così è il mio Italiano.” Assuring the woman that her Italian was also adequate.

“Remind me, how many siblings do you have?”

“Five older brothers. I am the youngest.”

The woman fairly purred with satisfaction as she looked over Harlow, most likely trying to determine if Harlow had the fortitude to bear five sons before a daughter as is apparently the desired number of children.

“Do you ride?”

“Yes. And hunt.” Which did little to impress the countess. Harlow also knew how to climb a tree and many other things that would not be considered ladylike, so she kept them to herself.

“Flower arranging?”

“Some. We have an orangery at our home in Lancashire, and grow some lovely blooms over the winter months. Nothing like the gardens here, which are exquisite.”

The woman frowned and Harlow guessed her error was in enjoying Scotland more than was acceptable.

“Why do you dislike Scotland?” Harlow asked.

“In truth, I’ve not seen much of it. What I don’t care for is this estate for after I was wed, I spent years here away from everything civilized.”

Harlow swallowed down the laughter that rose from the woman’s dramatics. She found the castle quite civilized indeed. It boasted an impressive library filled with all topics of books from science and the complete Stonecliff collection to gothic novels and art. The house wasn’t decorated in the height of fashion, nor was it many years outdated. Though she guessed that was more Mrs. Garrison’s doing than the earl’s.

The stables were modernized, and the steps that traversed the cliff to the shore were quite an undertaking.

In fact, Harlow hadn’t thought of anything she missed from town. With the exception of her parents, and possibly even her brothers, Luke and Thomas, more than the other three.