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Turning to Miss Alice and her mother, he bowed and excused himself. Walking away toward the main house, Ethan reflected that the only distraction he was likely to suffer from was one Lady Charity Rutherford. He would have to be vigilant and simply avoid her as best as he could.
Yet, there was a part of him that did not want to do that. He wanted to get to know her, perhaps even kiss her again. Perhaps even take her to my bed. Bloody hell. With a silent snarl, he grabbed the errant desire and mentally crushed it. He had work to do, and he would not allow anything to distract him.
* * *
Charity had only beenin Dorset for a day, and she’d made an enemy. This evening, Miss Alice seemed determined to glare at her throughout the scrumptious and lively dinner while making barbed references about ladies who were on the shelf who should not elevate their hopes in securing an eligible match.
Charity ignored Miss Alice, which seemed to annoy her even more. Lady Ralston at times sent her considering glances, and even Lady Weston—Aunt Bess, occasionally glared at Charity. It was all rather disconcerting and intriguing, for that reaction came whenever Lord Ralston looked at her. Clearly, they all thought she was some kind of threat, and the idea simply tickled her fancy.
If only they knew the truth of the matter. While the earl might be happy to kiss her senseless, she would hardly meet the exacting expectations he held for his future countess.
The man did not engage her in direct conversation. However, there were moments he paused and simply looked at her for a few seconds as if he were trying to unlock a puzzle.
“We must send our compliments to the chef,” Jenna said. “The duck is outstanding.”
Once again, his gaze stroked over her skin, and she turned her regard in his direction. Their gazes collided, and how her heart skipped and her skin warmed. His expression was unnervingly inscrutable, but the deep blue of his eyes was entirely too piercing.
She looked away and smiled at Jenna. “All the courses were a delight.”
“They were,” Alice chirped in brightly, delicately dabbing her mouth with her napkin. “Though I am astonished you ate so much, Lady Charity. You left nothing on your plate.”
“I enjoy food,” she said mildly, “Especially when the dishes are excellently prepared.”
“You should have a care, it could lead to a thickening waistline, and it would not be easy securing a husband in that case which will already be difficult given your advanced age.”
Jenna gasped, but Charity laughed, the sound deliberately airy and unconcerned.
“I am not at all concerned about securing a husband, Miss Alice. So, I daresay I am free to eat whatever I desire.”
Countess Ralston arched a brow. “Have you no wish to marry, Lady Charity?”
Her voice notably held a hint of reproof.
Charity patted her lips with her serviette before answering. “I do hope to one day, Your Ladyship, however, the gentleman must simply possess more than a title. He must be kind and thoughtful, and…and not be shy to fall hopelessly in love with his wife.”
A silence fell at the table, and she almost fidgeted to feel so many eyes on her, especially the earl’s.
“I am right along with Charity,” Jenna said with a smile. “Love is all.”
“You were always an incurable romantic,” Aunt Bess said with a harrumph. “I am not surprised your friend would share a similar sentiment, but be warned, love matches are very rare, and you might end up as old maids without a home and family to call your own.”
Jenna laughed and said something flippant, but there was a heavy ache against Charity's heart. One of the only gentlemen she had ever felt such…such complex feelings for had his own strict and exacting standards for the lady he would marry. No doubt he would never think of her in that regard, and shockingly it stung.
Doing her best to brush aside the peculiar feelings rousing in her heart, she smiled brightly and waded into the conversation, which had somehow shifted to new farming technology and what it meant for today’s farmers. A topic that roused the earl to engage in their discourse. The earl was very economical with words, but his responses were often humorous and shrewd. However, his expression was one of careful reserve, as if he was an observer of the entire scene and not a part of it.
Charity wondered at his thoughts and what brought a man like the earl true enjoyment.
What did he like? As she studied the sharp and quite handsome angles of his face, she couldn’t deny a surge of curiosity. This man had broken into a home for his sister.
He caught her studying him, and the slow smile that curved his lips had her belly flipping over and over. Reaching for her wine glass, she took several sips. Charity’s heart stuttered again, making her uncomfortable, for it made no sense for her to develop tendre for a gentleman who would remain indifferent to her. Now she fervently wished for the days to hasten, for she feared she might do something idiotic like kiss the earl, over and over again.
