Intentions of the Earl (13 page)

“This is so beautiful,” Carolina remarked.
When he didn’t confirm or deny her statement, she meekly asked, “Do
you ever wish you had come back here instead of staying in the
United States?”

“Never.” John spoke without a second of
hesitation. “I gave up this beauty for a far better beauty in
America: you. I have never had any regrets about that.” To help
prove his point, he gave her a little squeeze to assure her that
she was more important and beautiful to him than anything in
England.

Carolina couldn’t comment, she was too busy
holding in happy tears.

“We had better go get the girls and go down
for dinner. I paid the cook extra to make us some roasted beef. The
cook we’ve had in London couldn’t make it right to save her life. I
have faith in this one though.”

Together they found their girls, who were
having a disagreement—as sisters are wont to do—about which shop to
go visit first on the morrow.

***

The next few days were filled with spending
as much of their allowances as they could on as many things as they
felt their lives would not be complete without.

Liberty visited the little bookshop and found
a few volumes of interest. To Brooke’s great surprise they were not
manuals of any sort, but rather novels.

Madison enjoyed the confection shop most of
all. The girls had gone inside searching for chocolate and other
sweets. In New York they had only had chocolate in little chunks,
but the confection shop heated it up and made it into a liquid.
After only one sip, Madison claimed it was her new favorite drink
and had gone so far as to request it with her meals back at Dog and
Fox.

Brooke spent her time looking around a
milliner’s shop. She’d pause and smile every time she saw something
red. She still dreamt every night of that kiss that she shared with
Andrew. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get that kiss out of
her head. She knew he teased her a little after it, but that didn’t
matter. The kiss itself was like nothing she had ever experienced
before. She’d kissed a few gentlemen in New York and in London, but
none of them matched the excitement she felt when she kissed
Andrew. He seemed to spark something in her that no other had. It
was thrilling!

The day before the house party the Banks
family decided it was time to try out one of those bathhouses that
were so popular.

“I have made arrangements for us to each have
our own private bathing room at Swenson’s Bath House,” Papa said
when they were all crammed into their traveling coach riding down
to the bathhouse.

Walking into the bathhouse, Brooke spotted a
young lady that was ghostly pale with bright orange-red hair
sitting in the waiting room. Upon closer inspection, Brooke
recognized it was Lady Olivia who was sitting down waiting for her
turn.

“Hello, Miss Banks,” Lady Olivia chirped from
where she was perched on a chair looking peaked, as usual. Her
green eyes crinkled in the corners when she had spoken, and just as
quickly, her fatter-than-sausage fingers flew to her face to smooth
out the wrinkles her smile had created on the freckled skin that
surrounded her eyes like a raccoon’s mask.

“Hello, Lady Olivia,” Brooke and Liberty
responded in unison. Madison didn’t respond, she was following the
attendant down the hall to where her bath was waiting for her.

“It’s nice to see you ladies here. I’m about
to perish of boredom waiting for my bath. Will you come join me?”
Lady Olivia asked with a pout that caused her face to bloat in a
way that reminded Brooke of a toad.

“Of course,” Brooke murmured, sending Liberty
and her mother pleading glances, which they ignored as they walked
across the room and took a seat on the other side of the room.

Brooke sat down and looked around for any
kind of distraction. She didn’t particularly like Lady Olivia, but
thought it would seem impolite not to try to talk about something.
“Are you planning to attend the house party tomorrow?” she finally
asked.

“I should like to,” Lady Olivia admitted with
a smile that displayed her yellow and horribly aligned teeth. “I
have plans to see a certain houseguest.”

“Plans?” Brooke asked, bemused.

“Well, not plans exactly. But I am quite
certain I can bag him if I can get him alone for a few minutes,”
Lady Olivia said confidently.

“Bag him?” Brooke asked, even more confused
now.

“Bag him, catch him, snare him, snag him,
whatever you want to call it. See, I’m on the hunt for a husband. I
am nearly twenty years old now. Far too old to still be single.
Before much longer I will be firmly on the shelf and labeled a
spinster.” Lady Olivia gave a little shudder. “I don’t want that to
happen, so I’ve decided to take a husband. The lucky gentleman that
I have selected is planning to attend the party.” Lady Olivia gave
an anguished sigh. “The only pit in the plum now is I’m not feeling
the thing, so I need this bath to take care of my ailment so I can
go.”

Brooke just stared at Lady Olivia, her mouth
opening and shutting like a fish. She wasn’t sure who she felt more
sympathy toward: this gentleman, who was going to be chased by Lady
Olivia, or Lady Olivia herself, who clearly was more cracked than
she originally thought. The lucky man? More like the poor man,
Brooke thought. And who was to say that at twenty a person was
firmly on the shelf? If that were so, at almost three and twenty
Brooke was an antique.

Brooke knew she couldn’t just sit there with
her mouth agape. She tried to think of
something
polite to
say, and came up with nothing.

Finally, curiosity got the better of Brooke.
“Who is the lucky gentleman?” She tried not to let her voice falter
on the word “lucky”.

“The Earl of Townson, of course,” Lady Olivia
said as casually if she were stating the weather conditions.

Brooke was not prepared for that answer, and
for the first time in her life she almost swooned. When she got
past the dizzy feeling, her jaw opened and snapped shut again.
There was no “of course” about it. Brooke had never even considered
the possibility. Those two are the most ill-suited people she had
ever met. How could Lady Olivia even think it would be a good
match?

“I can tell by your pasty white face that you
do not agree with my selection,” Lady Olivia said, breaking into
Brooke’s thoughts. “However, the facts remain that I am an heiress,
and quite frankly it’s no secret that he’s destitute. We both have
something the other one needs. He’ll have my money and I’ll have a
title.”

“But—but—” Brooke sputtered.

“It’s not so unusual. That’s why most of the
ton
is married to their spouses. Some need money, some need
connections. It’s the way of things.” Lady Olivia seemed content
that someone would marry her for her money alone.

It was none of Brooke’s concern if those two
decided to marry, yet she had a sudden ache in her chest she
couldn’t identify. Trying to gather her wits about her again, she
asked weakly, “Don’t you want to marry for love?”

“No.” Lady Olivia said flatly. “I do not
believe in marrying for love. Furthermore, I do not believe that I
could ever love my husband, especially if he were the earl. That
man is despicable. He’s not very handsome. That broken nose of his
has put off many women; especially when they hear the rumors about
how it got broken. Fistcuffs, and with the Duke of Gateway no less,
how absurd!” she exclaimed, and gave a sniff of disgust to prove
her disdain. “I’ll just have to make do. I suppose there are some
sacrifices one must make in order to be a countess.”

Trying not to let on how unsettled she was by
what Lady Olivia had departed, Brooke noticed her attendant coming
and said quickly, “I believe my attendant is motioning for me. I
hope to see you at the house party.”

Brooke walked slowly to her room. She was too
distracted about all of the things Lady Olivia had said to keep
pace with the attendant.

When she reached her room, she disrobed and
stepped into the bath. The bath looked like a large hole in the
floor that was covered in tiles and filled up with water. It was
very unusual looking, but she was still very excited to try it out.
This would be one experience she could tell all her friends back in
New York. An experience they would never get to have, she had to
make sure to enjoy every minute of it and remember all the
details.

The water was warmer than regular bath water,
but not too hot. It felt good on her skin. Brooke sat on one side
of the tub and stretched her legs out. She rolled her ankles and
relaxed her whole body; which was so easy to do in all this warm
water.

She closed her eyes and let her mind travel.
She thought about her time in London. All the balls and soirees
she’d attended. All the gentlemen she'd met, and there had been
many.

Then her mind went to one gentleman in
particular: Andrew Black, Earl of Townson. He was different, but
she couldn’t decide how or why. He wasn’t overly handsome or
charming; but in her mind he was the most handsome of all the men
she had met thus far. She thought about the way he smelled like
he'd been outside working in a field or with horses all day. But it
wasn’t a repulsive smell. It was purely masculine, and for reasons
she didn’t understand, it made her all the more attracted to
him.

Brooke thought about the visit to the museum.
During the carriage ride, he’d so brazenly pressed his thigh up
against hers. That wasn’t the first time he had done that, either.
He’d also acted so bold the night he came and had dinner with her
family. She’d felt the same searing sensation that night too. But
unlike the day at the museum, he hadn’t kissed her the night at her
house, even though she had desperately wanted him to. She had been
so disappointed when he denied he had that kind of interest in her,
she had tried so hard not to let it show. The day at the museum
made up for it.

A frown took over her face when she
remembered the conversation she had just had with Lady Olivia. How
could anyone not find the earl handsome? Brooke had noticed
Andrew’s nose wasn’t straight when they first met. Her first
assumption was that maybe he had broken it in some sort of
accident, not a fight. It was hard to picture him fighting against
anyone. He always seemed calm and reserved. She wondered what could
shake him enough to get into a fight. And why fight with the Duke
of Gateway of all people? What was the reason for the fight in the
first place? More importantly, why did anyone still care?

Leaving thoughts of Andrew’s past behind, she
started to think of his present situation. Was Andrew really
that
poor? They’d jested about it that day in the park, but
she thought he was exaggerating a bit. Andrew did say someone would
marry Lady Olivia for her money. Brooke’s frown deepened. Would
Andrew marry Lady Olivia for her money?

Then, something that Lady Olivia said finally
sank in, the earl was coming to the house party. She had been so
upset by the rest of what Lady Olivia said, she hadn’t realized she
would get see him tomorrow.

The rest of her bath was spent with a dreamy
smile on her face.

***

Madison walked to the main waiting room and
saw that Lady Olivia was still sitting there, probably still
waiting to be taken to a room. She visited so often it was a wonder
the bathhouse didn’t have a room set aside each day for her.

“Did your bath go well, Madison?” Lady Olivia
asked in her typically annoying voice.

“Yes, it did.” Madison looked around she
noticed that nobody else from her family was back yet.

“They had to wait a few minutes after you
went back,” Lady Olivia said as if she had read her thoughts. “You
may sit by me if you like.”

“All right,” Madison said, taking a seat
close to Lady Olivia.

“What brings you here?”

“No reason really, we just wanted to come
visit a bathhouse while we were here. You?” Madison asked to be
friendly. She really didn’t care to hear a whole list of
complaints, but it would seem rude not to try to make a small
conversation with Lady Olivia.

“I have been having these dreadful headaches.
It feels like my head is going to, umm…uh…” Lady Olivia stammered
trying to think of the word she wanted while waving her hand wildly
as if that would in some way help her think of the elusive
word.

“Explode?” Madison supplied.

“Yes, explode. I feel as if my head is going
to explode and that is the least of my complaints,” Lady Olivia
dropped her voice, “the others are not meant to be said in mixed
company.” Lady Olivia sent a pointed glance over to where Papa was
walking down the hallway toward the waiting room.

“I do hope the bath helps you feel better,”
Madison said truthfully. She knew people came here to help relieve
their complaints, she wasn’t sure if it would help a headache or
not, but maybe it would help Lady Olivia with her other
complaints.

“Are you excited about the house party your
uncle is throwing?” Lady Olivia asked after a few minutes,
startling a daydreaming Madison.

“Yes, this party shall be the first house
party I attend. I am quite excited. I’m also eager to meet some of
my other relations.” Then belatedly she asked, “Will you be
attending?”

“I hope so. It depends on how I feel after
this bath.” Lady Olivia sighed. “I do long to go though. I hear
that the Earl of Townson is also to be in attendance.”

“Is he?” Madison asked. She was certain the
earl hadn’t mentioned it the day they went to the museum.

“Oh yes, I believe his going is a very good
sign, too. Between us, I think he’s ready to take a wife, and I so
desperately want to be there to catch him,” Lady Olivia gushed, not
noticing the look of disbelief Madison was certain was printed on
her face.

“You want to marry the earl?” Madison asked,
schooling her face to look only casually interested.