The Reluctant Earl (8 page)

Simon met his eyes.  “I’d like that.”

“Good.”

The boy managed a faint smile.  “Please don’t feel sorry for me, Uncle Richard.  Claire and her family have always been there for me.  They are my real family; my father and stepmother are just a nuisance I have to put up with.”

“I’m very glad to hear that.  The O’Rourke’s seem to be splendid people.”

“They are.”  Simon’s face lit with enthusiasm.  “Mr. O’Rourke lets Claire and me help with the racehorses.  Right now I’m training one of the colts, who didn’t do well on the track, to be a hunter.  Mr. O’Rourke always makes sure the horses that don’t work out as racehorses learn to do something else.  He wants them to go to good homes, and my job is to see to it that they’re ready for a new life.  And Claire helps break the young horses.  She has hands like silk and she’s light on their backs.  Mr. O’Rourke says she’s the best person he has for that kind of work.”

“I see.”

He didn’t really.  Was O’Rourke mad, having these two youngsters work with racehorses?  He could get them killed. 

He asked, “Does your father know you’re … er…training horses for Mr. O’Rourke?”

Simon made a dismissive gesture.  “He’s never asked me what I do and I’ve never told him.”

“Do you plan to continue to work for Mr. O’Rourke now that you’ve left school?  Because I doubt your father will permit that.”

A flash of alarm showed on Simon’s face.  “I thought
you
were my legal guardian now.”

“No, I’m only the trustee of your inheritance; your father is still your legal guardian, and he will be until you turn twenty-one.  My only responsibility is to administer your money.  What you do with yourself, well that is your father’s provenance.”

“So you’re saying he still has the ultimate power over me,” Simon said flatly.

“To some degree, yes.  But you will have the right to use your money as you choose.”

The boy nodded slowly.  His light, crystalline blue eyes, so like his mother’s, fixed themselves on Jarvis.  “Have you decided how much of an allowance you are going to give me?”

“A hundred pounds a quarter.  That will be taken out of the money your inheritance is earning from investment; it won’t touch the principal.” 

Jarvis had given a great deal of thought to this amount.  It was a large amount of money to put into the hands of so young a boy.  He had finally decided to begin generously and watch what happened.  If Simon showed any tendencies toward dangerous extravagance, he could always lower the amount. 

Simon’s smile was sudden and dazzling.  “Thank you, Uncle Richard!  I appreciate your generosity.”

“I have here a check on the trust account.  Any English bank will honor it.”

He held out the check.  Simon took it, glanced quickly to check the sum, then stood and held out his hand.  “Thank you, Uncle Richard.  Thank you with all my heart.”

Jarvis took the slim, strong hand into his and felt tears sting behind his eyes.  Thank God for that trust, he thought.  If it were not for his father’s insistence on its inclusion he would never have found Annabelle’s son. 
I won’t fail you, Simon,
he vowed silently to himself. 
I promise I will never fail you again.”

CHAPTER TEN

The day after Simon’s birthday Claire reluctantly drove into Newmarket with her mother.  Elise had been insistent upon the necessity of adding to Claire’s wardrobe now that she was a young lady of ‘marriageable age.’

Claire had been shocked when her mother mentioned a possible marriage with Geoffrey.  Even more shocking had been her mother’s apparent belief that Claire regarded Simon as her brother.  It was true that they had kept their love a secret from her parents, but … her brother?  Had it never crossed her mother’s mind that Claire might want to marry Simon?

Now, as they drove along in the pleasant summer sunshine, Elise chatted on about dances, and picnics, and a drive to visit some ancient church, all of which would make ‘nice outings’ for the young people of the parish.  She never once mentioned that Simon might like to partake of these ‘nice outings’ as well.

What would her mother say if Claire told her that Simon and she wanted to get married?  This was the thought in Claire’s mind as her horse trotted smartly along the country road.  They were almost in Newmarket before Claire plucked up the courage to say, “What about Simon, Mama?  You haven’t mentioned him.  Don’t you think he would enjoy these…er… nice outings?”

When her mother didn’t immediately respond, Claire glanced at her.  Elise had a small frown on her face. 

“Mama?”

“Oh Claire, my beloved daughter.  I know how much you care for Simon.  And you know your father and I care for him too.  But you’re not a child anymore, ma chere.  You are a young lady, and it’s time to be looking around for a good husband.  I know what will happen if Simon attends these gatherings.  You’ll be so focused on making sure he is enjoying himself that you’ll ignore all the boys who qualify as suitable husbands for you.”

“Like Geoffrey Weston?” Claire forced the name though stiff lips.

“Geoffrey is a fine young man, and his mother tells me he is interested in you.  I would like you to give him a chance, Claire.  If you don’t wish to marry him, fine.  There are other boys who find you attractive.  But you will never get married if you insist upon introducing Simon into every opportunity you have!”

Claire said carefully, “Perhaps Simon is also looking for a wife.”

“Simon will not be looking for a wife at a local assembly dance, I promise you that.  One day he will be the Earl of Welbourne.  His family will expect him to contract a suitable alliance with a girl of his own class.”

“What if he doesn’t want to marry ‘a girl of his own class?’”

“I doubt that Simon will be given the choice, ma petite.”

“Simon’s mother wasn’t an aristocrat.”

“No, but she was a great heiress.  None of the local girls can boast that attraction.”

“But suppose Simon fell in love with one of those girls?”

“If he doesn’t have the opportunity to meet the local girls, he can’t fall in love with one of them,” Elise said practically.  “And even if he did, ma petite, he would not be allowed to marry her.  An Earl of Welbourne does not marry the daughter of a solicitor, or a country vicar, or even a squire.”

Considering what Elise had just said, Claire knew it would be disastrous to broach the subject of her own marriage to Simon.  Fortunately, the red brick buildings of Newmarket were just coming into sight, and she was able to ask, “Where do you want to go, Mama?  The High Street?”

“We should begin there certainly,” Elise replied.  “Ada Weston told me Barton’s had some new gowns that were quite lovely.”

“All right.”  Obediently, Claire steered her horse toward the road that would take them into Newmarket’s most popular shopping area.

#   #   #

When they finally returned to the cottage, Claire immediately changed into her divided skirt. “Da was going to set up a course for Simon to try out Tim Tam’s jumping skill and I want to watch,” she told Elise, who was in the kitchen with Nancy conferring about dinner.  Elise smiled serenely at her daughter and waved her off. 

Liam had set up a course in one of the large paddocks and, when Claire arrived, Simon was just taking the big bay over the last fence.  Claire watched approvingly as the horse tucked his knees up tight and cleared the fence with half a foot to spare.

She waited while Simon and Liam talked, both of them patting the thoroughbred, who was blowing through his nose and looking pleased with himself.  Finally Liam signaled to a groom to take Tim Tam and cool him out while he and Simon fell into step and headed toward where Claire waited.

Simon’s face was alive with pleasure.  “He’s a natural over the jumps,” he said as soon as he was within speaking distance of Claire.  “Did you get a chance to see him?”

“Only the last jump,” she replied.  “I thought he looked wonderful.  He had his legs tucked tight and that’s not something you can teach.  Either they do it or they don’t.”

“I had an interested buyer in Epsom, but I believe I might offer him to Weston instead,” Liam said.  “He wants a new hunter for Geoffrey and Tim Tam would be a good match.”

“What kind of a rider is Geoffrey?” Simon asked.

“Quite decent.  I’ve hunted with him and he has a quiet seat and he’s not too busy with his hands.  He lets his horse do what needs to be done.”

Simon nodded, satisfied.

“I won’t charge Weston what I would have charged the Epsom man, but the earl is wealthy enough to withstand a small cut in price.”

Liam always referred to the horses as his horses, but of course their real owner was the Earl of Welbourne.

Simon said to Claire, “I thought I’d work a bit with Desi.  I wanted to put Charlie up on her, but she hasn’t been ridden in so long I want to make sure she’s not going to buck him off.”

“I’ll go with you,” Claire said immediately.

A groom came running up to Liam and said something in a lowered voice.  “I’ll come right away,” Liam said.  He glanced toward Claire.  “Make sure the both of you are home in time for dinner.”

“Of course, Da,” Claire replied.

The two of them returned to the front paddock, where Simon had set the horse he was driving to graze.  They caught Bartholomew and brought him to where the farm trap was standing.  Simon harnessed the black horse to the cart and they both climbed into the front seat.  Simon picked up the reins and started off toward the hill path that would take them to Welbourne.  When they were out of sight of the barns and paddocks of the stud farm, Claire asked, “Did your uncle come to see you this morning?”

“He did.”  He shot her a grin.  “He’s giving me a huge allowance, Claire.  A hundred pounds a quarter!”

“That’s wonderful.”  She bit her lip. “We need to talk, Simon.”

He frowned.  “Is something wrong.”

“I’m afraid there is.”

He stopped Bartholomew and turned to look at her.  “What is it?”

She swallowed.  “Can we go somewhere besides the road?”

He looked around.  Thick trees grew to the left of the track and the river rushed along in its deep gorge on their right.  “There’s that old fishing hut down the road,” he said.

She nodded and pinched her lips together to keep them from trembling.

The fishing hut was a tired-looking wooden shed on the bank of the river, with a steep path that led down from the road.  There was just enough room for the trap to turn around at the bottom to come back up.

Simon got out and led Bartholomew down the path, with Claire in the front seat holding the reins.  He tied the horse loosely, Claire jumped down, and they both went into the hut.

The smell of fish assaulted their nostrils the minute they opened the sagging door.

“Whew!” Simon said, fanning his hand up and down in front of his nose.

“This is ghastly,” Claire agreed.  “Let’s just sit outside.  Nobody will come by.”

They found a mossy spot that was shaded by the hut.  When they were seated, with their backs braced against the shed, Claire recounted her earlier conversation with Elise.  “My mother was certain that your family would not allow us to marry, and Mama knows the ways of the nobility.  I’m afraid that your father might pack you off to Oxford and not let us see each other again.”

Tears filled her eyes. 

Simon grasped her hand.  “Don’t cry, Claire.  Please don’t cry.  We won’t be separated.  I won’t let it happen.  I promise you –
I won’t let it happen
.”

“But you’re not twenty one, Simon.  Your father still has control over you.  And look how much he hated the Jarvises, just because they were bankers.  He’ll hate me even more – the daughter of his horse trainer.  And Da will lose his job!”

She gave up trying not to cry and let the tears stream down her face.  He pulled her into his arms and she sobbed helplessly against his shoulder.  He said, his voice sounding desperate, “Don’t cry, please don’t cry, my love.  We won’t give them a chance to stop us.  We’ll elope.”

At those words she lifted her tear-streaked face.  “Could we really do that?”

“Yes, we can.  I have in my possession a check for a hundred pounds that my uncle said I could redeem at any English bank.  A hundred pounds should get us to Scotland.”

She struggled to control her emotion and think.  “But - even if we did get married - I don’t know, Simon.  I don’t trust your father.  He’ll do something bad.  I know he will.”

“I agree with you about my father, and I’ve been thinking we should rely on my Uncle Richard.  I’m certain he’ll help us.  He loved my mother, and I think he feels guilty for neglecting me for so many years.  He’s a powerful man, Claire.”

This was true; she had heard her parents talking about the Jarvis Bank.  She tried to wipe her tears away with her fingers as she asked,  “Where in Scotland should we go?  How far away is it?”

“I’ll find out.  We can do this, Claire.  We have to.  If we don’t, we’ll have to wait until I’m twenty-one.”

“No!  I don’t want to wait that long to be with you!”

“Neither do I.”  He ran his thumbs along the wet cheekbones of her upturned face.  “I love you so much,” he whispered.  She flung her arms around his neck and he kissed her.  He kissed her as if he wanted to devour her, and she responded with a rush of passion she had not known existed.  His body came over hers and she slid to the ground, her whole life narrowing only to this, to the fire of Simon’s lips on hers, the strength of his young body pressing her to the ground. 

Then, suddenly, he wasn’t there.  Shocked, bereft, she sat up, pushing her loosened hair away from her face.  He was standing by the river, his back to her.  She could hear how hard he was breathing. 

“Simon?” she said in a wavering voice.

“I’m sorry Claire.”  He turned his head and managed a crooked grin.  “That’s another reason we had better get married soon.”

She nodded dumbly, rose to her feet and went to put her arms around his waist and her cheek against his back.  In a fierce voice she said, “We belong to each other, and no one and nothing can keep us apart!”