Lured Into Sin By The Wicked Earl (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 8

  * * *

  After Susannah left, Gerard forgot all about her. Adam relaxed, sipping his cup of tea and listening as Gerard filled him in on the ton’s gossip.

  “You know, you really should come to Lady Arabella’s ball,” Gerard said. “With the start of the season, there will be so many newly-debuted ladies, beginning their hunt for a husband.”

  “I think not,” Adam replied, simply.

  Gerard frowned. “You have a glow about you,” he said. “You seem…content. What’s different?”

  Adam shrugged. “I couldn’t say.”

  “Keep your secrets,” Gerard replied. “I’ll find them all out sooner or later.”

  “I have no doubt that you’ll try,” Adam said.

  Gerard stared at him, the hint of a smile on his lips. “You know, you really should join my club. We’re accepting new members.” As he said it, Mr. Sullyard’s grinning face appeared in Adam’s mind. He felt a wave of dislike wash over him.

  “But Mr. Sullyard is a member,” Adam replied, raising his eyebrow. He wanted to be a member of a club where he could avoid the likes of Mr. Sullyard. He had been hoping that after graduation from All Souls, they would never cross paths again. Unfortunately, it seemed that Adam was doomed to put up with the man for the rest of his natural life.

  “You need somewhere to go,” Gerard pointed out, “since you were kicked out of your own club.” Adam could see that his friend was determined. He wondered what his father and Gerard had been discussing behind his back. Was this some sort of ploy to get him out of the house more often? It had all of the hallmarks of his father’s interference.

  “I suppose you’re right.” Adam knew that letting Gerard have his way would keep him occupied. It would keep him from prying into Adam’s affairs, particularly where Susannah was involved. Not to mention, it would put his father at ease, should he be involved in this.

  “Excellent.” Gerard rubbed the palms of his hands together. It would give him something to do while Adam focused on shoring up the ruins of his life. “I will get the process started for your admittance.”

  “I ought to be getting back to work.”

  “And I shall let you get back to it,” Gerard agreed. He was beaming, clearly pleased that his mission had been a success. They both stood up. Gerard was looking him in the eye. “That maid,” he said.

  “What about her?” Adam asked, playing dumb. His heart raced. Had Gerard seen something in his manner?

  “She really ought not speak thus to members of the ton. Though, I imagine it’s because she’s never met any of us before.”

  “So, she’s not to voice her opinions?” Adam asked, relaxing.

  “Even most ladies are not to do so,” Gerard replied vacuously. “A low-born woman who works as a maid should only speak when spoken to, and to only give the answers necessary. Nothing more.”

  “I so rarely have company that I don’t see the need to instruct my staff to behave as such.” Adam had no inclination to tell Susannah such a thing. He liked that she talked to him. He wished that she would tell him more than she did.

  “The Marquess of Wiltshire would have a fit if she ever spoke to him like that,” Gerard pointed out.

  “You’re right,” Adam agreed, his mind picturing his father facing Susannah. It was an interesting thought. He laughed, softly to himself as he walked Gerard to the front door.

  Chapter 10

  Susannah’s heart was racing as she walked to the laboratory that evening. She paused outside of the door. It was quiet, and she wondered, for a moment, if Lord Malmore was even inside. Slowly, she raised her hand, knocking gently.

  “Come in,” Lord Malmore called out. The sound of his voice caused her blood to heat up, and that blooming, happy feeling to awaken inside of her. She knew that these feelings of hers were not feelings that should be fostered between an Earl and his maid, yet she couldn’t deny them, nor could she stop them.

  She opened the door and smiled at him. He was standing by the window, staring out at the street below. His hands were clasped behind his back. He was dressed in a forest-green frock coat, and a pair of pale cream breeches. Slowly, he turned toward her, and she watched as a smile spread across his face. He watched her in a way that felt absolutely scandalous. She enjoyed every second of it.

  She closed the door behind her, closing them off from view should anyone come down the hallway. She didn’t know what she would do if Mr. Howard should come to see if the Earl needed anything.

  He sighed, happily. “How are you?” he asked.

  “I’m well, thank you,” she said, touched that he cared. “And you?”

  “I’m well,” he replied. She waited, not sure what to expect from him. She had never met anyone like him before, and she doubted that she ever would again. He was always a pleasant surprise.

  “Good to hear it.” Remembering herself, she began to get to work, wiping down the surfaces. As she cleaned, he walked over to his worktable, and seemed to be poring over the papers and the device which sat among them.

  She watched him out of the corner of her eye, while he was absorbed in what he was doing. She began to look at him, more closely, getting bold despite herself.

  He looked up, suddenly, catching her. She colored, turning her gaze away from him. The leather of the chair creaked as he sat down in it. She could feel his gaze on her. When she glanced over at him, he was sitting, legs crossed, a curious look on his face.

  “Is there something wrong, My Lord?” she asked, wiping at the surface of the counter. Something had been spilled, and only half-cleaned up. It was stuck to the surface, so she really had to scrub to get it up. Whatever it was, it was turning the rag a dark-brown color.

  “Just wondering what you’re thinking,” he replied.

  She laughed, softly. “Nothing of great worth, My Lord. I’m always told that my opinions don’t matter much. I’m just a maid.”

  “I like listening to your opinions,” he murmured.

  “How do you know Lord Wrentbour?” she asked, dunking the rag into the bucket of warm water. She wrung it out, then moved on. She had changed the subject. She couldn’t imagine telling him the thoughts and the feelings that she was having. She had never felt that way about any man, or gentleman, before.

  “I’ve known him since we were children,” he explained, to her relief, allowing the change of subject. “Our fathers’ estates neighbor each other.”

  “Ah,” she said, picturing the two gentlemen as young boys running about the countryside.

  No, they wouldn’t have been.

  She quickly revised the image. They would have been young lords, and far more stately than she was picturing.

  “What are you thinking of now?” he asked. “You’re smiling.”

  “I was thinking of the two of you as young lords, riding your ponies and learning how to duel.”

  “I don’t know how to duel.”

  She looked at him in surprise. She placed her hands on her hips, frowning a little. “Then what did they teach you?”

  “The ponies were correct,” he told her with a grin. “Mine was named Dumpling. He was very round and had a tendency to stop and eat grass if I wasn’t quick with the reins. But I was stuck in the house most days with a tutor, learning mathematics and Latin.”

  “Do you use Latin a lot, then?”

  “In science, you use Latin quite frequently,” he told her.

  “Well, I suppose that’s good, then,” she said, finding that she knew very little of the world. She, of course, knew Latin. It was necessary with her vicar father. While the Anglican religion didn’t do services in Latin, her father always seemed to insert it into conversation.

  * * *

  Adam found himself drawn into the conversation. She had such a bright disposition, and her mind moved in interesting patterns. He was trying to learn how she saw him. He was finding that she hadn’t much experience with any members of the ton. It was refreshing.

  “What were you like?” he as
ked her, curiously. “As a child?”

  Her smile fell. “I was quiet,” she said. “I had to be.”

  “Why?” He couldn’t imagine her as quiet and reserved. Not when she had faced Gerard that day and spoken so confidently.

  “As a vicar’s daughter, you’re told to be seen and not heard. You’re expected to be an example in the village.”

  “How did you become…you?” he asked.

  She eyed him, a small smile on her lips. “As I got older, I started coming into my own,” she told him stoutly. “I started realizing that I wasn’t to be the example my father was. I’m supposed to be living my own life. Not the one that he set out for me to have.”

  “It’s funny,” he commented. “That’s what I’ve been realizing for myself lately.”

  “Oh?” She had stopped cleaning entirely. She was leaning back against the counter, her hands folded in front of her. She was studying him closely. It was odd—it was as though she were actually seeing him. He was glad that she seemed to be relaxing around him.

  “About two weeks ago, I was engaged to be married,” he explained.

  “What happened?” She tilted her head to the side, curiously. Her brows furrowed.

  “She broke it off,” he replied. “She wanted a life with balls and parties. It’s not a life that I could give her.” He cleared his throat. “Not that I couldn’t afford it. I just—I don’t want to live a life among the ton. Even though that’s the one expected of me.”

  “By Lord Wrentbour?” she asked.

  “Yes. Him and my parents,” he said, sighing. “I actually wasn’t supposed to be the Earl of Malmore.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “My brother, Thomas—Tom was the firstborn son. He was everything that I am not. He moved among the ton as easily as a fish swims through water. I can’t help but feel that this is all wrong. It’s not supposed to be me.”

  “Why not you?” she asked.

  “My father is so disappointed in me,” he said. “No matter what I do, I’m never going to be my brother.”

  “I know that feeling,” she said with a laugh. “Do you know, Lucy—the other house maid—my father forbade me from talking to her?”

  “Why is that?” He was curious. Lucy had worked in his house for a while. She had never stood out before. She did her work behind a polite but distant façade.

  “He caught her helping me sneak out to go to a subscription ball over in the next town. I was halfway out the window of our parlor.”

  “Did you?” He smiled, thinking of her, attempting to climb out of a window, dressed in a fancy gown.

  “I had never been to a dance before in my life,” she said, her eyes distant as she remembered. “I don’t even know that I would like it, but I wanted to. I’d saved up my pocket money to buy my ticket, and then for him to have found us…” She shook her head, sadly. He noticed, with a jolt, that there were tears in her eyes. He recalled—her father was dead.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said quickly.

  She shook her head. “It’s all right. I still catch myself sometimes,” she said, looking away from him. “It’s so odd that they’re both gone, and I’m all alone in the world.”

  “It must be difficult.” Adam knew what it was like to lose a loved one. He couldn’t imagine losing all of them at once, though. Then, to be all alone in the world with no way to support oneself. Adam himself would never want for money—had never needed money.

  She nodded, looking him in the eye. “Yes, well—I suppose I’m doing all right for myself.”

  He was amazed by her. She had suffered, yet she was still standing on her own two feet. She was far stronger than he was, or ever would be. He felt a warm admiration toward her. She bit her lip, and he could feel desire stir within him.

  His mind went, immediately, to his dream. The way that her naked skin had glowed in the firelight. In his mind, he pushed her hair over her shoulder, so he could lean in to brush his lips against the tender skin at the nape of her neck.

  He turned away, if only to catch his breath. He looked around, at the schematics that he was working on, the mockup device he had begun to fashion. He thought of cold water and Mr. Howard, walking in on them.

  From behind him, she cleared her throat. “I’m just about finished, My Lord.”

  “Is that all?” he asked, turning back.

  “Yes,” she said. She was standing there, the bucket in her hand. She curtsied to him.

  “I will see you tomorrow, then.” He wondered if she felt the same way that he did. Her smile was mysterious as she turned toward the door. His eyes followed her as she walked out.

  Adam remained where he was, listening to the soft sound of her footsteps as she walked away from him. While his body remained in the chair, he felt his heart go with her.

  Chapter 11

  “I’ve got the post,” Mr. Howard announced, coming into the servants’ dining room, which was just off the kitchen. “Lucy—” He handed Lucy a letter, then moved on. Susannah looked at it, swallowing nervously.

  “It’s from my mother,” Lucy said in a low voice.

  Susannah felt worry and fear pierce her keenly, like an arrow to her heart. Lucy glanced over at her. They both knew that this letter most certainly held news of Susannah’s disappearance.

  Lucy opened it, unfolding it. She read it, not giving Susannah the slightest hint as to its contents. When she was finished, she sniffed, then handed it over to Susannah, who read it.

  My dearest daughter,

  I have some unfortunate news. Your friend, Susannah Humphries, has gone missing. It appears that she left in the middle of the night about a fortnight ago. Naturally, Reverend Humphries came to the house, demanding to know where you were, and how you had convinced his daughter into running away, though he had forbidden you from communicating.

  I told him that you are a good girl, and that you haven’t been up here in years. I told him that he himself had forbidden your correspondence, and that you hadn’t a thing to do with her disappearance. That took the stuffing out of him. He apologized and left.

  From the gossip circulating about town, it seems she’s gone up North. While they have searched for her, it seems that the trail had gone cold from the moment she left her father’s house. I know that this news will worry you, and I wish I could be there to comfort you.

  Her mother, the poor thing, is beside herself with worry that some harm has come to her child. I simply can’t imagine—

  Susannah stopped reading. A hard, painful lump had formed in her throat. Her vision went blurry with impending tears. Her guilt at what she had done had never been stronger than it was at that moment.

  “Are you all right?” Lucy whispered. Susannah shook her head, handing her the letter back.

  “I expected as much,” Susannah replied, sniffling. She cleared her throat. She couldn’t eat, now. “Excuse me.” She got up, walking briskly back to their room, where she sat down on her bed.

  She burst into tears. Until then, she had been able to pretend to herself that all was well at home. Now, though, there was distinct proof that her disappearance was hurting her mother. She covered her mouth with her hand, sobbing into it.

  Lucy came in, and when she saw her, she closed the door quickly. She sat down on the bed next to her, placing a gentle hand on Susannah’s shoulder. “It’s been eating at you, hasn’t it? The guilt?”

  “Yes,” Susannah said, sniffling. “I just—I hate how I’ve hurt her.”

  Lucy pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to her. “You said that you wanted to do this.”

  “I did,” she said, dabbing at her cheeks. “I’m glad to be here. I have never been as happy as I am here.”

  “But—”

  “But I wish it hadn’t been at my mother’s expense,” she said. “All of the pain and worry that I’m causing her. The lie that I have to tell—that she and my father are dead…” she trailed off, shaking her head.

  Lucy placed her hand on Sus
annah’s back, rubbing in wide, gentle circles. “Someday, you will be able to write her,” she said. “Someday, when they won’t be able to force you back.”

  Susannah nodded. It didn’t make a thing better. It was a bad situation, one which was untenable. There was nothing to be done, however. She couldn’t return home, and she couldn’t write to her mother, to let her know that she was safe. Lucy half-smiled at her.

  “Now. Let’s get the Earl’s bedchamber tidied, and then we won’t be needed until late in the day. We’ll go and do something fun, yes?”