Enticing the Earl (25 page)

As Caroline helped her undress, Mia asked, “Caroline, can you tell me what happened with Simon five years ago? Did he really almost kill a man?”

“That was a long time ago, Mia. Simon has grown up and can handle his temper now.”

“Can he?”

“Yes. He won’t hurt Charlie.” Caroline’s fingers paused on the buttons of Mia’s gown. “Well, he won’t kill him. Charlie might deserve a little beating if he hired Lambert.”

“But we don’t know if that’s what he did.”

“Exactly. And Simon won’t hurt him if he had nothing to do with it.”

Except it would be a huge coincidence if Lambert just happened to be out at Hartsfield Park looking for the small treasure she’d found. There was no reason for him to be there unless he’d been told about the treasure. Any one of the tenants might have slipped and said something to Charlie.

“Oh, Caroline, I have a dreadful feeling about all of this,” Mia whispered.

“So do I.”

E
ven on horseback, it took Simon over two days to get back to Hartsfield Park. In all that time, he still hadn’t determined what he would do when he found his brother. Most of the trip, he’d been praying he wouldn’t find Charlie there. That he’d been wrong about everything.

Things still didn’t make sense. If Charlie needed money, he could have come to him. Charlie had no idea about Burton embezzling the money until after he’d arrived at Hartsfield Park. It had to all be a coincidence.

He deliberately came up to the house from the back way to garner less notice. He jumped off his horse and walked into the stables.

“Afternoon, milord,” one of the boys said. He stopped mucking out the stall and took the reins of the horse.

“She’s had a very hard ride so treat her well and give her extra oats.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And lad.” Simon waited for the boy to look at him. “If anyone asks, I was never here.”

“Huh?”

“You did not see me here today.”

The boy shrugged. “As you wish, milord.”

“Thank you.”

Simon looked around outside before venturing up to the house. The door opened but he put a finger to his lips before Harris said his name. “Is my brother in residence, Harris?” he whispered.

“Yes, my lord,” Harris whispered in return. “But he’s not at home right now. He went out for a ride.”

“Do not inform him that I am here.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

“I would like a bath, Harris. It’s been a dreadful couple of days.”

“Of course, sir. Did the countess join you?” Harris asked.

“No, she is staying with my sister for a few more days.” Simon walked to the steps with weary feet. “Please make sure no one speaks of my presence to my brother. I would like to surprise him.”

Harris’s white brows furrowed until a deep crevasse formed. “Very good, sir.”

Simon sat on the bed while the footman heated the water and then finally brought it up with the tub. Once they left, he slipped into the bathwater with a sigh. He’d never been so exhausted. As much as he wanted to soak for an hour, he had to wash quickly and dress for his confrontation with his brother.

The hour drew later and he could smell the faint aroma of roasted chicken from the kitchen. His brother must be home by now. Simon walked down the steps to surprise his conniving brother.

“My lord, your brother hasn’t returned from his ride yet,” Harris said.

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No, my lord. Only that he would be gone for a few hours.”

Dammit. Where the bloody hell was that boy! “Very well, I will take my dinner now.”

Harris nodded.

As Simon ate a lonely dinner, he wished Mia were here with him. The large dining room was made to hold fifty people and it felt cavernous tonight. Until now, he’d thought strictly of Charlie and how to handle the situation he’d caused.
If
Charlie caused it, his conscience reminded him.

But there was also the need to handle Mia’s anger for leaving without telling her. She would be furious when she discovered he’d departed without her. Hopefully, she would understand.

He sipped his wine. She would not understand his reasons. While he’d originally thought she needed to see Lambert beaten as she’d been, Simon knew she would not abide Charlie’s punishment. He wasn’t sure he could tolerate it either. And yet, all he had to do was picture Mia’s battered face and his anger grew.

After dinner, he sat in his study, waiting. By midnight, he decided his brother must be drinking and whoring the night away. There was no use trying to speak with a drunken man. The confrontation would have to wait until morning or afternoon if Charlie was out all night.

Simon went to bed, lonely and missing Mia more than he ever thought possible. Had she come with him, he could have talked to her about the situation and listened to her calm counsel. Instead, he had a large, cold, lonely bed. He had to tell her how he felt about her. Even if she didn’t love him, she had a right to know how much he loved her. As soon as he was done with this mess, he would ride back to Caroline’s and bring Mia home.

 

Another rut bumped the carriage so hard Mia thought it might tip over. They were doing everything they could to make faster time. They changed horses every twenty miles and even drove through the night. Still, Mia knew that Simon must have already arrived. With only a few more miles to go, she worried what she might find when they arrived at Hartsfield Park.

“Stop worrying, Mia,” James said, looking up from his Bible.

“I can’t help but worry. Especially when no one will tell me what happened five years ago. My imagination might be making it far worse than it was.” She hoped her words would cause James to tell her what happened.

“Highly unlikely.”

“James, I need to know what happened,” she insisted.

“Simon can tell you. I vowed not to speak of it.” He closed his Bible and stared over at her. “But it was very bad indeed, Mia. Which is why Simon doesn’t speak of it.”

The carriage turned off the main road and down the drive to Hartsfield Park. After only being away less than a fortnight, she felt shocked by how much she’d missed her home. She’d never lived anywhere else and had rarely traveled, save a couple of trips to London with her father.

“Well, the house is intact,” James quipped.

Mia glared over at her brother-in-law. “This is hardly a matter for jesting.”

James shrugged. “A little levity might help all involved.”

“Perhaps you should go back to your Bible now.” Mia crossed her arms over her chest to hide her trembling.

It wasn’t just her fear for Charlie feeding her nerves; she would have to confront Simon. And tell him she would be leaving the house. She couldn’t stay with a man who used her as he had. While they couldn’t divorce, they could live separate lives.

The carriage slowed to a stop and a flurry of activity surrounded the coach. The door opened and James scrambled out. He assisted her out and they walked up to the house. Harris opened the door to greet them with a smile.

“Welcome back, my lady. Mr. Blakesworth, welcome home,” Harris said. “It has been far too long since you visited.”

“Yes it has, Harris. Have a room made up for me.”

“Of course, sir.” Harris turned to a footman with instructions.

“Harris, is my husband at home?” Mia prayed he was here and reviewing the books.

“Not at the moment, ma’am. He went out to find his brother.”

Mia swallowed hard. “Has Charlie been here?”

“Yes, my lady. But he has not returned since Sunday.”

Exhaustion forced a yawn from her. “I believe I shall take a bath and possibly a nap.”

Harris called for more footmen to heat water and bring it up to her room. “Is Lucy with you?”

“No, she will be here in a day or two. Send Mary up to help me dress. Thank you, Harris.”

Mia walked up the stairs to her room. She worried that maybe she and James should try to find Charlie before Simon did, but she was barely able to keep her eyes open. Mary followed her into the room.

“Oh, ma’am, we must get you out of these clothes. They are covered in dust.”

Mary closed the bedroom door as the footmen entered the salon to bring in the copper tub. Soon the maid undressed Mia and slipped her into a dressing gown. A footman knocked on the bedroom door.

“We are done with the water.”

Mary walked to the tub and poured in some lavender oil. “This will make you feel better. Your mother taught me that. She said it will help ease tired muscles and relax a person.”

Mia smiled. “Thank you, Mary. You may go. I will nap after my bath so there is no need to dress me.”

Mary nodded and left Mia in peace. A fire lit the room as clouds darkened the sky. She slipped into the warm water and released a pent-up sigh. Hopefully, the rain would hold off until Simon returned. Would she ever stop worrying about him? After what he did, she should be furious, not fretting over whether or not he gets wet.

Warm lips touched her bare shoulder. “I should have known you would force James to bring you here.”

She started from the contact and his deep voice. How had he entered the room without her hearing him? “I am taking a bath, Simon. Please leave me in peace.”

He chuckled slightly. “I don’t think so.” He moved away and then yanked off his boots and jacket.

“What are you doing?”

“Joining my wife in a bath.” He stripped off his waistcoat.

“No, you are not!”

Simon cocked a brow at her. “Yes, I am.” He unbuttoned his trousers and slipped them over his hips.

She watched his cock rise against his drawers as he pulled off his linen shirt. She had to stop this before he got in the tub with her. “I do not want you here.”

“Stop being sore because I left you behind.”

“I am not sore. I’m furious at you. And not for leaving me behind... although that didn’t help matters.”

Her gaze seemed glued to his body as he slid his drawers over his hips, releasing his burgeoning erection. He walked to the tub and then put one leg in and then the other before slowly easing his body into the water. Mia brought her legs in closer to give him room.

He released a groan. “So, why are you so angry with me?”

“I will not have this conversation in a tub.” Mia grabbed her soap to wash up quickly.

“You might as well. You’re not getting out until you tell me what has you so irate.” Simon cupped water with his hands and splashed it over his face.

“You can’t keep me in here.”

He removed his hands from his face and smirked at her. “Of course I can.”

And he probably could. “Very well. I have decided to become Middleton’s wise woman until Tia returns from her jaunt to London.”

“No.” He grabbed the soap from her hand and rubbed it to a lather.

“No?”

“That’s what I said. A countess doesn’t leave her husband to live on a viscount’s land. You are my wife and you will stay with me. Now, it might help if you told me why you have suddenly decided I am some monster you need to be protected from.”

“Oh, indeed,” she said sarcastically. “You used me. Just like Lambert and just like Paul Smyth. Did you think I could attend a party and not find out about your reputation? I overheard several women talking about how you had no choice but to marry someone from the country who wouldn’t know of your horrible reputation.”

Simon’s jaw clenched and then slowly softened. “I couldn’t tell you about that,” he whispered.

“Of course not. If you had, I would never have agreed to marry you.”

He closed his eyes. “No, Mia. You would have been frightened of me after what you went through at Lambert’s hands.” He opened his gray eyes and stared at her. “That would have killed me. I could never live with myself knowing you thought I could harm you.”

“But you could,” she whispered.

“Any man can hurt a woman. But I would never do such a thing.”

She desperately wanted to believe him. “Then will you tell me what happened five years ago?”

He closed his eyes and released a long sigh. “Very well.”

She waited as he gathered his thoughts. Based on what James had told her, she knew this would be hard on Simon.

“I’ve always had a temper,” he started quietly. “But over the last four years, I found if I exercised, it released the frustration I felt. Five years ago, I was in London with Middleton. He pressed me to play cards.”

“But you can’t play cards well.”

He tilted his head and stared at her.

“I guess you already knew that,” Mia said sheepishly.

“I tried to get out of the game but everyone kept pressuring me to play.”

“So you played.”

Simon nodded. “I did. I figured it couldn’t hurt to lose a few pounds. Only I didn’t lose. I won a substantial amount of money. It infuriated Lewis Baxter, the man across from me. He assumed I was cheating somehow.”

“What were you doing?”

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I was counting the number of the suit on each card. It is the only way I can play cards.”

“Of course, but how did he think you were cheating?”

“There are some people who can keep track of the cards in play and determine the odds of the next card being drawn.” He looked away. “Not that I would ever be able to do such a feat.

I play so little that I normally just expect to lose. So I was furious that he called me out for cheating. Instead of dealing with it in the normal way of a duel, Baxter wanted to fight bare-knuckled. He was something of a pugilist so he thought he could best me easily.”

“Oh my,” she whispered.

“He had no idea I’d been fighting since I was ten.” Simon looked away. “Once the fight started, Baxter started to say a few things about how he’d heard I was an imbecile who couldn’t even do basic mathematics at Eton. That only increased my anger. Middleton had to pull me off of him.”

Mia closed her eyes, trying hard not to imagine the fight in her mind. “How bad was he?”

“Very bad. It took him months to recover only to die in a carriage accident a year later.” Simon released a staggering breath. “His family blames me for everything.”

“You could have told me this before,” she said softly. “I would have believed you.”

“Not after what Lambert did to you. I couldn’t have you hate me.”

Mia stared at her husband’s tortured face. “Why was that so important?”

“Because I loved you.”

Mia’s mouth gaped as her mind spun. “But... I don’t understand. How could you possibly have been in love with me at that point? I had only been here a few days.”

Simon leaned over and pulled her body over his until she lay on top of him. “Mia, I have known you for years. I have seen how you take care of people but I’ve also seen the kindness in your heart. I have loved and desired you for years.”