The Lady and the Earl (15 page)

“Of course!
  Why did
I not
think of it before?”
Connor said aloud, as
Lord
Declan
Cunningham, the Earl of
Westbrook
, settled in his
mind
.

“What is it now?”
Lord
Tananguard asked.  “Is everything all right?”

“What?  Oh, yes.  Everything is fine.  Sorry, Father,” Connor said, feeling a little foolish.  He hadn’t meant to burst out like
that
. 

“You worried me for a moment there,” said
Lord
Tananguard with a bit of worry still on his face.

“Well, actually there is something.” 
Lord
Tananguard looked at his son expectantly, and Connor continued.  “Did you not tell me once that Cunningham
desired
this property to the
east
?”
Connor asked flashing the ink-spilled-papers he had in front of him to his father.

“He
mentioned wanting to buy it if I was willing to sell
.  Why?”
Lord
Tananguard asked curiously.

“I know how we can save those farms,” Connor said with a smile.  They were short on
finances this year because of hardships the crops had suffered.  Connor’s job was to work out any possible way to continue to support the property without
selling or accruing
debt to maintain it.
 
Lord
Tananguard was intent on staying out of debt.  But i
f he couldn’t provide
the
finances to those farmers who had lost so much money on the poor harvest, some would most likely have to look elsewhere, possibly even move elsewhere.  That would mean serious losses for
Lord
Tanang
uard and his family’s future.
  

Lord
Declan
Cunningham wanted the land to expand
Westbrook
, and Connor wanted Allana out of
Lucas’s
clutches.  Cunningham had been a widower for
over two
years, making him the most eligible man in this area as well as in London.  He was also an earl, and a very wealthy one at that.  Mothers hounded him with their daughters, while aunts introduced him to their nieces.  Connor knew
Declan
grew weary of these matchmakers, so he decided
Declan
simply needed a wife.  Allana was the ideal candidate.  She was beautiful,
refined
, and intelligent.  Surely,
Declan
would see her as someone he could marry.  If not, then maybe the land would be enough to persuade him.  Either way,
Declan
Cunningham was the man for Allana.  He was the one man Connor could stand seeing his sister marry.  He was smart, polite, handsome, and of course an
e
arl
.  They had become friends instantly, and Connor knew
Declan
would treat Allana with the respect she
deserved
. 

The plan was simple.  Connor would propose an arranged marriage
.  F
or Allana’s dowry they would give the Earl the property he wanted, including the farms
, the tenants
and anything else on the land.  It was perfect. 
Declan
could stop the matchmaking
and
expand his land
.  A
nd in one easy move, Allana would be safe from Lucas.  The only problem Connor could see was Allana’s stubbornness.  She was too
willful
to be forced to marry.  She believed in love, not arranged marriages.  He
needed
to make her want to be with Cunningham or else this plan might
not work.

“Well?”
Lord
Tananguard asked as he waited patiently for Connor to tell him his idea.  “This doesn’t have anything to do with you wanting to go to America, does it?”

Connor had had that conversation with his father, and surprisingly, his father had
agreed
, asking Connor to wait until Allana was wed before he actually left.  Fortunately, that had been Connor’s intention already.  He wasn’t about to leave before he knew his sister was safe from Lucas.  “No, it does
n’t
.  But now that you mention it, it might help you when the time comes,” Connor finished with a smile.  Without this land to worry about, the stresses of
Lord
Tananguard would be reduced, meaning it wouldn’t be as hard for
his father
to run his estates in the years to come. 

“Let me ponder this a moment,” Connor said more to himself than his father.  “How is this going to
work without her realizing what i
s going on?”  It all came down to the same problem Connor had been having since he returned home from London.  How was he going to convince Allana that Lucas wasn’t right for her
and that Cunningham was
?  He stared out the window, frowning as he thought.  Nothing had worked so far.

A commotion outside the window caught his eye.  It was Allana storming out of the garden in tears with Lucas following on her heals.  Connor’s heart leapt.  This was it.  Something had caused her to be upset; maybe he wouldn’t have to do anything except introduce her to the Earl.  He smiled triumphantly.  Then all of his carefully laid out plans came crashing down when Lucas caught Allana gently by the arm, turned her to him and passionately kissed her.  Allana’s protests seemed to last only seconds before she melted into
Lucas’s
embrace. 

“Are you going to tell me your idea or continue to glare out the window?”
Lord
Tananguard asked as he saw a look of contempt wash over Connor’s features.  “Wh
at are you
looking at anyway?”
Lord
Tananguard walked over to the window.  “Oh, I see.”

“I
don’t
trust him.  He
i
s
n’
t good enough for her, Father.  She deserves a king,” Connor replied. 
Or an
e
arl
,
h
e thought afterwards.

Lord
Tananguard sighed.  “Connor, no
one
will be good enough for her in your eyes.”

“There is one man who is good enough for her, Father,” Connor began smoothly.  This was the way to remove Allana from
Lucas’s
clutches.  Convince his father an arranged marriage with the Earl was in her best interest.

Lord
Tananguard lifted an eyebrow.  “Really,” he said doubtfully.

“
Lord
Cunningham.”

“
Declan
?  Has he spoken of any
interest in her?”
Lord
Tananguard asked excitedly.  Connor smiled at his father’s sudden change in attitude.  He was definitely listening now.

“No, but
here is my idea
,” Connor said.  He then began telling his father his plan for Allana and
Declan
.  “We give it all to the Earl if he marries Allana.  He has the finances to support it and the farmers on it.  He wouldn’t have to make any
restrictions like we would.  It i
s perfect.  Nobody goes hungry, and Allana marries someone we both approve of.  It
helps you as well
.  Think about it.  I can go to America, manage Lilly’s estates there, and you can give the rest of Tananguard to Lilly’s unborn child, boy or girl.  It’s brilliant.”

“Are you mad?  Allana is too stubborn to
agree to
an arranged marriage,”
Lord
Tananguard replied, stating the obvious.  He sighed.  “I do like
Declan
, though, and it is an awfully good and tempting plan.”

“Yes, I know. 
It’s
a good match too,” Connor said smoothly.

“Yes, but what about Allana?  She deserves love.  I do not wish to push her toward a man she
doesn’t
even know,”
Lord
Tananguard argued.

“They will grow to love each other, Father.  You and Mother did, did you not?” That marriage had been arranged as well, but at least
Lord
Tananguard and Connor’s mother had known each other before they were wed.

“We did, Son, but it was also nice to have a chance to fall in love like Lilly and I did before wedding.” 
Lord
Tananguard sighed in frustration.  “Yet, it would be ideal for Allana to marry
Declan
.  We would finally come out ahead this year, and so would she.  But I cannot bear to break her away from Lucas if she loves him.”

“It’
s for the best, Father.  Trust me,” Connor stated. 

“Give me some time to think about it, Connor.  In the mean time, let’s try to get some more work done,”
came
his father’s reply. 

Connor gave an inward growl. 
Time to think about it!
  If they didn’t act soon, it could be too late.  The passionate kiss between Allana and Lucas passed through his head.  He tried to push it aside by focusing his attention on the work at hand. 

Time slipped by slowly as Connor began reworking the figures
he’d
dumped ink on.  Any other day he would have finished quickly, but with thoughts of his sister’s dismal future in front of him, the work was taking him twice as long and seemed twice as tedious.  Finally, his father saved him.

“I have an idea,”
Lord
Tananguard began.

“Yes?”
Connor asked, glad to have something else—anything else besides Lucas and Allana—to occupy his mind.
 

“
I would like
you
to
make a visit to
Westbrook
.
  Tell Cunningham I’
m planning a large hunting jamboree in two weeks and would like him to come.  In the mean time, we will invite the usual
l
ord
s to come such as the
Russells
,
Dave
nhue
s
, and such.  When Allana finds out about it,
she will be dying to come along.  She never misses my hunting expeditions.  We won’t tell her Cunningham is coming and
vice
versa.  Then they can meet under casual circumstances, and we
will
see
how the two react to one another.  If I am correct, Lucas will be leaving for London tomorrow, so he will not be in the way of our little experiment.  If things go well, we can discuss the proposition to
Declan
.  If not, we will pretend we never though
t about it.  Sound agreeable?”
Lord
Tananguard asked his son.

Connor stared at his father in astonishment.  He was brilliant.  It was the perfect plan and the perfect lure for both Allana and
Declan
.  Neither would be able to resist a good hunt. 

“I gather the look on your face means you
approve
,” Tananguard said with a slight smile.  Connor nodded his agreement.

“Good.  Then I expect you should get going.”

“Yes, of course.  I
will leave
right now,” Connor said with a grin.  And he did.  He rose from his chair and
left
his father’s office, but before
leaving
the house, he headed for Allana’s room.  He hadn’t forgotten the
earlier
scene between her and Lucas, and he wanted to learn more.   What had happened
to cause
Allana
to be so upset
then to forgive Lucas so easily?  If it was something bad,
Connor
might be able to use it to pry a wedge between his sister and his friend.  Then maybe his plan for
Allana
and the Earl would have an easier beginning.

“Come in,”
Allana’s voice said through the double doors to her room.
 
 

Connor hesitated then slowly entered.  He was surprised to see her tear stained cheeks
and Lilly’s arms wrapped around her in a comforting embrace
.  Hadn’t she forgiven Lucas?  “Is everything all right
?” he
asked. 

“Yes,” Allana replied unsuccessfully as a tear slipped down her face. 

Connor walked over to the bedside, pulled up a hard backed chair, and sat down in it.  “What happened
?” he
asked.  “I saw you leave the garden rather upset.” 

Allana looked
to
Lilly for help.