Page 1 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

CHAPTER ONE

“Come on everyone, we must get a move on!”

The voice of Henry Creasey, the Marquess of Ryleigh, ricocheted through the house, making Susanna block her ears against all the chaos. The panic in Ryleigh House was overwhelming as her family prepared to depart for her sister’s much-anticipated wedding.

“Come on,” Henry continued. “We need to get to Standen Abbey now!”

“Wait, I do not think I have packed everything,” Mary yelled as the staff carried her trunks through the house to the carriage. “What about my hairbrush? Luke likes it when I have my hair long and wavy, which means I will need to brush it a lot.”

Susanna could not help but laugh at her sister’s insistence on being pretty for her fiancé, the Earl of Standen. “I am sure Ihave a hairbrush packed for you if you need to. You can always borrow mine.”

But she could quickly see that she could not get through to Mary. Her eyes had glazed over as the panic damn near consumed her whole. This shut up Susanna’s laughter. There was no way she was going to tease Mary in the midst of all of this. Her sister had to bereallyworried about getting wed after what happened before…

Susanna parted her lips, about to give Mary some words of wisdom—not that she had any words of wisdom to give—but nothing came out.

What could she say? How could she help Mary relax in the midst of all of this?

Mary passed by her “Mother, I am worried that I do not have everything that I need. Especially since the weather has been unpredictable recently. How can I be sure that I look absolutely perfect for my big day? I cannot riskanythinggoing wrong.”

Susanna’s heart sank as she watched Mary exit the room. They could all get caught up in the excitement of going to stay at Standen Abbey, but there was always going to be a worry clinging to the air. A wedding for the Creasey family was always going to be problematic.

“Come on, Susanna,” her mother cried out. “It is time to leave. We must get going if we do not wish to be late.”

Susanna sucked in a sharp breath before she started walking. She knew that this visit was going to change her life forever, the lives of the whole family once Mary married, so she wanted just one more moment of everything being the same. But she could not wait here for too long. Standen Abbey awaited her.

The moment Susanna climbed into the carriage, and she spotted the nervous anticipation in her sister’s eyes, she reached out and held her hands to let Mary know that she was there for her, no matter what.

She might not be able to say the words out loud, not in front of their parents, but she wanted Mary to know that she would be her support. Whatever she needed, Susanna would do it.

Mary squeezed her hand to thank her, using the sort of silent communication that only sisters who had grown up close would be able to understand. Then the carriage started to rumble along the cobblestone drive, and they both knew that it was time. Time for all these changes to happen.

“The Abbey is beautiful,” Susanna declared excitedly as she ran her eyes all over the building in front of her. The red bricks seemed to jut royally into the sky, and the sides of the building seemed to stretch on forever. “Look at the gardens, they are beautiful, and I love the flowers.”

“It is beautiful,” Mary agreed. “I cannot wait to get inside and to see all of Standen Abbey. Luke has told me so much about it, Ifeel a little like I know it already. Oh, look, Luke and his family are waiting to greet us.”

“That is lovely,” Patricia agreed. “The Allen family must have very good manners. I am sure we will have a wonderful time staying with them.”

The carriage rolled to a stop in front of Standen Abbey, and the Creasey family began to disembark, greeted by a welcoming party from the Allen family.

“Welcome to Standen Abbey,” Luke said, his voice filled with genuine warmth. “We are so delighted to have you all here. This is my mother, Tabitha, Lady Standen.”

Henry smiled. “Well, my name is Henry, Lord Ryleigh, and this is my wife, Patricia. My daughters, Susanna and, of course, Mary.”

But Susanna held back a little, focusing on Luke to see how he reacted to Mary. His warm smile lit up his face. Susanna could see that he honestly did seem to have a deep care for her sister.

That was good.

That was a good start.

“We must show you to your rooms,” Tabitha said, “so you have time to refresh yourselves before dinner. We want you to get settled before you meet the other people we already have stayinghere. My wonderful friend, Abigail Rayment, the Dowager Countess of St. Clair, and her son, Martin Rayment. I am sure you will love them.”

Susanna would be polite, but she had no interest in meeting other people. Her eyes would be on Luke the entire time. Did he know that? Was her sister’s betrothed aware that he was going to be under scrutiny the entire time?

It was nothing personal. Susanna was not adamantly against him as a person because she did not know enough about him.

No, this was all for Mary’s protection. For her sister’s heart.

For now, though, she was looking forward to seeing her bedchambers while she was here. This estate was massive, there would be plenty of rooms for everyone to stay in, and she hoped that she would have a comfortable place to stay while she was here for the wedding.

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