Page 42 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

Martin appreciated her quick thinking, but he could see the frustration bubbling beneath Edwin’s facade. They had foiled his plan, whatever it had been, and he was clearly not happy about it.

“Well, if everyone insists,” Edwin said, his tone barely masking his irritation. “But let us not linger too long. We do have responsibilities to attend to.”

Mary, still oblivious to the tension, squeezed Luke’s hand and smiled. “Just a few more moments. It’s not every day we get to enjoy such a view.”

“Yes,” Luke agreed. “And I thought you wanted to relive our childhood up here. Do you not recall how we used to spend all hours of the day fooling around up here?”

Luke’s words seemed to cut through Edwin’s irritation, if only for a moment. He smiled, a genuine if fleeting smile, and nodded. “Of course, Luke. How could I forget those days?”

Luke’s face lit up with nostalgia. “Remember the time we tried to build that makeshift raft and sail it down the river? We were so convinced it would work, and we ended up soaked and shivering all the way home.”

Edwin chuckled, surprising Martin, especially as the sound was unexpectedly warm. “Yes, and we blamed it on a sudden storm so we would not get in trouble.”

Mary laughed, her eyes sparkling. “I cannot believe you two managed to get away with so much. It is a wonder you did not get into more trouble.”

Luke continued, his voice animated with the joy of reminiscing. “And the time we decided to camp out in the old barn? We scared ourselves silly with ghost stories and ended up running back to the house in the middle of the night.”

Edwin’s smile faltered slightly, but he forced it back into place. “We were always getting into some kind of mischief. Thank goodness we did not cause more damage.”

As Luke and Edwin continued to exchange stories, Martin watched Edwin closely. The mask of irritation had slipped, replaced by a flicker of something more genuine—regret, perhaps, or longing. It was hard to tell, but it gave Martin asliver of hope. Maybe, just maybe, Edwin was not entirely lost to whatever dark plans he harbored.

Was it possible?

Could they get through to Edwin and change his mind before anything crazy happened?

He may have harmed his best friend, but this was family. Luke was someone that Edwin had grown up with. Someone who he had always been close to. Someone who had basically been a brother to him.

Surely, his heart would not allow him to do something truly heinous.

“What do you think?” he muttered to Susanna as soon as he was close enough to her.

But her hardened expression shocked him. “I do not buy it. Any of it. I have seen how manipulative Edwin can be. I saw what he did to my sister in her grief. This is all just an act.”

Oh!

Maybe she was right.

Perhaps Martin had allowed himself to be fooled. He shook that off and stood up a little straighter, determined not to be tricked again.

“Maybe we really should make our way back now,” Edwin declared in a sickly-sweet voice that wasnotgoing to fool Martin again. “Because we do not want anyone to worry about us.”

“I suppose you are right,” Luke eventually agreed as he tugged Mary a little closer to him. “We do not wish to be away from the house for too long. Our mothers will start looking for us, and who knows how they will react when they cannot find us. I dread to think.”

Mary giggled, her cheeks shining pink with joy. “The closer we get to the big day, the more we are going to be needed, I suppose. But we must come back here at some point. I truly do adore this view. I would love to perhaps come and spend some time here once we have said our vows.”

Edwin had turned a funny shade of green. He looked like he might throw up at any given moment, so Martin stepped in to hurry things along. The quicker they got away from Edwin, the safer they would be.

“Well, let us get going then,” he declared with a bright smile. “So we can fulfill the duties that await us.”

Edwin was bringing a storm cloud back with him, he truly did not seem impressed at all. It was obvious that his mission had been thwarted, at which Martin was truly relieved. All of hisplans were going to be thwarted because Martin was not going to let Edwin out of his sight. Not even for a second.

Well, not while he was around Luke anyway.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

That was strange.

Susanna had not enjoyed any moment of that horse ride, because Edwin was acting odd the whole time. She could see why Martin had freaked out so much, and why he had insisted that they all go for a ride with the cousins.

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