Page 8 of The Earl's Hired Bride
“Yes,” he agreed darkly, “and apparently it caused a few of them to lose their minds.”
She laughed.
“It was no laughing matter, I assure you. It started innocently enough. I wasn’t attending parties or balls, so the young ladies tried to meet me in the street. They hung about my tailor’s shop. They gathered in the gallery to watch sessions in the House and lingered in the halls. They dropped handkerchiefs and poems and invitations.”
“And one, I recall, threw herself in front of your horse.”
“That was only the beginning. Another threw herself fromherhorse into my arms. And one dropped from a tree right in front of me.”
“Good heavens. How inventive.”
“I gave up and left Town for Hartsworth Park—before somebody got killed.”
“Yes, well.” Hestia looked at him with a frank expression. “You are certainly an attractive young man, my lord. And your family is respectable, your title old, and your bank accounts are reportedly healthy. And yet, with all of that to recommend you, I think you must realize that none of it was what excited such a level of frenzy.”
“I do know that, Hestia. None of these lunatic girls are truly interested in me. They all want to be mistress of Hartsworth.”
“Everyone wants to be mistress of Hartsworth, sir. It is an irresistible notion. The most celebrated home in England, in a beautiful setting—”
“And immortalized by that damned poem.”
“That wonderfully romantic, tragic poem, full of thwarted lovers and sacrifice and happily ever afters. Every girl in England sighs over that tale, dreams of a love so daring and bold, yearns to live out her own happiness, as is promised to all those who hold Hartsworth. They cut their teeth on the idea before they are out of the school room—and never lose the taste of the dream.”
“Nicholas thwarted them all by engaging himself to a local girl at quite a young age.”
“He cheated them of their chance. And then you appeared, unattached and uninterested. Clearly they were driven to extremes.”
“Yes, well. I’m afraid extreme is not a trait I would ever look for in a bride.”
She tilted her head. “Some would, you know. But you do seem remarkably even tempered, my lord.”
“My mother says I’m as even keeled as a becalmed ship. I suppose all of those chits would find me boring, did they bother to get to know me. I’m far more interested in making Hartsworth pay for itself than in the romance associated with it.”
“Yes, many would find that a disappointment,” she agreed.
“Nor would they be interested in the amount of work needed to keep the old place going. Someone should tell them to forget the long list of lovers and think of the ancient plumbing that needs replaced and the glass that must be custom crafted to fit all of those arrow slits.”
“What are plumbing and drafts next to thrills of the heart, my lord?” she asked with a smile. “So, you fear that the drama from last year will be repeated. It’s a wonder that you came to Town at all.”
“If I could have skipped it, I would have, believe me,” he said fervently. “But although I never wished for the earldom, it’s been thrust upon me—and I’ll damned well do my best with it. I’m here to take my seat in the Lords. Not only because it is a duty, but also because I hope to address some issues that will affect Hartsworth and several of the other estates I must look after.”
“I’m sure you’ll make a splendid earl. But now, why don’t you tell me what has brought you to me in a state of desperation?”
“It’s begun already. I’ve been in Town but a few days, and already two carriages have mysteriously broken down in our street. And today!” He told her the tale and fervently appreciated the fact that she didn’t laugh.
“Oh, you are in a quandary,” she sighed.
“Yes, and it’s doubly bitter because I thought I’d found a solution.”
Her eyebrows raised. “How is that?”
He couldn’t suppress a sigh. “I have a cousin two years younger than I. She’s American. She grew up in Boston, but not in the same . . . comfortable circumstances my brother and I grew up with. I wrote and made her an offer. I would provide a substantial dowry, if she would come and masquerade as my betrothed for the season.”
Surprise lit Hestia’s lovely face. “How . . . logical of you.”
“It’s the perfect idea,” he insisted. “A few months spent here, then she could return home to attract a whole different class of suitor with an appropriate dowry behind her. And in the meantime, I would feel . . . free.”
“Free to do what?” Hestia asked gently.
