Page 16 of How to Charm an Earl
“Thank goodness,” the earl said. “I arrived a half hour ago and the butler just informed me you were not here. Where have you been?” Her father glared at Roman. “Why are you together?”
Roman stared at Athena’s father, uncertain what to say. Sorry, my lord, I compromised your daughter. That wouldn’t go over well. The last thing he wanted to do was offend the man. Especially when he wanted to marry Athena.
“Father,” Athena said. “Why are you here? I thought you would stay in London. Maeve is still participating in the season, isn’t she?”
The Earl of Harwood glanced at his daughter. “The estate manager needed me here for some business. I’ll return in a few days.” He narrowed his gaze. “You were riding. Did you go with him without a chaperone?”
“Of course not,” she said, then snorted. “We crossed paths. I had a small fall off of Hades and the Earl of Kendal assisted me.”
The concern on the Earl of Harwood’s face made something inside Roman ache. He clearly adored his daughter. “Are you all right,” he asked Athena. “Do you need me to send for a physician?”
“It’s nothing,” she reassured her father. “It hurt my pride more than anything.” She glanced at Roman. “The earl was kind enough to see me home safe.”
He should say something now, shouldn’t he? This was as good a time as any. “My lord,” he started. “If you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you.”
“Of course,” Harwood said. “Come with me to my study. We can speak there. I can thank you properly for assisting my daughter.”
Roman glanced at Athena and smiled. “There’s no need for that. I would do anything for her.”
He followed the earl to his study. “It’s early,” Harwood began. “But I still feel like I need a drink. Would you like some brandy?”
“Yes,” he answered. He needed it. Roman had never needed it more in his life.
The earl handed Roman a snifter of brandy. “What did you wish to discuss?”
Roman took a drink of the brandy. It burned as it traveled down his throat, but he welcomed it. He swirled the amber liquid in the glass and stared into it as if it held all the answers he needed. He glanced up at Harwood. “I would like to ask you for permission to marry your daughter.”
Harwood grinned. “I assume you mean Athena, as I have three daughters.”
A lump formed in Roman’s throat. “Yes, my lord. I wish to marry Athena.”
The silence in the room was deafening. Would he ever give Roman an answer? He held his breath and prayed. He wouldn’t say no. Harwood couldn’t be that cruel.
Harwood sipped his brandy, then set the glass on his desk. “Why do you want to marry Athena?”
That answer was easy. Roman didn’t even have to think about it. “I love her.”
“I trust you have heard the rumors about my late wife.” Harwood held Roman’s gaze. He seemed to say, without speaking a word, that Roman had better give him an answer that wasn’t derogatory. The earl need not have worried.
“I don’t listen to gossip,” he told Harwood. “However, Athena has spoken to me about her mother and what some believe about her family. Even if there is some validity to that speculation, none of it matters to me. Athena’s happiness is my only concern, and I hope I’ll have the privilege of being a part of her life.”
Harwood grinned. “Good answer. Yes. You may marry my daughter.” The earl picked up his glass and saluted him with it. “However, it will not be a hasty wedding. The banns will be read, and it will be a proper ceremony. I do not want the ton speculating about anything and that means a special license is out of the question.”
“Agreed,” Roman answered. As long as she was his wife, in the end he would have agreed to any of the earl’s demands.
“Now go tell my daughter she can stop listening at the door,” the earl said. “And give her the news she was hoping for.”
Roman smiled and did as Harwood suggested. He set his glass of brandy down. It held no interest to him any longer. Then he strode to the door and yanked it open. The earl had been right. Athena was on the other side, pacing in front of the entrance to the study. She glanced up at him and lifted one brow expectantly.
“We’re going to get married,” he told her. “Start planning the wedding. The banns need to be read, and I’d prefer it to be as soon as possible.”
“Not too soon,” Harwood yelled from behind them. “No unnecessary rumors need to spread about this union.”
Athena grinned. “I think we can plan something acceptable in a couple of months. That gives us time to arrange for the banns and send out invitations.”
Roman longed to kiss her, but propriety prevented him from acting on the desire in her father’s presence. “Let us walk in the garden," he suggested. "We can further discuss our wedding, and afterward, I shall take my leave to inform my mother. She’ll need to be informed of my plans to make you my countess.”
She led him to toward the back entrance of the house. Once they were outside, they stopped. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her as he wanted to moments earlier. He pulled back. “I love you,” he told her.
