Page 7 of Empowered By the Earl (Second Sons of London 3)

Chapter Three

London—July 1814

Louisa Goulding satbrooding. The Season she had looked forward to for so long had proven to be disastrous. Well, perhaps not disastrous. That was an exaggeration. Merely uneventful was closer to the truth.

It would wrap up in another three weeks but she did not think she could bear to attend another event. She glanced at her calendar and counted up the number of affairs she and her aunt and uncle, Lord and Lady Uxbridge, had committed to attend.

She couldn’t do it anymore.

How would she tell her aunt and uncle of her dilemma? She had nowhere else to go since her father had left England for abroad. He worked for the War Office and with Bonaparte’s recent abdication, Europe had been thrown into turmoil. There was to be a gathering of nations at a congress in the autumn and her father had gone early to help plan and prepare for this auspicious event.

At least the Season had been fun when her cousins, Adalyn and Tessa, were still in London. The three of them had been best friends since childhood. Tessa had wed Spencer, Lord Middlefield, last year and Adalyn had married Everett, the new Duke of Camden, a few months ago. Both couples had remained in London until mid-June, when they departed for their country estates, both located in Kent.

Ever since their departure, Louisa seemed to be drifting through the Season. Not a single gentleman interested her. Though she had made her come-out five years ago, she had only attended a handful of events each year at her father’s request. Instead, Louisa had served as his hostess the majority of the time. Papa held many meetings at their London townhouse, worried about spies planted within the War Office. Because of that, she had managed the household and made certain that every meeting went smoothly. She provided tea, planned meals and refreshments for late night gatherings.

Because she had spent so much of her time these past few years with older gentlemen from the War Office, the young swains of this Season—her first to attend most every affair—seemed incredibly immature to her. The only bachelor she had even liked was Everett and the two of them had determined early on that they would not suit as husband and wife. As it was, Everett and Adalyn were a perfect match and Louisa could not be happier for her cousin in her new marriage. The same held true for Tessa, who was now a mother to little Analise.

Was it so wrong to wish for what her cousins had?

She did want a husband who would give her children. She wasn’t even asking for love, as Tessa and Adalyn had found, merely a man she could get along with and who treated her with kindness and a bit of respect.

If he existed in Polite Society, he had not been attendingtonevents this Season.

Louisa felt much older than her years. She had hoped by the end of the Season that she would have received an offer or two of marriage and accepted one of them. She doubted any offer would be forthcoming and if it did occur, she would not be accepting it. All she wanted to do now was leave London and lick her wounds.

Since she had been staying with her aunt and uncle, she supposed she would return to the country with them since there was no telling when her father would return to England. Louisa wouldn’t mind spending several months in the country because she rarely had an opportunity to do so. As a second son, Sir Edgar Goulding had no country estate and so she and Papa lived in London year-round. Even if her father had a small country property, they never would have gone to visit it because of his work at the War Office.

She hoped Adalyn and Tessa might ask her to come and visit for a few weeks. It would be good to see her cousins away from town and have an opportunity to see what their lives were like in their new homes in the country with their husbands.

She supposed it was almost time to dress for tonight’s ball and went to the wardrobe, wondering what gown Tilly had chosen for her to wear this evening.

A knock at the door sounded and she bid them to enter. It was a footman who greeted her, handing her a letter. She thanked him and sat in the chair by the window to read it. Immediately, she recognized Adalyn’s handwriting and eagerly broke the seal. This would be the second letter she had received from Adalyn since her cousin’s departure from town.

Dearest Louisa,

I hope this finds you well and that you are still enjoying the Season, though your last letter led me to believe otherwise. If that is the case, why don’t you come to us here at Cliffside? It doesn’t seem as if you have found a suitable husband and I would not want you to rush at the end and accept an offer halfheartedly.

Ev is also eager to see you. In fact, he is the one who suggested that we invite you to Cliffside for an indefinite stay.

Do what you wish. Finish out the Season and then come to us—or have Papa allow you to come to Cliffside as soon as you can. Either way, we will be delighted to host you.

All my love,

Adalyn

Tears brimmed in Louisa’s eyes. She would not have to suffer through the rest of this unbearable Season. She hoped Uncle Uxbridge would agree to her leaving town quickly.

Tilly arrived and prepared Louisa for the ball, dressing her in a gown of pale yellow with mint green trimmings. Louisa joined her uncle in the foyer and he complimented her on her appearance as he always did. Her aunt arrived and the three of them went to the waiting carriage.

Inside, Louisa decided to broach the subject and said, “I have received a letter from Adalyn. She conveyed that His Grace has invited me to come and visit them.”

She thought if the Uxbridges believed it was a ducal invitation being extended, they would be more amenable to allowing her to go.

As she expected, the couple beamed at her and her uncle said, “Of course, you need to go to them. Adalyn is probably missing you. His Grace is wise enough to know how to keep his wife happy.”

“It would mean you missing the tail-end of the Season,” her aunt remarked. “Would that be acceptable, Louisa?”

“Yes, I think I have had enough of the company of Polite Society for this year. I have missed Adalyn something terrible. I would love to go to Kent as soon as possible.”

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