Page 2 of Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs 3)

Jordy suddenly flew through the door, his cheeks flushed not from the cold but from the excitement that bubbled up and out of him.

“Caroline! Josiah! The war is over!” He waved a handful of half-sheets of news. “Mr. Frain had me bring these over, knowing customers would flock to your store. They are the first off his press.”

Happiness filled her. She’d hated that her birth country and the one she’d grown so fond of were at war with one another. It was bad enough that Englishmen had to fight Bonaparte, much less their American cousins.

“Quick, let me see.”

Jordy handed her a news sheet and she skimmed it quickly before starting at the beginning and reading every word. What struck her most were the dates mentioned in the article—and the ones she’d read about previously. Diplomats in Belgium had signed a peace treaty at Christmastime, about six weeks ago, but this news was only filtering across the Atlantic. In the meantime, General Jackson and his men had fought the British army under Pakenham at New Orleans on January eight. Both Pakenham and his second-in-command, Gibbs, had been fatally wounded in the battle. The British had lost twenty-six hundred men to injury, death, or capture as prisoners of war, while the Americans only had six wounded and seven killed in action.

That meant that Jackson’s resounding victory came after the peace accords had been signed. Since Americans were only hearing about the Treaty of Ghent now, they would assume it was Andy Jackson’s win in Louisiana that forced the British hand for both sides to lay down their arms. The British would know better but the Americans would cling to their own point of view.

Caroline looked to Jordy. “Go back to Mr. Frain. Bring me double what you brought now. Tell him I’ll be good for it and will settle up with him tomorrow.”

The young man ran out without a backward glance and, soon, the bookshop was filled with patriotic Americans, buying both news sheets and licorice. Somewhere outside the shop a barrel appeared, and customers came in with mugs of ale as they gossiped about the end of the war.

Amidst all the noise, Josiah turned to her and asked, “Will you go home now?”

Caroline finally understood that she had a choice for the first time in three years. Though she loved her newfound freedom, she longed for London.

Slowly, she nodded. “As soon as I can make the arrangements.”

*

Caroline disembarked fromthe packet boat, Tippet’s leash in one hand and Davy Redmond’s hand in the other. The ship had made good time and crossed the Atlantic in six weeks. She’d been one of a dozen passengers aboard and would now travel from Bristol to London by coach.

It surprised her how quickly things came together once she decided to leave Boston. Aunt Evie’s will had left everything to Caroline. She’d found a buyer for the bookshop and made keeping Josiah on a part of the sale agreement. The house sold even more quickly and Mrs. Johnson had decided to stay on and work for the couple who purchased it. They had seven children and the childless housekeeper was looking forward to having young people in the house.

She waited near where they disembarked for her two trunks to arrive. Once they did, she left Davy with Tippet to guard them while she went in search of transportation. She had quite a bit of money from the sale of the shop and house but had grown frugal during her stay in Boston, aware of money for the first time. Instead of hiring a post-chaise, which would cost her approximately a pound for each mile they traveled, she looked for a mail coach instead. After asking, she was directed to a mail coach office only a stone’s throw away.

A mail coach was loading as she arrived. Already, the interior of the coach had filled up with four passengers and bags of mail and she watched as seven people climbed atop the vehicle, one sitting next to the coach driver. She had two trunks, Davy, Tippet, and herself. They would need a mail coach all to themselves if that was how she chose to journey to London.

The vehicle took off and Caroline marched inside the office. After haggling with the clerk on duty, she purchased every ticket on the mail coach that would depart in two hours. It meant not only buying every ticket available but paying double to three passengers that had already bought their tickets. They seemed delighted to accept twice what they’d paid for their tickets and would be able to take a different coach in the morning. The cost still came out to be reasonable and affordable. It would also be much more comfortable for their journey to London.

She hired one of the pleased ticket holders to bring her trunks to the loading area and accompanied him to where Davy and Tippet patiently waited. The boy, only seven, had been orphaned and worked on the packet ship she’d taken from Boston. When he wasn’t on duty working as a cabin boy, he’d spent every waking minute with Caroline while she taught him to read. Davy was a quick study and she knew she could find a place for him in her father’s household. It would have been criminal to leave him aboard the ship, especially since he’d taken so to her. She’d speak to Stinch about Davy being trained as a footman or stable boy and never bother her father with the details.

Tippet, on the other hand, would be something that required a deft hand. Her father despised dogs and cats equally. Though she and Cynthia had begged for a pet, he’d always refused. The old Lady Caroline would have hidden Tippet in the stables and only visited him each day. The independent Caroline Andrews of Boston would boldly march in with Tippet and dare her father to say anything. Of course, that would mean he would actually have to be home when she arrived. Knowing the Earl of Templeton, he would be at one of his clubs with his cronies, playing cards and drinking the day—or night—away. Or with one of his many mistresses, which he never bothered to hide from his family. She hoped her future husband would use more discretion when it came to having a mistress.

If she even bothered with a husband.

Caroline had thought about that long and hard during the endless days at sea. She would be arriving in London the last week in March. The Season would begin in about two and a half weeks. She had no clothes appropriate to wear to anytonevent. She would have received no invitations to said events since she’d been gone for over three years and had never made her come-out. Moreover, she was now twenty-three years old, which would be considered on the shelf by most bachelors sampling the Marriage Mart. Those three strikes against her were enough to dissuade her from attempting to participate in her first Season.

The largest factor, though, was the fact that she didn’t think she wanted a husband. Her time in Boston had radically changed her. She wasn’t the meek, sweet-tempered girl she’d been when she left London. She’d returned informed, opinionated, and with some wealth. If she married, the profits she’d made from the bookshop and selling Aunt Evie’s home would belong to her husband the moment she spoke her vows.

Caroline wasn’t sure if she wanted to give up her independence and money for some man.

Finally, she had both trunks in hand, along with Davy and Tippet. She sent Davy to buy something for them to eat and he returned with meat pies. Tippet, in particular, enjoyed the treat. They boarded their mail coach when the time came. Her trunks were placed on top, along with several bags of mail, while she and her companions shared the interior with more sacks of correspondence. They changed horses about every two hours and arrived in London early the next afternoon.

Caroline flagged down a hackney driver and had him load her trunks while she hustled Davy and Tippet inside. She gave the driver the address to her father’s townhome and then settled in for the ride. Davy had never seen a city as large as London and kept shouting about the sights they passed. It delighted her to see him happy. Tippet barked occasionally, as if chiming in with his own opinion.

As they pulled into the square where the townhouse was located, she saw three riders exiting from the property that sat directly in front of them. It thrilled her that they might finally have neighbors. The place had stood vacant for periods of time and then was leased on occasion for a few months at a time. She’d heard rumors about a boy who was a marquess owning it but never living there since he was at school during the year and at his country estate in the summers. She hoped the boy had grown up and finally taken ownership of it. Perhaps, he’d even wed and had children. Caroline hoped so and that she could befriend his wife.

The cab turned and came to rest in front of her own residence. She lowered Davy to the ground and Tippet jumped out, barking. The driver helped her disembark and then removed her trunks as she watched the three on horseback turn from the square and head toward Hyde Park. The driver finished toting the trunks to the doorstep and Caroline paid him. Taking Davy’s hand and Tippet’s leash, she started toward the door as the cab pulled away.

Immediately, she halted in her tracks.

A black wreath adorned the front door. It could only mean one thing.

The Earl of Templeton was no more.

---