Page 43 of Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs 3)

Chapter Fourteen

Luke prayed noneof his very helpful family would invite themselves along, especially since everyone present knew how he felt about Caroline. Thankfully, no one spoke up and offered to accompany them.

Instead, all the women made plans on when to stop by tomorrow morning to see Evie’s. Even Cor was eager to go. Before Luke and Caroline left, Cor pulled them aside and motioned Jeremy over to join them.

“If you don’t find furniture to your liking, you might want to check with Jeremy,” his grandmother said. “The attics at Eversleigh are filled with unused furniture.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” his brother said. “I used to go up and play in the attics when I was young. I was always up to some sort of mischief,” he told Caroline.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been up there,” Luke said.

“You had Rachel. You were closer in age,” Jeremy said. “I was the only sibling for a good while. I had to find ways to entertain myself. Cor’s right. All the pieces up there are sitting. See what you have now and then you can always make a trip to Eversleigh and pull some of that and put it to use. Or if you’d like Rachel to do so, I’m sure she’d be willing to help. You must have quite a bit left to do in order to see to opening so soon.”

Caroline nodded. “With Rachel supervising the changes to the interior and Luke and our two cooks working on creating the menu and purchasing supplies, my main task will be assembling the inventory and seeing it properly catalogued for either sale or circulation. That is a daunting task.”

“Why not start with your father’s library?” Luke suggested. “It would give you a foundation to work from.”

“An even better reason to go check it out now,” she agreed.

They said their goodbyes and when Luke wanted to send for the carriage, Caroline refused.

“We are but a few blocks. Besides, I could stand to walk off some of that tea.”

He laughed. “I think we all overindulged.”

As he led her down the street, they talked about which sweets ranked highest with everyone and ways to feature a special every couple of weeks. By the time they reached the former Earl of Templeton’s house, they were in high spirits.

Caroline paused at the door and reached inside her reticule, withdrawing the key.

“I never needed a key,” she shared as she unlocked the door. “I was always with Mama and Cynthia. A footman or Stinch would let us in.”

He closed the door and asked, “Where to first?”

“The library, I think. It’s a logical place to begin. It’s this way.”

As they went, he noticed blank spaces on the walls and figured the earl had sold off some paintings, trying to ease the crushing burden of debt that beleaguered him. Once they reached the library, he noticed more empty spaces.

Caroline glanced around and said, “I’m sure you’ve noticed the bare walls. Father must have sold much of the artwork. I also have noticed a few missing vases. At least there’s still some furniture left. But let’s get to what’s important—the books.”

They took some minutes skimming the shelves.

“I’ll need to make a list of everything here but this gives me a good idea of what I have.” She indicated two shelves. “These are all first editions. If Father would have realized how valuable they were, they would have been the first to be gone.”

“Was your father a great reader?” Luke asked. “He’s got a large collection of Shakespeare. Chapman’s translations ofThe IliadandThe Odyssey.Milton. Pope. Congreve.”

She eyed him with interest. “You sound familiar with all of those works.”

“I am. Remember, I told you I enjoy reading. I wasn’t interested in literature as a schoolboy but when I went off to university and could follow my own interests, I took a liking to reading and have kept up with it ever since. Plays. Poetry. Novels.” He laughed. “Even pamphlets on farming techniques and livestock breeding.”

“You’re interested in that?”

“I am a landowner. My estate is called Fairhaven. I’m responsible for a large group of tenants. I’m always experimenting, seeing if we can get a greater yield of crops from the land.”

“You surprise me, Luke. To the world, you present a devil may care image. You are much deeper than what you let on.”

“And that’s a good thing?” he asked softly.

“Definitely.”

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