Page 9 of To Redeem an Earl

“Mrs. Brown?”

Caroline whipped her head back to him. Richard was careful not to smile the characteristic glib smile he used to seduce women, but schooled his face to display concern.

“Mrs. Brown, are you all right?”

“What am I doing here?” she whispered.

Richard looked over her shoulder. “Radcliffe, please bring tea and refreshments. Mrs. Brown must be exhausted after days on the road. Mrs. Brown, please take a seat?”

Carefully, he took her by the arm and steered her to the seating area, urging her to sit. She plopped down in a daze. After a moment, she untied her bonnet, placed it on the end of the table between them, and smoothed her hair with a trembling hand.

“I am sorry for the suspense, Mrs. Brown. When you hear what I have to say, it will be worth it, I assure you.” With that, he took the seat opposite, his fingers drumming on the arm of his chair while he collected his thoughts.

“I summoned you to London because I wanted to make my … apologies …”

Caroline frowned in confusion.

“First, please, tell me how you have been since I last saw you?”

Caroline cleared her throat. “I am … fine, I suppose. Miss Ridley—I mean, the Duchess of Halmesbury—and Mrs. Harris assisted me to find a new position as a maid with the local doctor after she … caught us …meeting… in the stables.” She mirrored his own state of agitation with her awkward mumbling.They both well knew the disreputable circumstances of their last encounter. “Since that time, the doctor’s housekeeper retired, so I was promoted to running his household. So I guess everything has worked out for the best.”

“I am so glad to hear that.” Richard did not reveal that he had gathered this information on her before the meeting. She was clearly distressed. “I wanted to apologize to you … for my seduction … or perhaps a better word would be my interruption of your life.”

Caroline looked at the earl, aghast. “Apologize, my lord?”

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, tugging at his cravat. “It was not well done of me, seducing you under your mistress’s nose. And, after she found us, I did not step in to take any responsibility for you. If Miss Ridley had not decided to find you the new position, you would have been destitute, and I am profoundly embarrassed regarding my behavior with you.”

“I … see. I cannot blame you for the decisions I made, my lord.” Caroline dropped her head, shame reflected on her face. What he had done to this young woman, it was her secret burden to bear that she was a fallen woman. Fortunately, those who knew about her trysts with him had elected to keep the affair private.

“That is generous, but I do blame myself. I had considerable experience that I brought to bear when I seduced you. Not to sound conceited, but few women would have resisted.”

“I see. While it is very kind of you to apologize, is that why I am here in London? It seems to me you could have sent me a letter to state your apology and spared yourself a great deal of trouble bringing me here.”

“No … I wanted to apologize in person and to make an attempt at amends. I wish to make reparations … in the form of funds. Funds you could use to change your current circumstances or could be a means to your retirement in the future. I was thinking of putting two hundred pounds in your name.”

Caroline gasped. Richard knew that two hundred pounds was a fortune for a woman in her position. His earlier meetings with similar women from his past had proved quite—

“No.”

No? What on earth?“No?”

“No. It would make me feel like a kept woman. I did not engage in relations with you for funds.”

Richard’s chest tightened in dismay. Would she not allow him to make amends? This was unexpected. He needed to assist her in some way to free his soul, but— “But Mrs. Brown, I want to do this. To take responsibility for my actions as I should have done—”

“No. I accept your apology, but I need something else … not a payoff.”

Oh, thank the Lord! She had a request of some sort. She was not merely refusing a small fortune.

Richard leaned forward eagerly. “There is something I can assist you with?”

“I do not wish to sound presumptive, but Miss Ridley and I were friends. Did you know that?”

He frowned. “I did not.”

“I came to work in her household as a girl. Miss Ridley gifted me a book, and when she discovered I could not read, she taught me. She also taught me numbers and showed me how to manage an accounting book. She purchased me fabrics, and she prepared me … to follow my dreams.”

“Dreams?”

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