Page 8 of To Redeem an Earl

Sophia breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no support from her family for Cecil’s attempts to bring her and Lord Leech together. “Yes.”

A lively country dance was in full swing when the two men reached them. Cecil introduced the unsavory gentleman, and Lady Moreland did her best rendition of a polite but disapproving mama, which both men ignored.

Once pleasantries were exchanged, Lord Leech turned his malevolent eyes to Sophia. They were a strange amber color, nearly yellow, that reminded her of a snake. His strange eyes flicked over her face and bosom in a manner that made her skin crawl, before his gaze returned to hers. The icy depths contained no hint of humanity as he reached for the dance card tied to her wrist. “Miss Hayward, your brother’s description of your beauty does you no justice. Shall we take a turn around the ballroom?”

Sophia pulled her arm away, not wanting to feel his touch. “La, my lord! I am so flattered by your esteemed attention. Alas, I just turned my ankle a few minutes ago and I can feel it swelling as we speak. I am afraid there will be no more dancing for this evening.”

A muscle ticked along Lord Leech’s jaw as if he clenched his teeth. “How unfortunate. Perhaps I could have the honor of a dance with you at the Yardley ball, then?”

“We shall see,” interjected Lady Moreland. “We will not know any more about the injury until the physician is called. Best not to make any plans.”

Leech’s eyes twitched to look back at her chaperone. “Of course, my lady.”

Bowing deeply, Leech and Cecil made their departure. Both Sophia and her aunt exhaled in relief as they walked away.

Lady Moreland shook her head. “I am deeply concerned about Cecil if he is spending time with someone such as Lord Leech. What could they possibly share in common?”

“Nothing worthwhile,” Sophia said tightly, her stomach tied up in knots of fear. “Nothing worthwhile.”

CHAPTER3

Richard watched from his study window while Caroline Brown descended from the carriage he had sent for her. He guessed this was her first time visiting London, at his request, and based on her expression, she found the city overwhelming. She had probably never seen so many people, buildings, horses, heard so much sound, smelled so much humanity. London was more … everything. She appeared quite out of sorts as she stared up at the four towering stories of Balfour Terrace, stretching five bays wide. Visibly gulping, she headed toward the servants’ staircase.

“Mrs. Brown?” Although the window muffled the words, he could just hear them. His man, Long, called her by her courtesy title, a privilege of being a housekeeper in a respectable household, but to Richard’s knowledge she was not a Mrs.Merely a secretly fallen woman because of unfortunate encounters with me, so mayhap some similarity with married women, albeit only in the bedroom.

Long assisted his man of business with Richard’s vast holdings, and he had sent his loyal agent to find the former maid at the home of her employer days earlier. His man would have invited her to London for an audience with Richard, who had been expecting their arrival for some hours.

Out in the street, Caroline looked back at Mr. Long in question.

“Lord Saunton has invited you as an honored guest.” Mr. Long held up his hand to indicate the way up the steps toward the front door. Richard could just make out her eyes widening in surprise as she stood undecided. “Please, come this way, Mrs. Brown.”

Fidgeting nervously, the young woman most likely pondered her low status while she considered the front door. A common servant who had worked hard and raised her station to that of housekeeper in a doctor’s household after Richard had nearly destroyed her future two years earlier. She was fortunate that after betraying Miss Annabel Ridley, her mistress had seen fit to find her a new position. Annabel would have been well within her rights to dismiss the kitchen maid without a second thought.

Richard could only assume the young woman to be confused by his invitation, but he had sent Long because the man could be most persuasive. He wondered how she had organized her affairs to accompany Mr. Long to the great city of London. Truly, she would have no idea why she was here, and she must believe that she had no business walking in the front door of a fine home such as Balfour Terrace in the famous Mayfair district.

“Mrs. Brown, the earl insisted you are to be treated as a guest. He will be most displeased with me if he learns you entered through the servants’ entrance.”

The young woman reluctantly rejoined him and ascended the steps out of Richard’s view. Long reappeared shortly, descending the steps toward the carriage.

“Mr. Long?” Richard heard Caroline call out in an alarmed tone.

Her companion was halfway down the front steps. He stopped to look back.

“Are you not joining me?”

“Nay, Mrs. Brown. I will return to escort you back to Filminster, but I have errands to run. The earl and his staff will take good care of you in my absence.”

Richard assumed the woman must have looked anxious from the cajoling that followed that statement. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Brown. I think you will be pleased to hear what his lordship has to say.” Long gave an encouraging smile. Evidently, he succeeded in allaying her fears because he nodded a goodbye and continued his descent.

Richard turned back to his desk, anxiously checking his cravat and tailcoat. He could not deny he was nervous about this meeting.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

Radcliffe entered. Behind the butler, Richard could see Caroline peering into his study with an expression that mirrored his own internal ferment. “Mrs. Brown is here to see you.”

The young woman grimaced behind the manservant before being shown into the study. She came to a halt in the middle of the lavish room, looking around in bewilderment.

Richard pasted a smile on his lips and stepped around his desk to give a short bow. In a surreal moment, he thought about Caroline’s perspective—what she might be thinking as her eyes flittered over the bottle-green wallpaper, the white trim, the polished mahogany desk and matching shelves. Her gaze rested for a moment on the set of plump wingback armchairs, upholstered in a cheerful ivory fabric patterned with rich greens, reds, and golds, before skittering to fall to the rug, which she stared at pensively.

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