Enticing the Earl (4 page)

The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her. But she deserved to learn the truth about the man she was in love with. If it put Davies in an even worse light in her eyes, all the better.

M
ia spent the entire next day reading in bed and becoming dreadfully bored. Hart had been busy all day with the estate, not allowing him much time to visit. Her mother could only stay a few minutes because one of Middleton’s tenants needed her. But today would be different.

She was determined to stop feeling sorry for herself and get out of the earl’s house. After three days in bed, she had to get back to her work of healing others. With her sister off chasing Middleton’s brother in London, her mother was trying to manage the tenants on both estates. Her mother couldn’t do that alone.

As she walked toward the linen press, her rib ached but she attempted to ignore the pain. The binding on her rib was so tight so she shouldn’t do any damage.

The door to her room opened and her mother strode in. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“Leaving.” Mia opened the linen press doors. “I have been here for three days and I am ready to get back home.”

“Get back in that bed this minute. You are going nowhere.”

“Mother, you have the earl’s tenants and Viscount Middleton’s tenants to take care of. It’s too much.” Mia pulled out the cornflower muslin dress her mother had left yesterday.

“I did it for years before Tia took over.”

“But you were—”

“Do not say, I was younger then,” her mother interrupted indigently. “I am only forty-five. I think I still have a few good years left in me.”

“Of course you do.” She walked back toward the bed and placed the dress on it. “Please help me dress.”

“No. Back in bed now or I will get Hart up here to convince you.”

Mia turned so quickly toward her mother that she gasped from the pain in her side. “You would not do such a thing.”

“I most certainly will. You are not well enough to leave and that look of pain on your face proves it.” Her mother picked up the dress and placed it in the linen press. “Now off to bed.”

Mia blinked back tears. Once again, her mother didn’t need her help. But when had she ever? She hadn’t even thought enough of her to let her take over Middleton’s tenants. Instead, she had told Tia to do it. Her stubborn twin didn’t even want to be a healer. And after she deserted Middleton’s tenants to chase after his brother, her mother had still refused to let Mia move there.

“Back in bed,” her mother demanded again.

Why fight her any longer? Perhaps she would just lie in bed for a fortnight. Then her mother could do it all as she wanted. “Very well.”

Mia climbed back into bed and closed her eyes. Maybe her mother would just leave now. But of course, she didn’t. She fussed over Mia, checking her bindings and bruises.

“You are starting to heal but leaving now and trying to get back to your normal routine would only hinder your progress.”

Mia nodded. In her heart, she knew her mother was right.

“I will return tomorrow. Please try to stay in bed today. I know it’s difficult when you are used to being so active. But I need you healthy.” Her mother pushed the covers up over Mia’s shoulders and then bent over and kissed her cheek. “I will check on you in the morning.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Hart would like to visit with you. Are you up to it?”

“Not right now. I would prefer to be alone.” And wallow in self-pity. Something she almost never did.

Katherine Featherstone walked out of the bedchamber and sighed. She had given birth to the two most stubborn girls in the world. But she was just as determined not to see either one hurt.

She walked down the marble steps to speak with Hart. “Where is the earl?”

Thomas, the youngest of the earl’s footmen, turned away from his post at the door. “He is in the study.”

“Thank you.”

“Shall I announce you?”

Katherine shook her head. “No, he is expecting me.” She walked down the long corridor to the earl’s study. She knocked on the door and waited to be allowed in.

“Come in.”

She strolled into the large room and nodded to the earl. “She is not in a good mood.”

“Oh?”

“She is quite petulant this morning.”

Hart smiled and then took a seat across from her. “And why is that?”

“She wants to leave.”

“That is not happening until we find Allan Davies. Did you tell her that?”

“No,” Katherine replied. “I believe
you
should be the one to inform her.” A footman brought tea in and placed it on the table between them. Katherine poured two cups and handed one to the earl.

“Thank you.” He took a sip and then said, “So you would like her to be angry with me?”

She looked up at the coffered ceiling. “I think she would take the news better from you than I.”

“I understand.”

“Do you?” Katherine couldn’t understand why he hadn’t talked to Mia about staying before now.

“What exactly do you want me to do, Mrs. Featherstone? The last time we talked you told me to do whatever it takes to protect her. How far do you want me to go?”

She liked his directness. He was a strong man but one who would never hurt her daughter. She had always known they belonged together. “What are your intentions?”

“Marriage.”

Katherine sighed softly. She had expected an arrangement, not marriage. It was highly inappropriate to ask a woman of Mia’s station to be his wife. “She will never agree to that.”

“Yes, she will. We will be wed before the end of September.”

Katherine rose slowly from her seat. “Good luck, my lord. I will be happy to have you as a son but I don’t believe she will allow it.”

“We shall see.”

 

After meeting with the Bow Street runner that afternoon, Simon decided it was time to speak with Mia again. She needed to hear what the runner had said about Davies. She needed to know the danger she was in so she would realize why she needed to stay at Hartsfield Park.

“Miss Featherstone, may I come in?”

Hearing no reply, Simon took a deep breath and released it before cracking the door and peering inside. She lay on her side, facing the wall away from the door. He assumed she was asleep until a little sniffle gave her away. He didn’t think he had ever seen her cry. Worried that she might be in more pain than she’d let on, he quietly walked to the bed.

“Please go away,” she implored him.

“Why are you crying, Mia?”

“I am not crying,” she said with a sniffle.

Unable to bear the pain in her voice, he lay down on the bed and put his arm around her. She immediately stiffened.

“What are you doing?”

“Just comforting a dear friend.” He gently rubbed her arm until her muscles relaxed. “We are friends, aren’t we? After all, we have known each other since we were children.”

“I suppose we are friends.”

“So why are you upset?”

“I am just feeling sorry for myself.”

“I suppose that is understandable in this situation. I’m just wondering why now. Did your mother say something that upset you?” Her mother was a hard woman. The tension grew thick whenever Mia and her mother were together.

“Nothing more than usual.”

He decided not to say anything for a moment to see if she would continue. Perhaps she would feel the need to fill the silence that quickly enveloped them.

Finally, she whispered, “I just don’t understand why no man can ever love me.”

Now, he was at the heart of the matter. “That’s not true, Mia. Davies was a monster. No real man hits a woman.”

“It’s not just him. Paul Smyth was no different, well, except he never hit me. Instead, he lied to me and told me I was the only woman he loved all the while he was engaged to be married. He used me... just like Davies. I just don’t know why Davies used me.”

“Why do you think he used you?”

She laughed coarsely. “What else would you call it?”

“How did you meet him?”

“I was walking home from church. My mother hadn’t been able to attend so I was alone. He stopped and asked me for directions.”

“Directions? To where?”

“Cheadle. He said he wasn’t from around here. Then the next week, he was there again, waiting for me.” Mia looked down. “He said he hadn’t been able to put me out of his mind. We walked together for a while and talked. Before long he asked me to...”

Her voice trailed off but Simon knew what she meant. “We shall figure all this out, Mia.” As much as he wanted to tell her how he felt about her, Simon knew this was not the time. She would need time to learn to trust him before he could tell her the truth. But he was determined to make her understand the danger she still faced. “You must believe me that not all men are like that, Mia.”

“Perhaps not when you’re a member of Society and the men are all supposed to be gentlemen. But out in the country, the men can act as they like. Women are nothing but chattel to be used and discarded as desired.”

Simon couldn’t help but chuckle. That laugh forced Mia to slowly turn and face him with a frown. He realized with a start just how close they were on the bed. And alone.

“You think this is humorous?”

“No,” he said softly. “I think your opinion of Society’s men is. I have met more men in London who believe woman are for nothing but their pleasure than I have out here.”

Her shoulders dropped. “So all men are the same and I should just give up on ever finding a man who will love me for who I am.”

“No, I just don’t think you should idolize any man who gives you attention.”

“Perhaps not.”

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable with how close he was with her, he moved off the bed. “I actually came to talk to you about something important.”

“What is wrong?”

He walked over to the window and drew back the velvet curtain. The expanse of his land always amazed him. He loved the rolling hills lined by trees and fertile fields. Hartsfield was his favorite estate.

“Hart?”

“I called a Bow Street runner in from London. I want him to find Allan Davies.”

“You don’t need to do this. I’m sure he has left the neighborhood by now.”

He turned back and stared at the beautiful woman on the bed. Her bruises were starting to turn a slight greenish tone now. In a few days, even her ribs would be feeling better. He had to make her understand the danger she faced. “Mr. Tanner believes Davies chose you on purpose.”

“What do you mean?”

“He thinks Davies had an ulterior motive for choosing you.”

“Why would he do that?” she asked in a shaky tone.

“That’s what we need to determine.” Simon moved a chair closer to the bed and sat down. “North and I checked the house where you met him. There was absolutely nothing of a personal nature there.”

“He hadn’t lived there long.”

“Perhaps not, but there were only two plates and cups in the house. No letters were there, no paintings or miniatures of relatives, no journal, and almost no food. He didn’t live there, Mia. He used that place only to meet with you.”

She remained silent, staring at her hands.

“Did he ever say anything to make you think he was looking for information about something or someone?”

She frowned in thought before slowly shaking her head. “I don’t remember him asking anything too personal.”

“You said he wouldn’t step on my lands, as if he were frightened of me. Did he ever say why that was?”

“No,” she answered. “He wouldn’t admit that you scared him, Hart.”

“Mia,” he started softly. “Mr. Tanner still believes you are in danger. No one knows this man. North asked his tenants and I asked about him in Cheadle. Only a man hiding something or hiding from something does this.”

Her brown eyes widened. “Are you trying to frighten me?”

“I am trying to make you understand the dangers of this situation and why your mother insisted you stay here.” Damn, he didn’t mean to blurt that out.

“You know about that?”

He nodded sharply. “Your mother and I both agreed that you should stay here for your safety.”

“I see.”

Hearing the bitterness in her voice, he had to calm her down. “Mia, it is for your own good.”

“For how long?”

“At least until Davies is caught,” he said cautiously.

“At least?” She glared at him. “What do you mean by at least?”

“Mia, I would like to suggest something to you but you need to hear me out before answering. Is that all right?”

She tilted her head in a questioning manner. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Very well, what are you suggesting?”

He might not be so nervous if the tone of her voice had been a little warmer. “I need a wife.”

“You are not—”

“You said you would hear me out,” he interrupted. “I am almost thirty. I need a wife and I want children.” He watched her eyes grow wide as her head started shaking. “I can keep you safe. No one can touch you here.” He took a deep breath and said, “I would like to marry you.”