The Earl's Passionate Plot (14 page)

"Er, why?"

"Because that's what puppies do, man," Dovington replied. "Now why the devil are you here and not at the ball?"

"I needed to see the curate."

"So I gathered. Why?"

"Because...
I'm having a crisis of faith."

The curate didn't exactly let go of Miss Vandenhoff, but clearly Ned's statement intrigued him.

"Come in, Mr. Chadburne. I'll help you in any way that I can," Mr. Skrewd said, though Dovington had no idea how there could be any help for any of this.

"It's just that I
—" Ned began, then stopped when his eyes went back to the woman wrapped in the curate's arms. "Oh, hello, Miss Vandenhoff."

"Hello, Mr. Chadburne."

The room fell into silence again, so Dovington figured he'd better help the lad out.

"It appears Miss Vandenhoff has professed deep, abiding love for the curate here, Ned. From the looks of things, he appears in no hurry to rebuff her."

"I'll not rebuff her! I love her," Mr. Skrewd proclaimed.

Now Miss Vandenhoff turned her dewy eyes on Dovington and clenched even more tightly to the curate's narrow shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Lord Dovington," she sniffled. "I tried and tried to be so horrible that you wouldn't want me, but everyone was so nice to me no matter how awful I was. But then I met Ben and I... well, I won't marry anyone but him, no matter what my father says. We'll run away if we have to. That's why I asked him to meet me here now, so we could make plans in case..."

"In case your father made some kind of announcement tonight," Dovington finished for her and rolled his eyes.

It was almost as if he should have expected this. Things seemed to have been going far too easily. He should have known the damn curate would muck this up by...

Wait a moment. If Ben Skrewd was stupidly in love with Miss Vandenhoff, then that meant that he and Miss Langley hadn't been...
had they? Was she reeling with heartbreak right now? She didn't appear so. Mostly she was reeling with puppies.

He tried to study her face, to read her expression for any sign that she couldn't care less who Mr. Skrewd might end up married to, but Ned persisted with his interruptions.

"That's exactly why I came here!" he said, almost sounding ready to burst. "I thought I was doing the right thing, Dovey, and I had every intention of doing as you asked, but then you went away and Miss Langley insisted that we all enjoy ourselves and take so many outings and... well..."

"Don't tell me," Dovington stated. "You fell in love."

Ned seemed surprised that he should guess. He nodded. Dovington only hoped that his doleful expression as he gawked down at them did not have anything to do with Miss Langley. When it came to this particular lady, no standin was needed.

Or welcome.

"With whom, Ned?" he asked, steeling himself. "Am I going to approve of the match or should I advise you to turn tail and run?"

Ned put his shoulders back and stood very tall. "I'm in love with Miss Renford. And I'd very much like your blessing, Dovey."

Miss Renford. Thank God. Dovington could scarcely recall who that was just now, but it wasn't Miss Langley and that was all that truly mattered. Ned could have any other female on the planet as far as he was concerned. Clearly his plans to save his estate by attaching an heiress were never going to work out, so why not wish the boy happy?

Miss Langley, however, voiced her concern.

"Ella?" she fairly cried. "You wish to marry Ella? But she's too young! And she's not... and you're... surely his lordship is against it."

"No, Miss Renford is a fine young lady and I've nothing against her at all," Dovington said. "But this is hardly the place to discuss such things and my boots are being positively ruined. Why don't we all compose ourselves, then go back into the ball. Surely our absences have been noticed.
I'm sure Miss Vandenhoff's father will be much more inclined to favor Mr. Skrewd if he has not been thought to have absconded with her. And Ned... you might want to wipe your feet before going back inside."

Ned glanced at his boots and swore under his breath. Ah, puppies. Dovington asked himself just why he hadn't filled the halls with them at his estate. Were they truly so costly? Too much of a bother? Hell, they were adorable. And the carpets
at the Downs were threadbare and motheaten, anyway. By God, his first task when he returned to Surrey would be to find himself a puppy. One just about like these little charmers ought to do.

Their guests were abuzz and Mariah did her very best to smile for everyone and pretend to be happy. She stood off to the side and sipped her lemonade, trying to seem very much pleased with the events of the night. The earl had helped smooth things for Mr. Skrewd so he'd gotten the nerve to approach Mr. Vandenhoff and been accepted. He and the heiress were going to be wed.

Ella was dancing with Mr. Chadburne and Mamma had agreed that Mr. Chadburne might officially court her, with the stipulation that there would be no talk of engagement until after Ella's official come-out
next year. That seemed to suit everyone, especially the earl.

Mariah tried not to let her skeptical nature fret over the man's intentions at this point. Had he truly given his blessing to his cousin and Ella? It seemed unlikely, considering the previous goal. Was he simply biding his time, hoping that over the course of the coming months
the young, starry-eyed Ella would grow weary of Mr. Chadburne and that another eligible heiress might come along for him? Possibly.

What was Mariah to think of it all? With Miss Vandenhoff engaged to be married to their local curate, surely the Vandenhoff family was intending to stay here in this house. The rest of them surely could not stay. But where would they go?

It was hard to enjoy the entertainments of the evening while her mind was swirling with such thoughts.

"Dance with me, Miss Langley," the earl said, causing her to jump as he appeared at her side and whispered in her ear.

"No... I think not sir."

"And why is that? You've gone to so much trouble to make this event one your neighbors will speak of for months
yet to come. You should enjoy yourself."

"Yes, and that's why I would prefer not to dance, thank you."

"Oh. I see. It's like that."

"Like what?"

"You might prefer to dance, but not with me, is that correct?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't need to. You've been exhausting yourself trying to appear happy ever since we returned from the hut. Clearly my presence is troublesome for you."

She was not about to let him know just how troublesome it was. She had to keep her composure, find some way to appear unaffected by him.

"I'm simply preoccupied, sir. It is a very big task to oversee a ball, even a small one such as this."

"I wouldn't know, but you seem to have everything well in hand.
I daresay your sister has never been happier. Come, dance with me now."

"No!"

Perhaps her refusal had been a bit more forceful than intended. The Bensons were standing nearby and turned to watch them. She wasn't able to produce an actual honest smile, but she did give her best artificial one. The earl was clearly not deceived.

"If you won't dance, then
we're going for a walk," he said. "Come."

As usual, he was ordering her around, commanding
as if she should simply do as he said and take the arm that he offered. She couldn't, though. Heavens no! She knew only too well how little she could trust her own common sense when in close contact with the man. She didn't dare take his arm or let him lead her anywhere.

"I should stay here
," she said quickly. "My mother may have need of me."

"
Your mother is find. Ned is busy doting on her and your sister, so I think it's fair to say they will not miss you for a short while."

"But I need to... that is, we shouldn't go
—"

He interrupted her by apparently going into a spasm and pouring the contents of her lemonade glass all over her gown.
She gasped in surprise.

"Goodness, what have you done?"

"Oh, so sorry, Miss Langley," he said loudly, taking her now-empty glass and putting it on the nearest table. "What a looby I am. Here, let me help you."

He took out his handkerchief and would have gone to dabbing at her front if she had not slapped his hand away. She could not have this man pawing at her here, in front of everyone! What was he thinking?

"Come, I'll help you find someone to attend this," he said, taking her by the elbow and ushering her toward the doorway.

She was too shocked by his actions to take note of their direction at first, but when at last she came to her senses she realized he was leading her out of the ball room and into the corridor, not toward the front part of the house that was all lit up to entertain guests, but toward the rear. Where it was dark. Where he had kissed her just a couple hours earlier.

And she realized she was allowing it. She was walking beside him, pretending to worry over the damage to her gown that had already seen the floor of a hut, the antics of puppies, and the bottoms of Mr. Skrewd's boots. This recent splash of lemonade could hardly be cause for concern.

Lord Dovington's actions, however, certainly were. As soon as he got her away from the noise of the dance and any prying eyes that might be around, he stopped. She whirled round to face him, but he had her in his arms long before she had any chance to scold him.

If indeed that's what she'd been prepared to do. At the moment, it was hard to think of anything but letting him hold her and search for her lips with his own. The dim light was no hindrance there. He kissed her long and hard.

Finally he gave her a moment to catch her breath.

"You let me do that, Miss Langley," he said quietly. "Yet you refuse to dance?"

"I... I didn't want people to look at me and to think that... well, they might think I was
trying to attach myself to you."

"And that would be so very horrible because...?"

"Because I would never do that, sir."

She hoped he would ignore the fact that she was clinging to him now
with such force that a charging buffalo could likely not unattach her. It was too dark for her to clearly read any nuances of emotion in his shadowed expression, but the feel of his arms still tight around her seemed to be a good sign. All she could do was stare up into those midnight eyes and pray she could answer the questions they were asking.

"Is that why you're upset? The thought of attachment, of a connection to me is so very unpleasant for you? My cousin wishes to wed your sister and you can't bear the fact that we share the same bloodline?"

Indeed, she'd not been thinking of his cousin at all, to be very honest. The mention of him in this moment confused her.

"What?"

He put her away from him, holding her at arm's length and studying her carefully.

"I promise you, Miss Langley, he is a good man. He's much better than I have ever been, or likely ever will be. If he loves your sister, and I believe he's convinced that he does, he'll never betray her or give her reason for pain. He
will have a slight fortune that will come to him upon his marriage, but I assure you he is not given to excess or waste. If she still wishes to marry him when she comes of age, I pray you don't let his connection to me turn you against him."

"Turn me against him? Of course I would not. How could I?
Mr. Chadburne is a good man, just as you say. He's been honest and kind, and he's shown far more intelligence than you have in all of this."

"I'm glad
that you... wait, more intelligence?"

"
Well, he certainly hasn't been moping around, believing some ridiculous rubbish about what a terrible person he is just because his father was a ne'er-do-well, has he?"

"But his father
was
a ne'er-do-well. He died of drink in the bed of his mistress when Ned was still in leading strings."

"And you'd have him marry
my
precious sister?"

"But he isn't like that! I tell you, he never took after his father, or mine. He's more like his mother's family, and they are excellent people."

"I see. So I take it your mother's people are not."

Now she could see anger in his eyes. He dropped his arms and stepped back from her, ending up in front of a window with moonlight spilling over him.

"My mother was an angel, and her family above reproach. Her father welcomed us when life with my father got to be too difficult for her. Until he died when I was at my first year of school, my grandfather was more parent to me than my father was in all of his life."

"And you repay that by pushing off your responsibility onto your cousin and expecting him to carry the title for you after you're gone?"

"I had my reasons for making that choice, but—"

"They are not very good reasons, whatever they are," she insisted. "
Other than this troubling proclivity you show to keep putting your hands all over me, I've found no evidence at all that you are half as awful as you claim."

"Perhaps you don't know me very well."

"I know that you dumped all of my step-father's best spirits out the window rather than drink them."

"That was a colossal error on my part."

"And you didn't raise a finger to prevent your cousin or Miss Vandenhoff from avoiding a match neither of them were, apparently, pleased with."

"Which will no doubt haunt my finances for the rest of my life."

"And you were very gentle with those puppies even though they did dreadful things to your boots."

"You cannot use puppies to argue against me, Miss Langley. I've more than enough shortcomings to make up for a few gentle words here and there. I assure you, there have been more times than I care to recall when I did not dump the spirits out the window but made short work of them, just the same. And if you recall, I was the one who set up the arrangement between Ned and Miss Vandenhoff in the first place, whether they liked it or not."

"Clearly they did not."

"
I've been hard-nosed and unpleasant to nearly everyone I know. I've made choices so idiotic they'd make your head swim. Indeed, Miss Langley, it's true. I am my father's son; don't tell me my estimation of myself is inaccurate."

"But it is, and if you had half a brain you could see that
," she announced.

"Is that so?
" he said. "Well, even without half a brain I've been intelligent enough not to doom myself to spinsterhood simply due to some foolish notion that anyone still cares about the long-ago details of my origins."

"
Are you insulting me, sir?"

"No, you do so yourself with mind-numbing regularity, my dear. You carry your bastard status as some sort of badge pinned on your chest, waving it for all the world to see and to condemn. As if there is anything about you that does not scream quality and breeding
."

"I have neither quality nor breeding, thank you very much. My mother and I lived in shame and rejection the first years of my life and I can still remember the other children whispering that I
had no father. Whispers don't go away, you know. They will follow me forever."

"And you will deny yourself a future, a home, simply because of those whispers?"

"Whose home would have me, sir? No decent person should have to live with that. I should think you would applaud me for not putting my burden on anyone else, for sparing others the shame of my illegitimacy."

He opened his mouth to dispute her, then apparently thought better of it. She had little time to be smug, though. Before she knew it, he'd pulled her into the glow of the moonlight with him and he was wrapping himself tightly around her. Again.

And she loved it.

"The only thing shameful about you, Miss Langley, is the way you feel in my arms," he said.
"And I am scoundrel and blackguard enough to keep you here just as long as you're willing."

"If you really were a scoundrel
you wouldn't care that I was willing."

But she was. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was hopelessly willing. She hoped he wouldn't notice, but it was likely that he did. The way she pressed herself against him and
gazed up into his wonderful eyes, waiting for his kiss, was probably difficult for him to misinterpret.

"So you persist in your claims that I am a decent human being and not well on the road to adding further ruin and disgrace to my family name?"

"I do. You cannot convince me otherwise."

"I say you are wrong. I
'm a dreadful person and there is no way I should even contemplate making a life for myself with a wife and a family."

"You could make an excellent life for yourself, if you'd only put your mind to it."

"Is that so? Well, if you are so very certain, Miss Langley, you ought to just marry me to spite me. That would certainly teach me a lesson. You could show me I'm everything you say that I am and then laugh in my face."

"I most certainly ought to, and then... wait, what was that?"

He laughed, cupping her face in his hands and watching her closely.

"Marry me, Mariah. No, don't stare at me like that and try to shake your head. Maybe I am a little bit of an ogre,
because I'm not going to take No for an answer."