Intentions of the Earl (17 page)

“Mama’s family can trace its way back to some
of the first settlers in the colony of Virginia in the sixteen
hundreds; some of them later spread to the Carolinas, hence her
name. Anyway, they have always been a very patriotic family and
fought fiercely for independence. Her family still says that quote
frequently. Mama has a plaque on her bedchamber wall with it
engraved on it, and when I was born they couldn’t think of a name
for me. When Mama looked across the room and saw the plaque, she
decided on Liberty right then and there.”

This time it was the duke who asked a
question. “What of Miss Madison’s name? It isn’t a place or a
definition. I am aware that the current president of the United
States is named James Madison, but he has not been in office
Madison’s whole life.”

Brooke decided to answer him before Liberty
would ramble on again about a bunch of information that no one,
save her family, cared about. “Actually, she is named for the
current President. As you pointed out, he was not the president all
her life, but he did help to write the United States Constitution.
Papa and Mama picked her name because his last name sounded as if
it would make a good first name for a girl.”

“What I fail to understand is why your
English bred father would allow his daughters to have such American
names. It’s as if he’s not being true to his homeland,” Lady
Burbank said with disgust and disapproval evident in her voice.

Nobody responded, there wasn’t anything to
say to that.

It was true Papa was English and nothing
could ever change that. Yet, he had allowed his daughters to take
on names that symbols of where they were from and what the United
States stood for. It would seem a disgrace to English
loyalists.

The rest of the meal was spent trying to
avoid the topic of their names or any mention of the United States
in general. For her part, Brooke just kept silent. She was too busy
trying to make quick glances down the table to where Andrew was
sitting with Lady Olivia.

She had looked like a cat in cream when she
entered the room perched on Andrew’s arm. Maybe Lady Olivia was
right, maybe she would win Andrew after all, if she hadn’t already,
that is. She had surely started to dig her claws in, and made quite
a show doing it.

Brooke remembered how Andrew immediately
dumped her off with her parents to go back to Lady Olivia. Just
remembering it made Brooke’s skin begin to feel warm with anger. He
probably decided Lady Olivia was a better long term match and
needed to put on his best front with her, which would mean not
associating with Brooke any longer.

Brooke wasn’t going to dwell on this. If
that’s the choice he made, that was fine with her. She’d just form
a new connection and flaunt her happiness in his face, if there was
any, that is. If there wasn’t, she’d pretend there was.

She turned to survey her options. To her left
Mr. Cook was drinking his wine as rapidly as the footman was
refilling his glass, that wouldn’t do. She looked across the table
to Mr. Grimes. He appeared decent enough, but a little rigid.
Something about him struck her as cold and not very malleable, he
wouldn’t do for her purposes, either.

That only left Gateway, who probably hated
her, and for good reason, too. But that couldn’t be helped, he was
the only one left. She turned her head to look at him. He wasn’t
looking at her, but he acted like he was clearly aware of her
stare.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he
beat her to it. “Don’t even think about it, Miss Banks.”

She flushed. “Think about what, Your
Grace?”

“I know what you’re up to. You haven’t tried
very diligently to be discreet about your thoughts or future
intentions.” His voice was low and hard.

“What would those be?” she asked innocently,
but her voice was unusually high pitched.

“I have been told about a little connection
that you and Townson have formed. However, now you’ve spotted him
with that vulture they call Lady Olivia and you’ve decided that
since he has so easily found another lady to woo, you shall find
another beau to flaunt before his eyes.” He smiled at her silent
admission he was right so far which came in the form of a slight
half-nod. “What I cannot figure out is whether you mean to flaunt
that beau, or should I say me, in front of him to make him see
reason and come running back to you, or if you want to make him
jealous for not making the correct decision to begin with.”

“You have read my mind like a book, Your
Grace.” Brooke said humbly. She bit her lip in aggravation and
sighed. “Although, it's not like I ever really had him to begin
with,” she finished dully.

“If you want my advice, Miss Banks,” the duke
said gently, “I believe you are more important to him than Lady
Olivia ever could be. I do believe in no time he will return to
stick in your side like a bur, just as before.”

Brooke hoped he was right. She knew she
shouldn’t feel jealous at seeing Lady Olivia with Andrew, but she
did. It wasn’t as if he had declared himself to her, but she
thought he might, and that would cause anyone to be jealous.

Until now, she hadn’t realized just how much
she had been counting on Andrew declaring himself to her and
eventually asking for her hand in marriage. Flaunting another in
his face wasn’t going to help the situation, nor was it going to
make her feel any better. She’d just have to fight for what she
wanted, Lady Olivia be damned.

As was the custom, the ladies congregated in
the drawing room following dinner while the gentlemen enjoyed their
own company for a bit before rejoining the ladies.

“Did either of you have a more pleasant
dinner than I did?” Brooke asked her sisters when they were
comfortably seated on a secluded settee.

“No,” Liberty answered without a bit of
hesitation. “As you know, I had to sit next to the dreadful Mr.
Grimes. He has the personality of a brick.”

“Then you two are well suited, indeed,”
Brooke quipped.

Liberty rolled her eyes. “I’m being serious.
The man is as stiff as a fire poker. He doesn’t smile or laugh at
anything, nor does he seem to speak unless absolutely necessary.
Having a conversation with a person like that is painful.”

“I agree with Brooke, you two are a match
made in heaven,” Madison said with a little laugh.

Liberty rolled her eyes again. “That man is
not the one for me. Now, tell us what Mr. Thomas was like,
Madison.”

“He was very nice. More interesting than
either of your companions it seems,” Madison said with a slight
laugh.

“That’s not saying much,” Liberty
mumbled.

“Who knew that the one of us that is not
interested in making a match was matched up with the best
gentleman,” Brooke said, imitating Lady Olivia’s pout.

Brooke was surprised when Liberty didn’t
reprove her comment, but laughed right along with her and Madison.
Maybe there was hope for her after all.

At Brooke’s urging, Madison told them about
Mr. Thomas and his excellent company. “We talked about many
interesting subjects, or should I say people. Mr. Thomas has an
interest in gossip and he knows all the most interesting tidbits
about all the members of the
ton
. He felt compelled to share
all his knowledge with me, which I listened to only out of
politeness of course.”

“I’ll just bet you did,” Brooke said with an
unfeminine laugh. Madison always had a little trouble with
listening to and enjoying gossip. Papa had tried to discourage her
from this, saying it was sinful, but Madison struggled with it just
the same. It was a point in her favor that she didn’t further
spread the gossip, and for that alone, their Papa had sung songs of
rejoice.

“Well, it would have been impolite not to
listen, and I would not like to disappoint Miss Propriety over
here,” she said with a pointed look at Liberty.

“You did well,” Liberty assured her, her
approval evident.

Brooke was about to ask if Mr. Thomas had
mentioned anything about Andrew when Lady Olivia strolled over.

“How nice to see you tonight, ladies,” Lady
Olivia said in a superior voice.

“Yes, it’s nice to see you, too,” Madison
replied first. “I suspect your presence here indicates that your
complaint was successfully healed during your recent visit to
Bath.”

“Of course, the baths there are so wonderful.
There's nothing they cannot heal.”

Except a personality defect, Brooke
thought.

“I am glad you are doing better then,”
Liberty said, shooting a quick glance over to where Brooke was
being unusually quiet.

“I am much better thank you, quite revived in
fact. I do believe my energy has been restored and I can now set my
sights on loftier things than just enjoying the countryside while
I’m here.” Her words were a bit of a puzzle, but it didn’t take a
genius to get her meaning. She was declaring loud and clear to
Brooke and her sisters that her sights were set on Andrew and would
be close in pocket until things were settled where he was
concerned.

Lady Olivia had said as much to Brooke at the
bathhouse, but now seeing her here and declaring it again made it
more permanent. If Lady Olivia were to be believed, Brooke’s time
with Andrew would soon be ending. She would have to do something,
but what? Hearing Lady Olivia’s public declaration was swiftly
killing the bravado she had built up after her talk with
Gateway.

“I do hope you enjoy yourself,” Brooke said
stiffly as she stood up, clutching her skirts. Deciding she had put
up with Lady Olivia enough for one evening, she walked over to
where Mama was holding court in the opposite corner.

When she reached Mama’s side and sat down,
she learned this conversation wasn’t much better. Lady Burbank was
scolding Mama about the names she and Papa had selected for their
daughters. Calling it a disgrace and saying it should be considered
treasonous toward England. Brooke got the feeling that Lady Burbank
thought that
she
should have been consulted when Papa and
Mama had named their children.

Even though this conversation was equally
uncomfortable, it didn’t feel like her heart was breaking just by
listening to it. Brooke wondered why that was. How could her chest
hurt so badly? She couldn’t recognize the emotion attached to the
pain. She was very familiar with jealousy, rage and anger, but this
time it was different. It felt like she had lost something, but she
couldn’t put her finger on what she’d lost. Nor could she name the
emotion that was causing her to feel this loss.

After ten more minutes of hearing Lady
Burbank’s useless and screeching chatter, Brooke couldn’t take
anymore and decided to retire for the evening. She made her
farewells and was walking down the hall, looking at her feet as she
went when two strong hands grabbed her shoulders.

Her heart skipped a beat, whether out of
shock or excitement, she wasn’t sure.

When she looked up, she was a bit
disappointed to see that the stranger who had stopped her from
running him over was none other than her own cousin. “Good evening,
Alex,” she said.

“What has you escaping so soon?” Alex asked
kindly.

“A headache,” she said. It was partially
true. She didn’t have a real headache, not yet anyway, but if she
were to listen to anymore from Lady Olivia or Lady Burbank she just
might have one very soon.

“There has to be a reason for your headache.”
His eyes were full of concern. “Is one of the guests causing
problems already?” he asked, his voice ringing with sincerity.

Brooke knew she could trust him with her
secrets. He was a quiet type. He wouldn’t go tell anyone about
their conversation. “There are three reasons that contribute to my
headache. They come in the form of Lady Burbank, Lady Olivia and
the Earl of Townson.”

Alex’s expression didn’t change at her words.
Brooke thought that maybe he had expected to hear those names.

“Would you care to accompany me to the
library so we can talk about what’s bothering you?” he offered with
a warm smile.

“I’m not sure I should,” she said hesitantly.
He might be her cousin, but surely she shouldn’t be going off alone
with him.

“If you’re worried about propriety, then
don’t. Nothing is going to happen. You’re my cousin; I have no
interest in ravishing you.” He offered her his arm and waited for
her to take it. “Nobody will think anything of it if they did find
out, Brooke. It is perfectly acceptable,” he added with an
encouraging smile.

“All right,” she agreed. She followed him
down the hall to the library. Once inside, she plopped down on a
settee and said, “It goes like this…”

***

Fifteen minutes later Brooke had spilled her
secrets about everything, well almost everything.

Alex hadn’t said much, he just nodded and
occasionally murmured monosyllabic answers as if to say he
understood, though she doubted he really did. He was a man, how
could he understand her feelings? Nonetheless, she rambled on.

Finally, Alex put his hand up, signaling
Brooke to stop. “Let’s make sure we’re on the same page. Andrew had
been paying you unmarked attention in London. Not a lot, but enough
to make you believe his intentions toward you were honorable. Then,
Lady Olivia tells you she intends to snag him herself. Finally, you
arrive here and he's promising things to Lady Olivia while ignoring
you; which makes you think that he has shifted his interest from
you to
her
?”

“Yes,” Brooke said sheepishly.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Alex stated,
“I’ve known Andrew for many years. Though some may not think so, he
is an honorable man. I don’t believe he has any true interest in
Lady Olivia. By her own admission she's out to ‘bag him’. She was
probably just playing a part when she confronted him before dinner,
and Andrew is too much of a gentleman, he wouldn’t embarrass her
publicly by exposing her lie.”