Intentions of the Earl (5 page)

Mrs. Banks sent him a knowing smile.

Liberty gaped at her sister. “What do you
mean by that? He could be interested in you, you know?” Liberty
asked her smiling sister.

“That’s impossible. I’ve never even seen him
before. If he’s not here for you, then that only leaves
Brooke.”

Andrew wished they would quit talking about
him as if he weren’t in the room, but decided it was best to keep
his mouth shut. Opening his mouth is what got him into this mess in
the first place. They could all just believe he was here for
Brooke, the dark haired beauty who decorated this atrocious room.
Aside from her decorating skills, she seemed like a good choice, so
far. He’d have to evaluate the others before making a final
decision, but for now it wouldn’t hurt for them to think he was
here for Brooke.

As if on cue, the object of his thoughts, and
the ladies conversation, walked back in the room, followed by a
footman, how odd.

“Oh, Brooke, I’m so happy for you. To have
caught the attention of the earl,” Mrs. Banks cooed, once again
speaking of him as if he were invisible.

The moment didn’t last long enough for
Andrew’s taste. When Brooke looked around and saw the smiling faces
of her mother and sisters, her brows knit in confusion. “What on
earth are you talking about?” she asked, shaking her head as she
spoke, causing her loose curls to bounce. “I do not have any earl’s
attentions.”

“Don’t play games, Brooke, Lord Townson has
come to call for you.” Mrs. Banks said with uncontrollable
pride.

“I believe you must be mistaken,” Brooke
said, shaking her head again. “The earl is not here to call on me;
we had only just met right before you all barged in.”

Ugh oh.

Chapter 4

“This is not proper,” Liberty squealed. “A
gentleman should not call upon a lady he has not been introduced to
before.”

So much for hoping these American heathens
didn’t know
that
rule. “Well, you see, I have not yet been
formally introduced to any of you three beautiful ladies. But I
happened to see you a time or two across the ballroom and I thought
perhaps if I could call, we could make introductions,” he said
smoothly. “I know it is terribly indecent of me to just show up,
but I just had to meet you.” He hoped that came out sounding
intelligent and convincing, but doubted it.

All four women looked one to another
completely confused by his rambling, but it was Mrs. Banks who
spoke first. “Oh well, that’s very nice of you, my lord. We’re not
terribly formal here anyway; it’s just as well that you’ve
come.”

Feeling relieved that Mrs. Banks had excused
his actions and seemed eager to let him stay, Andrew started to
relax.

However, the relief lasted less than a minute
because Liberty spoke again. “But it’s not done!” She had a true
look of horror on her face as she protested his presence.

Only vaguely listening to her list of
reasons, Andrew began to survey the three women in the room. Now
was a good time to determine which one would be the best choice for
the job ahead of him.

Miss Liberty Banks was immediately crossed
off his list. With how strongly she was protesting his presence now
he had no doubt she'd be protesting even more if he were trying to
get her in a compromising situation.

Andrew could still hear Mrs. Banks and Miss
Liberty continue to banter back and forth about propriety. He
wondered if Miss You-must-be-proper-at-all-times knew it was
improper to argue. Especially in front of a guest, and a male one
at that. With a shake of his head, he began to survey the middle
Miss Banks. He didn’t know what her name was. Though he had told
them his name, none of them returned the favor. How improper!

The Middle Miss Banks was stunningly
beautiful. She could even be considered gorgeous, but she looked
distant. She had scarcely said a few sentences earlier. Before
that, she’d looked lost in space, and after Brooke made her great
declaration that she didn’t know him, Miss Middle-Banks had
shrugged and her blue eyes had gone back into their exploration of
space.

Andrew came back to reality for a split
second to step backward as a footman walked past him with one of
those revolting paintings. Briefly, he listened in on the
conversation between Mrs. Banks and Miss Liberty, they were still
discussing what is and isn’t acceptable for a gentleman, even a
lord.

Andrew shifted his thoughts back to his
assessment of the three young ladies. This time he was thinking
about Brooke. Wait, when had he started referring to her in his
mind as Brooke? He was slightly surprised to think he had never
thought about her as Miss Banks. From the moment he heard her name
she’d become Brooke in his mind.

He gazed over to where she was. She and her
middle sister had taken seats on the red settee. Brooke was looking
heavenward, praying for Divine Intervention if he had to hazard a
guess.

He realized how attractive Brooke was now
that he could look at her without that hurt look on her face. She
looked almost completely relaxed, oblivious that he was staring at
her. He took her in. She was thin, but not like a fence post. Her
skin was tanned, probably because she was from America. He’d heard
people over there didn’t put much stock in being pale. Her hair was
dark brown and arranged with plump curls spilling over the top of
her head; his hands itched to touch her silky strands. Her eyes
matched her hair perfectly; they were just as dark, if not darker.
He had never seen such large, dark, expressive eyes. He was sure if
he were able to look straight into them he’d see into the depths of
her soul.

He scanned the rest of her face. His eyes
landed on her small, straight nose, the complete opposite of his.
Her mouth was a beautiful bow shape. Her pink lips were slightly
parted and he could see her pretty white teeth lined up all in a
row. In no way did she resemble a horse like a good majority of the
Englishwomen he knew. She was perfect.

Brooke must have had heard enough of this
ridiculous conversation because she suddenly leapt from her seat.
“Enough!” she all but shouted. When Liberty and Mrs. Banks faced
her, she drew herself up as tall as her dainty frame would allow
and said, “You two are acting like stubborn children. Just let the
poor man stay. He apparently has a desire to be here—I cannot
fathom why, but he does—so just stop arguing, ring for tea and let
everyone enjoy the afternoon.”

“You are correct, Brooke. I cannot believe we
have acted so poorly in the company of a gentleman. Please forgive
us, my lord,” Mrs. Banks said, blushing in shame.

With a waving hand gesture, Andrew indicated
he had no problem viewing the family quarrel. However, he was glad
it was over. That was ten minutes of his life he’d never get
back.

He waited for Mrs. Banks and Miss Liberty to
take their seats before he looked around the room for a vacant one.
Locating an ugly orange armchair in the corner of the room, he
strode across the room and moved it so he could sit by the ladies
perched on their settees.

After he was seated, he gave Brooke a quick
smile and a nod of approval, as if to falsely tell her he liked her
choice of chair for the room.

Brooke’s lips twitched at the his affirmative
nod about her selection of an orange chair and she picked up the
teapot that had somehow appeared in the room. “How do you take your
tea, my lord?”

“How do
you
take your tea?” Andrew
countered. He wasn’t picky whether he had milk or sugar in his tea,
today he’d drink what she preferred.

“With honey,” Brooke answered
matter-of-factly with a sweet, shy smile.

“Honey?” he echoed, trying to keep his
disgust from creeping into his tone. “You mean the sticky substance
that comes from a beehive?” he asked to be certain they were
talking about the same thing.

“No, I mean with a man that I just happen to
call by that term of endearment,” she quipped.

“Brooke,” Mrs. Banks said sharply, giving her
a disapproving look. “Stop that. It’s not appropriate to bait him
so.”

“It’s all right, Mrs. Banks. I was just
dumbfounded that someone would put honey in their tea,” Andrew
assured her and tried to suppress a little shudder that threatened
to wrack his body. Why would anyone taint their tea with honey? “I
have never thought to do that before. Must be an American thing,”
he muttered.

Andrew noticed Brooke trying not to laugh. He
decided it must be an inside joke that either he wasn’t privy to,
or he was the butt of.

The conversation turned to the girl’s
homeland of New York, and how much different everything was in
England. Everyone was so absorbed no one had taken notice of how
much time had passed.

Andrew reached into his pocket and removed
his pocket watch. After a quick glance at the time he said,
“Ladies, this has been the most excellent afternoon I’ve had in a
long time, but I need to be off. I would like to call again
tomorrow, if that would be all right? Mayhap I could take Miss
Banks on a ride in Hyde Park?” he asked, giving a pointed look at
Brooke in case there was any confusion about which Miss Banks he
meant.

“That would be splendid,” agreed Mrs. Banks,
speaking for Brooke. “I can see you have taken special interest in
Brooke, she is lovely. It would be delightful if you would take her
for ride in the park. She would adore it!”

Brooke shook her head at the obvious attempt
at matchmaking going on in the room. “That would be lovely. I look
forward to it,” she said with a smile.

Rising up to say farewell, Andrew noticed
Brooke looked like she was about to burst. Andrew raked his gaze
over her and made a mental note of how fetching she was when she
was on the verge of laughter. He would have to get her to laugh
again. Soon, he vowed to himself.

As Andrew climbed into his carriage, he
couldn’t stop the small smile curving his lips. As much as he hated
what Gateway tricked him into agreeing to do, he could take
satisfaction in that Brooke was beautiful. She also appeared to
have a personality that he found agreeable. Best yet, this
afternoon he gathered she enjoyed flouting the rules of society,
which would certainly make his goal much easier. This could
actually turn out to be rather enjoyable courtship.

Andrew eased back against the threadbare
squabs and stretched out his legs, looking over to the opposite
seat and noticed a piece of vellum. Assuming it was from Gateway,
probably asking him not to go through with this ridiculous plan, he
quickly snatched it up.

Townson,

I have given much thought to your kind
words. I hope they were true and sincere. I fear if they were not,
that I shall perish from embarrassment. However, I am an excellent
judge of character, and I believe
every
word you said! Thus,
I reached my decision. It may seem rash, but first instincts are
usually right, so I have followed them and have decided to give you
a gift. This is a gift from my very soul, so I beg of you not to
take it lightly nor dismiss it. Enjoy!

Andrew tossed down the unsigned noted, his
face contorting with confusion. Who would have given him such a
note, and what gift?

Shaking his head, Andrew dismissed the
thought.

When he arrived at home Addams, who recently
because of Andrew’s financial situation had become a man of all
trades, met him in the entryway with a baffled look on his face.
“It’s in your study as you directed, my lord,” he said, putting on
the air of a butler.

“What are you talking about? What did you put
in my study?” Not waiting for an answer, he strode down the hall,
opened the door to his study and for the first time he could
remember since he was a boy, he let out howls of laughter. After
several minutes, when he was finally composed enough to speak, he
held his sides, shook his head and said, “That little minx!”

***

None of the women left the drawing room after
the earl left. Mama sat at the small secretary by the window and
wrote out the guest list to the wedding she was sure would soon be
taking place. Liberty was ticking off everybody’s—including her
own—improprieties. Brooke tried fruitlessly to concentrate on her
embroidery. And Madison sat quietly looking out the window.

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later when
Madison of all people, with a look of sheer bewilderment, broke the
silence. “What happened to the third painting that was on the back
wall?”

No longer able to control herself, Brooke
broke out in hysterics.

Chapter 5

Next day

From Earl of Townson to Miss Brooke Banks,
11:00 a.m.—

Miss Brooke Banks,

I do appreciate your gift. I will treasure it
always.

Townson

From Brooke Banks to the Earl of Townson,
11:25 a.m.—

Townson,

I am so happy to hear that. I fretted all
last night if I had made the correct decision. I see that I did
indeed make the right decision. I am glad to know that my art will
be treasured by you, and may I presume all the future heirs of the
Townson Earldom?

Miss Brooke Banks

From Earl of Townson to Miss Brooke Banks,
12:45 p.m.—

Miss Banks,

I do not know if all the future earls will
enjoy the art. But they will at least get the extraordinary
opportunity to view the piece.

Townson

From Miss Brooke Banks to the Earl of Townson
1:05 p.m.—

Townson,

Does that mean you have displayed my work out
in the open? The portrait gallery perhaps?

Brooke Banks

From Earl of Townson to Miss Brooke Banks,
1:40 p.m.—

Dear Miss Brooke,