Enticing the Earl

“You will be my countess. There are certain expectations to be met as such. One is the wearing of gowns suitable to your station. I will not have people gossip about you because of your clothing.”

Mia nodded but couldn’t help adding, “I’m certain they will find other things about me to gossip about.”

He kissed her forehead. “You are the dearest friend of a duchess. They will accept you because you have her ear.”

“Thank you.” She couldn’t help but be apprehensive. On the estate, everyone would be kind to her but once she left and became part of his world, everything would be different. Selina had only been a duchess for a few weeks. Very few people had even met her yet. Perhaps they could weather the storm of a Season together.

“You’ve become very quiet,” he said softly. “Are you worried?”

“A little.”

“The first year will be the toughest but we won’t be in town much.”

“Why not?” She didn’t care whether they went to London, but she felt he was not attending the Season for a reason.

“I don’t enjoy it. The main reason is to find a bride, but I have found one right here.”

Something about that didn’t ring true for Mia. Perhaps it was the slight change in the tone of his voice. As he said, most people have a sign that they are lying. Maybe she had just discovered his.

“I suppose at some point we should get out of this warm bed,” he said as if to change the subject.

Mia didn’t care why he’d said it, but she knew there was far too much to do. “Yes. We must dress and eat. But you will check the library while I’m with the dressmaker.”

He smiled and little lines crinkled by his eyes. “Yes, darling. I will.”

“Excellent.” Mia tossed off the coverlet and jumped out of bed. “Come along. We both have much to do.”

Simon groaned. “Yes, darling.”

Simon stared down at the document creating the new earldom. It had been created in the late 1300s and one of his relatives was that earl. It took some time to read through the document written in Latin, but as he read it, he realized there was no specific reason given for the conferring of the title. He picked up the ancient family Bible and looked at the lineage but again there was no indication of any battle that took place on this land.

“What are you doing in here on such a beautiful day?” Charlie asked as he walked into the library. “I assumed you would be outside planning more changes to your gardens or fixing something.”

“I promised Mia I would help her with something.”

“What is it?” Charlie ran his fingers across the spine of several books on the shelf. “Anything I can do to help?”

“I’m looking for information on why the earldom was created and if there were any battles on this land.”

Charlie nodded. “History. Hmm, what have you found so far?”

“Nothing. I found the patent but there was no reason given for the peerage. I just pulled out the Bible but there is nothing in it except the births and deaths.”

Charlie scanned the books. “There must be something here.”

“Personal journals,” Simon said, walking to the shelves. “We need to find old personal journals from our relatives.”

“Of course.”

They examined all the books and then shook their heads. Both pulled a few books out and quickly shelved them again.

“Here’s one,” Charlie said, handing an old leather book to him.

“Keep looking, I’ll check this one.” Simon sat in the chair near the window and studied the book. “It’s from one of our great-great-grandmothers. The first date is fifteen hundred and forty-five.” He read a few entries and closed the book. “It’s nothing more than a daily description of her life.”

“So why are you searching for something regarding battles on our lands?”

“Just a passing curiosity.” Why did he lie to his own brother about the possibility of some old gold and jewels being on the land? It was as if he couldn’t trust anyone until Davies or Lambert was caught.