Enticing the Earl

She shook her head slightly. “What about him? They would make a dreadful match. He loves town life. Plus he is far too wild for Anna.”

“But you knew he was infatuated with her!”

“What are you talking about, Simon? I knew no such thing.” Caroline dropped into a wingback chair and folded her arms over her chest.

Simon sat across from her and stared at her. His sister was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a liar. Unfortunately, their brother was. “Charlie told me that you had said if he could persuade me to come to the party, you would make sure Miss Stone was invited as well.”

Caroline sighed. “Simon, I haven’t seen or heard from Charlie in over three months. The last time I saw him, he begged me for money to pay off his gambling debts.”

“He told me his gambling debts were under control. That he was living quite nicely off his allowance.” Simon’s jaw clenched. Once again, Charlie had lied to him.

“Why would he lie to you about his money problems when he hadn’t before now?” Caroline asked quietly.

Simon thought back to Charlie’s stay at Hartsfield Park. He’d started talking about Caroline’s party from the start, before Simon had mentioned anything about the gold Mia had found.

The door to the study opened and James walked inside. “You two are very difficult to find.”

“Not now, James,” Simon said in a dismissive tone.

“He might be able to help,” Caroline implored. “Charlie is his brother too.”

“Very well, come in.”

Once James sat down in a chair near them, Simon explained their confusion with Charlie. James remained quiet for a long moment. Finally, he blew out a long-held breath and shook his head.

“What is it, James?” Simon asked.

“I’m not certain.” James stared intently at him as if gauging Simon’s anger.

“Tell me. I promise to keep my temper.”

“I told you that Charlie was gambling friends with Lambert. But I don’t understand why that would matter.”

Simon hadn’t told anyone about the treasure except Charlie. He clenched his jaw.

“What is it, Simon?” Caroline asked softly.

“Mia found some old pieces from the Middle Ages behind Mrs. Perkins’s cottage.”

“Did Charlie know about it?” James said, leaning forward in his seat.

“Not at first. But I told him and he helped us dig a few times.” And he had returned to Hartsfield only a few days after Mia had seen Lambert behind Mrs. Perkins’s house. Images of Mia’s battered face rose to the surface. If his brother was involved in that, Simon was going to kill him. Blood pumped through him as anger crashed to the surface. Had Charlie insisted he and Mia attend this party so he could steal from him? Or perhaps Charlie had thought to search for more gold and gems behind Mrs. Perkins’s garden while they were away. His hands tightened into fists.

“Simon,” Caroline said softly. “Breathe.”

“If he harmed her or had anything to do with this...” Simon couldn’t finish his sentence.

“We have no idea if Charlie is involved with this or not,” James said quietly. “You need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Indeed? Because he has never lied to any of us before this,” Simon said sarcastically.

“Simon,” Caroline started slowly, “This would be out of character for Charlie. He has always been a rake and a gambler, but he would never do anything to put Mia at risk. They were friends.”

Simon shook his head. “I’m not as certain, Caro. A desperate man will do just about anything. I need to leave now.”

“You can’t leave now, in the middle of a ball!” Caroline exclaimed. “People will talk.”

“People always talk about me. This time, I don’t care,” Simon retorted.