Enticing the Earl

He looked back at Mia one last time and then left the room. He walked downstairs to his library and then called for his butler.

“Yes, my lord?” Harris said as he entered the room.

“Have Mrs. Alder assist Mrs. Featherstone in the rose bedchamber. And send word to the duchess that Miss Featherstone is injured. I am quite certain she will want to know.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Simon sat down in the chair that

overlooked the gardens and waited for word. He hated being useless. And worse, he hated not having the right to stay in the room while Mrs. Featherstone examined her daughter. He was done waiting for Mia to realize that he loved her. Once she was well enough, he would talk to her about it.

And what exactly would he say?

He had no idea. He could tell her that the main reason he stayed at this estate almost year-round was due to her. It was nearer enough the truth for her. She didn’t need to know the real reason he spent so little time in town.

He could tell her that he loved her more than life itself. Unfortunately, she would more than likely laugh at that explanation.

There had to be some reason he could use to get her to understand that she needed to marry him. He pondered that for close to an hour before Harris knocked on the door.

“Yes, Harris? Is there news from Mrs. Featherstone?”

“No, my lord. The Duke and Duchess of Northrop are here. The duchess refused to wait and ran up to the rose bedchamber.”

Simon laughed, imagining Selina pushing Harris out of the way to get to her friend. “Send North in.”

“Already here,” North said as he entered the room. “I’ve decided my lovely wife might have the right idea of just forcing herself into people’s homes.”

“I don’t believe she thinks there is a reason to be announced.”

“Yes, she seems to have perfected that social blunder.” North chuckled. “It is endearing in the country. I will have to make certain she doesn’t continue that tradition when in town.” North sat down in the gold velvet chair next to Simon. “How is she?”

“I don’t know yet. Mrs. Featherstone ejected me from the bedchamber and hasn’t come down since. I’m worried, North. It looked like a man had done this to her. The man I saw from the top of the hill wasn’t anyone I had seen before. I know all my tenants, your tenants and even Middleton’s tenants, and most of the people in the village.”

“A stranger in the village will cause talk,” North commented. “Perhaps if you question a few people, they will know of this man.”

“I plan on doing that just as soon as I hear how she’s faring.”

“It might be too late by then.” North rose. “Come along, we will leave the women to help Miss Featherstone while we question the villagers.”

Simon nodded. At least this would give him something to do to keep his mind off her for a few minutes. He let Harris know to give the ladies the message that they were heading to the village, and then walked out to the stables.

Once they had mounted their horses, they set out for the ride to Cheadle. Simon kept his thoughts to himself and thankfully so did North. The last thing Simon wanted was North questioning him about Mia. No one knew how he felt about the woman and no one needed to discover how deep his feelings for her had become over the past few years.

He had been aware of her from the time he was seventeen. Even though she’d only been fourteen at the time, he could see she would be a beautiful woman. And with large brown eyes that could see into a person’s soul, chestnut hair and her slim figure, he’d been right.

But his attraction to her was more than physical. He’d witnessed her kindness on more than one occasion. When his mother grew ill, the physician had said there was nothing he could do. Mia and her mother disagreed with the man and fought to draw his mother back from the brink. Five years later, his mother was healthier than she’d ever been. Mia had always been there for the servants and tenants on his estate.

“Here we are,” North said, pulling Simon out of his musing.

Simon glanced about the small town and frowned. The clouds were rolling in over the hillside and the rain would be here soon. “We had best make this quick. I do wonder how we are supposed to question people when I don’t have a name.”

“We ask about any strangers in town. Most people know of the Featherstones and they will be angry to hear what happened to Miss Featherstone. If they know something, they will talk.”

“Very well,” Simon agreed as they walked into the local inn.

Two hours later, the skies had darkened to match Simon’s mood. No one had seen any strangers in the area. A few people had passed by the inn but after a night, they had continued on their journey. “Let’s be off before we get soaked,” Simon said as they walked toward the yard.

“As soon as you get a name from Miss Featherstone, let me know and we can try again.” North mounted his horse and led him to the main road. “I will head back to the estate now. I have no doubt that Selina will want to stay the night with Miss Featherstone.”