Laura Martin - An Earl To Save Her Reputation

‘Miss Fortescue,’ Anna said, her voice devoid of emotion, ‘I did not expect to see you here.’ It was the politest thing Anna could bring herself to say.

‘Look at you, making merry with my father barely in the ground.’

‘Your father died over a year ago, Miss Fortescue. My mourning period has finished.’

Anna thought her stepdaughter might reach out and strike her at that comment, but her disdain was limited to a narrowing of the eyes.

‘Miss Fortescue?’ Harry asked, stepping between the two women.

‘Yes?’ Miss Fortescue snapped, glancing at Harry before returning her unwavering gaze to Anna.

‘I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure of being introduced. I am Lord Edgerton.’

His title, and no doubt his reputation, earned him another glance from Miss Fortescue. Anna prayed he would keep silent about their sham engagement. The last thing she needed was for her late husband’s family to find out she’d become engaged again.

‘I hope you know what company you keep, Lord Edgerton.’

‘Lady Fortescue is the most amenable of companions,’ Harry said.

Antonia snorted, an unladylike sound that required her to screw up her nose and turn an already unattractive face into something pinched and malicious.

‘Your stepmother was just explaining how she gained an entire family when she married into the Fortescue clan,’ Harry said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Anna looked at him appraisingly—he might come across as easy-going and mild-mannered, but her companion was sharp and intelligent along with it.

‘She is no stepmother of mine.’

Silence followed. There wasn’t really much else to say, but Antonia seemed reluctant to move on.

‘I understand you haven’t seen much of Lady Fortescue since your father’s passing,’ Harry said, his voice suitably sombre. ‘Perhaps we should remedy that.’

Anna felt her jaw clench as she turned slowly towards Harry. She tried to communicate how much she would like him to be silent with just a dramatic widening of her eyes, but he flashed her a smile and wilfully ignored her, pushing on with his invitation.

‘I’m having a little house party, the weekend after next. It’s at my country estate, just south of Sevenoaks. We’d be delighted if you could attend. And your brothers, of course.’

Anna didn’t know who was more shocked, her or Antonia, but they both stood with mouths slightly opened, unable to utter a word.

‘Fantastic,’ Harry said. ‘We look forward to seeing you there.’

Anna felt him grip her arm and guide her along the terrace, no doubt planning on escaping before she or Antonia had a chance to collect themselves and protest at the idea of spending more than a few seconds in each other’s company.

* * *

Harry was feeling rather pleased with himself. The evening was going well, exceedingly well. He’d managed to claim a dance from his initially reluctant fiancée, watch her eyes light up as he whisked her around the ballroom and see some of her legendary composure slip as they stood side by side on the terrace. To top it all, he’d furthered his little investigation into the horrible packages Anna was receiving by inviting his main suspect to a country house party.

Next to him Anna walked with her head held high, but her fingers were digging into his arm through his jacket. He hadn’t warned her of his plan, there hadn’t been the opportunity, but he was sure once she’d recovered from the shock she would see it was the sensible thing to do: gather all the possible culprits in one place and wait for them to strike.

They’d just reached the end of the terrace when he felt Anna’s grip on his arm tighten even more. Before he knew what was happening she’d whisked him around the corner and down a short set of stone steps to the shadowy lawn below. In ten quick paces she’d pressed him into an alcove, hidden from view from the terrace above.

‘Lady Fortescue,’ he murmured, ‘I thought we were going to try our best to behave this evening.’

She was standing close to him, so close he could smell the lavender scent of her hair and before he could stop himself he reached out and tucked a stray, coppery strand behind her ear.

‘What do you think you are doing?’ Anna asked, her voice barely more than a whisper, but managing to convey the depth of her fury all the same.

‘A strand of hair...’

‘Up on the terrace, with Miss Fortescue.’

‘Being polite.’

‘To a woman who might be sending me—’ She broke off, her voice faltering at the memory of what was in the last package.

‘We’re never going to get to the bottom of what’s happening if we avoid the people who might be responsible. We need to observe them, confront them, push them into making a mistake.’

‘By inviting them to stay under the same roof as us?’

‘I’ll be there to look out for you.’

Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘I barely know you,’ she said quietly.

‘That’s not true.’ Although they had only met for the first time a little over a week ago Harry felt as though they’d known each other for much longer.

‘You do not get to make decisions about my life,’ Anna said, her voice low but firm. ‘No one gets to make decisions about my life.’

There was such conviction as she spoke, such determination, that Harry wondered what had happened to drive her to this point. She didn’t trust anyone and clung to her independence more than any woman he had ever encountered. It should be annoying, but Harry found himself admiring her more for her strength.

‘I’m sorry,’ Harry said, knowing when to take a step back and regroup. ‘I should have discussed my idea about the house party with you first.’

The apology seemed to disarm her and Harry watched as some of the fury seeped from her body. Without thinking he raised a hand and smoothed the furrow between her eyebrows. She stiffened at his touch, but did not jerk away, instead slowly raising her eyes to meet his own.

For an instant Harry wanted nothing more in the world than to kiss her. He wanted to cover her lips with his own, gather her to his body and kiss her until she forgot whatever it was that was making her frown.

‘Perhaps we should discuss it tomorrow,’ Anna said, taking a step back.

‘Good idea.’

Anna looked around her as if only just realising where they were. A sardonic smile crossed her lips.

‘Thankfully the world thinks we are engaged,’ she said, ‘or this would be an even bigger scandal than us being discovered together at the Prendersons’ ball.’

All the same she peered out into the darkness carefully, judging her moment to return to the ballroom. Just as she was about to dash out from the alcove Harry caught her hand.

‘Dance with me,’ he said.

‘Here? Don’t be silly.’

‘No one can see us.’

‘People will be wondering where we are.’

‘Let them wonder.’

‘This whole engagement is to try to minimise the scandal attached to our names, not increase it.’

‘Dance with me.’

He saw her hesitate, torn between returning to the safety of the ballroom and sharing another wonderful waltz. The music from the ballroom was audible down here, muffled by the chatter of people on the terrace, but still good enough to dance to.

For an instant he thought she would and he felt his heart leap in his chest, then she was gone, her dress swishing behind her, her head bent low as she fled back to the safety of the ballroom.

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