Emilia and the Eldritch Earl: A Regency Monster Romance (The Monsters Ball) by Vivienne Hart

Author:Vivienne Hart [Hart, Vivienne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Jack had to admit that he was surprised by how much Emilia had softened throughout the course of the day. She’d begun by trying to escape, of course, but after everything that had happened with Mael, Michael, and her ankle, by the afternoon, she’d seemed, well…friendly.

She’d dropped the Lord Ritchford nonsense, asked him whether he liked her(!), and when he was tending to her injury, he could have sworn she’d gone just a bit swoony. If she’d given him an indication that she’d have been receptive, he might have kissed her.

They’d had a quiet, amiable dinner, followed by a few hands of whist, at which she’d proved quite skilled. He’d lost every game, and her delight in winning had charmed him.

There was something about her, her outrage at being kidnapped mixed with her inherent vulnerability, that appealed to him. She was concerned she was a harridan and a dullard, but he wouldn’t describe her as either. He found her fascinating. And he wasn’t blind—the lady was very pretty.

But she wasn’t blind either, and he knew he was nothing worth looking at. Even Lucy, who he thought must have loved him just a little, couldn’t tolerate his monstrous nature in the end. He would never again expect a proper lady to love him. He knew he was fundamentally unlovable. But perhaps, over time, Emilia would grow to find him tolerable. He could work with tolerable. Marriages had certainly been founded on less.

If she had been willing to sign a contract with Farrowfall, she couldn’t be wholly opposed to monsters. And while he might not incite lustful thoughts in her the way Simmons did, he could at least conjure up a cup of tea whenever she wanted one. Surely that had to count for something.

Not that he was in love with the girl. Of course not. He hardly knew her, and besides, he’d made it clear to himself and all who knew him that he would never fall in love again. But if he understood Emilia as well as he thought he did, she wasn’t overly interested in falling in love, either. She wanted a stable, respectable life and a husband who would help restore her family’s standing. He could provide that.

So maybe, in whatever time they had left together in this cottage, he should attempt to prove that to her. She could provide the family he’d always wanted, he’d make her a countess, and Violet could stop inviting him to her damned ball month after month, season after season.

It’s settled, he thought. I’m going to court her. First though, they had to get through the night, sharing the bed with nothing between them.

“Do you wish me to get into bed first?” he asked.

She nodded. “We should proceed as we did last night. Though it might take me a little longer, since I can’t balance on this ankle.”

He cleared his throat. “Do you need assistance, ah, disrobing?”

She squeaked in alarm. “I believe I can manage. It just may take a few minutes.

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