Captivated by the Earl (Regency Romance) (Regency Tales Book 5) by Regina Darcy

Author:Regina Darcy [Darcy, Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clean and Wholesome Romance
Published: 2016-08-11T04:00:00+00:00

SIX

The next morning, Elizabeth was alone in the office, the West India docks ledgers spread out on her desk on front of her, but the thoughts in her brain crowded out the numbers and made her feel as if the room were populated with dazzling memories. The Earl had been attentive throughout the evening and her father, occupied by men who wanted to know more about the West India docks, had been too engrossed in conversation to play chaperone when he was, to his mind, more productively engaged elsewhere. The champagne had lessened her constraint but she had behaved properly, and had finally refused the Earl’s offer of more champagne for fear that she would embarrass herself. But it was not the champagne that had sent her head spinning.

She had been the Earl’s companion throughout the evening. They had strolled in the grounds again, sometimes accompanied by his niece, but not always. The Earl had stopped, with Elizabeth on his arm, to speak to various guests. The guests and friends, most of them well acquainted with the Earl, had appraised his escort as if they sought to ascertain the meaning of her presence. She knew that her dress, her hair, even her jewellery had passed muster. But none of that made up for the fact that she was not of the Ton and her antecedents, respectable though they were, were not of the peerage. Did that matter? The Earl’s attentions had been steadfast and she had formed the impression that he enjoyed her company. But he would never encounter her at a royal ball or riding on Rotten Row in the afternoon, or at any of the other time-tested venues where young men and women of society came together.

Elizabeth sighed. It was time to return to her work. The figures before her were solid; on a normal day, they would have commanded her full attention. It was apparent that the investors who were funding the docks were men of substance, capable of delivering the amounts they had pledged. She noted that Mr Doyle Sheridan, a man whose wealth came from new money, was marked down for a substantial sum. Her father was no snob and it did not matter to him whether the funding came from an ancestral inheritance or was of recent acquisition, as long as it was deposited in and accepted by the Bank of England. Elizabeth reviewed the Sheridan records a second time, and then a third. Her quick eye tabulated the figures. Something seemed amiss.

The door opened.

“Elizabeth!”

“Nathaniel, I—it’s very good to see you. How long it has been!” she rose from her chair.

“I saw you last night at the Earl of Strathmore’s estate. I’d no idea that you moved in such exalted circles,” he said, his blue eyes pained.

“You know that I do not, Nathaniel,” she said quietly. Nathaniel appeared agitated. As he came closer, Elizabeth saw that there was a cut on his cheek and a bruise on his chin. “Nathaniel, what has happened? You look as though you’ve been in a brawl.

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