The Earl Takes a Fancy by Lorraine Heath

Author:Lorraine Heath
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Friday night, sipping his scotch, Matthew sat in a large leather chair in one of several small sitting areas spread throughout the library at Dodger’s. The footman who had brought him his drink had done so without making a sound. Gentlemen who were sitting about spoke in low voices, their mumbles barely audible. Everything was so quiet, so dignified, so refined. So blasted boring. Not at all like the lively affairs he’d been attending with Fancy.

He’d been avoiding her since the kiss. And he missed her like the very devil.

“Good God, Rosemont, where have you been keeping yourself?” Lord Beresford asked cheerfully as he took the chair opposite him. “Haven’t seen you at any of the balls.”

“I’ve been keeping myself busy elsewhere. After Elise’s letter made its appearance, I discovered I’d returned to Society a bit too soon.”

Beresford furrowed his brow. A few years older than Matthew, he’d yet to marry, although the rumors bandied about implied that he was quite taken with his mistress. “Sorry, old chap. I wasn’t thinking. I imagine it’s difficult to return to the gaiety after suffering such a tragic loss. Not easy to move on, I daresay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Although your countess certainly gave you permission. That was some letter she wrote. Quite shocking, really. Took me a minute to remember she was no longer with us.”

He was more than ready for a change in topic. “Any debutantes catch your interest this Season?”

Beresford waggled his thick brown brows. “You’ve missed out on all the excitement. The Trewlove chit was introduced into Society.”

One hand balled into a tightened fist, the other closed around his glass so firmly he feared it might shatter. He didn’t appreciate Fancy being labeled a chit, not that he hadn’t used the word himself on occasion in reference to other women, but she deserved a more respectful tone. It took everything within him not to launch himself at the man sitting across from him and introduce his jaw to his fists.

“Waltzed with her at the Thornley ball,” Beresford continued. “She’s a comely little thing.”

Matthew set his scotch aside because he expected the glass to crumble in his hand at any moment. He hadn’t expected the anger—or perhaps it was jealousy—to swell so forcefully within him when he imagined Beresford circling Fancy over the dance floor. “I heard rewards were offered to anyone who danced with her. What benefit did you receive?”

“The benefit of her company. Nothing else. I don’t gamble so I have no debt. My stables are up to snuff, and my investments are sound.”

He was at once happy for Fancy that she might have an actual admirer, while again experiencing a stab of jealousy that someone else might have an interest in her. “You were taken with her then?”

Beresford glanced around as though on the verge of doing something he ought not. Leaning forward slightly, he met Matthew’s gaze. “She’s a beauty, doesn’t giggle or simper. Appears to be a woman of intelligence.”

That was an understatement.

“She asked after my family and my hobbies.

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