Intentions of the Earl (19 page)

“I should ask you what
you’re
about,”
Alex shot back angrily.

“What
I’m
about? I’m not the one
secretly meeting with a young lady in a library,” Andrew
accused.

“Calm yourself, Andrew. I wasn’t doing
anything utmost, unlike you.”

“Unlike me? What exactly are you
insinuating?” Andrew’s voice filled with disbelief.

“You seem to be trifling with my cousin and I
won’t countenance it.” Alex looked as if waiting for him to deny
his charge.

Andrew just stared at him. “What do you mean
trifling with her?”

“You were courting and kissing her in London,
and now you’ve thrown her over for Lady Olivia.”

“She told you that?” Andrew asked, feeling
his anger toward Alex dissolve. His anger in general hadn’t
dissolved; it was now directed squarely at Lady Olivia for her role
in the mess.

“If you're referring to her telling me you
kissed her? Then yes, she told me about the museum. If you are
referring to you throwing her over for Lady Olivia? Then yes, she
told me about that, too.” His eyes still held their sharp edge.
“Andrew, you might be my closest friend, but that doesn’t mean you
have free reign to run over Brooke’s feelings with no
consequences.”

Andrew didn’t want to know exactly what Alex
meant by that comment, so he ignored it. “I didn’t throw Brooke
over for Lady Olivia,” he said defensively. “This afternoon Lady
Olivia made clear her intentions to woo me. She even had the balls
to propose to me. Which, much to her dismay, I refused. Tonight in
the drawing room she made up some outrageous story that I had asked
to escort her to dinner and how I was backing out of it by
escorting Brooke. I didn’t know what else to do; several people
overheard this exchange including Lady Algen and Mr. Thomas who, as
you know, are notorious gossips. I chose what I thought was the
less damaging action: I took Brooke back to her parents and
escorted Lady Olivia to dinner.”

“And you didn’t think this would affect
Brooke?” Alex asked earnestly.

“It wasn’t until I saw Brooke’s face in the
dining room that I realized how much I'd hurt her, but it was too
late. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her during dinner. I had
hoped to talk to her in the drawing room, but she'd already left by
the time I got there. I decided it was best to talk to her tomorrow
when I take her on a tour of the grounds.” Andrew sat down in a
chair across from Alex. “That reminds me why I came to the library
in the first place. I need you to accompany us tomorrow on a tour
of the grounds. She won’t go without a chaperone and she has no
maid.”

Alex’s eyes looked around the room for a few
minutes before they settled back on Andrew’s. “Andrew, are your
intentions toward Brooke honorable?” he asked quietly.

Andrew stiffened at Alex’s question. He
wasn't sure how to answer. If he were to say the truth, which was a
big fat no, Alex would not only refuse to help him tomorrow, but
would probably have him thrown out of the party as well. On the
other hand, if he said his intentions were honorable, Alex would
expect an engagement to be announced soon; especially if Brooke was
caught in a compromising situation, which was his plan. What a
tangle.

Andrew stared at Alex’s imploring eyes and
quietly asked, “What do you think?” It was the simple way to
answer, it wasn’t a lie or the truth, he was just avoiding the
question and relying on his gentleman’s honor to carry him
through.

“I believe you have a serious interest in
her, and I believe that you will make the right decisions where she
is concerned.” Alex’s tone was still hard, but his face had
softened considerably.

Andrew heard Alex’s words and knew what his
friend was implying: if any harm, scandal or otherwise, were to
fall upon Brooke, Alex expected him to do the right thing. He
swallowed. He couldn’t back out now; he’d gone too far and too much
was at stake. He’d just have to cross this bridge when he got to
it.

And then burn it.

Chapter 16

Mama had not been the only one to check on
Brooke before retiring for bed; both of her sisters had come,
too.

Between the three of them, she was showered
with more sympathy than she'd received in her entire life. All of
them said they were sorry about what happened, they hadn’t expected
the earl to treat her that way, and how horrid they thought Lady
Olivia was.

She agreed wholeheartedly with Lady Olivia
being horrid. Even if she had reasons for it, like Alex believed.
That was no excuse. She was a wolf disguised in sheep’s clothing.
Brooke was certain all those complaints and the like were just an
act to cover up her true self.

As for the earl losing interest in her and
tossing her aside for Lady Olivia, well, that was a different
matter. She had a plan. She was going to win him back, and in such
a way that Lady Olivia would have to go find another helpless soul
to tether herself to. Andrew Black, Earl of Townson belonged to
Brooke.

Brooke hadn’t told her sisters or Mama of her
plan when they came to visit, she wasn’t sure they’d approve.
Madison might not say anything, but Liberty and Mama would go into
hysterics. They’d probably even be appalled at the idea of her
flirting so outrageously in order to claim the man she loved.
Loved? Could she? Is that why she hurt so badly when she saw him
and Lady Olivia together? Is that why she had that hurting, angry,
empty feeling in her chest? She would have to examine this more
deeply later, because for now she had to get ready to go downstairs
and break her fast.

All the way down the stairs she couldn’t help
but hope he was in the breakfast room and would dine with her. She
wondered why she was hoping for that as she reached the grand
staircase. Why did this man stir these feelings? She wondered if
they truly were feelings of love. How could they be? How could she
love him so soon? The two of them had only spent a few afternoons
together. But those afternoons had been so magical to her. She’d
felt differently when Andrew had touched or kissed her than she had
when any of the other London gentlemen had. Did that mean she loved
him though?

Or were her feelings just an intense amount
of jealousy? She was jealous of Lady Olivia. She knew she was,
there was no point in denying it. If she wasn’t jealous, she would
not be trying to hatch a plan to win him. But that didn’t mean she
loved him, she decided.

She stuck to her decision for all of ten
seconds, because when she walked into the breakfast room her
decision wavered. Immensely.

Andrew was sitting at the end of the long
table, his startling blue eyes trained on the door. When she walked
in, he jumped up and with a bone-melting smile, asked her to join
him.

After Brooke filled her plate at the sidebar,
she sat down next to Andrew and felt her skin growing warmer.

“I trust you slept well,” he said
casually.

“I did. And you?” she asked lightly, wishing
they could avoid trivial small talk.

“Yes. I spoke to Alex last night,” he told
her, his lips twitching a little, like he knew a secret he wasn’t
going to share. “He has agreed to go with us following breakfast to
look over the grounds.”

Brooke smiled brightly. She had to start
thinking of what she was going to do and say during the tour to get
his attention back. “I’m glad you remembered that you had offered,”
she said shortly.

“I would never forget a promise I made to
such a fine lady as yourself,” he replied, his voice had taken on a
silky tone.

“Good. See that you are able to keep all your
promises in the future,” she shot back sternly. Just because he had
remembered the promise he had actually made to her, her wounded
feelings were not forgotten.

“I wanted to take you to dinner last night. I
never made such a proclamation to Lady Olivia, but she had me
trapped. I would not like to have embarrassed her by pointing out
before all of those people that I had not indicated a wish for her
company at dinner,” he said apologetically.

His words brought Brooke up short. That was
precisely what Alex had told her. Andrew’s honor would not allow
others to be embarrassed, nor would he himself purposely embarrass
anyone else. She had believed it for the most part last night, but
it made her feel much better to hear him say it. But just to be
sure she asked, “Are you telling me you have no interest whatsoever
in Lady Olivia?”

“None,” he said simply, looking straight into
her eyes as he said it.

“I am happy to hear that.” And she was, too.
Actually, relieved was a better description.

“Now that we have that settled, are you ready
to embark on our tour?”

Brooke gestured to her plate where she still
had half of a pear slice sitting there beckoning for her to eat it.
“I should like to finish my pear then we may be on our way.”

“All right, you finish your breakfast and
I’ll go locate Alex. He finished eating before you came down. He’s
most likely in the library reading,” he said as he got up from the
table.

“Where shall I meet you?”

“Just stay here, we’ll be back in a matter of
minutes.”

Once he had left, she finished her pear slice
and began to dream about their tour. Would he try anything? He
hadn’t tried to push his leg against hers during breakfast the way
he had done previously, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try
anything while they were on their tour. Would he try to kiss her on
the tour?

She sat there with a little smile playing on
her lips because she had decided yes, he was going to kiss her
again. She would see to it that he tried. She was also going to
make sure he didn’t get his kiss, at least not right away.

Brooke woke from her whimsical trance when
she heard footfalls coming from the hallway. That must be them, she
thought excitedly. They have returned, and now they could go on
their tour.

Nobody else in the room seemed aware of the
excitement Brooke was having, but several heads turned in her
direction when they heard her gasp at the sight of the group that
entered the breakfast room.

Alex walked in first, his face contorted in a
way that made clear his irritation.

Following him was Andrew, Lady Olivia
clutching his arm as if she were clinging onto a lifeline she'd
been tossed while drowning in the Thames.

“A tour you say,” Lady Olivia cooed. “I
should like to join you. Please allow me this great pleasure. I
need only break my fast, nothing more; then I shall be ready to
go.” Her words were directed at Andrew, but her smug smile was
directed straight at Brooke.

Andrew walked her over to the sideboard to
help her with her plate. “All right,” he agreed, a hint of
annoyance creeping into his voice.

Alex sat down next to Brooke. “I’m just as
displeased by these developments as you are,” he mumbled and made a
sour face.

Brooke took pleasure in his statement, misery
loves company after all.

The four of them sat in silence. Brooke was
scowling. Alex looked annoyed. Andrew’s face was getting more rigid
with each passing second. Lady Olivia was the only one who seemed
to be enjoying the situation, of course that was because she was
the center of everyone’s attention.

When Lady Olivia had finally taken her last
bite and wiped her mouth for what seemed like the fiftieth time,
she announced, “That was most excellent. I am now refreshed enough
to go about our tour.”

“You ate enough to be refreshed to walk to
the nearest village and back without needing anymore refreshment,”
Brooke mumbled under her breath.

Alex heard her and chuckled.

Brooke flushed embarrassedly, but neither
Andrew nor Lady Olivia gave any indication of hearing what she'd
said.

Andrew stood first. “Alex, I forgot something
in your library, would you mind helping me locate it before we
go?”

“Is it that important that we find it right
now?” Alex asked impatiently.

“Yes, it's of the utmost importance. It will
take no longer than a few moments.”

“All right. If you’ll excuse us, ladies. We
shall return momentarily,” Alex said irritably as he stood.

They were just a few paces away from the
breakfast room when Alex could wait no longer. “What could be so
important to keep those two waiting in the same room. Have you lost
your mind?”

“I’m not in search of anything, I just needed
to speak to you a minute before we go. Would you distract Lady
Olivia?” When Alex just stared blankly at him, he added,
“Please.”

Alex continued to stare at Andrew. Then he
cocked his head to the side and said, “All right, I’ll do it.”

Andrew was pleased and started to stroll off.
That’s when the other shoe dropped. “I’ll escort her on the tour,
and I’ll even try to manage to get her away from you and Brooke for
a while. But you cannot ask me to do this ever again. Also, in
exactly one hour I will cease my good friend duties by dumping Lady
Olivia off on you, wherever we happen to be, and come back in here
to read my newest issue of
Popular Plants
without being
interrupted by you for the remainder of the day. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Andrew confirmed and gave a quick
nod of his head.

Together, they walked back into the breakfast
room. “This is going to be a pleasant endeavor,” Andrew muttered
sarcastically.

Alex sent him a peevish look.

They strolled over to where the ladies were
sitting. “If the two of you are ready, we are ready to escort you
about,” Andrew said cheerfully.

“Absolutely,” Brooke said stiffly. She stood
and moved toward Andrew as quickly as she could. When she reached
his side before Lady Olivia, she clutched his arm and shot her a
winning smile. Round one: Brooke.

“I would like to escort you, Lady Olivia,”
Alex said gently. “If that’s agreeable with you, of course.”