Page 10 of All Roads Lead To Earls (To All The Earls I’ve Loved Before #2)

Chapter Eight

T hrough the night, Hannah stayed cozy and warm beside Sarah and Anne despite the heavens doing their best to freeze and shake the world. The maids rose early to tidy and restart the fireplaces to warm the house. Warm was ambitious; the fires barely held off the chill in the air.

Breathing steam as she climbed out of her warm bed, Hannah dressed quickly, putting on her second chemise in an attempt to keep warm. Had an earl, an actual real living earl offered for her hand last night?

A smile spread over her lips.

Yes, he had.

Had she, a plain miss from northern Wales, then refused that earl?

A heavy sigh escaped, sending another plume of steam into the air.

Yes, she had.

If he’d been properly interested, it would have been another matter entirely. But he couldn’t have been truly wanting to marry her, not after only a scant few days’ acquaintance. Even with a scandal thrown into the bargain, his words rang hollow.

How much of a fast fool would she have been to accept him?

Marrying into the nobility was a fairy tale ending that simply didn’t happen to country girls like Hannah.

She’d been ridiculous when she’d kissed him in the stables and declared she’d make him fall in love with her.

That had been a rush of blood to her head that had pushed common sense aside.

She simply wanted to know what it might be like to be kissed, and as he was a visitor and would be leaving soon, she’d given in to temptation.

Her declaration that she’d make him fall in love with her had been ridiculous.

A desperate attempt on her part to save face, and she was ever so grateful that encounter had not had any witnesses.

She’d never live it down if the Alwyns had seen them!

As she finished dressing and headed to the kitchens, she thought about how grateful she was to have made a mistake in private.

The poor earl - yes, she was beginning to feel sorry for him - had made a mistake in front of an audience.

In a way, Hannah was glad she’d been there to vouch for him, and prevent him from having to marry Miss Gideon.

That must be why he’d later proposed; misguided gratitude that she’d got him out of a seemingly impossible situation with so many witnesses.

She grabbed a plate of breakfast and asked the cook if she could take anything up to the Marchioness.

“Her ladyship is already up and about, you’ll find her in the withdrawing room,” Cook said.

Quickly, Hannah finished her toast and made her way to her mistress. All the while her thoughts strayed to the earl. He had been upset that she’d refused him last night. Upset probably wasn’t the right description, though. Shocked would be closer to the mark. Shocked that anyone had said no to him.

Lady Amelia smiled as Hannah took her seat and picked up her abandoned needlework. “I hear you will be travelling soon to Ireland.”

Oh no, not the marchioness as well? “That was a misunderstanding, my lady.”

Lady Amelia put down her own needlework and raised a brow towards Hannah.

Hannah battled on. “We sorted it out soon afterwards. No harm done, no reputations damaged in the slightest.”

Still Lady Amelia did not let up. “What of your heart?”

Hannah creased her brow in confusion. “My heart is calm and relieved that the situation is resolved. As is the weather. Many of last night’s visitors are making their way home now, now that the storm has died down.”

“You don’t need to change the subject with me, dear Hannah. Now tell me, as a friend, are you really happy here?”

“My lady, please, I am so grateful to have this position.”

“Hmm. Grateful . That doesn’t really answer my question. I know it’s not fair to always be at my beck and call, especially as … well, I don’t truly have that much call for you as my dear husband does take up so much of my time.”

At that, the marchioness colored a little.

Hannah ducked her head, completely understanding Lady Amelia’s meaning. “I do adore living in Rosstrevor Hall, and I do have the very kindest, most generous employers a lady could ever want.”

“But you do not yet have love.”

“My Lady, please do not think me unsatisfied in any way.”

“There is nothing wrong with falling in love,” Lady Amelia said as she resumed her needlework, “In fact, I highly recommend it.”

Again, she colored a little, and Hannah thought she might giggle. “It doesn’t really matter about my feelings, whatever they may be. I have not yet sorted them. They are like abandoned skeins of tangled thread.”

Lady Amelia gave a knowing smile and said, “Added into that tangle, we do not yet know what the earl’s feelings are. Lady Mary informs me he that last night he offered for you, in all honesty and sincerity. And what’s more, you turned him down without even giving it a day’s consideration.”

“My lady, I did not turn him down, as such, but I did relieve him of his obligation to offer. I am sure it was made in haste and possibly as a way to preserve his reputation after the scene we made in front of everyone.”

Lady Amelia giggled for real now, “Lady Mary was rather clever to pretend that it was an impromptu play, rather than a very real attempt to ensnare the earl into compromising Miss Gideon. I believe I should speak to Lord Tullamore and discover his intentions.”

“Please don’t,” Hannah begged. “Please just let this wash over and pretend it never happened.”

Amelia placed her stitching down on her lap, “Well, you see, now I believe you are protesting too much. I believe he has quite turned your head, and I believe your heart as well.”

Hannah did her best to focus on her stitches, and for a little while, it even worked.

Then Lady Amelia delivered her coup de grace. “I also heard about what happened in the stables.”

Hannah dropped it all in her lap and covered her face. “How?” she cried from behind her hands. “There was nobody else around.”

“Oh my dear, I was only jesting you. I did not realize something had happened in the stables! But from your reaction, something must have. Tell me all!”

Sunk. Hannah was utterly sunk!

Patrick hadn’t talked to anyone overnight, but he could tell by the way the guests turned quiet as he walked in for breakfast the next morning that they must have been talking about him. Being center stage in an emotional drama would do that.

Piling toast on his plate, he added a slice of bacon and made his way to the table. He rather enjoyed the informality of breakfasts at house parties. Everyone mingled in no real order, so he could rub shoulders with anyone.

He was particularly grateful to see the Alwyns already at the table, so he took a seat beside them with a warm greeting.

Mrs. Alwyn smiled and asked if he’d had a restful sleep.

“Not a worry in the world,” he lied cheerfully, in the hope that others would hear him. “How are the spring bucks this morning?”

Mr. Alwyn shook his head with concern. “The cold does not well suit them, but they bore up well through the night.”

“Any damage?” He asked. A pang of shame suddenly hit him that he had not made an enquiry of that kind to the Rosstrevors.

“The stable roof held, at least,” Mr. Alwyn said, “but it was a close-run thing. We’ll put a team together soon to assess the grounds.”

“I hope the packet didn’t set sail to Dublin last night,” Mrs. Alwyn said.

Cold dread drained Patrick’s blood. He could so easily have been on that ship, had his carriage not earlier failed on the road. Had the loss been a blessing in disguise?

Oh dear, another thought soon followed. Had his coachman been on board? He would not thank him for such a rough crossing. Perhaps his coachman had not made it that far, or had turned around? He could only hope.

Mrs. Alwyn must have noticed his discomfort and added, “I’m sure they didn’t. They’re ever so good at reading the weather.”

“That they are,” her husband confirmed.

It struck Patrick that perhaps his journey, as fearsome as it had been thus far, would have been a great deal worse had he continued as scheduled.

He had been praying a great deal as the carriage had jutted and bounced on that terrible road.

Was Rosstrevor Hall the answer to his prayers, and he hadn’t acknowledged it?

And if Providence had brought Rosstrevor Hall into his life, had Providence put Miss Jones before him as well?

He needed to find her.

Later in the morning, he found Miss Jones walking beside Lady Amelia in the kitchen garden. The sun was making a valiant effort to break through the clouds. Lady Amelia was overseeing the gardeners as they repaired the vegetables frames that had blown over.

With unspoken acknowledgement, Lady Amelia became engrossed in conversation with the staff, allowing Miss Jones to fall back a little and talk with Patrick. They had an audience, of course, but they were judiciously ignoring them.

“Miss Jones, I cannot help but wonder if you were a little hasty in rejecting my offer last evening.”

“Indeed?” Miss Jones’s brows reached upwards. “I would have thought my response provided you a good deal of relief.”

“I thought that too,” he admitted too freely. He wanted to speak freely with her, because there was no point wasting time. There was a reason they had been thrown together. “Today I cannot help … wondering … if I should offer again?”

“In the hope of a different response, my lord?”

“Yes.

“No,” she replied, and it was far too quick a response for Patrick’s liking.

“Why ever not?” He shot back. It was in haste, and he rather wished he could slow his mind in order to find the kinds of words that would have her responding positively.

She grimaced a little, which was a bad sign. “My lord, let us speak plainly?”

“By all means.”

“I spoke in haste,” she said.

Excellent, this was resolving better than he had hoped.

She lowered her voice and angled her head a little closer as she spoke. “When I said I’d make you fall in love with me.”

It brought back magnificent memories of kissing in the stables.

But wait … “That was several days ago … I thought you were referring to your response just now, or last night, which I believe was far too hasty.”

“Hasty or not, my response won’t change, my lord.”

“Am I foolish to think it ever will?”

They had walked a few paces away and were pretending to examine the bed of leeks growing nearby.

From her section of the garden, Lady Amelia turned to acknowledge where they were and that they were still within the bounds of propriety.

Satisfied, she turned her back on them and resumed her own conversation.

Not sure how much time they had to speak freely, Patrick reached for her hand. He knew realistically he could not feel the heat between them, as they were both wearing thick gloves, but the fact she’d allowed him this intimacy sent a spark of warmth through his system.

“You truly have no interest in being my countess?” How was he making such a hash of this? He really had thought that when the moment came and he proposed to a woman, she would fall over herself to accept.

“Well, I do. It is a lovely and very tempting offer. But I don’t believe you are making it from your heart. I know a woman of my station has no place making those kinds of demands on a man of your position, but I must be truthful to myself. If I may unburden myself further, my lord?”

“Be my guest,” he said with little enthusiasm.

It seemed to cheer her, though. “I believe I am jealous of what others have. I see Lady Amelia so blissfully happy in life. The Alwyns are also an excellent demonstration of a love match, and it is only natural that I would yearn for that. Does that make any sense?”

“I understand,” he admitted. He hadn’t seen that much of the Alwyns, but they presented as a happy couple, comfortable in each other’s company.

His hosts, he hadn’t seen much of, but the Hall ran smoothly, so he could only assume the Caernarfornshires had the same disposition.

He could understand why someone living alongside those families would want the same for themselves one day.

“But one thing I don’t understand. If that is the case, and I take you at your word that it’s not, why are you not taking the chance for that same level of happiness with me? ”

She sighed a little forlornly and he knew he wasn’t ready for the answer.

“Because you do not know yourself, my lord, and you did not mean it when you offered for me.”

It crushed him.

Because he had meant it, he really had!

She’d done it now. She could see the hope fade from his eyes.

Now it was her turn to rush in with hasty words to salve his wounded soul.

“My lord, we have only known each other scarce few days. I bragged that I would make you fall in love with me, but it was false courage. I needed to save face after making a fool of myself, so I said the first words that came to my head. They made me feel a little better in the moment. Later, I knew how untrue they were. Nobody can force anyone to fall in love with anyone else.”

He looked at her blankly.

“I find you terribly attractive, and the thought of becoming a countess is thrilling. But we are not suited. You are a nobleman, I am a lady’s companion. When you return to Ireland, you will meet a proper lady of your station who will know how to run an earl’s household.”

His chest heaved in a breath and let it slowly out. “I did not believe rejection would sting so. I am not used to it.”

Hannah clamped her mouth shut. He was hurting already, no need to remind him that, as an earl, hardly anyone ever said no to him. He could probably count the occurrences on one hand.

“I thank you for your honesty, in explaining your motivations,” he said at last. “You are wrong, though, as to mine. I do know myself. I find it extraordinary that you presume to know my feelings better than I.”