Page 7 of All Roads Lead To Earls (To All The Earls I’ve Loved Before #2)
Chapter Five
A nother day, another walk along the waters as Hannah found herself at liberty once again.
It was a strange kind of life, she thought, a companion to a marchioness who really didn’t need her that often.
She sometimes filled a seat at a dinner table where she wasn’t required to do much, and say even less.
She was something of a warm body to be positioned when and where required. The rest of the time, she had to find ways to fill her time.
A shuffling noise from the ground stole her attention. There in the weeds sat a hedgehog. The little darling looked cold and a bit lost. Should she cuddle the small beastie?
Being a hedgehog, he or she would be prickly. Hannah didn’t even have her gloves to protect her.
“Hullo,” a voice called out nearby.
Standing up, who should be walking toward her than the earl. He lifted up his hat in greeting.
“Good afternoon, my lord,” she said with a bobbed curtsey. She couldn’t go too far down, the ground was drenched with overnight rain and her skirts would get soaked.
“How are you this fine day?” He asked, with a smile that made her tummy do strange flips.
“My lord, I am well. I have just become acquainted with this gentle creature,” she said, indicating the hedgehog.
She expected him to ignore it, because it was a small thing of no importance.
The earl looked down, while his voice rose in pitch with delight. “He’s so sweet!”
Her heart melted a little at how soft the earl behaved toward the little animal.
“I always feel lucky when I see these creatures,” he said, admiring their spiky new friend. “But why isn’t he running away from us?”
“I believe he might be cold,” Hannah offered.
“He might be at that.” At which point the earl took his hat off and sat it before the hedgehog. Then with his gloved hand, he encouraged the animal to climb in. He only yelped a couple of times as the spikes pressed through his gloves.
How endearing to see this man behave so kindly.
Realization dawned on her. He was kind to lowly creatures. Is that what why he was behaving so kindly to her, because she was so low?
“What do you propose to do with him now?” Hannah asked as the earl lifted up his hat, heavier now there was a hedgehog in it.
“Err,” he looked about. They were closer to the stables than the kitchens. “Let’s head to the stables, it will be dry in there at least.”
Hannah grinned at the earl’s demeanor. “There might be some food in there. Oh, but my lord, I don’t know what hedgehogs eat.”
“Grubs or grass, possibly?” He offered with a shrug.
That incredibly touchable loose lock of hair was back over his eye. Her hand twitched at the urge to put it back in place. Instead, she curled her hands and kept them tightly to herself.
They reached the stables which were marginally warmer than the outdoors, but far drier, except for one small area where the roof leaked melodically into a bucket.
The Alwyns were doting over the spring bucks, as usual. The animals regularly drew a crowd, and today there were several people here to gaze upon the shy exotic creatures.
The earl approached Mr. Alwyn and showed him the contents of his hat. Mr. Alwyn’s face beamed with pleasure. “My good man, I have signs of woodworm in the posts. I hope the little critter is hungry. And if you find any more, bring them over at once.”
Mr. Alwyn took the earl’s hat and climbed up the ladder to the straw-filled upper floor. He gently lowered the hat, shaking it a little to encourage the hedgehog out.
Mr. Alwyn handed the hat back to the earl, where he batted it against his leg to remove any dirt that might still be in there, before placing it on his head.
A beautiful curl from his forehead stuck out below the hat, warming Hannah right through at the sight of it.
For the next hour, she and the earl spent a charmingly wonderful time searching for more hedgehogs. They didn’t find any, but any time with the earl was time well spent.
The skies threatened rain once more. Patrick had to concede there were no more hedgehogs to be found.
Had he made something of a goose of himself in the eyes of this young lady?
Well, so be it. He adored hedgehogs, who were so small and harmless.
They also kept the bug problems in check.
Odd to see one about at this time of year, though.
They should be hibernating. Perhaps a fox had found his burrow?
He would check with the Alwyns tomorrow and see if Snuffles had made it.
Oh dear, he’d given it a name already! That could only lead to heartbreak. How many animals had he rescued as a child and tried to save?
“We should probably go back into the warm,” Miss Jones suggested. Mist gathered her hair into delightful ringlets.
“Yes, let’s,” he agreed. “Will you, ah, be attending the dances?”
She tilted her head in that shy way she had and said, “If the numbers are unbalanced.”
“That is why you were at the dinner the other evening?”
She blushed so delightfully he knew it to be true. “Lady Mary feels badly if there are too many gentlemen and not enough ladies at events, so I often score a late invitation.”
“Ah! A fiddler’s bidding, then?”
She giggled into her closed hand, “Something like that.”
“If you have a card, I should like to reserve a dance.”
They were closer to the doors leading back into Rosstrevor Hall. Soon they might not be able to speak so freely, because there would be far more people about.
“My Lord, it would be unseemly for you to claim a dance with me, considering my low station and lack of fortune.”
Relief flooded through Patrick. “It’s a mere dance, it’s not like I’m forming an attachment.”