Page 4 of Tempting a Lonely Lord (The Rakes of Mayhem #6)
The next day
Cliffton Abbey
Dover, England
These tranquil walks at dawn had the potential to be a cherished routine, William mused as he found himself pausing at the spot where Lady Bella Connolly had slipped down the cliff.
He leaned over the edge, scanning the sandy ledge where he had caught her and where the faint imprint of their footprints still lingered.
A wave of gratitude washed over him, his heart swelling as he recalled the adrenaline of yesterday’s close call.
Bella was, without a doubt, the most vivacious and enchanting young woman he had ever encountered.
The mere thought that he’d see her later today filled him with an anticipatory warmth.
William couldn’t recall when a woman had captivated his attention so completely.
But an exhilarating spark in her playful spirit made him want to uncover more layers of her personality.
His mind drifted deeper into contemplation, and he became momentarily lost in the memory of her laughter and the light in her eyes.
As a gentle breeze stirred the air, a delicate trace of jasmine drifted past him—her scent, light and sweet, as if she had just been there.
The fleeting fragrance startled him, and he looked at his surroundings, half expecting to find her standing nearby.
But reality settled in a moment later—he was alone.
Then movement off in the distance caught his eye.
As he strained against the brightness of the rising sun, he thought he saw a ship.
He’d been here almost three weeks and hadn’t seen a single vessel.
Quickly, he slid his spyglass from the holster on his belt and directed it at the ship. The boat didn’t appear to be moving.
With the spyglass, he could make out a small dinghy being rowed out over the crest of the waves to meet it.
He shifted his view to the flag being hauled to the top of the mast, hoping he might recognize some kind of identity.
But whoever was manning the vessel was flying it under a flag he’d never seen before.
It certainly wasn’t the Union Jack, nor was it one of the merchant ships.
Considering the time of day, this all felt suspicious.
Taking a seat on a nearby rock, he withdrew a small sketchbook and drew the flag’s symbol.
Afterward, he made his way back to the manor, moving through the trees to avoid drawing the attention of whoever was manning the boat.
Once he was back at the house, he hurried to his study to send a missive with his drawing to Colonel Harrison.
He tugged on the shabby brown velvet cord near his desk.
The door to his study immediately opened, and Harlow entered.
William noticed how quickly Harlow always responded and fleetingly wondered if the man camped outside the door, waiting to be summoned.
“Yes, my lord?” Harlow said.
“Have Franklin see that this is delivered to Colonel Harrison’s office in London.
” Before being hired by William, Harlow had retired from many faithful years of service with the Crown.
William had also hired Franklin officially as a footman, but the young man had been one of the Crown’s most trusted messengers and continued to work with him in that capacity.
“In addition, my younger brother should arrive this morning, and we have an invitation to meet the neighbors, Lady Connolly and her grandmothers… Er… I don’t seem to recall her giving me either of her grandmothers’ names.
” He had been too distracted by the events, he assumed.
“If you will allow me, my lord,” Harlow said.
“I may be able to help with the names. I had the pleasure of assisting the grand ladies when they stopped in town on their arrival several weeks ago. The shorter lady with gray hair is the Dowager Viscountess Elise Harrington. Her husband was the late Viscount Phillip Harrington. And the taller one is the Dowager Countess Anna Bridgewater. Lovely ladies, if I say so myself.”
The older man quickly stepped back, his face a mottled red. William had never seen Harlow embarrassed and momentarily turned his face away from the man to hide the smile that overtook his face.
Harlow handed him a missive from the Duke of Dorman and a carefully wrapped package. “They arrived with this morning’s mail, my lord,” he said.
William opened the package. “Excellent. Michael and I can bring some of these to tea at Bridgewater Manor this afternoon. Would you ask Mrs. Bradberry to find a decorative tin for them?”
“No trouble at all, my lord. You mentioned the tea was at two. I’ll have the tin ready for you.”
“Thank you, Harlow,” William said, his voice full of gratitude.
“You are most welcome, my lord.” With a swift bow, Harlow left the room.
A few minutes later, William finished reading the letter from Dorman and, setting it down on his desk, leaned back in his chair. Dorman had written to say their visit would possibly be delayed by a week or two.
It would be good to see the duke and duchess again. William hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed social activities with friends until he left London for Kent. He was staying busy, and normally, he enjoyed the solitude to focus on his work, but the isolation of Dover had begun to wear on him.
Until yesterday. Meeting the lovely Lady Bella Connolly—despite the foul weather that rolled in the moment he’d returned home—had made his day.
She had made an impression on him—so much so that he found himself thinking of her every spare moment.
He needed to stop doing so. He wasn’t looking for a relationship—there wasn’t time for that. He needed to get Michael settled.
There was too much to do and no time for love or romantic entanglements—at least, not now.
His lips twitched with amusement as he recalled Lucas’s remark when he’d casually mentioned Harriett’s help with decorating. Dorman had chuckled and suggested that William ought to find a wife of his own.
He had brushed off the comment at the time, but deep down, he couldn’t ignore the quiet pang of envy at the closeness Harriett and Lucas shared. Of course, he wanted that kind of love— one day.
But not now.
His internal reasoning should have settled the matter. However, it didn’t. His mind wandered back to yesterday… to Bella… Her lush curves and her beautiful golden hair. Her captivating jasmine scent.
Focus, man! Stop thinking about that pretty girl. You have a hundred and one things to do.
He’d been anxious about his arrival. He was relieved that his London staff had willingly agreed to accompany him.
They’d left a skeleton staff in London—just a handful of trusted individuals to oversee the townhouse and ensure everything ran smoothly in his absence.
It wasn’t a question of financial consideration; his cousin had amassed a considerable fortune, and William could easily afford more help.
Instead, his decision stemmed from the immediacy of the current situation, requiring a full complement of staff at the country house instead of the city residence.
In the drawing room, Mr. Harlow and Mrs. Aberdeen had already begun interviewing additional personnel for the Kent home.
They had begun assessing candidates to fill roles from kitchen staff to groundskeepers, aiming to create a cohesive team that would ensure the house was both welcoming and efficiently managed.
Time was of the essence, and William knew that securing the right staff was crucial.
He was very appreciative to have a butler of Mr. Harlow’s temperament and background, as well as his housekeeper, Mrs. Aberdeen.
A tap sounded and Harlow stepped into the room.
“My lord, the kitchen staff found this lovely tin for the lemon bars,” he said, presenting a tastefully decorated tin.
“Perfect,” William said.
“Very good, my lord. I shall make sure you have it when you are ready to leave.”
“By the way, Harlow,” William said, “the Duke and Duchess of Dorman plan to visit in two weeks. Her Grace has agreed to help us with refurbishing the manor. Ask Mrs. Aberdeen to have the nursery readied, in case they bring the children and their governess.”
“I’ll inform Mrs. Aberdeen, your lordship. And may I add, you’ve made an excellent choice? The duchess has already earned a remarkable reputation among the ton for her decorating talent.”
“Thank you for that, too. I’m new to this, as you know. I appreciate any thoughts or insight you can provide.”
Harlow acknowledged the compliment with a nod and a bow before he left.
Since he still had a few hours before he needed to be at Lady Connolly’s for tea, William decided to investigate the area where he had found the iron trap.
It could have seriously maimed an animal—or a person, for that matter.
He wanted to know what it was doing on his property.
Nothing in his late cousin’s papers mentioned trapping or providing permission to trappers.
As odd as it seemed to him, the former viscount had been generous to several animal charities—based on his ledgers.
So, it was strange that he had given to such charities and at the same time approved trapping on his land.
The late viscount had had many egregious faults, but cruelty to animals didn’t seem to be among them.
One charity was a local farm that took on wounded animals and rehabilitated them.
William shook his head when he thought about that.