An eye for an earl, p.20
An Eye for an Earl, page 20
part #2 of The Scarlet Salon Series
He stared at her in some surprise. “Yes! I’m amazed you noticed, most people don’t actually. Even Oscar didn’t realize it ‘til three weeks later.”
“It’s much brighter in here now. The late Viscount had a strange fondness for dreary curtains.”
Matthew chuckled and his whole face lit up, making him look more like the twenty-three-year-old young man he was. “That he did. The draperies were the first thing to go; the wallpaper and carpets are next. Mama has decided to tackle the drawing room first, so I have a bit of a reprieve until she bombards my study.”
“Where is the Viscountess this morning?”
“She’s paying a call on the vicar’s wife today. I believe that sour creature has another ailment she plans on regaling Mama with. But Mother feels it’s her duty to entertain the sickly and bed-ridden members of the community. Lady Digby seems to have lost all interest in village life.”
“But not Lord Digby, I believe.”
“Oh no, far from it. Digby is a very active member of the community. He rubs shoulders with his tenants, attends all the local assemblies, and even frequents the village pub. Nothing haughty or aloof about the new Earl of Digby.”
“You sound like you admire him?”
“Well yes, I suppose I do. He’s so different from George. He’s a fair and considerate landlord, and his servants practically revere him. The village people are very fond of him as well, and many had hoped that he and the army widow would make a go of it. Secure the line of succession and all that.”
He froze suddenly, as though having realized what he’d just said in her presence.
Isabelle felt a stab of jealousy but quickly covered it with a sweet smile. “Yes, it’s just the type of story to excite the imagination. The war hero who unexpectedly inherits an earldom, and the attractive widow who lost her husband to battle…it all sounds terribly romantic.”
He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “I suppose so, but it doesn’t matter anymore. They parted ways a few months back, so no need to concern yourself with past affairs.”
“Concern myself? Matthew you don’t presume that I’m setting my cap at the Earl, do you?”
“I…well, I thought…he did escort you here from London, twice now. There was also talk of him dining at Bindon House. I just assumed that…”
She shrugged noncommittally. “Speaking of affairs of the heart, have you ended things with Lydia yet?”
He blushed hotly and scowled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you know about that. You’re quite active in London society, after all.”
“I make it my business to know everything about everyone. My brother’s affair with a pretty, yet completely inappropriate, actress naturally piqued my interest.”
“She ended things,” he said gruffly. “Caught me by surprise, actually. But perhaps it’s for the best; I don’t have time to be running back and forth between here and London.”
“To be honest with you, Matthew, I had something to do with that. You see I scared her off.”
“WHAT!” he exclaimed incredulously. “Why in heaven’s name would you do that?”
“I had a feeling that you’d be concerned with more pressing affairs,” she stated, indicating the paperwork on his desk. “Than spending your time and energy on a new mistress.”
He shot to his feet, leaning forward on his desk menacingly. Blue eyes, identical to her own, glared at her. “You had no right! This is my life and I’ve had it with everyone around me trying to control me.”
“Oh Matthew, sit down before you give yourself an apoplexy.”
“Why did you do it?” he demanded between clenched teeth.
Perhaps now was not the best time to confess that it was she who’d brought him to Lydia’s notice in the first place. The pretty actress had been looking for a protector and had asked Isabelle to point out a likely candidate. When her father’s health had begun to decline rapidly, she’d wanted to keep a closer eye on her brother. Lydia had been the perfect spy. No, perhaps she ought not mention that today.
“Well, at first I did it to aggravate you. I knew that you were fond of her, and she is a very charming creature. But I was also aware of how badly the estate was faring, and how difficult the task lay ahead of you to recoup all of Father’s financial losses. He really did make a muck of things the last six months before his death.”
“Such as bequeathing a very valuable piece of property whose sale would’ve covered our taxes for at least five years.”
She smiled. “Yes, that wasn’t a smart business decision. That was just Lord Bindon being the stubborn old fool he was.”
“Or perhaps it was his way of trying to make amends,” Matthew pointed out.
Isabelle didn’t respond right away. It was possible, she supposed, that her brother was right, and Thomas Howard had not been simply trying to exert his will from beyond the grave. Maybe he had felt guilty and wished to make things up to her.
“Well, we’ll never know, now will we? In any case, I’m sorry for having scared Lydia away. She was quite harmless, and I believe you deserve whatever comfort she could’ve offered you.”
He seemed to deflate a little before her eyes. “While your motives weren’t exactly noble, your instincts were correct. I can’t afford to keep her in the style she’s grown accustomed to. The cost of the house, the servants, the jewels…it was all quite exorbitant, and I can barely keep the estate afloat. Now Mama wishes to redecorate the house just the way she’s always wanted. She wants to experience a London season with all its balls and lavish entertainments,” he added with a shake of his head.
“It sounds like Viscountess Bindon wants to make up for lost time,” Isabelle surmised with some amusement.
Matthew grunted. “She wants to revel in her newfound freedom. Hers was not a happy marriage.”
“That’s putting it rather mildly, dear brother. Hers was a disastrous match with a completely incompatible stranger. Her father had money, our father had none, but he did have pedigree and a grand title. A fashionable marriage of convenience, some would say.”
Her brother sighed. “If I can’t turn things around for us soon, I might find myself in that very same position.”
Isabelle frowned; she didn’t like how dejected and forlorn he sounded. The burden and responsibilities of the title were suddenly all of his to bear, on his own and, from what she’d seen, with very little guidance.
“Well,” she said, getting up from her seat and rounding the desk. “Let’s see if something can be salvaged for this year. Show me your books.”
He looked at her, startled. “What the Devil do you know about agriculture?”
“You’d be surprised at the various tidbits of information I’ve picked up over the years, but I’m more interested in seeing your figures than discussing crop rotations.”
Reluctantly, he pulled out his ledger and started to explain to her the notes and different columns his steward, Mr. Thompson, had diligently filled in with his neat handwriting.
They worked side by side for well over an hour reviewing all forms of paperwork, including tax receipts and crop yields.
“What happened here?” she asked, pointing to a date which showed a massive slump in sales.
Matthew sighed. “That would be when Papa argued with Mr. Hall, of Hall and Sons Mills. They wished to renegotiate the terms of their wheat contract with us. The Viscount refused to have terms dictated to him and proceeded to insult Hall Senior to his face, in his own office no less, and stormed out. Needless to say, the loss of that contract was a heavy blow. Papa refused to admit his error, but the figures speak for themselves.”
Isabelle nodded slowly and asked about a few other larger expenses that her brother explained were new equipment purchases and repairs. She recognized a couple of failed investments under the title of a shipping company she knew about all too well.
Viscount Bindon may have been a nasty man, but he was surprisingly not subject to the common vices and weaknesses of his peers. He didn’t gamble nor drink excessively, and as far as her informants could tell, he didn’t conduct any extra-marital affairs. One could almost call him a moral, pious man…almost! He was vain, however, and didn’t like to admit his own ignorance in matters he knew nothing about. That included shipping investments. While importing goods from the Far East could be a very profitable business, one needed to invest in the ship itself, with its crew and most importantly the captain. It had been Isabelle’s perfect revenge against her father, a severe blow to his pride and his finances.
“So, as you can see,” Matthew concluded, cutting into her thoughts. “I have a Devil of a task ahead of me.”
“You do and you have my complete sympathy. However, since it’s within my power, I’ve decided to help you.”
He gave her a half smile. “And how is it that La Belle Beaumont can help me?”
“Have you ever met any members of the Hall family?”
“Not that I recall. I know they live in Surrey, and besides the flour mill, they have a couple of businesses in London.”
“You’re quite right. As a matter of fact, they are a family with infinite potential. What do you find often happens when you combine lots of money with social ambition, brother of mine?”
“Pushy social climbers who have new money written all over them. They often try to marry into the upper class.”
She beamed at him. “Precisely, and that is exactly what John Hall Junior has been trying to do. He’s always impeccably dressed in the first stare of fashion. He frequents all the men’s sports clubs, races, and popular haunts in London. He somehow received a membership to White’s and unfailingly gets invited to the most sought after balls and entertainments in town. But most importantly, he patronizes The Scarlet Salon.”
“He…oh!”
Isabelle chuckled. “Not one of my clients, I should point out, but I’ve spoken to him and flirted with him. If I remember correctly, he has a sister, a rather plain creature, I’m afraid, but of marriageable age. She’s had a season already but hasn’t made a match yet. I believe several fortune hunters offered for her, but her papa won’t accept anyone less than a titled gentleman.”
“I can see where you’re going with this, and my answer is no. I refuse to be saddled with a wife when I’m only twenty-three years old and to a plain creature to top it all off.”
Exasperated, she rolled her eyes. “I never said you should offer for her, but you can certainly pay her some marked attention. It would do her reputation good to be seen around town with a viscount. Perhaps you can invite the Hall family to Bindon Abbey for pheasant shooting or some other event. You need to woo them back into business with you and make amends for Father’s inexcusable behavior.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared out the window and drummed his fingers on the surface of the desk. She left him to his thoughts, picking up the ledger and heading for the sitting area. She sank onto one of the leather couches and flipped through the pages to see if she could find anything else of import.
Chapter 27
It was in that position that Viscountess Bindon found her two oldest children some fifteen minutes later. She paused at the threshold of the study, a look of astonishment crossing her face. They weren’t baiting or glaring at each other, but were sitting in a comfortable silence.
“Hello, Isabelle,” Lady Bindon ventured cautiously, as she looked between her and her brother.
“Lady Mother,” Isabelle replied, inclining her head to her.
Tears sprang to the older woman’s eyes, and she smiled wobbly as she took a seat next to her. “How nice of you to visit. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to greet you.”
“That’s all right, Matthew has been keeping me well-entertained.”
He guffawed. “Things are certainly never dull with you around, Izzy.”
“Won’t you stay for tea?” her mother asked, looking rather like a hopeful Basset Hound.
Isabelle’s first inclination was to refuse, but she checked herself. She was making it a point to be friendly and possibly rebuild a relationship with her family, so she might as well put in some effort. “Tea would be pleasant; I find myself quite parched.”
Beaming, the Viscountess quickly hurried away to tug on the bell rope. Once Simmons appeared, she instructed him to serve tea.
“I saw your lady’s maid while visiting Mrs. Talbot in the village today. She’s and her aunt are staying at Mrs. Kent’s place, I believe.”
“Yes, I’m quite cross with Rebecca, so I’ve asked Nan to keep an eye on her.”
“Oh!” Matthew said with raised brows. “Why? Did she ruin one of your favorite gowns?”
Isabelle snorted. “I’m not that petty. No, she betrayed my trust and endangered my life, as well as Digby’s.”
“What!” both her mother and brother cried in unison.
Isabelle sank back into the couch, making herself more comfortable. “Let me tell you a story. A story about a pampered fourteen-year-old girl who suddenly found herself penniless and alone on the streets of London…”
Isabelle must have talked for well over an hour, pausing every once in a while to answer questions. When she’d finished the story, her family sat, stunned. The Bow Street Runner they’d hired had never found out about her time in the Devil’s Acre or Lucifer. Oscar had arrived at some point during the recital and sat riveted by the events she recounted.
It was Matthew who spoke first. “I saw you in London, several times in fact. I tried to approach you the first time, but you ignored me. You used the name Beaumont, so I thought you didn’t want people to know we were related. I kept my distance.”
“I’m sure you didn’t want the world to know that your sister was a whore.”
Her mother and brothers visibly cringed at that.
“That wasn’t it. I didn’t know how to act—I didn’t know what you wanted,” Matthew admitted quietly.
“You could have visited me at the Salon,” Isabelle suggested.
He ran his hands through his auburn hair. “I was a coward—a shameful coward. I couldn’t face you, not after what Papa did to you, and I was helpless to do anything but watch.”
“You were fourteen,” Isabelle murmured. “I would’ve forgiven you the first time I clapped eyes on you in London, but when you snubbed me, I felt…”
Oscar took her hand in his and squeezed it. “I think we were all a bit in awe of you, Izzy. You became a famous figure in London society, a force to be reckoned with—what with your connections and all.”
“I’m a courtesan living on the fringes of respectable society.”
Oscar snorted. “You have more power and influence than a duchess. I think the only woman to outdo you is Prinny’s mistress.”
Isabelle smiled in amusement. “Are you disappointed that I didn’t make it into the Prince Regent’s bed?”
“A royal nephew might’ve been fun to have,” Oscar said with a wink.
“Even if he was born on the wrong side of the sheets?” Matthew asked, his lips curving into a smile.
“Just imagine, a royal bastard living in this mausoleum! It’s the stuff of a Gothic novel, I swear,” Oscar continued enthusiastically.
Their mother looked pained by the turn of the conversation. “Your father was not an easy man,” her Mama began. “I begged him to take us to London, but he adamantly refused. Matthew was finally able to go to town when he graduated university, and only when George implored your Papa to allow Matthew to accompany him.”
Isabelle scoffed. “Viscount Bindon wasn’t simply a difficult man, he was a cruel tyrant and stubborn to a fault. In a way I’m almost glad I was able to escape him; he would’ve had me wedded and bedded before I was even sixteen.”
Her mother bit her lip. “As a matter of fact, that was his intention, yes.”
“You did get three footmen and two stable boys dismissed because of your antics, you know,” Matthew said in amusement. “Papa couldn’t guarantee a virgin bride if he didn’t push for an early wedding.”
Isabelle was astounded by how accurate her guess had been. “And George would’ve agreed to it? Lud, he would barely have passed twenty!”
Lady Bindon shrugged. “I doubt he had much of a say in the matter. His father didn’t object since his gaming debts had started to put a strain on the estate, and your father had promised a respectable dowry for you, besides Bindon House. As for the Countess, she was pleased with the idea of having another young woman at the manor.”
They spoke a while longer about the household and the staff changes that had happened over the years.
As Isabelle rose to leave, on impulse she said, “I would like it if you could all join me for dinner this week. I’ve employed a new cook from the village who’s said to make an excellent meat pie. I’d like your opinion on redecorating the parlor, Lady Mother, and you boys can tell me what you think of the new chestnut stallion I purchased in London.”
They all happily agreed to the scheme, and Isabelle allowed them to embrace her farewell. As she mounted her horse and rode away from the Abbey, her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.
Chapter 28
On her second jaunt into the country, Rebecca felt neither the happiness nor the excitement she’d experienced during her first visit. Just before they’d left London, Isabelle had given her a withering look and then proceeded to ignore her for the duration of the journey. While the man she’d grown to consider her friend refused to meet her eye and kept his distance. The only person who’d shown her any kindness, besides her aunt, was Maggie Kent.
The older woman had fussed over her when they’d arrived at her charming little boarding house in Minterne. Rebecca was given her own room, and Maggie had filled a hip bath for her to bathe in. She’d handed her soap from her own stores and brought her up a dinner tray herself.
Mrs. Kent was a sensible, no-nonsense woman, and while she knew that Isabelle was greatly displeased with Rebecca, that hadn’t affected the way she’d treated her guest.
