Emily let out an exasperated breath as she felt the sudden urge to haul something at him. Anything. So long as it can land squarely on his head. Her hand itched to do just that. The nerve of the man to drop her in an unfamiliar ground and threaten to leave. He even acted like it was nothing out of character! And here she was thinking they could settle into an amicable marriage once he had had time to vent his anger.
Only if she had known it would result into something like this, she would have strongly protested. Rolled on the floor, if need be, cried until someone at least believed her. Wasn't this the same as being a lonely old maid? The only difference was that she was married, but she will still be living the life of an old maid!
Exasperated, Emily folded her hands under her breast and best a steady staccato with her fancy slippers. “I demand to go wherever it is you are going, so step aside, so I can step inside the carriage and do tell the foo
London, England.August, 1832IT HAS BEEN exactly one year since the Earl of Tonfield left his wife at the foot of Blakewood Manor. One might think the time spent apart might have softened his stance on the whole event, but no. There was still some lingering resentment. During that time, the earl had focused on his estate, stables, and all other things, deliberately putting his wife aside. Out of sight, out of mind, and he had been successful until now.Cole Fletcher grabbed his quizzing glass from his drawer and held it over the paper before him. The lights from the candles emitting a low brilliant glow on the ink-stained paper. Against his better judgement, he felt himself smile, as his eyes came to rest on the outrageous price scribbled neatly on the top to bottom of the bill. Cole traced the sum with his finger and laughed out loud. A smile stealing the curve of his lips to one side.
Leicestershire, England.1832.THE EAST WING drawing room at Tonfield hall was filled with fifteen house guests with more expected to arrive as the day goes by, delayed by either one thing or the other. Emily looked around the clusters of people, the one's standing by the door, the one's seated near the window, on a couch with a gilded scroll end, and the one's trying their hand at a game and smiled.There was a reason she had picked every single one of these guests and sent out an invitation to them. Alexander St. Clair, Earl of Romley was a lover of horses, and if his insistent questions do not bother Cole, then she doesn't know what will. Robert Parsons, Marquess of Bewford was chosen because he had twin sisters. If there was ever any form of mischievousness, she expects it would be those two to start it.Duncan Blackmore, The Marquess of Penslow because he had been pesteri
THE DINING ROOM at Tonfield hall, like every other thing in the house, reflected wealth and elegance. A testament to the fact the earl was worth forty-five thousand pounds a year. The room which was draped in red velvet, marble, and gold was illuminated by a chandelier, hanging over their heads like a blanket of light, creating a soft warm glow on the dining table and all other places forgotten by the candelabra.Cutleries clinked and clanged on simple ceramics as quiet conversions filled the room. The guests helping themselves to different assorted foods placed in front of them and those that weren't within reach were passed around by the footmen. However, sitting at the foot of the long table was lord Tonfield. His long slim fingers holding a pair of silverware in a death grip, wishing it was someone's wrist. Rows of even white teeth clenched tightly behind pursed lips.The Earl was beyond angry, and he knew that. With the way things were progressing, he wasn't even
COLE CURSED FURIOUSLY under his breath, turned, and marched towards Emily at a pace that almost made her drop her comb and bolt from her chair. Instead, she made herself sit there calmly and await him. The occasional quiver of her hand as she brushed her hair her only sign of agitation.In two or three quick strides Cole got to her side and before she knew it he grabbed hold of her chair and roughly turned her around in it. The screeching sound on the hard floor was the only form of protest as a surprised Emily could barely comprehend what was going on, let alone utter a single word. Cole snatched her comb from her hand and hurled it across the room before he leaned ever so slightly, holding her prisoner in her own chair.The poor comb crashed carelessly somewhere across the room before everything quietened down. Only then did Emily notice her own erratic breathing or the fact that there was no escape.“Just- what -do you think you are doing in my chamber?” Cole sn
COLE AWOKE TO A BLINDING light and a soft sheet beneath him. With a groan, he rolled to the side to avoid the offending sun. Gently he pried his eyes open, but found himself in his room rather than his study where he had fallen asleep last night. Confused how he got there in the first place Cole sits up and was confronted with the strangest thing ever.As a young boy who had loved his room. Cole had gladly maintained it when he grew up and became an adult and would like to think he would recognize it anytime, anywhere. However, looking at the decor before him Cole felt like he had just stepped into another room.In pale blue paint and floral patterns of dark blue, orange, and brown, the room outrageously feminine. Not a room he would have dreamed of finding himself in.With a curse, Cole swung off the bed and ran a hand over his thick black mane. What the hell was this? Had the servants made a mistake in placing hi
“Gentlemen, what say you to this, she asked with an expectant smile on her face.Emily had returned and was now standing in front of the guest with her hands planted akimbo. She turned and gave her husband one last look. Emerald green eyes met stormy ones and instantly her lips twitched to the side. Almost as if she was proud of herself. At that moment a bittered Cole who had been observing everything with quiet displeasure had the sinking feeling that had his wife been in a possession of a hand fan, she would have gladly been laughing behind it. An observation he wasn't keen on making.His mouth ached from clenching his jaw and as Cole watched. Several men offered a polite excuse and started towards him. Their decisions obvious. His dark brows furrowed and Cole looked away, but not before he saw George Bertram with his black sleeked back hair and a big grin on his face leading the line.The man was enjoying
COOL HAZEL EYES summed up the situation up ahead. From where he stood and watched, the duchess of Hanton tactically dissuades her mother from joining the men.Seeing there was nothing else to be done. Cole swirled around and headed towards the stable, the gentlemen falling in place behind him.Soon thereafter, a pattern was easily established. With Cole several feet away from the men, not too far as they cannot make out his form in the distance and not too near that, he was directly in front of them.With the men behind him, Cole had only his thoughts as a companion and it wasn't anything pleasant. For one, he kept thinking of how Sebastian had ruined his plans and then the matter of his wife, she was too much for him to handle. If he hadn't thought before, now he did. Her present actions bore oh so testament to that. He had to admit the truth if not to anybody, then at least to himself. And he hated that he had to
“Bullocks! I say this is a pretty darn place you have here, lord Tonfield. It's a wonder you don't invite anyone about, Tiverton said as soon as he swung down his horse.“Fishing for another invitation, Tiverton?”“I thought you would never ask.”Cole almost smiled. Instead, he collected the box of the pistol from his footman placed it on top of his horse, and laid it open.So far, his greatest fear since his wife announced this unexpected expedition had not happened. He had thought the men would be a nuisance, a thorn in his side. But so far they had conducted themselves with dignity. Now that he thought of it, his anger had steamed from discovering what Emily had done to his chambers and then that matter of taking the decision from his hand by proposing the shooting game. Perhaps he had been too quick to leap to a conclusion.Lifting the silver pistol, Cole tasted the weight in his hand, turned an