Why Earls Fall in Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

cousins went round the room.
    “You won’t regret this, Mrs. Mowbray,” Lydia said brightly, as she led her cousins to the other side of the room so that they could discuss the next day’s outing.
    “Thank you, Con,” Clara said with feeling. “I will feel much better knowing you and Mrs. Mowbray are looking after Lydia and the others. They can get up to mischief at times.”
    “Better you than me,” said their cousin Lord Payne, from his chair near the fire. “I’d rather visit the tooth drawer than be ordered about by Lydia. That chit has the devil’s own mind when it comes to scheming.”
    “What a horrible thing to say about my daughter,” Clara said with a laugh. “Not that I don’t agree, but even so, it is horrible.”
    “I know how to handle Lydia,” Con said easily. “I’ll simply let her think that everything is her idea. She may order me about as she likes, but I will only obey her as I wish to do so.”
    “But what of Mrs. Mowbray?” Aunt Russell demanded. “I won’t have my companion being treated like a glorified housemaid. By Lydia or anyone else.”
    At her words, Con’s eye flew to Mrs. Mowbray, who only betrayed her embarrassment with a slight flush. “Lady Russell,” she said in a soft voice, “you mustn’t trouble yourself. I am sure that Miss Lydia will be all that is proper. Besides, I truly do wish to visit the ruins, so her notion to go there was a very welcome surprise.”
    “Then it’s settled,” Con said, wanting to spare Mrs. Mowbray any further upset. “We shall all go and enjoy the ruins. I for one am looking forward to bringing my sketchbook. It’s been some time since I simply focused on capturing a scene in charcoal.”
    At that the conversation turned, and to Con’s relief, no more was said about Mrs. Mowbray’s position in the household.
    *   *   *
    Georgie closed her bedchamber door firmly behind her and relaxed for the first time all evening.
    Located at the far end of the corridor, her room was small enough that she had at first wondered if it had begun life as a closet. No matter how small, however, she loved the tiny chamber. First as a child, then as a wife, living in the army’s world of limited privacy she’d longed for nothing more than a room of her own. So, any place that had a door and didn’t require her to share with someone else Georgie counted as a luxury.
    Not to mention that having this tiny room was the first step toward her ultimate goal of owning a small cottage in the country, just as she’d always dreamed. Though her wages from Lady Russell were hardly more than room and board, Georgie tucked every bit into her nest egg in the hopes that one day she would be her own mistress.
    Stepping further into the chamber, she lit the lamp beside her bed with the taper she’d used to come upstairs, appreciating the glow of light on the rosewood furnishings.
    What a change this evening had been from the night before, she reflected, stretching a bit to relieve the tension in her neck. She’d known that the arrival of Lady Russell’s family would herald an end to the peace she and her employer had enjoyed since she’d taken the position as her companion three months ago, but she hadn’t realized just how trying the family would be. And at the top of her list was the enigmatic Lord Coniston, who had kept a watchful eye on her all evening.
    From the moment he entered the drawing room, she’d felt his scrutiny like a staying hand. She could understand why he felt so protective of his aunt. Lady Russell had told Georgie about how she and her late husband had acted as surrogate parents to the young boy while his own parents lived out their tumultuous romance in London and Paris and wherever the whims of their fast set took them. He would of course wish to ensure that his aunt’s companion was someone he could trust. Despite her friendship with Perdita, he needed to vouch for her himself before he let her remain in his aunt’s