Enticing An Earl

Part 11

William saw the light of mischief and fiery spark of anger leave George's eyes, to be replaced by a haunting hollow look that would have broken anyone's heart. Lady Sarah seemed heartless as she smiled and tried to continue her conversation with William. When he saw all the hope he gave George leave her, he was beyond angry. He had been happy that he would have the vibrant woman back, the one he was introduced to, the one who was not haunted by loss. He had been so glad to see George caring about something.

William stared at the woman who had destroyed all his hard work as she continued babbling. Lady Sarah was the lowest of the low who would latch on to any man with enough riches to satisfy her or a high enough title. Her beautiful blue eyes were calculating, her features destroyed by her innate evilness and William thanked God that he was not a naive fool to consider her for a wife.

"I think it's better if the two of you leave. The next time you have something important to say to Lord Crawford, please send a letter. You are no longer welcome in my house.” William looked at Lady Sarah as he said the words. He didn’t want there to be any confusion as to why the siblings were being dismissed.

"Are you in love with her? Is that why you're so upset? Or are you doing it for the bastard? Is he in love with her? He does agree with everything she says like a love sick fool. You do know that you don't have to be so nice to them?" Lady Sarah looked in Brandon’s direction with enough vitriol to finish a normal person.

"I respect Lady George too much to hear something against her. As for love, I do love her like a sibling, something you would never understand. I agreed with everything she said because all Lady George did was list facts. We are all aware of them as you have been running after Lord Lancaster for more than a year. We have heard so much about you that we feel like we know you intimately." Brandon was no ordinary man and easily answered Lady Sarah. She was scowling by the time he finished, her pretty face looked ugly and the woman ton admired so much suddenly looked like a witch.

"Are you going to let that nobody talk to me like that? Even his father sent him away with a fleet because he couldn't bear to look at that face." Lady Sarah was fast losing her composure. Lady Hamilton, who had been dreaming of blond grand babies when she had seen her son with the beautiful woman, decided that she was glad this happened before things progressed.

"Lady George has been a welcome addition to the household and she has not forgotten about her parents . All that she said was to save us all from poisonous company. Brandon Steel is a dear friend and adviser, if you can't look at his face then my sincere advice is you should avoid all of us in future as he is a permanent fixture in our lives." William kept his voice leveled, never betraying the extent of his anger.

Lady Sarah, who had judged William to be man who cared about what the ton thought, tried to appeal to him in the only way she thought she could convince him.

"I'm a Viscount's sister and a close friend of Prince Regent, are you going to throw me out for a bastard and a nobody's daughter?" Her haughty tone was enough to boil Emma's blood, who was usually a kind and gentle person.

"If you don't brother then I'll leave with Mr. Brandon and George. Think very carefully before you answer." Emma glared at the woman who had spoiled their perfect night.

Hearing Emma speak in his favor made Brandon's heart beat faster and his palms sweat. No woman had ever spoken in his favor, even his own mother. She had thought of him as nothing but a burden, a punishment for her sins. If Brandon had been falling in love with Emma slowly before now, it suddenly turned into a free fall.

"I don't need to think about anything sister. Lady Sarah will leave and is to never return. Viscount Beaumont will always be welcomed as he did nothing wrong. He just had the bad luck of being born with an insufferable sister. Friendly advice Lady Sarah, never insult a man's friends in his home, no matter who they are." William's voice was arctic and his expression was even colder.

Finally Lady Sarah understood that no matter what she said, she would never have his heart or his ear. She stood gracefully and started walking towards the exit but before she could leave she turned around,

"You are too softhearted, no one can run an estate without a little help from his peers. Keeping bastards and strays in your home and alienating others like you will destroy you. I'm sure that you'll suffer financially because of one and the other one will be the cause of your sister's ruination." She looked from George to Brandon before leaving with her back straight and her head high. Viscount Beaumont apologized and left quickly behind his sister.

William turned to Brandon as soon as the siblings left and glared at him.

"If you so much as touch a hair on Emma's head, I'll cut your arms off and feed them to dogs. I love you like a brother but I know you too well. You know me too and you know I don't make empty threats." Brandon turned red with embarrassment. He might have seduced experienced woman in the past but he was not an animal, he could control his baser urges. How could William doubt his honor before everyone? Before he could get even a single word out of his mouth, Emma spoke up.

"You are so easily manipulated brother, everyone would think that you were the one living in isolation all these years. She played you like a fool and you walked right into her trap. She wants you to doubt your friends, to hurt them. Brandon has been nothing but a gentleman even though we have been alone together at least five times. If you can't trust him, please do trust me, I'll never betray you like that."

William realized that what Emma said was indeed true and instantly apologized to Brandon. In a true gentlemanly fashion, he offered Brandon his best wine and his company. His offer was graciously accepted and soon after dinner, the men went to his study to enjoy their wine while the ladies retired for the night.

George couldn't sleep, she wanted William to know that she would never be a financial burden. She didn't want him to think of her as a charity case, who would spend the rest of her years being dependent on his kindness. After what seemed like hours of pacing around her room, she decided to go look for him in his study. Her pride would never let her rest until she cleared everything. Hastily tying her robe over her night dress, she stepped outside. Easily losing herself in the grand mansion, George searched for the study for quite some time.

When she arrived at the door, she heard Brandon's gentle snores. As George stepped inside, she saw him sleeping on a sofa and William sitting on the floor near the fireplace and staring at fire. Max was nowhere to be seen. William was only wearing a shirt and breeches like Brady but the top four buttons of his shirt were open.

George stared at the beautiful sight, mesmerized by it. William's hair looked white in the fire, his eyes a mixture of sky blue and red, his face perfectly sculpted and his body, thin but athletic. She could see traces of a rock hard chest that made her hands itch. She had never seen a man look so serene and troubled at the same time. It was mesmerizing and she could do nothing but stare at the man before her.

George didn't know how long she stood there staring, it felt like a life time and a heartbeat at the sometime. When William turned, he gave her a sad smile before making space for her to join him near the fireplace. She silently sat down next to him and watched the logs burning with William for sometime.

"It's all they see you know, my face. They never try to find out what kind of person I am, what I want, what I love. They just assume that because I look so good, I must be vain. He's so perfect, he must be arrogant. He's so perfect, he must be a nancy. He's so perfect, he must have spend hours in front of a mirror. He's so perfect, everything must have been handed to him." William took a deep breath and stayed quiet, just looking at the fire. George was unsure, was she expected to answer him? Before she could make up her mind, he continued.

"I did the same with Lady Sarah today. I saw her, how she acted, how smart she sounded, how graceful she was and decided that she was exactly the kind of woman an Earl should marry. I didn't even try to know her, even though Max warned me about her. I didn't listen, I'm just like them. I would have been stuck with a woman I would have had trouble respecting." William finished with self loathing.

“Maybe we need to see with our heart more. We can still learn to look beyond the obvious, you are never too old to learn you know. I hope to marry the kindest and smartest man who would have me and then to fall in love with him. You can't see kindness or intelligence, I’ll need this skill.” George smiled at a shocked William and continued to stare at the fire.

“You plan on marrying?” George laughed at William but answered his query as sincerely as she could.

“I know I’m an old maid now, almost on the shelf but I always wanted to marry a good man and have his kids. The problems began when all the smart suitors realized that I would never be a biddable wife. I knew too much about agriculture and breeding to stay silent amongst men when they discussed it and that made me undesirable to the kind of men I wanted. When the suitors disappeared, fortune hunters appeared and I had no wish to marry one of them. The reason I’m still unmarried is that no one will have me.” George gave a mocking laugh at her own naivete. She had hoped to impress men with her vast knowledge but instead she had scared them away. She waited for William to act in a similar manner but was surprised to hear him laughing. When she turned to look, she caught his eye. He must have seen the hurt in her eyes because he pulled her closer and whispered.

“All those fools don't know that they have lost a treasure.” George shivered as she looked in William’s eyes and saw the unnamed emotion in them. A heat started low in her belly and her breast grew heavy. She wanted to rub herself on him, like a cat looking for relief. For the first time in her life, she was scared of her body’s reaction. Fearing that she would do or say something to embarrass herself, she ran back to her room.