Enticing An Earl

Part 4

The next day, William woke up with a killer headache. He had trouble making up his mind. Was he over indulged in celebration or was he drinking to forget the rather delicious Lady he had the honor of seeing almost naked.

Little George indeed. There was nothing little about that woman. She was thin and tall but she still had ample curves. Enough to make a man think of all the hours he could spend exploring them. Max always said that little George would be a great friend for shy Emma and now William understood why. The chit had managed to look regal and confident in her undergarments and his sister could learn a thing or two from the woman.

William groaned as he remembered her as she was, with her cleavage wiggling and her skin flushed. Max had to be a saint to not notice how perfectly formed her figure was, it was absolutely sinful. He felt like taking himself in hand and relieving himself just by picturing her in his bed. He realized with disgust that he was acting like a randy youth.

Shaking his head to clear out the images, William started his day. After a quick bath and a strong cup of tea in his chamber, he made his way down to the dining room. He was surprised to hear his mother and sister's laughter, his mother usually had her breakfast in her room. He spotted his friend in his chair as he entered the room and saw his very correct butler trying to get Lord Maximilian Crawford, the Duke of Lancaster, to move down the table.

"Please tell your butler that I deserve your place at the table as you managed to steal my very rare and very delicate plants last night. Traumatized man are usually indulged.” Max’s smile suggested that he was entertained rather than traumatized. William wanted to encourage his butler to further harass his friend but he was still hungover. Waving his butler away, he took the seat next to his sister after filling his plate.

“I knew you would celebrate after last night but you surprise me. You went the extra mile and got drunk. It's flattering how hard you would celebrate after a single victory over me. It’s almost as if you are in awe of me." William winced as the pain in his headache increased and poured himself another cup of tea.

"What are you doing here so early? Didn't the ball end late last night?" Relaxing he stared at his friend over the rim of his cup.

"No, the ball ended earlier today and I decided to check on my priceless exotic plants. When my gardener informed me that my greenhouse was empty, I came as quickly as I could. You can't look after plants dear friend, even the plants in all the paintings around your house look wilted." Max’s exaggeration pulled a laugh out of William’s mother and sister. Usually the smiles on their faces would make his friend bearable but it was too much noise for his poor abused self.

"They are in the carriage that I bought them in, take them and leave. I'll talk to you later." William knew he was being rude but they had been friends for a long time and their friendship was strong enough to survive a few rude encounters.

“I feel like I should point out that if William was a married man, his lady wife would have stopped him before he could drink to such excess. Usually womenfolk are an annoying breed but they do have their uses. Your headache today could have been avoided.” Max finished with flourish.

“Dear Crawford, you do know that you just insulted me and Emma, after all, we are women.” Lady Hamilton’s smile showed that she was not as offended as she would like to be.

“But you and dear Emma are not ordinary woman my lady, you are paragons.” William groaned as his mother and sister smiled at Max's incorrigible flirting.

“You can cheer up my friend because tonight you will dance with every fresh out of school chit in a pastel dress. They would hang on your every word because they would love to have a big, strong and rich husband like you.” Max quoted the exact thing William’s mother had said a month ago, just to annoy him farther.

“You'll have to be there as well, it's Emma’s first ball.” William reminded his friend. He knew that Max doted on Emma as if she was his younger sister but entering Almack's would be asking a lot of any man. He shuddered as he imagined all the simpering missus he will have to dance with tonight. Another vision filled his imagination as he imagined himself dancing waltz with George and he groaned with suppressed desire.

"I know every blood sucking harpy will be after me but I'll sacrifice myself for Emma's sake. After all, I have to be there to introduce you to your new best friend.” Max grimaced as he too would have imagined being chased by all the girls. They were two young eligible men with an old title, the matchmaking mama’s would be in heaven.

Lady Hamilton decided to start her lecture on family and duty as she realized that both men were only accompanying them to support Emma and were not serious about finding brides for themselves. William had been hearing the same lecture for the last six years. He ignored it by habit and focused on how to break the news of George's assault to Max. He ate silently as he saw his friend charm his mother and sister farther.

Emma was usually a shy person, she would never really contribute to a conversation but Max had the special skill of making her talk and share. William listened as his sister described the dress she would wear that night in great detail and marveled at the fact that Emma could form long sentences. After breakfast, they retired to William's study.

"I found your little George climbing down your tree near the hot house to get away from a man. She almost fell and could have broken her neck if I had not been there. This man was ready to compromise her Max, the chit was in her undergarments when I found her. How could a thing like that happen to your guest, under your roof?" William saw Max turn pale before he started turning red. It felt good to finally let it out, his frustrations and anger. He knew that his friend rarely lost his temper but when he did, it was awful for everyone involved.

"Last night I found Lord Cooper reading in George's library. I didn't think anything of it at the time except that may be he stumbled upon her personal space by accident. Now I think he was lying in wait for her to return. He should not have tried such a thing in my home, I'll not be made a fool of. I think that I need to have a little chat with Lord Cooper, don't you?" The hard glint in Max’s eye was easy to read, he was out for blood.

"I know that I'll kill the man if I ever see him. I hate men who treat women like they are disposable. To think that tonight these man will line up to dance with my sister.” Max growled in frustration and anger.

“I think we need to have a long conversation with Emma and George about the kind of men they should avoid and how to avoid them. For tonight, I think that I would stay by Emma’s side while you should stay close to George.” William looked at his friend in surprise and asked him the reason for such an arrangement.

“The girls need to find husbands. If I stayed with George and you with Emma, it would look as if we don't trust our charges and they are flighty. If you were to stay with George and I stayed with Emma, it would look as if the chits have attracted someone eligible. They might have the chance of attracting a better breed of men.” William nodded as he realized the wisdom of Max’s decision and the two of them started hunting for their prey.

In the end the two friends found Lord Cooper gambling at White’s. Lord Cooper greeted Max like an old friend but the cold greeting from Max shattered this illusion. William noticed that Cooper suddenly looked pale and shaken.

"May I talk to you privately?" Max asked sternly. Cooper agreed and started making his way towards the private rooms.

William looked at the man subjectively as Cooper walked in front of him. His oily skin, hairless head and hairy nose are the three features because of which he was easily recognizable. He carried himself like a middle aged man and William could see that his clothes were padded. A man like that would have looked out of place next to a siren like George.

"I can't find three books that were a part of a rare collection, can you tell me where they are?" Max asked without preamble.

"No. I was rather taken with the latest novel from my favorite author to notice anything else." Lord Cooper looked relieved after Max's question but the man didn't know that he was being led like the sheep to it's slaughter.

“Then how did you know of my personal library? No one is allowed to enter it and the staff is prohibited from revealing it's location?” William could see the oily leech was trying to come up with something but he relaxed as he made up his mind.

“I had an engagement ring in my pocket and I was trying to convince a young Lady of our acquaintance to marry me. When she escaped me near the refreshment table, I decided to surprise her in the library. When I explained my problem to one of your maids, she lead me to that library. Unfortunately, I did spend a lot of time waiting for that Lady to show up but she never did. Now, if you would only tell her what a wonderful match we would make when you next see her then she would surely say yes. I know she respects you and takes your…… my Lord where are you going?” William followed Max as he exited Whites and silently waited for his friend’s reaction.

The only thing running in his head at the same time was,..

How did the damn woman ended up in her undergarments?