Page 70 of Earl Lessons
She leaned down and hugged Annabelle, who returned both her hug and her smile.
“I, for one, couldn’t be happier,” Lady Angelina declared. “You were about to turn the last of my hairs gray, Annabelle. Especially when we weren’t entirely certain our matchmaking efforts were working.”
Annabelle narrowed her eyes on her mother. “Matchmaking efforts?”
“Yes,” Lady Angelina replied. “The lot of us. We were all in on it, attempting to get you and Lord Elmwood together from the start. Why else do you think we suggested he take lessons from you?”
“Mama!” Annabelle’s mouth fell open and she braced both fists on her hips.
“And you’ve no idea how difficult it was coming up with excuses day after day to leave you two alone together,” Lady Angelina continued, waggling her eyebrows.
“Mama!” Annabelle repeated. “I cannot believe you.”
“Believe it,” Beau declared. “It was all of us. The earl lessons bit was Marianne’s idea.”
Marianne had a sly smile on her face. “Ingenious, if you ask me.”
“What?” David blinked incredulously at his sister. “I thought you were trying to pair me with Lady Elspeth this whole time.”
“Oh, David, that’s far too obvious. I was only trying to make youthinkI was trying to pair you with Elspeth so you wouldn’t know I was actually trying to pair you with Annabelle.”
“That’s what I get for spending time with spies, I suppose,” David replied, shaking his head at his sister, but his smile belied the content of his words.
“Oh, and the disgust I had to swallow to allow that hideous Lord Murdock near you, Annabelle. It certainly seemed to make David jealous, but it wasn’t my first choice,” Lady Angelina added.
“Yes, well, what none of you know is that Lord Murdock had blackmailed me.” Annabelle announced.
“What?” half of the room asked in unison.
Annabelle nodded, but directed her words to David, who looked as though he might sprint from the room immediately to find Murdock and beat him soundly. “At the Talbots’ ball, he found me on the balcony and threatened to tell everyone in the ballroom he’d seen me kissing you if I didn’t dance with him again and allow him to court me.”
“That piece of rubbish!” Julianna declared, scowling.
“I had a much worse word for him,” Annabelle replied, with a smile, “but I’ll keep that to myself.”
“I’ll kill him,” David intoned, a pulse ticking in his jaw.
“No, darling,” Annabelle said, rubbing David’s shoulder. “Let him go. He has a much worse fate ahead of him, marrying Lady Elspeth. And apparently, he’s about to lose a fortune on his bet.”
David relaxed and cracked a grin. “I suppose he does deserve to listen to her prattling the rest of his days. And he deserves to lose a fortune, too.” David turned to the room at large. “Now, if you’re all quite through with your confessions, I’d like to say that regardless of your reasons or your methods, I’m quite happy with the outcome, so I forgive you. And, now, if you’ll excuse us, I’d like to have a few more moments alone with my future wife.”
The occupants of the room scrambled to leave, and within moments, David and Annabelle were alone together in the library once more.
“That was quite impressive,” Annabelle said, wrapping her arms around David’s neck. “You sent them all packing with only a few words.”
“Yes. Well, that was the tone of voice I used in the army. My commands were never disobeyed.”
Annabelle snuggled closer to him. “Oh, really. You’ll have to demonstrate…in bed tonight.”
“Tonight?” David’s brows shot up. “But we’re not getting married until tomorrow morning.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Annabelle replied, nipping his ear.
“I like that way you think, Future Lady Elmwood.”
“And,” she replied with a sigh, “we may be done with your lessons, but we’re just starting with mine.”
David pulled her onto his lap and kissed her soundly. “I havesomany things to teach you.”
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