Page 44 of Loving an Earl
“His title is an old one, but I believe he came to it by a convoluted turn of events. The viscountcy belonged to a cousin whose wife birthed only daughters and who then tragically perished in a stable fire. Quite recently as I recall.”
Lilly and Aunt Vivian both gasped. “How terribly sad.” Lilly could only imagine the heartbreak the family was going through. She hoped Redford was being kind and generous with the deceased viscount’s family, as they were at his mercy unless the cousin had been smart and set up money in trust for them, much as Henry had done for her. She would make a point of inquiring as to their well-being during their ride tomorrow.
“Emmeline, Aunt Vivian, I’m going to take my leave and visit Langford and see if he would like me to read to him. For someone used to being in the thick of his business and running the earldom, he must be bored silly.”
When she swept into the room, her nose wrinkled at the smell of antiseptic and laudanum. Langford was propped up on pillows, his eyes closed, and his handsome features were soft in his sleep. His partially covered chest, sprinkled with dark chest hair, rose and fell. Seeing him relaxed in rest, looking young and handsome, had her almost wishing they could be together. Shaking her head, she tiptoed farther into the room and sat on a comfortable upholstered chair someone had brought in. She was grateful for it—she could not face spending any length of time again on the hard wooden chair as her backside still ached from spending many hours sitting in it last night and this morning.
When she realized she’d brought nothing into his room to occupy her time, having thought he’d be awake and she would read to him from one of the several books resting on the nightstand, she decided to rest her eyes for a spell. She hadn’t slept much last night, and certainly not well, worrying about Langford. Henry had asked him to look after her future by helping her find a worthy husband, and she could only think he would want her to look out for his nephew now in his moment of need.
Chapter Seventeen
The rustling ofthe sheets had her eyes popping open. Langford’s body flinched several times, and she knew it could be caused by the laudanum, or perhaps he was in terrible pain. Either way, he was sleeping fitfully when what he needed was a nice, calm rest. When the twitching in his body finally abated, she closed her eyes and sank into the back of the soft chair.
“You don’t have to watch over me.”
Her eyes flew open again. She knew he was addressing her since she’d sent Mrs. Lewis and Mullens to get something to eat and she was the only other occupant of the room. “I know I don’t. But I want to. I thought perhaps you were bored and might want me to read to you.”
“Maybe later. With the throbbing in my head, I’d prefer silence.”
“Oh.” She sighed. “I’ll take my leave then.” She started to rise.
“Please stay. I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t mind you talking to me, just not reading a book I have to pay attention to.”
Lilly smiled.
“That’s not what I mean either. Forgive me. Did you or Emmeline have any callers today?”
“Viscount Redford called upon me and invited me to join him for a ride in the park tomorrow.”
His heavy-lidded eyes met hers. “What was your reply?”
“I said I would like that very much.” His eyes widened, then drooped again. He was still sleepy... or something else. Lilly gave up trying to decipher his moods, injury or no injury.
“Since he was the only name on my list you said interested you, I am not surprised you accepted his invitation.” He paused and closed his eyes, his face scrunching up in what she recognized as pain.
“Let me give you laudanum.”
“No. I’ve had enough of it. It makes my mind fuzzy, and I have trouble knowing what’s real and what’s not. It makes me do nothing but sleep and the dreams it causes are dark and troubled to say the least.”
Lilly tucked the vials into the drawer of the side table just in case the pain turned unbearable and he changed his mind later.
“So, tell me what you think of Redford,” he said, his voice soft and tired sounding.
What did she think? “He’s handsome and appears affable. I only spent a small amount of time in his company at the garden party at the Devens’s. Do you know much about him?”
“Not much. Just what I heard at my club when he inherited the title.”
She was shocked he didn’t know more about him since his name was on that list of potential suitors. “Why did you include his name on the list if you couldn’t vouch for him personally?”
“He appeared taken with you.”
And that was reason enough? She didn’t want to talk about Redford or about herself any longer. “Tell me about Annabelle.”
He shut his eyes, and a sound resembling a groan came from him. It wasn’t just the sound that took her by surprise. It was the sadness that took over his features, which had her heart aching for him and his loss of the lady he once loved—and, to be honest, a bit jealous as well.
“We met during her first Season. I was eighteen and she was seventeen. When I think back now, I was clearly too young and green to be contemplating marriage. I had barely sowed my oats. Yet I wanted her, loved her, and knew the only way I could have her was to marry her.
“I was drawn to her immediately and called upon her daily. Unfortunately, I was too immature to see the signs and warnings that she didn’t have feelings for me—at least not the ones I had for her. I asked for her hand. She refused. It was as simple as that. The following day, she ran away with her father’s young valet.” His eyes met Lilly’s, and she shivered at the longing she saw in his deep-brown eyes. “Tell me about last night.”
