Surrender to the Earl Read Free Page A

said. “Though he has not taken his place in the House of Lords for these nine years, there is gossip to be had.”
    Blythe asked, “What kind of gossip?”
    Audrey did not want to be a part of passing along rumors, but she could not pretend disinterest.
    “I believe when he became the earl at twenty, he was considered by some to be too arrogant for his own good.”
    “And it seems the army cured him of that,” Blythe countered.
    “Maturity and experience help, too,” Audrey added.
    “There was something about a business investment that failed, and a man involved took his own life. That was when the young earl bought his commission.”
    Audrey frowned. “His lordship could be innocent or guilty of . . . anything.”
    “No one believes the earl had a hand in this man’s death,” Lord Collins assured them, his voice full of blustery conviction.
    “Then it was the investment that people questioned?” Audrey asked warily. Had she just beseeched an unscrupulous man to take her away from her home?
    “This doesn’t concern you, Audrey,” her father said.
    She’d heard that her whole life.
    “But, no, nothing underhanded was discovered, only bad judgment.”
    “And he was only twenty,” Blythe said. “Anyone can make foolish mistakes at twenty.”
    “You’re twenty,” Audrey couldn’t help pointing out.
    “Oooh!” Blythe said with a groan. “You are impossible to speak with!” And she marched out, her slippers making scuffing sounds on the stairs.
    Audrey sighed and was about to follow her.
    “Audrey, I would like a word.”
    She remained still as her father brushed past her to close the door.
    “I could confine you to your room,” he said in his I know best voice.
    She clenched her teeth together so hard she felt a spasm in her jaw. Then she calmed herself. She had intrigued Lord Knightsbridge, she knew, and he felt obligated to do something for her. If she were confined to her room, it might make him even more determined to help. I can’t lose here, she told herself firmly. But she didn’t want to be confined, to hear other people having fun, to be unable to even sit among them.
    “But confining you would cause talk during a shooting party, since Knightsbridge has already met you,” he continued, heaving a sigh. “So I must trust you to be circumspect in your dealings with him. Your sister deserves her chance to shine.”
    “Father, the man is an earl,” she insisted. “He will not be interested in a blind woman, except for compassion’s sake. I am no threat to Blythe.”
    “See that you remember that,” he warned her. “You didn’t before.”
    She could feel him take a step toward her, and much as he’d never physically harmed her, his complete control of her was threatening enough. It was as if the air around her shrank, and she could smell the cologne he used to mask his body odor.
    “I warned you about Blake,” he reminded her for the thousandth time.
    “And you were right,” she said, trying to sound humble instead of furious. “Believe me, it is a lesson I have not forgotten.”
    “Good.” He stepped away. “What do you have planned for dinner tonight, once all the young men have arrived?”
    She briefly, impassively sketched out the menu for him, while her mind churned at her helplessness. He would confine his own daughter, but for talk and her usefulness to his guests. It had happened before, when she’d been cloistered alone and miserable but for Molly. Every time she thought herself immune to her family’s subtle humiliations, another rose to wound her again.
    “You look tired, too,” he suddenly said. “You should rest before dinner. I don’t want Blythe to have to take over coordinating the meal. She needs to be free to converse and make our guests feel at ease.”
    Audrey sighed. “I do feel tired, Father. I’ll spend a quiet hour in my room.”
    But once there, she couldn’t truly rest. She let Molly help her out of her gown into a dressing gown over her