The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous)

The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous) Read Free Page A

Book: The Earl's New Bride (Entangled Scandalous) Read Free
Author: Frances Fowlkes
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escalating squabble. “I did not know he was maimed.”
    Albina’s pencil stilled, the form of yet another horse taking shape on her page. “Nor, I, but I found his eye patch quite dashing. It lends him a certain roguish appeal, don’t you think?”
    “What I think,” Sarah said, “is that his patch protects his eye from further damage. It matters not whether it makes the man appealing.”
    “Either way, it gives a measure of validity to the gossip going round about him,” Albina countered. “Why only this morning, Lady Georgiana could not stop talking about the suspected way in which he took his mistress’s life.”
    “And how is that?” Sarah asked.
    Henrietta turned away, not wanting to hear the answer. She had heard the rumors—everyone had. They were the latest on-dit, the only topic of conversation the other guests wished to discuss.
    And the ones she wished least to hear. The earl’s innocence had been proven—not that the ton placed any weight by the verdict. For, despite a long awaited witness coming forth to support the earl’s claims, those in charge of the trial were easily swayed, often paid to look in the opposite direction, thus leaving many in the ton with doubts as to the earl’s credibility. A credibility further strained by common knowledge dictating that charges, even of the murdering sort, were rarely brought against a peer when the victim, like the earl’s mistress, was of a lower class.
    Albina answered loud enough for the entire room to hear. “Poison, of course.”
    “Absolute nonsense. I should box your ears for even listening to the rubbish spouted by Lady Georgiana.” Their mother snapped her fan shut. “The earl, lest you need to be reminded, is your father’s heir. Her words reflect poorly on our name as well. He may be a DeVere, but he is the Earl of Amhurst.”
    “Yes, but he is also the Black Earl ,” Sarah added. “His reputation precedes him. Everyone knows his mistress was found dead, and he, a few weeks later, fled to the Continent. Innocent men have no cause to run.”
    “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. His innocence has been proven by a court of law. Whatever reasons he had for leaving were his own. It is not for us to question. He is an earl, for heaven’s sake. With an empty nursery,” said their mother. “He is in need of a wife.”
    “Henrietta will do nicely…for an innocent man.” Sarah nodded toward Henrietta.
    “I would have, had I not repulsed him.” Henrietta shook her head. “No. His opinion of me has been cast, and I fear it is not a favorable one.”
    Sarah snorted. “Nonsense. If anything, you have made yourself more alluring.”
    “Alluring?” Henrietta scoffed. “Did you not witness his indifference?”
    “No, I did not. I witnessed him offering you a jacket when no other came forward. And a handkerchief when you continued to sneeze. Are they not the acts of a gentleman?”
    “A gentleman, yes. A man interested in offering me marriage? No.” Henrietta threw the pillow into the back of the settee. She might as well prepare her farewells to her father’s home. The earl had clearly dismissed her as a possible candidate for his wife, the memory of the bland expression he directed toward her enough to make her tremble—without being doused in cold water.
    Their mother wove between the chairs, her skirts rustling with her movement. “Your father was generous in his will with your dowries and my allowance, but I fear if we do not secure this match, Plumburn will be lost.”
    “Papa made certain we would be comfortable at Rosehearst, which is not entailed, and where, for the past five years, we have lived quite amicably.” Sarah ran her thumb along the spine of her latest read. “We do not have cause to want.”
    Their mother tilted her head to the side, pearl earrings dangling from her lobes. “But Rosehearst is not—”
    “—Plumburn.” Henrietta peered at her sister, willing her to understand the attachment, the bonds she held

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