The Outcast Earl Read Free Page A

indication, beyond her signature on the marriage contracts, that she had even accepted the fate her father’s spendthrift habits had handed her.
    The Earl of Winchester, otherwise named Stuart de Rothesay, had been progressively sinking into massive debt for the last fifteen years, in order to finance a luxurious lifestyle for himself, his wife and four fabulous daughters. To stay afloat, Winchester had drained his entailed property of anything saleable long before, and was left with a mortgaged London home at a highly valued address in Mayfair, country properties that were dilapidated and tenanted, and mounting pressure from the banks after two speculative investments had failed dramatically.
    For reasons known only to Meriden’s grandfather, Meriden’s man of affairs, Simon Rutherford, had always kept abreast of Lord and Lady Winchester’s lives. Charles knew of it, of course, and had allowed the regular reports on their finances, politics and social activities to pass into his hands every quarter since his grandfather’s death. It wasn’t as if they were the only family of influence his grandfather had tracked. The previous earl had left Charles with a letter listing those who owed the family favours and those to whom the earl had felt a certain obligation. His grandmother had been able to enlighten him about most of the names, but had no explanation as to why the previous earl believed he was indebted to Lady Winchester, the only female on the list.
    When Charles had heard of Winchester’s difficulties from Rutherford, and about the imminent seizure of the peer’s lands, Charles had immediately known that saving Lady Winchester and her daughters from being cast into the street definitely qualified as repaying a debt.
    Overruling Rutherford’s sensible financial advice, Charles had quietly approached the bankers and had purchased a significant portion of Winchester’s debt—more of the debt than any mere favour would have required.
    It was to be Charles’s opportunity to re-enter popular society, to ask the upstanding and fashionable Countess Winchester to procure for him invitations to events where he might find a bride.
    At least, that had been his plan.
    One visit to Winchester House had revised his intentions. The five beautiful women that graced the portrait behind Winchester’s desk had inspired Charles to ask for a much higher price.
    Amazingly, after staring at him for only about twenty silent seconds, Winchester had agreed.
    Abigail came to him without a dowry, though Winchester had deeded to Charles the two properties of Lord Aston, Winchester’s minor title, and Charles had written off the mortgages he held on them. Still, Charles was grateful that he hadn’t been forced to circulate among the backstabbing matrons that comprised the proverbial ton, or even to set up housekeeping in the etiquette-strict and overly expensive city. He had not once been called upon to tell the story of the scar to his jaw to a shocked and wide-eyed audience—a boon worth nearly any portion of his personal fortune.
    In any event, Charles was thoroughly confident in his ability to make more money to replace that which he had spent to acquire Abigail. And, if the day did come where her parents threw themselves on his mercy, and requested a roof for their heads, he could easily insist Abigail install them at Aston Manor. He’d already ordered the leaking roof to be replaced and measures taken to restore the house and grounds to respectable condition, though turning the land into a profitable farming operation would require more time.
    Charles had been certain that Winchester would call his bluff on the marriage demand. Winchester was socially experienced and had an expert for a wife, so Charles could not understand why he had agreed. He’d been sure the man would come back to him and ask him to reconsider, or to offer him some alternative. Arranged marriages, after all, could reflect poorly on the bride as being