A Compromised Gentleman (The Marriage Mandate #3)

Chapter 1

Kent, 1836

S imon Langley could not rid himself of the prevailing sense of oppression baring down on him within the confines of his carriage.

Not physically, of course. It was a well-kitted out carriage, spacious with fine glass windows that offered pleasant views of the countryside. Only a barouche could offer more freedom.

No, the sensation that the walls were closing in on him was not literal. It existed all in his head and, much to his annoyance, had persisted there for weeks now.

Which made his decision to spend hours travelling in a carriage a poor one, although he had little choice in the matter.

His sister was expecting him at Cosburn Park for Easter and he could not disappoint her. Partly because he hated the thought of Sarah upset, but mostly because, as his eldest sister, she would box his ears for it the next time she saw him.

So he begrudgingly put himself in the carriage and left London for Kent, the sense of oppression only worsening with each mile deeper into the countryside.

Though Simon knew the feeling was all his own making, he had yet to ascertain why it plagued him.

Is it the new house?

He had grown tired of the simple apartments he rented in London and gone in search of a proper townhouse. The house in Hanover Square was exactly what he wanted, and he had finalized the sale only a few weeks ago. He now had a permanent home, which was something he had never truly known.

Oh, he had never been a foundling left on his own, but he had been orphaned at ten, sent to live at Cosburn Park. While he had been warmly welcomed into Sarah’s home, it had never been his home.

Though if he ever told his sister that, she would likely box his ears. As far as she was concerned, Cosburn Park was his home and had been since he had come to live there after Father’s death.

Except Cosburn Park belonged to his brother-in-law, the Baron Talbot. Talbot had been a fine guardian and mentor, but Simon was not his blood. Cosburn Park and its estate would go to Simon’s nephew upon Talbot’s death. No part of it belonged to Simon. He would always be welcome there, but it was not home.

It had been up to Simon to find his own home, and now he had done so.

Then why do I feel this urge to bolt from the carriage and run a mad-dash through the fields of Kent screaming at the top of my lungs, rending clothes from my body in a desperate bid for freedom?

Perhaps it would be a touch dramatic, yet such action held a certain appeal. At least he would be doing something .

Now was that the root of this unrelenting suffocation? With the business of the house settled, its staff hired, and its rooms furnished to his liking, he now had nothing to do.

No, it was not that. These feelings plagued him even at the height of his search for the house.

These past few months in London had been different for him, and the unsettling feeling had been growing on him with each day.

Is it loneliness?

After all, he was without his closest friends for the first time since he took up residence in London.

Matthew Wright and Ewan Wallace had been his friends since their school days at Eton and Oxford. When they had moved together to London, they had been the very definition of privileged young men sowing their wild oats.

And now that was over. His friends were now the Marquess of Rothsay and the Earl of Camden, both committing all their time and effort to the responsibility of their titles.

But even worse than fulfilling their duties, his friends were now married.

Happily married at that, which meant they spent all their time with their wives and children.

Simon did not begrudge them their happiness…much. They were good men and deserved happy lives. He simply missed their companionship.

Well, if a lack of companionship was what ailed him, then Cosburn Park would be the cure.

The house would be filled, not only with Talbot family members, but also the friends Sarah would have invited to stay over the holiday. After all, her invitation to him had stated that he could not refuse as she needed him there to ensure even numbers at dinner.

And he could never refuse Sarah when she asked. He would do anything for her. She had essentially raised him following the death of their parents. Childbirth had claimed Mother and, within a year, consumption had claimed Father. At two and twenty, their brother Albert had become the new Earl of Farnborough, which was overwhelming enough. To take on raising his youngest siblings was not possible for the young man.

And so Sarah had brought Simon and their youngest sisters, Charlotte and Harriet, to live with her and her husband at Cosburn Park.

Luckily, Baron Talbot held that family ought to look after family. Although the man would be a hypocrite not to believe so. After the death of his first wife had left him the father of a young daughter, he had gone in search of a new wife to raise her. He had married Sarah with the understanding that she would treat his daughter like her own.

An easy enough request to agree to, as it was impossible for anyone not to love Hannah Talbot. Simon knew that all too well.

As a child, she had been a kind-hearted and cheerful girl, eager to welcome Simon and his sisters to her home with biscuits and a sunny smile that was a comforting balm in their grief.

As a grown woman, she was just as kind-hearted and cheerful, but now she also possessed silky golden curls that would brush her swan-like neck, piercing sapphire eyes that were incandescent pools that could pull a man into their depths, set in a perfectly heart-shaped face with lustrous porcelain skin, pert nose and a lusciously supple mouth that naturally curled up at the corners.

Yes, Hannah Talbot was very easy to love.

Which was why Simon did his best to keep Hannah Talbot from his thoughts. It worked quite well…provided he was far away from her.

The familiar view from the carriage window signalled his imminent arrival at Cosburn Park. It would not be long before he was in her presence once again, and Hannah would consume his every thought.

Did that explain his agitation?

Perhaps. Which only annoyed him more.

A ridiculous childhood infatuation should not plague a grown man. He should be past all this by now.

He had known for years that Hannah saw him as merely a childhood friend. She thought of Simon no differently than she did her brothers, Charles and Jacob.

Hannah’s heart had always belonged to John Barlow, the eldest son of the Viscount Carrick. The Carrick estate abutted the Talbots, and the families had been close for generations. It was always understood by both families that Hannah and John would one day marry. Only cruel Fate prevented the union, yet it did not alter Hannah’s heart at all.

If Hannah was the cause of his turmoil, then he would be in for a difficult fortnight at Cosburn Park. Perhaps he should tell the driver to turn back to London and take his lumps from Sarah.

Except the carriage was already turning onto the drive to Cosburn Park, so there was nothing to be done to avoid it.

The Talbot family had owned Cosburn Park for generations, the building spreading out like a spider’s web with all the additions built over the years. The uniform red brick, warm and inviting in the sunlight, created a cohesive look for the various wings and storeys, all nestled together in the surrounding gardens.

No matter where one stood in the house, a window would offer a view of the gardens, with its many paths winding through well-tended flowerbeds and hedgerows. Even the carriage turn cut through them, offering a beautiful display for any arriving guests.

Tulips were just beginning to bloom, their delicate yellow and red petals offering a splash of colour in the early spring garden. It was a cheery welcome back to Cosburn Park as his carriage came to a stop.

The butler welcomed him inside the great hall with its domed ceiling, marble arches, and imperial staircase that his sister descended with a wide grin for him.

Her rosy cheeks and supple skin made it easy enough to mistake her as the younger of the two, although he was a decade her junior. Her raven black hair sat neatly in place, her day dress a pristine ivory muslin with the most intricate embroidery on the bodice and hem that Simon knew she had done herself. Sarah had always been a master of the expectations placed on a well-bred lady, flawless in their execution.

“Brother, it has been too long,” Sarah greeted him, pulling him into a tight embrace. “We are all so happy to have you here.”

He held her, breathing in her familiar rosewater scent that was so reminiscent of his younger years. His memories of his mother were vague, a ghostly shadow of a woman on the edges of his mind. It was Sarah that occupied that maternal part of his heart and mind. It felt good to be held by her, that suffocating cloud easing off of him finally.

“Uncle Simon!”

A torrent of children’s voices erupted as the Talbot children descended the staircase in a pack. Although Sarah had looked largely the same, her children were drastically different.

Charles was almost a man now. He was as tall as Simon, his dark hair long enough to graze his chin, dressed in the latest fashion with a shiny fob bouncing against his leg as he followed his siblings. The young man would be quite popular with the ladies once he was out in the world.

Sophie and Lydia still wore shorter hems and their dark hair in simple plaits, but they were growing into proper young ladies who would be out in society in the blink of an eye.

Jacob was still a fresh-faced boy of twelve, yet he had shot up nearly a foot in height since Simon last saw him. And little Jane was not that much shorter than Jacob, despite being two years younger than him. Growing like a weed, that one.

The young children ran at him, embracing him with all the gusto that youth offered, peppering him with the latest news and pressing questions.

“Uncle Simon, you must let us show you the new pond,” Lydia said. “Papa agreed to put in goldfish. They are the most magical thing to watch!”

“When you put your fingers in the water, they kiss your fingertips and it tickles,” Jane told him.

“Uncle Simon does not care about the goldfish pond,” Jacob told his sisters. “He wants to know about the trout in the lake so he can fish when he is here.”

“I care about both the pond and the lake and any other aquatic areas on the property,” Simon assured them. “I promise that you may show me all of them while I am here, but you must give me a moment to rest after my journey.”

Charles offered him a firm handshake, much too old and too much of a man to embrace. “It is good to see you, Uncle Simon. Mother worried you would not make it time.”

“You are the last guest to arrive,” Sarah chided him. “Everyone else has already gone upstairs to rest before dressing for dinner.”

“I was delayed in London with arrangements for my new house,” he said.

Sarah cocked her head with interest. “You finally moved out of the bachelor apartments?”

“It was time,” he replied. “The new house is in Hanover Square.”

“An excellent address,” Sarah replied.

“Can we visit you there?” Sophie asked. “I am set to be presented next year. It would be to my great advantage to visit Town early so I might prepare for it.”

“That is something to discuss with your mother,” Simon said, knowing better than to make a promise without Sarah’s input, “But all of you are always welcome to my house.”

Sarah glared at him as the children began to talk at her all at once with requests to visit. He shrugged helplessly. What else was he supposed to say?

“Now, what has everyone in such a commotion?” a booming voice echoed through the great hall, drowning out the children.

Lord Talbot entered through the marble arch that led to the library, a pair of spectacles perched on his nose as he looked down at them from his towering height. The man was six and a half feet tall, his salt and pepper hair nearly brushing the top of the arch. He was lanky, yet he carried himself with such confidence that he appeared more an unmoveable mountain than anything else.

“Simon has purchased a home in London and all your children are eager to visit,” Sarah said.

“Ah, Simon!” Lord Talbot said, grinning as he crossed the great hall, hand extended to him. “It is good to see you, son. We have missed you here at Cosburn Park. We shall have fine shooting while you are here.”

“And I am allowed to join you on the shoot,” Charles said proudly.

“I am not,” Jacob groused, his nose scrunching up in annoyance.

“You can stay with Lydia, Jane and I,” Sophie offered, but that did nothing to placate her younger brother, who continued to pout. Sarah directed a pointed glance at Charles, who jumped to attention.

“The governess only gave you leave from your French lessons to greet Uncle Simon. As you have done that, it is time to return to the schoolroom.” The girls let out a groan, and Jacob stuck his tongue out at them. “And you, little brother, are late for your Latin lesson with Mr. Stokes. He should be waiting for you in the upper library.”

With groans all around, the children trudged upstairs with Charles wrangling behind them.

Simon glanced around, surprised that Hannah had yet to join them. Was she not in residence at Cosburn Park?

It did not seem possible. Hannah had not left in years. Cosburn Park was her sanctuary since she lost John. Was she ill? Or had she finally given up on her self-imposed exile? Was she off visiting friends?

He should not be wondering about her. He was supposed to avoid thinking of her, which meant asking about her was off the table, of course.

He would eventually find out where she was at some point during his visit. There was no need to ask.

“And how is Hannah?”

It seemed he possessed no actual control over his mouth.

“She is well. She would have come to greet you, but Caroline Barlow is here,” Sarah answered him. “You know how young ladies are.”

Indeed, he did. With four sisters of his own, he was well-versed in the behaviour of young ladies, especially when they were with their closest female companion.

“Upstairs, raising some breeze, no doubt,” Talbot complained. “She is becoming a problem that needs to be solved.”

“You know why she is behaving that way, dearest,” Sarah said, but Talbot waved her off.

“I am merely being practical, as all fathers must. If you will excuse me, estate business requires my attention before dinner.” Talbot clapped Simon affectionately on the shoulder. “We will speak more later, son. We’re glad to have you at Cosburn Park once again. It has been too long.”

Talbot left through the marble arch, and Sarah sighed. Knowing her as he did, Simon knew it was a mix of frustration and resignation.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“Talbot is keen for Hannah to marry now that Sophie is set to be presented next year. He feels she is wasting her life here at Cosburn Park, mourning John. He is pushing the marriage card now. I have tried to persuade him away from it, but he will not listen. Instead, he invited Lord Lansdowne here to stay, with hopes of making a match.”

Simon was familiar with Lord Lansdowne by reputation, although they did not run in the same social circles. Lansdowne was a pious man who rarely attended the various events of the ton . He definitely did not frequent the more debauched haunts of noble men, eschewing drinking and gambling. He was exactly the type of husband a father would wish for their genteel daughter.

“It seems to me that marriage and children are nothing but complications,” Simon said. “Better you and Talbot than me.”

Sarah gave him a meaningful look. “Do not imagine that will deter me from prodding you to find yourself a wife.”

“I have no need of a wife, sister. My new house comes with an excellent housekeeper to manage it. I have no title to pass down and whatever lands and wealth I have are willed to Jacob, just as my namesake did for me.”

Their maternal uncle had died a bachelor and had named Simon his sole heir, granting him land in Lancashire that provided a more than decent income from coal mines.

“While I am quite happy that my youngest son shall benefit from the tradition our Uncle Simon started, inheritance is not the only reason to have children. And children are not the only reason to marry. A wife offers companionship.”

He was already tiring of this line of conversation and so decided shock might work to his advantage to end it.

He raised an eyebrow and gave her his most charming smile. “Sister, I never struggle to find female companionship when I require it.”

“Do not be cheeky with me!” She playfully swatted him on the arm and grinned. “You are a gentleman and are expected to behave like one.”

“Very well, but only while I am in your home.”

“Ah, but it is your home as well, Simon. Talbot is right. It has been too long since you have been here. We have missed you.”

She patted his cheek affectionately, and he took a moment to simply bask in the familial affection.

“I’ve put you in your old room in the family wing,” she said. “Go up and refresh yourself before dinner.”

“Thank you, sister.”

His hand trailed along the familiar balustrade as he mounted the stairs, and he realized that the sense of oppression was gone now.

***

“It is not fair! Papa refuses to listen to me! I am a grown woman, yet he treats me like a child!”

Hannah Talbot pounded her fists against the mattress where she was sprawled, which she knew did nothing to support her claim of being a grown woman, but she could not help it.

She was frustrated and when she was frustrated, battery made her feel better. Even if it was only against her bed.

“Fathers tend not to listen to their daughters when it comes to matters of marriage. However, they also tend to have our best interests at heart.”

Hannah rolled over to give her dearest friend a withering look. “That is not helpful, Caroline.”

Hannah had been friends with Caroline Barlow since they were in the nursery. As the daughter of the Viscount Carrick, she and Hannah had been destined to be bosom friends, if only due to the fact that the Carrick estate was next to Cosburn Park.

It was fortunate for Hannah that she actually liked the girl. Although she was reconsidering such a notion in the face of Caroline’s utter lack of support regarding Papa’s transgressions.

Hannah sighed. Her father made it very clear that he intended to have her married before her younger sister’s presentation, and he would brook no argument against it.

“It is not my best interests Papa has at heart. He is simply being old-fashioned. It should not matter that Sophie is soon to be presented. I am in mourning.”

Caroline worried at her bottom lip for a moment, which Hannah knew meant she was about to say something that Hannah did not want to hear.

“Hannah, it has been seven years since John died.”

Hannah flinched as she always did at the mention of her late fiancé’s name. Yes, it had been seven years now since John’s death and yet it pained her even still to hear his name.

“I love John.”

“And he is gone, as much as it pains me to say it,” Caroline said. “He was my brother. I miss him every day, but I am certain he would not want you to lock yourself away forever.”

“I have not locked myself away,” Hannah said. “I attend church every Sunday. I visit you and our other neighbours. I shop in the village.”

Caroline eyed her with doubt. “You have refused invitations to your aunts’ and cousins’ homes to the point they no longer send them. You will not even visit me when I am in Town for the season.”

“You behave as if London is the only place to be.”

“Because it is!” Caroline insisted, a light of excitement filling her brown eyes. “You do not know all the wonderful experiences you are missing out on by hiding away here, Hannah.”

She waved a dismissive hand in her friend’s direction. “Ah yes, of course. Because you attend the social season, you are so much more worldly than I!”

Caroline lifted her chin to a haughty angle. “In fact, I am.”

Hannah let out an unladylike snort as she dropped back on the bed to stare up at the underside of her damask canopy. She could not even be annoyed by her friend’s air of superiority because she was right.

Caroline was more worldly than her. She had attended the last three seasons in London, acquainting herself with society, while Hannah remained here in the safe quiet of Cosburn Park.

She also knew there was no malice behind her friend’s attempt to lure her out of her mourning. Caroline only wanted her to be happy, but Hannah knew she could never be happy without John.

They had been a perfect romantic fantasy, each placed here on the earth as a perfect match for the other, destined to be together. They had known one another since birth and loved one another nearly as long. Soulmates through and through.

They were supposed to marry, raise many wonderful and beautiful children and then grow old and grey together, sitting in matching chairs beside a warm fire, their gnarled and wrinkled hands linked together.

John was not supposed to scratch himself on a wrongly turned nail in a doorway.

That wound was not supposed to fester until it poisoned his blood.

Their life together was not supposed to end before it had even begun.

She had been promised to John since she was young. He had been her whole life. Any desire in her for marriage had died with him. She wanted to spend forever mourning her lost love, not marrying whatever man wanted her dowry or a lady of noble birth to give him children.

Why did no one understand that?

“I believe you ought to give Lord Lansdowne a chance,” Caroline told her. “He is a handsome man. And, by all accounts, his estate in Somerset is breathtaking.”

“You sound like my father,” Hannah groused. “He has been talking of nothing but Lord Lansdowne’s various lands . I do not care if he owns the entirety of England, it will not change my opinion.”

“Your father should extoll the man’s pleasing face,” Caroline said. “All the ladies raved about him last season. More than a few swooned in his path. Although I believe that was more a ploy than a genuine reaction to his face.”

A handsome face mattered as little as land, title, or money to Hannah. Lord Lansdowne was not John, and that was all that mattered to her.

Heavy footsteps in the corridor outside her bedchamber made Hannah tense, fearing it was her father coming to insist she walk with Lord Lansdowne before dinner. When she sat up to peer through her open door, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure stepped before it.

“Simon!” Caroline cried out and eagerly bounced up off the bed to greet him.

It had been four years since Hannah last saw Simon Langley, and he was a welcome sight. The carriage journey had slightly rumpled his clothes, and he had mussed his dark hair, as if he had been running his fingers through it. Lucky for him that the air of disarray suited him.

His honey-coloured eyes still showed kindness, but his face was thinner, his cheekbones sharper, and with his mussed hair and the dark stubble on his jaw, he appeared the very opposite of a dandy gentleman.

He looked like a rogue playing the part of a gentleman, here to cause mischief before he dashed off into the night to play more wicked tricks.

He no longer resembled the sorrowful boy who arrived here after his father’s passing, downtrodden and needing a friend.

Hannah had been happy to be that friend, and he had become as much a childhood companion as Caroline and John as they all grew up together. It was surreal to think that so many years had gone by since she had seen him, considering he had once been a significant part of her life.

Though she supposed it had been nearly as long since she had last seen his sisters, Charlotte and Harriett, who had been a part of their childhood as well. They were both now married and off in their new homes, raising their children, which made any visits to Cosburn Park few and far between.

And you have never considered accepting their invitations to go visit their homes, have you?

An unpleasant reminder that Caroline may have been correct in her earlier assessment.

Dismissing that unpleasant thought, she joined Caroline in the corridor to exchange proper greetings with Simon.

“We are happy to see you, Simon,” Hannah said with a demure curtsy. “Sarah was uncertain you would come. It has been too long since you have visited.”

His smile was strained, and she wondered if the journey had been a difficult one. Despite the tension in him, he was polite when he said, “Indeed. It has been too long. It is good to see you girls.”

“Not girls, Simon,” Caroline said. “We are both proper ladies now.”

“If we are going to be formal, should you not call him Mr. Langley now?” Hannah teased her.

“But we are friends,” Caroline replied and then looked to Simon. “Are we not?”

“Of course we are friends. Please continue to call me Simon. Now, I will leave you to your gossip while I settle in my room.”

Simon left them and Caroline’s eyes followed him as he walked down the corridor. Her friend’s lingering gaze towards Simon’s departure unsettled Hannah, and she pulled Caroline back to her bedchamber.

Caroline let out a happy sigh. “I saw Simon once last season and I must say, he has become even more handsome since.”

While Hannah had just been admiring Simon’s countenance herself, the idea of Caroline sharing the same opinion made her peevish.

“You should not say that about Simon.”

“Why not?” Caroline asked. “It is true.”

Because…because…

“Because we grew up with him.”

“You grew up with John and commented on his handsome countenance quite frequently.”

“That is different.”

“It is exactly the same,” Caroline said. A sly smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she perched on the edge of the bed. “Perhaps I should set my cap at Simon.”

Hannah let out a haughty laugh. “Simon has always said he will never marry. You would be wasting your time.”

“Courtship needn’t conclude with marriage. It can simply end with a midnight rendezvous without a chaperone,” she said with a cheeky wink.

“Caroline!”

“Oh, do not act so innocent. I know you met with John without a chaperone many a time.”

“Nothing improper happened,” Hannah replied, then hesitated for a moment before conceding. “Well, nothing too improper.”

“Precisely. There is nothing wrong with kissing or a little more, as long as you do not get caught,” Caroline said, before leaning in, her voice lowering. “I saw the very thing happen last season. A lady was caught with a gentleman alone in a room at one of the balls, their garments quite out of place. They obtained a special license within a day.”

“How awful to be forced to wed someone to prevent ruin,” Hannah said, but then she realized her own circumstances were not that different. “Though I suppose the only difference for me is that I am not facing ruin. Papa will simply not allow me to turn down a proposal from a man such as Lord Lansdowne.”

“But what if Lord Lansdowne does not propose?” Caroline offered.

“A bachelor does not visit a house with an eligible daughter on Easter if he is not serious about marriage.”

“But that does not mean he will propose to you. After all, he does not know you yet. What if he finds you so repellant that he leaves?”

Now, that was an idea. If Lord Lansdowne never proposed, she would have nothing to accept. After all, Papa could not force Lord Lansdowne to propose. She need only make herself into a lady no man would want to marry.

“Do you have any idea what I can do to repel him?” Hannah asked.

Caroline tapped a finger on her lips as she considered it. “You could eat onions and garlic to make your breath foul. Oh, what about walking with a limp to give the appearance of a disfigured foot?”

“I am certain Papa will happily inform him the limp is fake,” Hannah pointed out.

“Oh, yes. I suppose that means fake pock marks would not work either.” Caroline frowned again, lost in thought. “Short of ruining your reputation, I do not know what you could do.”

Indeed, ruin was the surest way to avoid marriage, but it also meant exile from society for both a lady and her family.

But what if there was a way to tarnish her reputation in only the eyes of Lord Lansdowne?

An idea began to form in her mind. It would be risky, but with Simon here at Cosburn Park, it was possible.

“Caroline, I have a plan forming, but I’ll need your help.”

Caroline grinned. “I am always up for a plot.”