Avoiding the Merry Viscount (Romancing the Ton #1)

Prologue

Elias

Sussex, England

Elias Armstrong, the young Viscount Snowdon, stuffed a few more things into his pack, and motioned for his three closest friends to follow him downstairs.

The boys were all on break from school and spending a couple of weeks at Elias’s home before the holidays to partake in hunting, snowball fights, and whatever else four boys the age of four-and-ten might get up to during the wintertime in the country.

The boys each held their hunting rifles and their packs, which they had stuffed with food and a change of clothing. They made their way to the drawing room in search of Elias’s parents.

Unfortunately for them, they found Diana and Hannah, Elias’s and Hudson’s younger sisters.

“We want to come too,” Elias’s sister, Diana, whined.

His best friend Hudson had brought his younger sister Hannah with him for the visit since Diana and Hannah were also the best of friends. Elias’s and Hudson’s parents were close, so the children had all practically grown up together.

Elias had hoped that having Hannah in attendance would keep his sister occupied so she wouldn’t try to follow them, but instead it gave them two young girls to argue with.

He was thankful that his other sisters were too young to team up with the pair.

Diana and Hannah were both the age of six, and just old enough to follow them about.

“You are not coming with us, sister,” he replied.

“And that is final.” The boys would stay overnight in one of the hunting cabins at the far edge of their estate.

There were a few on their property, but they chose the one farthest from the house to feel more like they were getting away from everyone.

And the adventure would be far less enjoyable if they had to keep an eye on the two little girls.

Diana clasped her arms across her chest and harrumphed. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“But I do.” Their father, the Earl of Snowdon, crept up behind Diana and scooped her into his arms. “Let the boys have their fun, while you and Hannah have the run of the house without them pestering you.”

Elias’s father nodded to him where Diana couldn’t see. He had always been close to his father, as the firstborn and the only son of the earl’s four children.

“Come here, dearest,” their mother told Diana, coming to stand beside their father. “We shall have a fun time without the boys. I shall let you and Hannah try on some of my jewelry, and we’ll have tea this afternoon with just us ladies. What would you both think about that?”

The girls started dancing about and each clasped one of his mother’s hands.

“Will you also take us for a ride?” Diana asked. “I wish to learn to ride a horse like you do, Mama.”

“Your papa and I agreed you could start lessons in the spring,” their mama replied.

Their mother loved her horse almost as much as she loved her husband and children.

She wasn’t one to sit inside the entire day, as she needed time each day to get out and ride.

“Let’s be off and tell Cook about our special tea. ”

Elias’s mother gave him one last glance. “Have a fun time, my sweet boy,” she said, using the pet name she’d called him for as long as he could remember, even though he was ever nearing manhood. She flashed him a grin and then led the girls, bouncing, out of the room.

“You boys will be careful and behave yourselves, will you not?” the earl asked as soon as the females had departed the room.

“Of course, Papa,” Elias replied. “We shall return tomorrow afternoon in time for tea.”

His father laughed. “I don’t doubt it. There is no way the four of you have enough food in those packs to allay your hunger for any longer than that.”

Elias believed his father had a point. “Have Cook make extra tarts and biscuits. We are sure to eat them all.”

“I am certain your mother has already done so. She has a knack for being on top of these things.”

The love that shone in his father’s eyes was evident.

His parents were a love match, a rarity in their society.

They didn’t last long in each other’s presence without succumbing to their deep affection.

Part of him found their displays embarrassing in front of his friends, but Elias also secretly smiled to himself, knowing that his parents’ love for each other was so strong.

He wouldn’t admit it to the boys, but he hoped that one day he might find a marriage like theirs. Not anytime soon, of course. But when the time came, he wanted to experience the deep, true love his parents had.

“Are we ready to be off, then?” Jude asked, nodding toward the door.

“Yes, let us depart,” Elias said. “See you tomorrow, Papa.”

Elias, Jude, Hudson, and Matt each donned their greatcoats and then departed toward the stables.

Their horses were readied, and once they had each mounted and secured their unloaded rifles in their laps, they took off for the hunting cabin.

They wanted to get out of the house and enjoy a bit of adventure on their own, but if they were lucky enough to shoot a stag for their troubles, all the better.

Riding across the snowy fields and through the forests of trees to get to the hunting cabin took every bit of a half an hour for them to get there. The cabin had a small stable area where the horses would sleep for the night, and they each donned a blanket which should keep them warm.

The boys settled and secured their horses and then entered the cabin. Elias and the others cheered when they found the cabin had been equipped with a bunch of firewood, more blankets, and extra food. His mother had coordinated it all for them, no doubt. She didn’t miss a thing.

Dropping their bags to the floor and placing their guns on the rack mounted by the door, Jude and Hudson plopped into chairs while Matt and Elias set to work on starting the fire.

“Will we get to help collect some of the greenery for the Christmas Eve decorations?” Jude asked.

Matt stacked the wood in the fireplace, then Elias lit it. He stoked the fire to get it to the point of high flames that emitted a warm heat.

“If you want to. Haven’t you done so before?” Elias asked.

“No,” Jude answered, frowning.

Jude’s mother had died giving birth to him, and the group of friends knew very little about his father, the Marquess Sandon, since they’d never met him.

“Let’s all help then.” Matt sat on the floor in front of the settee and leaned back against it. “It would be great fun. We can let the girls help us, and that should keep them from saying we did nothing with them all break.”

Matt was one of the most jovial people that one would ever meet. And the most dependable and helpful of their group. His father was the Earl of Wilton, and Elias knew Matt would be an admirable peer of the realm when he inherited the title.

Hudson groaned. “Do we have to? That sounds dreadful.”

He had been Elias’s closest friend for years, given that they had practically shared a cradle.

Hudson’s and Hannah’s parents would arrive in two days to spend the holidays with the lot of them.

Hudson was a good friend, but he wasn’t always the friendliest sort.

It’s a shame his father wasn’t a duke, because he’d have the broody, haughty duke persona down cold.

But alas, his father was an earl, just as Elias’s. Hudson’s father was the Earl of Onslow.

“Come now, Hud,” Elias said. “Matt is right. It won’t kill us to do something with the girls. It is Christmas after all. We can consider it our gift to them.”

“Fine. As long as there aren’t any of those kissing balls anywhere,” Hudson replied, crossing his arms.

“I don’t believe so.” Elias shrugged one of his shoulders before plopping onto the settee. “It will not be a big party. Lord and Lady Onslow are the only ones coming besides us. Our parents don’t need a kissing ball as an excuse to kiss in front of us all.”

Hudson wrinkled his nose. His parents were also a love match, and he suffered the same affectionate displays in his home that Elias had.

“Speaking of kissing,” Jude began, changing the subject. “I think that Sarah, the daughter of Mister Pembroke, is sweet on Matt.”

Matt waved him off. “Not me. I’m just kind to her. She has eyes for Elias. At least I should hope so after what I walked in on.” Then he stared knowingly at Elias.

“All right, all right. I kissed her. Only once.” She was their professor’s daughter and visited the school every so often. He was almost certain she was a year or so older than him.

Elias glanced around the room and saw his friends all staring at him as if they expected him to say more about the matter.

“What? It was just a quick kiss. She said she thought I was handsome, and that was that.”

Jude smirked at him. “And where were your hands?”

“At my sides,” Elias said. Although, if he could go back, he might have been a bit more strategic about the placement.

“And what if I hadn’t walked in on you?” Matt asked.

Elias shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know.” He wasn’t certain what else could occur beyond kissing but could tell with his eyes that a girl’s body differed from a boy’s. But he wouldn’t admit his lack of knowledge to his friends.

“Now that we know Elias has kissed her, he’s ruined her for the rest of us.” Jude feigned irritation before grinning at him.

The boys all laughed, and Elias rolled his eyes at all of them. It hadn’t been a big deal. He had just wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl, and the opportunity presented itself. But he supposed they were of the age to experiment and learn of such things.

Elias always confided everything in his father, and when he told his father about his kiss, it was just before his friends were set to arrive.

His father said he wanted to have a talk with him about what occurred between men and women after the holidays and everyone had returned home. It only made him all the more curious.

“Let’s dig into some of the food that Lady Snowdon must have sent.” Hudson rose from his chair.