Chapter Ten
Brooks’s Club
St. James Place
Mayfair, London
Gregory had been nursing his glass of brandy for upwards of an hour while listening to the buzz of conversations around him.
The longer he attempted to read from the pages of the most recent copy of The Times, the more the words swam together, and thoughts circled through his head like ponies on a loop.
Why couldn’t he stop thinking about Constance?
He wasn’t due to see her until tomorrow, but the urge to call unannounced remained strong.
Yes, they had begun the carnal side of their relationship, but he was enjoying her companionship far beyond that.
So much so that thoughts of her were beginning to intrude into his daily life, each time he delved through paperwork or put together the speeches he needed to give while in court.
What the devil is wrong with me?
Perhaps nothing more than a drink and meeting with friends would solve. That was precisely when he glanced up and focused his gaze on another of his friends.
“Holdcraft! Over here.” He beckoned the man to the chair that matched his, near one of the windows that overlooked the bustling street. When his friend joined him, Gregory grinned. “I haven’t seen you in an age.”
“Gregory Hamilton, as I live and breathe.”
Peregrine Landress, newly minted Earl of Holdcraft, had just taken up his title following the death of his father last spring. He’d been out of London in Derbyshire, putting his father’s estate in order and meeting with his man-of-affairs to take inventory of everything in the ledgers.
“How have you been keeping yourself?” Gregory asked as the other man dropped into the chair and then gave his order to a footman who immediately hovered.
Once they were alone, the earl responded. “Well, enough. It differs weekly. There is much work to be done, as well as thinking about renovations I’d like to do to both the manor and the townhouse here in Town.”
“I can understand that. I’m doing mine piecemeal when funds become available.” So far, he’d only redone the drawing room as well as his suite of rooms, but soon he would undertake the downstairs parlor as well as the dining room.
The earl nodded his thanks to the footman who brought a cut-crystal glass of brandy to him on a silver salver. “There is also the added distraction of my youngest sister, who is in her second Season, and she’s quite the handful already.”
A snicker escaped Gregory. “Can’t seem to marry her off?”
“Hardly.” Holdcraft shook his head. Candlelight sent threads of gold through his light brown hair and pulled golden flecks into his brown irises.
“There are plenty of men interested in her. Just this spring I have received two offers. However, she is quite choosy and has told me to reject all, says she is content in being pursued.”
Suddenly glad he didn’t have a sister to look after, Gregory nodded. “I wish you well in that endeavor. Women these days are developing spirits and backbones.” Praise be to God. He detested women who only parroted back whatever a man said or thought.
“Thank you. She is going to lead someone a merry chase, I’m sure.” The earl took a deep sip of his brandy. “At least my other sister is happily wed.”
“There is that.” He lifted his glass in salute to his friend. “What else? I’m surprised you are in London at all.”
Holdcraft shrugged. “I came in for my sister’s Season.
But there has also been plenty of business to attend to.
I have decided to throw a house party for the upcoming Christmastide season later this year, so there is a fair amount of planning involved.
My mother is doing some of it, so she stayed behind in Derbyshire. ”
“No doubt she wishes to stay well away from your sister’s potential scandals.”
The earl snorted. “No doubt.” He downed the remainder of his brandy in one gulp then winced. “I don’t wish to talk about that, though. What of you? I know it’s been a bit since I’ve seen you, but you are looking more robust and vital these days.”
Gregory waved away the comment. “I have had clients and court appearances to keep me busy.”
“Gammon. I don’t doubt it, for you are a good barrister, as I have cause to note. However, I believe it has much to do with that looker I saw you with in Covent Garden the other night. Who is she?”
Hell’s bells. Heat sneaked up the back of his neck. “If you refer to the woman who wore the gorgeous peacock green gown that night, it was my mistress.”
“As if you of all people have two women in rotation.”
“This is true. I am only able to fit in the one with everything else in my life.” And she was the current subject of his thoughts.
“A mistress.” The earl’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “How interesting. For as long as I’ve known you, Gregory, you have not wished to have a mistress, or a woman of any kind. Said they complicate life too much.”
“They do.” As Constance was now. “However, I’m finding I like the company every now and again, and I won’t turn down a willing woman in a warm bed.”
“There is that.” The earl saluted him with his empty glass before he set it on a small ivory-inlaid table at his elbow. “Are your parents still trying to see you matched?”
“They have never stopped. I have already met one of the women they hope I’ll form an attachment to.”
“Have you?”
“Hell no. There was nothing interesting or fascinating about her, and she was too old besides.” Not to mention, she couldn’t compare to Constance.
“How many more will you be forced to meet?”
Gregory shrugged. “Most likely two.”
“And when you select one, will you retain your mistress?” Nothing but polite inquiry threaded through the earl’s voice. “No one would bat an eye if you did. It’s how things are done within the ton.”
“I am aware of that, but most likely, I’ll need to give her up in order to beget a child.”
The earl snorted. “Why? You are just the spare. Your brother will take the viscount title.”
“Yes, this is true, but for my own sense of integrity, I wouldn’t feel right taking a woman to wife but keeping a mistress.
I’d need to focus the whole of my attention on the wife.
” In this moment, it sounded insane. He didn’t want to marry just now.
In fact, the only thing he wished to do was call on Constance, kiss her senseless, and then bury himself deep into her honeyed heat.
The rest could wait.
For long moments, Holdcraft regarded him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you have developed feelings for this mistress.”
“Then you would be wrong.” Yet was it the lie he tried to put forth?
Already, it felt as if he were obsessed with the woman.
Beyond that, every time he was in her company, he could swear the sensation of falling assailed him.
Never had he experienced anything of the sort for another woman, and that knowledge was slightly terrifying. “Wrong, I tell you.”
“Mmm, to paraphrase the immortal words of the Bard, I think you might protest too much.” Then the earl grinned. “I’ll remain in Town until the middle of May. Then I’ll go back to Derbyshire with my sister for the summer months. Do keep me informed about the way the wind blows, eh?”
“Do shut up, Holdcraft,” he grumbled and stared into the remainder of his brandy.
“What is the worst that can happen? You live a happy life with the woman?”
“Yet I won’t have that option if things progress into that state.” Which they wouldn’t. He couldn’t allow it.
“Sooner or later, my friend, you will need to stand up for the absolutes you believe in. You are a barrister, which means you are highly intelligent, driven by a sense of justice, and determined to find the truth in all things.” He shrugged. “Why is your life any different?”
“Well, I suppose it’s not but…”
Holdcraft pinned him with a look. “If I learned anything from my father’s death, it’s this. Life is shorter than we think. Don’t hold back and don’t delay.”
“Is that why you intend to host a Christmastide house party when you don’t care for gatherings or the holiday season?” One of his eyebrows rose with inquiry.
Ruddy color rose over the earl’s collar. “Perhaps. Forcing myself to meet those fears, but that is months away yet.” The look he shot Gregory was wry. “If you should need to talk, come ‘round to my townhouse.”
“Thank you. I will.”
He nodded. “Besides, I have a few documents I need drawn up in regards to my sister. So she will be taken care of if something should happen to me as it did my father.”
“Of course. Whenever you are available.” The conversation was sobering, a stark reminder that life was, in many ways, grim and unfair.
God, he needed to bed Constance, and soon. Perhaps he could sneak over there tonight after visiting with his friends here…
April 25, 1819
No. 5
Hanover Square
Mayfair, London
Because it was a Sunday afternoon and society events were sparse on such days, and also because it was raining, Constance asked her maid to draw her a bath.
The thought of treating herself to sinking into steaming, rose-scented water and perhaps reading a book sounded like heaven.
And since she’d last seen Gregory three nights ago, she hadn’t made plans with him until tomorrow, when they would once more attend the opera.
She’d reclined in the porcelain tub for a quarter of an hour before the door opened and Gregory came into the room.
Startled, Isabella voiced a loud meow then raced into the adjoining dressing room in protest. A gasp escaped Constance, but she couldn’t stop staring at him, for she’d missed him. “Gregory? What are you doing here?”
Her maid squeaked at the same time when she came into the bedroom from the adjoining dressing room. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hamilton, but Mrs. Knight isn’t decent. You will need to wait belowstairs.” Shocked scandal reflected in Polly’s eyes.