Chapter 1
Chapter One
Alice stood by the open door of her brother’s study watching him work. It was still strange to see Henry seated at their father’s huge mahogany desk as Viscount, even though he had been doing so for the last six months.
The furrows in his brow deepened by the day as he struggled to make sense of the numerous ledgers surrounding him.
She had never seen her fun-loving brother so careworn.
His dark hair stood on end, exactly as it did whenever he was wrestling with a problem, and a fresh wave of resolve filled Alice.
She could not continue to let him struggle like this.
She was so close to the final hurdle: persuading her brother, her legal guardian, to agree to her plan.
He would not be pleased, but it was the only way she could think of to rescue them from their present dire financial straits.
Duchess gave an indignant meow from Alice’s arms, drawing Henry’s attention. He glanced up as she set her beloved tortoiseshell cat on the floor.
“Breakfast is being served in a few minutes,” Alice said, noting the shadows beneath her brother’s eyes. It broke her heart to see him like that. “Shall I ask Williams to bring you a tray, or will you join us?”
“I had better have a tray,” Henry replied, lifting Duchess off the pile of papers she had decided to claim. “I must get through these accounts before I speak with the tenants later this morning.”
Alice turned to leave.
“Do not forget to take that animal with you!” her brother added. “Oh, and make it two trays. Anthony will be here directly to help me with this.”
Animal, indeed! Alice glared at him but held her tongue. He was under enough pressure already. “I cannot imagine Lord Tonbridge will be much use,” she muttered as she scooped Duchess up again, “especially at this hour of the morning.”
“Discussing me again?” said a deep male voice behind her.
Alice sighed before turning to face her arch-nemesis, Lord Anthony Worthing, the Earl of Tonbridge. She tilted her head to meet his stare.
Irritating as her brother’s best friend was, there was no denying he was handsome.
Well over six feet tall, with blond hair and piercing blue eyes, his powerful frame made him look more like a Viking warrior than an English earl.
He towered over Alice’s diminutive figure, radiating masculinity and self-assurance.
And he knew it. Alice found him utterly ridiculous as he swaggered about, full of his own consequence, wasting his days in idle dissipation and still teasing her as though she were an annoying eight-year-old.
She could not fathom how she had ever imagined herself in love with him.
“It is impolite to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations,” she retorted.
“It is also impolite to block a gentleman’s path when he is clearly trying to pass,” Anthony countered.
“Must you two begin bickering the moment you clap eyes on each other?” Henry cut in, impatiently.
Alice and Anthony glared at one another. Reluctantly she stepped aside so he could enter the room.
“Thank you, Miss Fairfax,” said Anthony, bowing with exaggerated courtesy.
“My pleasure, Lord Tonbridge,” Alice replied, dropping a curtsy that allowed Duchess the perfect opportunity to swipe at her mistress’s adversary.
She was forced to admit that Anthony hid his reaction to the cat’s attack rather well as he swept past her and took the chair opposite her brother.
Alice stomped down the panelled hallway toward the breakfast room. Duchess promptly escaped her hold and vanished down the stairs, no doubt intent on terrorising the cook.
It was astonishing how quickly that infuriating man could ruin her mood.
He was always so insufferably smug. She hoped he was suffering the headache he so richly deserved after whatever debauchery had likely kept him out until dawn.
Why her brother had chosen Anthony as his closest friend, and why the man had to inherit the estate next door, she could not imagine.
What use Henry thought his feckless neighbour could possibly be with their money worries, she had no notion.
She only hoped he would not allow himself to be talked into anything foolish.
The arrival of Williams with pots of tea and coffee interrupted her thoughts.
“Good morning, Williams,” Alice said. “Would you be so kind as to take trays through for my brother and Lord Tonbridge?”
“Of course, miss.” The footman bowed and withdrew.
Alice noticed a pile of post on a silver salver at the end of the table. She hurried over, spotted the letter in the familiar hand, and slipped it into the pocket of her morning gown just as her younger sisters, Charlotte and Margaret, entered the room.
With only a year between them, the pair were nearly inseparable and often mistaken for twins.
Both fairer-haired and far taller than their elder sister, they had long considered Alice half-wild for her insistence on being outdoors even in the rain.
The fact that she cheerfully wore their outgrown castoffs had become a standing family joke.
Alice greeted them and ate her breakfast as quickly as manners allowed. Her sisters were accustomed to her bolting her food so she might escape to the horses or whichever wounded creature she was nursing that week in one of the outbuildings.
“What are you both planning to do today?” Alice asked, anxious that her silence might arouse suspicion.
“We are going to sort through our clothes,” Charlotte answered. “Today is our last day of full mourning, so…”
Alice nodded, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Six months had passed since their father’s death had left them orphans. Now the official period of mourning was almost over and life was supposed to return to normal.
“We could help you organise yours as well, if you like,” Margaret offered kindly.
All the siblings missed their gentle father dreadfully, but his love of the outdoors had meant Alice had spent the most time in his company. Everyone knew how deeply his loss had affected her.
“Thank you, but there’s no need. Everything will still fit.”
Charlotte and Margaret exchanged glances. They had long since given up trying to understand their peculiar older sister.
Alice took her leave and went straight upstairs. Duchess, licking her lips as she emerged from the kitchen and clearly suspecting excitement was afoot, caught up with her mistress. In Alice’s haste to close the bedroom door she nearly trapped the cat’s tail. Duchess hissed indignantly.
“I am so sorry!” Alice cried. She bent to pick up her pet, who allowed herself to be fussed for a brief moment before stalking away and leaping onto the bed.
Alice sat beside her and drew the hidden letter from her pocket. She steeled herself, broke the seal, and unfolded the single sheet.
A smile broke across her face as she read. Now she had only to convince her brother of her plan.
Alice spent the rest of the day preparing. There was a great deal to be done, and it was vital she drew no attention to herself. She had no wish to give Henry time to raise objections. Thankfully her siblings were absorbed in their own pursuits and she encountered them only briefly at mealtimes.
When she finally retired to bed, Alice’s mind was still whirling. She mentally checked off every task one last time and rehearsed the speech she would deliver to Henry in the morning. She must convince him, or her entire plan would be over before it had even begun.