Chapter 9
Nine
Whispers of the Ton
This Earl is on Fire
Dearest Reader,
It is with the greatest pleasure The Whispers of the Ton Press introduces a new segment of our paper certain to scandalize society.
The mere brazen nature of our latest endeavor will have husbands and fathers rushing to hide our reports from their wives and daughters.
However, after much consideration for the sensibilities of our female readers, we have determined it to be in the best interest of the masses to experience the real-life etchings of some of the ton’s most prestigious gentlemen.
We will not subject our readers to the raw caricature drawings of a less than skilled hand, but rather the talented renderings of a trained artist, who depicts, dare we say, her subjects in their truest form and in their own private residences.
The artist has requested anonymity. One wouldn’t want all her secret talents exposed while she gives us a glimpse into the private lives of the most sought-after gentlemen who have graced our pages and the ton’s ballrooms.
Readers may have heard about the fire at the Earl of A’s townhouse.
What they may not have realized, until our talented artist brought circumstances to light, was the presence of the Earl of A in Town at the time of the blaze.
Feast your eyes on our very own rakish earl, who has always been a favorite subject of this author, clad only in his silk banyan, with a cast upon his leg as he was being carried down the stairs on a palanquín by six strapping young footmen.
The details of the earl’s parrot flying above him and the scantily clad lady nurse keeping watch have been verified by this author.
Could there be a more a sensually exotic depiction of a god than the Earl of A? And dare this author ask our readers for the identity of the scandalous lady?
—The Whispers of the Ton published in April 1813 with a drawing of the deliciously masculine Earl of Astley with his hair mussed, and his clothing in limited supply.
His muscular chest was bared and his legs uncovered.
The ‘chair’ was substituted by a palanquin, and the lady was hardly standing guard as she was being tackled to the floor, but the dressing gown that slipped off one shoulder while flames engulfed the nearby wall was a romantic addition.
Simon had dressed with difficulty. His body was stiff and his mood was sour.
It didn’t help that his trousers were loose, and his shirts seemed to sag.
His once rakish style of clothing was now a season out of fashion, and he looked like a teen attempting to wear his father’s clothing to play at being the earl.
He didn’t fill out his own damned clothing.
He stared at the book on the table and went over the information in his head that he needed to tell Sir Williamson, for what seemed like hours.
“Lady in the house,” Charlotte interjected into his musing.
“I should have believed you on so many occasions. My apologies, Charlotte, but this time I know you’re wrong. I haven’t heard a peep in the entire house. I pushed her way.”
“Who did you push away and what kind of peep were you expecting to hear?”
He looked toward the feminine voice, and his heart lifted more than he thought possible. “Charlotte said you’d left,” he lied as he watched Caillen move across the room followed by a servant who set a tea tray on the table next to him.
She grinned. “Charlotte thought I’d left.” She turned and addressed his traitorous bird. “Charlotte, did you really say I left the house?”
“Lady in the house,” Charlotte said before beginning her routine of grooming her feathers.
“Hmmm. She seems to think it was someone else who thought I would run from the truth.”
“I didn’t think that.”
She raised a questioning brow.
“I merely thought you would need some time,” he amended.
Caillen sat down next to him and poured the tea. She handed him a cup. “We have always been frank with one another.”
“Yes, we have.”
“Then, may I ask why you are sitting in your room with no stockings on your feet?”
“Pouty baby,” Charlotte interjected.
He glared at the bird. “I was going over the conversation I must have with Sir Williamson and hadn’t gotten around to putting them on.
” He quickly changed the subject. “What made you have the servants turn the tearoom into a bathing room and this drawing room into a bedroom for me?” He had long suspected she had instructed his staff to move his bedchamber to the first floor.
“I saw how much pain you were in when they carried you downstairs.”
“I wasn’t in pain. I was scared half to death that I was going to watch you go up in flames.”
Her expression softened. “I understand that fear. I was experiencing a similar emotion concerning you and the children.”
“Then you’ll understand why I must ask you to leave Astley House. It’s not safe.”
“If that is the case, I think we should all leave. You are in no shape to ward off an attack.”
Simon scrubbed his face in frustration. “I am the one with a target on his back. If I go with you, danger will follow me and put you in danger.”
“Because you’re investigating my father’s death?”
“Because I work for the Crown.”
She sighed and leaned forward. “What can you tell me about my father’s death?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“It is regarding our national security, Caillen. I cannot disclose anything.”
“National security? Are you telling me the French had my father killed?”
“I’m saying, I won’t say another word.” He clamped his lips sealed.
She lifted a stubborn chin. “That’s fine, I will ask Sir Williamson when he arrives.”
“You will not show your face when Sir Williamson arrives.”
“I most certainly will.”
“You will not.”
“I will.”
“Good Lord, not every one of our conversations needs to be a bloody battle. You could pretend to be demure.”
“I could ask the same of you.”
He looked at her as if she’d gone stark raving mad. “I would rather you didn’t.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” He took a drink of tea, ready to cease the bickering once and for all.
“Whoreson, beetle-headed, flap-eared knave!” she whispered.
Tea sprayed from his lips and she grinned.
“That was uncalled for.”
She shrugged and handed him a napkin. She was utterly pleased with her delivery. “It was perfectly timed.”
“For me to make a mess.”
“Yes, but that is what we do, isn’t it?”
He sighed, accepted defeat, and pretended not to adore the moment. “I’m just glad I didn’t drive you away.”
“I do appreciate you saving my life. At the time I didn’t, but I do now. I also appreciate that you made me face the truth.”
He searched her face. “Do you? Truly?”
Her smile this time held a touch of sadness.
“Yes. I lost part of my heart that day, but it wasn’t because of your actions.
William’s betrayal and brutality robbed me of a love that only existed in my mind.
” Her gaze left him to stare out the window as her voice softened to a whisper.
“Trusting my heart again will be difficult.”
“I understand that, but I also have faith in your ability to heal. You have come a long way.” He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. “I need to walk. My leg will never loosen up if I don’t use it. Besides it’s high time I got some exercise.”
“That will all come in due time.”
“I don’t have time.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t. Please don’t ask me any more questions about my dealings with the War Office.”
“Would you let it rest if it was your father who had been murdered?”
“Yes.”
“Your mother, then.”
He stood and grabbed for his cane. “No, I would not.”
“Then we are more alike than you realize. I can’t let it go, Simon. I won’t.”
“Fine. I will talk to Sir Williamson, and I will find out what I can relay to you, but I will not agree to telling your sisters anything. I cannot keep your entire family safe from harm.”
“You believe the fire in your study wasn’t a random robbery?”
“No, it was not.”
“And that is why you had me and the children taken to my sister’s house the night of the fire.”
“Yes.”
“Does Ross know what happened with my father’s death?”
“No.”
“Are you going to give me a real answer?”
“After you answer one question that has been plaguing me since I woke up.”
Complete silence filled the room before she asked, “What is your question?”
“I don’t know how to ask this in a sensitive manner, so please forgive me for my crassness. Who are Lillie and Millie’s parents?”
“William was their father.” She sighed, long and hard.
“I finally met the girls a fortnight ago. They were living with their grandmother. Their mother had died giving birth to them and their grandmother has been raising them. I don’t know if William was aware of their existence, but his family has denied any responsibility for their care. ”
A rock was planting itself firmly in his stomach as he paced the room. “You do not have to follow in my mother’s footsteps. We can find them a good home.”
Caillen stood so abruptly, her hands planting firmly on her hips. “I will not abandon those girls. They are William’s children and they are now my responsibility.”
“By your reaction, I’d say you already are their mother.”
She gave a firm nod of agreement.
“Did you give the grandmother a settlement as well?”
“She died two days ago. That’s why the girls are here. I had hired a nurse to stay with them, because their grandmother wanted to be with them as much as possible before she died, but she was not able to care for them. When she passed, the nurse sent word and I retrieved the girls.”
“Bloody hell.” He rubbed his temples with his thumb and middle finger. “We are a tragic bunch.”
His comment was met with silence and when he looked up to meet her gaze, she was staring at him. He should have known his comment would reap her wrath.
“I’m—” She tipped back her head and laughed. It was a glorious sound he had not heard in a very long time. He wasn’t certain how to react, especially when her laughter didn’t stop.