Page 31 of Her Daring Earl
“What?” Fitz exclaimed so loudly that his mother jumped.
“It couldn’t be helped,” Brighton said, shrugging, holding his hands out in supplication as Fitz looked toward Lord Whitby for obvious assistance. “He’s on this committee and didn’t trust us to do this without him.”
“Boll—” Fitz began, but then looked toward the women watching him before sighing and running his hand through his hair. “Why didn’t he accompany you?”
“He said he had business to attend to first and would be coming from another of his estates.” Lord Brighton peered into the distance. “I believe he is on his way now.”
“Fitz,” his mother said in obvious warning. “We will welcome him as we would anyone else.”
“Fine,” Fitz said, rubbing a spot in the middle of his forehead. “But keep the girls upstairs. Thank goodness Dot isn’t here.”
Eliza must ask Fitz why he hated the man so much. Lord Mandrake wasn’t the most pleasant of men, to be sure, but he wasn’t the worst she had ever met.
Mandrake had ridden down the drive toward them, as Fitz awaited with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Mandrake,” he intoned.
“Ah, the warm welcome I was expecting,” Mandrake said with ire.
“Well, when a man shows up uninvited?—”
“I believe that we will leave you to your business,” his mother cut in, likely to prevent any animosities from spilling over.
“Very well. We shall conduct our meetings for a few hours before convening for dinner,” Fitz said. “We shall see you ladies then.”
They said farewell before Eliza followed her mother and Lady Fitzroy into the drawing room. She had only just taken a seat when she noticed that both women were leaning forward from the sofa, staring at her.
“What is it?” she asked, instantly lifting a hand to rub at her cheeks. “Do I have cream on my face?” She had stolen a cream puff from a tray earlier and had hoped that no one would notice.
“Eliza, I believe Lord Brighton is rather taken by you,” her mother said, her chest puffing out with pride.
Eliza waved a hand in the air. “I doubt it,” she said. “He was simply being charming.”
“In the times that I have been in his acquaintance, I have never seen him so interested in any young lady before, including my daughters,” Lady Fitzroy said.
“Here I worried about leaving London at a time when you should be finding a husband,” her mother said. “Little did I know that all we had to do was come to Essex with Lord Fitzroy!”
Eliza’s laugh was forced as she wondered what her mother would say if she knew the truth of what had happened between her and Lord Fitzroy – and what she hoped would happen again soon.
The late afternoon became evening, the time passing slower than Eliza would have liked, but soon enough the men appeared, tiredness in their eyes as they led the ladies into dinner, Eliza once again accompanying Lord Brighton. Lord Mandrake followed them all unescorted, although he didn’t seem to mind.
She didn’t miss Fitz’s eyes on her, and truth be told, she could hardly tear hers away from him. Lord Brighton was chatting in her ear, and she smiled and nodded as though she was listening to every word that came out of his mouth, but the truth was, she was having a difficult time concentrating when Fitz was walking in front of her.
All she could concentrate on was the way his muscular thighs filled out his breeches, how the pants cupped his buttocks, how broad his shoulders were in relation to the rest of him, and how his strong fingers reminded her of the magic they could work.
She was so caught up that she nearly walked into the back of her mother when she and Fitz stopped abruptly in front of her.
“Let’s see,” Lady Fitzroy said, a gleam in her eye. “Lady Eliza, why do you not sit here beside Lord Brighton?” she said, pointing to the opposite end of the table from where Fitz had taken a seat.
“They can sit here,” Fitz said, pointing beside him so that Eliza would be on his left.
“Very well,” Lady Fitzroy said with an interested glance at her son. “We shall switch, then.”
Lord Brightonwasrather entertaining. He had known Fitz for quite some time, and he enjoyed telling stories about their exploits together, although Eliza was sure that these were only tame stories because of the presence of ladies. Lord Mandrake sat next to Lord Whitby, silent and sullen, obviously understanding that he was not entirely welcome here. Lord Whitby didn’t have the stories Lord Brighton did, and when he did have the opportunity to speak, he droned on and on until Eliza nearly fell asleep.
They must have opened up the liquor cabinet because from what Eliza could tell, Lord Brighton’s tongue was a lot looser than it should have been in their company. Not that she minded, for she was quite enjoying the stories, her attention captured.
The only thing that was distracting her was the pressure of Fitz’s leg against hers. She had no idea whether he was doing it on purpose or if he thought that she was part of the table, but she had to admit she kind of liked it.
