Page 65 of An Earl Like You
Hugh poured a glass of the fizzing wine and handed it to her. Eliza took a tiny sip, marveling at the decadence. Champagne at midday! “Very well indeed. It took them by surprise when I began calling on you, but they’ve completely got over it.” He gave her a rueful look. “I’ve been told many times it’s my fault for knocking them off stride.”
Eliza thought it was more than that. She sipped her champagne and traced a leaf that had fluttered onto the blanket beside her. “I suppose they hoped you would wed a lady.”
“They likely expected it,” he agreed, “although no one ever said so to me. If anything, my mother expressed hope that all her children would marry someone they could care for. She adored my father and wanted nothing less for her children.”
There it was again, the suggestion that he loved her. Eliza tried to repress the wish that he would say it plainly.Silly, she scolded herself. Actions spoke more than words, and here he had stolen her away for a romantic picnic, just the two of them—plus Willy, who did not count—and she was disappointed. What a ninny she was. “My parents also loved each other,” she said, pushing those thoughts aside. “I always hoped to find the same.”
“Hmm.” Hugh was watching her, his glass dangling from his fingertips. “Your mother died when you were a child?”
“Yes. Not quite four years old. She and my infant brother.”
“It must have been lonely to grow up with only your father.” He said it evenly, but Eliza could hardly forget what he’d said about her father.
“I never knew what it was like to have a mother, so I couldn’t miss her. My father sent me away to school when I was eight, so I could learn all the things she would have taught me. And I met Sophie and Georgiana there, who became like sisters to me.” She smiled wryly. “I was terribly excited to gain some real sisters when we married.”
“Are they? Like real sisters.”
Eliza took a deep breath. It certainly hadn’t been smooth or easy, but... “Yes,” she said firmly. “Henrietta is wonderful. And Edith was in an impossible situation. Mr. Benwick was dreadful to her, and I’m so happy she’s got over him.”
“You put him in his place,” said Hugh with a grin. “Splendidly, too.”
“I’m very pleased that worked,” she confessed. “I feared it might backfire, and anger Edith or upset your mother...”
Hugh snorted. “Mother only wished she’d thought of it herself. And Edith...” He paused. “You showed Edith true grace and decency, and made her rightly ashamed of how she behaved.”
“She did apologize to me.” Edith had been almost tearful as she confessed how stupidly she’d believed Mr. Benwick’s allegations. Eliza cared more for her promise that they would start anew, and get to know each other better. “Although I don’t think she’ll ever care for Willy the way Henrietta does.”
Hugh smiled. “Probably not.”
“I spoke to Papa, you know, to see what he’d done to Lord Livingston.” Eliza hadn’t told Hugh about that conversation, thinking it was better not to mention Papa unless absolutely necessary, but there was an air of frank intimacy between them today. She hadn’t missed how Hugh never spoke of Papa, nor of the possible ore at Rosemere that had seemed so important before the wedding. It was hard not to wonder if the trouble with Lord Livingston had ruined Hugh’s good opinion of Papa. Her new life would be absolutely perfect if her father and her new family could be reconciled, though. “He admitted he did business with Lord Livingston, but fairly and honestly.”
Hugh’s smile looked a little rigid. “It hardly matters now. I lost every trace of respect for Livingston, and wouldn’t be surprised to discover he’s a liar.”
“I wish you and Papa were more cordial,” she said without thinking.
“Your father and I understand each other completely,” he said, which wasn’t the same thing. “But I’m astonished he sent you away to school! He seems more protective than that.”
She rolled her eyes and let him change the subject. “I’m glad he did. It was wonderful there, with other girls my age and all sorts of lessons. Mrs. Upton’s is the finest academy for young ladies in Britain, and Mrs. Upton was so kind and encouraging. My father wanted me to be a true lady.”
Hugh regarded her with a thoughtful gaze. “So he did.”
Eliza flushed. “I never thought I would be a countess! That still defies belief.”
“Does it?” He put down his glass and pulled her to lie beside him. “Are you unhappy as a countess?”
“No!”
“Why, then?” He propped himself up on one elbow above her. “Was it only your father’s dream? What didyouwant?”
She blushed under his close study. “I—I didn’t have a particular dream. To find someone kind and patient, who wouldn’t mind Willy, I suppose. That was as much as I hoped for.”
“Hmm.” The sun behind his head obscured her view of his expression. “Instead you got me.”
“What? Oh—Oh no,” she exclaimed in alarm. “I didn’t mean... You must know you’re more than I ever dreamed of. I could not believe it when you asked to call on me—I thought it was a lark, or a mistake, or perhaps a sign you’d lost your wits. But I...” She laid one hand on his cheek. “I was happy beyond words,” she finished softly.
For a moment he didn’t move. “You always manage to unman me, Eliza.”
“What do you mean?”
