The Earl's Mission: Defiant Brides Book 4 Read online

  When the maid gaped at her, appalled, Rachel waved her off. “Go on. Sit and rest. We are the only ones here, so there is no need for formalities.” When Leah went to object, Rachel cut her off. “If I am the lady of the house now, you must follow my instructions, and my instructions are that you are to sit down and have a drink with me.”

  The liquor cart held numerous bottles of liquor, and selecting a brandy, Rachel poured two glasses, one for each of them. She returned the stopper and then brought the drinks over to the settee. “There you are, my friend,” she said as she offered one to Leah. Leah took the glass hesitantly but smiled nonetheless. “I have to admit that I do enjoy your company,” Rachel said.

  Leah’s smile widened. “And I have enjoyed yours, Miss Cooper,” she replied quietly. “You’re a kind woman.” She sat as if she wished to make herself smaller, but Rachel would have none of it.

  “Please,” Rachel said, giving the woman a smile. “Call me Rachel.” Leah bit at her lip, appearing to be in conflict. “You can call me Rachel in private, if that makes you feel better. Then, when anyone else is around, you can refer to me as Miss Cooper. Would that be acceptable?”

  Leah nodded. “Yes, I think that would be all right…Rachel.” She took a sip of the brandy and grimaced, but she did not comment on it. “I do like the dresses you chose today. You have a better eye than you think.”

  Rachel laughed. “If it had not been for you, I would not have known what I was doing.”

  This made Leah shake her head vehemently. “Oh, no, I did very little to help you choose. You were the one who made the decisions, I only agreed with everything you had picked.”

  Rachel shrugged. “It was the first time I have ever selected my own dresses. I believe you know I am not who I have said I am, am I correct in saying so?”

  Leah blushed. “When you had me give you advice on how to act, telling me it had been years since you had attended finishing school and how you had forgotten what you had learned, it hadn’t made any sense.”

  Rachel laughed once more. “When I get nervous, my stories do not make sense, you are right on that. I’d like to share something with you, but you must promise not to breathe a word of what I say to anyone.”

  Leah took another sip of her brandy, this time without a grimace. “I promise,” she said as she leaned forward.

  Rachel looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. It was silly to do so since the only people in the house would be Sherman, who already knew her situation, and Daniel, who rarely left the kitchen area downstairs. “I was brought up in my parents’ pub, The Rooster’s Crow in Falmouth in Cornwall, and I only met Lord Linfield a fortnight ago.”

  “A fortnight ago!” Leah gasped. “And you have already decided to marry him?”

  “In all honesty, no, we are not going to be wed.”

  Confusions covered Leah’s face. “May I ask why?”

  Rachel was thankful the woman had initiated this conversation. She was in need of someone in which to confide, a confidante as it were, and Leah would be the perfect person. “To be perfectly honest, if I only had to concern myself with the Earl, it might be easier to accept a marriage proposal. However, I can’t stand his mother! The woman is judgmental, her words cruel. I could’t imagine a life with her in it.”

  Leah took another sip of her drink and then set the glass on the table. The house gently shook as thunder echoed loudly outside. “What of Lord Linfield?” the woman asked. “If his mother left you two alone, could you marry him?”

  Rachel pondered the question for a few moments. “You know, I believe I could,” she replied finally. “He has his own faults, as many men do, but deep down I believe he is a good person. Until his mother arrived, it was much easier to speak with him and he even smiled. However, when he was in her presence, he changed before my eyes into something cruel.” She sighed heavily. “It does not matter now. I am awaiting certain business arrangements to be finalized and then I’ll be gone, hopefully in just a few weeks.” She was unsure why she did not confide in Leah that Mr. Templeton had been her father, but for some reason, she could not find the words to admit to it. Perhaps it was because she would be leaving his home, a place that could be her home, but whatever the reason, she knew it was the right thing to do, at least at the moment.

  “You have brought about a new happiness to this house, something that has been missing since Mr. Templeton passed on,” Leah said quietly. “I will be sad when you leave.”

  Rachel nodded, then took a drink from her glass, allowing the strong liquid to run down her throat, soothing it. Glancing around the room, the home of her father, she realized that she would be sad as well to say goodbye.

  ***

  Joseph looked out the window of his drawing room, watching the lightning glow in the far distance as the rain pelted against the glass panes. It had been two days since he last saw Miss Cooper, when he and his mother had gone to Elford Estates, and though he could not understand the reasoning behind his feelings, he found that he missed her company. Yet, it was more than that; it was regret for speaking to her the way he had. The woman had made every attempt to obey the letter of instruction he had sent to her by preparing herself for the arrival of him and his mother, from the dress she had altered to repeating the story of her father being a shipping merchant.

  At first, he had been happy and thankful that she took his words to heart. But then as his mother had belittled her, and somehow his anger grew. However, that anger had not been for Miss Cooper as much as it had been for his mother. Unfortunately for Miss Cooper, Joseph struggled with standing up to his mother as much now as he did when he was a child.

  In all honesty, none of it mattered now, for he had received word that the solicitor for Robert’s estate would be here soon, the contents of his will to be shared. Joseph would have possession of Elford Estates—a house and lands grander than his own Abberton House—significant business holdings, and above all, the admiration of those peers who had looked down at him for so many years.

  “You are not thinking about that foolish woman, are you?” his mother asked.

  Joseph turned toward her. Because of the current weather, she had chosen to stay a few more days, much to Joseph’s ire. “Yes, Mother, I am,” he said. “I was hoping that the letters I sent to her concerning the dressmaker and her new tutors have arrived.” He had sent no letters. The woman would be leaving soon enough, a fact he was not going to share with his mother. When the time came, he would tell her that Miss Cooper had changed her mind about the engagement, and rather than bring more shame to their family, he had allowed her to leave.

  “It will be a great task for any person to train that woman,” his mother said, then took a sip from her cup of tea. Then her face held a pensive look. “Although, she will make a very lovely bride and bring about heirs, which you will need.”

  Setting her cup down, his mother stood and walked over to him. “You will have true wealth again very soon, and I will be able to boast to my friends of it. For too long now, I have waited for you to lift this burden of unhappiness from me.”

  Joseph nodded. Though he did not agree it was his duty to make her happy, he had always done what he could to see that she was. From the day his father died, the woman had become bitter and her deportment had worsened. As she withdrew into herself more and more, it was left to Joseph to maintain the status of the family name, especially after his elder sister Cecilia had married and moved away to Scotland. It was then left up to Joseph to take it upon himself to see to his mother’s wishes, not so much out of love, but rather out of obligation.

  “Thank you, Mother,” he said quietly.

  I light tap on the door announced Henry. “My Lord, Mr. Alan Bakersfield is here to speak with you.”

  Joseph nodded and his mother moved to the sofa. She would never allow herself to miss an opportunity to listen in on such an important conversation. Joseph considered asking her to leave, but with the ongoing anxiety he was already feeling, he did not wis
h to add to it by upsetting her.

  “Send him in,” Joseph said once he and his mother were ready.

  The butler nodded, left the room and then immediately returned with the solicitor following closely behind him. He was a man in his middle years with short, silver hair and round cheeks.

  “Mr. Bakersfield,” Joseph said as he stood and offered the man his hand, “welcome to my home. Please have a seat.” He motioned to a high back chair near the fireplace, which the man took with a grateful smile and a word of thanks. “May I offer you something to drink?” he asked, moving toward the liquor cart before the solicitor waved a hand at him.

  “Thank you, but I will decline,” the man said. Then he glanced over at Joseph’s mother with a look of uncertainty. “There are parts of the will Mr. Templeton left that are quite confidential…”

  Joseph felt a wave of relief rush through him. Now he had a reason to ask the woman to leave. “Mother, if you will excuse us, please.”

  His mother stood without a word, her ire obvious by the clench of her jaw. He would have ample opportunity to hear her displeasure later, that much was certain.

  Once she had closed the door behind her, Joseph let out a small sigh. “Please, you may begin.”

  “Mr. Templeton was quite fond of you,” Mr. Bakersfield said. “And as his lawyer and friend, I can tell you firsthand that he admired many things about you.” Joseph gave the man a nod, the memory of his old friend and mentor coming to mind. “Would you like me to read what his Last Will and Testament aloud?”

  “Yes, please.” Joseph leaned back in his chair, barely able to contain his excitement.

  The man cleared his throat as he held the pages before him.

  My Dearest Joseph,

  There is no doubt the admiration I have for you and the gentleman you have become today, a fact that has made me as proud as if you were my own son. Elford Estates, my London property, my business holdings, all of it—besides a few items reserved for others—I am leaving to you.

  Joseph nodded. This was what Richard had told him the last time they spoke and what had been mentioned during the preliminary meeting with the solicitor, so he was not surprised, although he was touched that the man held him in such high regard.

  The solicitor continued:

  Although you have become a great businessman in your own right, I fear that only focusing on increasing your wealth and not on your personal life will destroy you. Thus the secondary reading of my Last Will and Testament.

  This made Joseph sit up straight in his chair, his heart racing as he wondered what Richard meant by those words.

  In my own life, I acquired great wealth, yet I have never found the love I once had years ago. Granted, I loved my wife, in my own way, but it was muted in comparison to that first. It is a beautiful thing, love, and I wish for you to experience it as I had, even for a very short time.

  Therefore, I would ask, in return for my generosity, that you marry my daughter Miss Rachel Cooper and provide her the life the daughter of a wealthy man should have experienced. In this, I believe you will learn to love something other than money, and then, my friend, you will understand what true happiness is.

  Joseph jumped up from his chair. “I was at his deathbed!” he shouted. “He told me to find his daughter as a favor, not to gain his wealth.” Then his eyes went wide. “He told me he knew nothing about her, that he assumed she would be living among the gentry. He knew she had grown up with nothing. He lied to me and had me fretting trying to find her when he knew all along where she was.”

  “Now, My Lord, you do not know that for certain,” Mr. Bakersfield said in a consoling voice.

  “But it has to be so, otherwise, how would he know to…what was it you read? ‘Provide her the life of the daughter of a wealthy man should have experienced’.” Joseph paced before the fireplace, not understanding how this man, a man he had trusted and considered more like a father than his own father, how could he expect him to simply marry a woman such as Miss Cooper? It was not that the thought had not occurred to him on more than one occasion, but he knew it to be folly even then. He halted his step and turned to the solicitor. “Is this marriage a stipulation of the inheritance? Or is it simply a suggestion Richard gave, such as words of advice?”

  “I’m afraid that it is a stipulation of the will.”

  “But she means to leave soon,” Joseph said with a gasp. “The engagement…” he did not wish to announce the mock engagement in front of the solicitor, nor did he wish to have his mother overhear. He would not put it past her to be listening outside the door this very moment, wondering why he was so upset over a situation that was already to take place.

  “These are Mr. Templeton’s Last Words and Testament, My Lord. If you do not wish to marry his daughter, he has included alternative instructions on how to disperse his estate.”

  Joseph walked over to the window, staring outside without looking at anything, his breath leaving fog on the glass. So, the crafty Richard wished him to fall in love with his daughter and marry her? Yet, the man dangled his wealth in front of Joseph as a carrot for a mule as a requirement. After the fiasco two days earlier, how would he convince Miss Cooper to do such a thing?

  “My Lord,” Mr. Bakersfield said as he stood and handed Joseph a single piece of paper, “these are the items in the house Mr. Templeton wished Miss Cooper to have regardless of any decision you might make. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I have another meeting I need to attend.”

  Joseph sighed. “Thank you. Shall I see you out?”

  “No need, My Lord.” However, before he reached the door, the man stopped and turned back to face Joseph. “By the way, once your marriage has taken place, the appropriate paperwork will be completed and given to you. Until then, I will take over managing Mr. Templeton’s assets.”

  Joseph could only stare in horror as the man turned and walked out the door. He had been overseeing Richard’s business holdings, and Joseph had not even asked who would be managing those. It was a clear display of how rattled Joseph had become.

  “So, Miss Cooper is Mr. Templeton’s daughter?”

  Joseph groaned inwardly at the sound of his mother’s voice. Of course, just as he had expected, she had been listening at the door. If he were to tell her that she was no better than the lowest scullery maid, she would have slapped him across the face. Not that he would have spoken to his mother in such a way, but that did not stop him from having the thoughts.

  “Do you believe I will allow you to engage in these matters without my help?” his mother asked, lacking the motherly voice one would expect to hear. “It matters not; you are already engaged to the woman.”

  Of course, the lies had finally caught up with him. He had no other choice than to tell her the truth. “Mother, it has all been a ruse.” Shame washed over at him at the look she gave as he explained how he had met with Richard, the errand the man had given him, and the results, including how he convinced Miss Cooper to come in the first place, and finally her decision to leave as soon as she could.

  “That is it. You must marry this woman.”

  Joseph stared at his mother in horror. “But I do not care for her, let alone love her. Perhaps this was the lesson, the final lesson Richard wanted to teach me. That I should find love instead of wealth.”

  His mother patted his hand, which was evidence of how important she found Richard’s inheritance. “My son, you have focused all too much on the man’s request to marry his daughter and not on what you will gain if you do as he requests. Tomorrow you will return to Elford Estates and gain the woman’s trust until you are able to ask for her hand in marriage in reality.”

  Joseph snorted. “And how to do propose I convince her? Between the two of us, we have driven her away. I highly doubt she will be readily accepting of any proposal I were to make of her.”

  “That is simple,” she replied. “Adorn her with gifts, tokens of her inheritance, for she does not know what was left to he
r. Give her whatever she desires. Let her believe that she is the most important thing in the world to you. That is how one wins over a woman.”

  Joseph considered her words. What his mother said had an air of truth to it. It would be easy enough to convince a woman who had nothing before she became accustomed to having everything she wanted to marry him. However, he thought of what life would be living with that woman.

  “And then what?” he asked in a challenging tone of which he knew his mother would disapprove. “Spend a lifetime with a woman I do not love?” It sounded silly saying the words aloud; had he not already considered this on their journey from Cornwall? Yet, had he truly considered it? Apparently not.

  “Many marriages are built on less,” she said quietly. “If you must, provide her with separate rooms, even a separate house on the Elford Estates grounds. Do what you must and simply allow her to do what she should, be a wife and bring forth heirs. It is quite simple, is it not?” Her lips curved into a smile that did not reach her eyes, but Joseph could see the wisdom in her words. It truly was quite simple.

  “Yes, I agree, Mother,” he said with a new certainty. “It is a lot of money, his Estate, the business holdings. Yes, it is well worth it.”

  His mother smiled, and this time it did reach her eyes, as did the pride she held for him at that moment. “The price of being admired for one’s wealth and power is always worth the risks one must take. You will see that soon enough.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Rachel sat in the drawing room on the flower-patterned couch, reading a book of poetry and enjoying the sun that shone through the large windows. The rain had stopped late the previous night, bringing about much better weather. She had yet to go and explore the massive gardens and had plans to do so this afternoon. The sounds of footsteps came to her ears, and closing the book, she looked up as Lord Linfield came walking into the room. Though her anger toward him was still great, she could not help but admire the handsome face which brought about a shortness of breath.