With each lesson in etiquette with his tutor, Miss Hermina Fernsby, Colin soon realizes perhaps his countess has been sitting right under his nose. But a spirited and unconventional Mina knows better than to risk her heart with a rogue and isn’t’ going to make it easy...

  Excerpt: Chapter 1

  London, late March, 1816…

  “You must select a lady of quality to be your wife this season and marry her before the year ends.”

  Colin Fairbanks, the newly minted Earl of Celdon, stared in mute surprise at the old dragon, the moniker his siblings had attached to the Dowager Countess of Celdon. Or was she still the countess? With a list of infernal rules that govern the aristocracy still swirling around in his thoughts from their two-hour long discussion, he found his voice to calmly say, “A wife?” When there was nothing calm inside him at that edict.

  Worse, Lady Celdon reclined like a queen against the high-back chair positioned by the window as if she simply expected that Colin, a man of one and thirty, would simply obey her ridiculous command. As if he had no thoughts and desires of his own concerning a wife. Someone he had never met died, leaving him to assume a role and responsibility he never anticipated— the most pressing being that he marries sooner than later.

  Colin was not quite ready for domesticity, although his own mother also supported the idea by touting it as just the thing he needed. He was not quite sure for what purpose he would need to be wed. Why would he want to be shackled to a wife?

  How in God’s name am I here?

  As he understood it, this formidable dowager countess staring him down, was five and sixty, and had lost her only son to a wasting illness more than fifteen years ago. Given the advanced state of her age, she and her earl had not been able to make another child. They had lived happily together while using a solicitor to find his heir, until the earl died over two years ago. Colin could not imagine what had happened in the intervening years since they had only discovered him six months ago, and this inheritance was something he still hadn’t managed to wrap his mind around.

  Settling her gaze on him and pursing her lips, she clipped, “Yes, a wife. You must urgently dedicate yourself to the task.”

  I will brook no refusal lingered unspoken.

  “Regrettably, I must decline,” he said with studied seriousness. “It was never my intention to marry before forty and that has not changed.”

  The old dragon narrowed her light blue eyes at him, a different hue to his family’s distinctive eyes that have been described as blue and vivid as the reflective waters of the Aegean Sea. As far as the army of lawyers who had found him lying on the grassy hillside bank in Cornwall had informed him, he was some distant cousin, but he was the nearest male heir they could establish. Or some such nonsense.

  “You are refusing?” she clipped icily, thumping her cane onto the lush carpet.

  “Yes, I—”

  “You are not in a position to refuse.”

  He canted his head slightly to the left, and with icy civility said, “I am the earl, am I not? I do recall it was I the Lord Chancellor summoned by writ to parliament.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him in unforgiving censure.

  Amusement almost tugged a smile from him. “Pray forgive the disrespect, but who are you to command me to select a lady and marry immediately. I am my own man, madam, and when I am ready to clasp the lock around my throat, it will be my decision.”

  Her lips pursed. “What lock?”

  “Wedlock, madam. That is what it is called. I daresay it is not a happy state but a terrible imposition on a gentleman who cherishes his comings and goings.”

  She leveled a piercing stare upon him; and, if Colin was another sort of man, he would have squirmed in his seat.

  “You, Colin Fairbanks, are not a gentleman with whom I am impressed.”

  “I was not trying to impress you, madam.”

  As if he had not spoken, she continued, “You have been in town for four months and rumor…a ghastly rumor, already has it you’ve procured an actress as a mistress and even fought a duel over her!”

  “It wasn’t a duel, but a brawl in a—”

  Her cane thumped several times onto the floor. “Earls of Celdon do not brawl! They do not attend balls with their cravats undone! Nor do they smoke in rooms where ladies are present. You are a disgrace to the title, and I will not settle for it! You, my good lad, need to procure yourself a respectable wife, one who will help you navigate the ton and become a proper gentleman befitting Celdon.”

  The knot of his neckcloth suddenly felt too tight. He had not asked for this. As a country gentleman, his life before had been pleasant enough, and no one had ever asked him his opinion before they upended his life and thrust this new responsibility upon him with the expectation that it couldn’t be refused. Yet he had squared his shoulders and accepted the duties imposed upon him. As one of his sisters had joked, they had moved from “country rags to riches” within the blink of an eye, and apparently being exceedingly rich was a heavy responsibility. “I’ve lived as a gentleman, madam; I believe I am acquainted with the proper niceties and when to apply them.”

  The old dragon offered him a mocking smile. “You are not ton worthy, my dear. A country gentleman who dances country dances in barns and village assembly halls is not even qualified to attend a rout in town. No doubt you spent your time talking to sheep and cows, not refined and educated ladies and gentlemen. You are sorely lacking in town polish, and the entire world will see it.”

  “Then let them see,” he said with cool indifference, thinking the old dragon had gone quite beyond the pale with her insults. Clearly the solicitors had told her they found him telling a story to the baby sheep curled atop his chest.

  Irritation flashed in her eyes. “You will act in a dignified manner befitting the Earl of Celdon, and your sisters and brothers will fall in line! All of them are rakes and hoydens! All of your sisters lack the proper decorum of modesty and correct demeanor, which is of utmost importance. One of your sisters laughed with her entire mouth open at Lady Sanderson’s musicale a few evenings ago. I was most astonished at this lack of good governance over her actions when out and about.”

  Colin raked a hand over his face. “To laugh is a crime, is it?”

  She cast him a look of baffled surprise. “So vulgarly? Very much so.”

  Everything inside of him stiffened against the very suggestion this old biddy was making in referring to Penny as vulgar. He knew she was talking about her. His second youngest sister Penny smiled with her eyes and her heart. There was no pretention inside her, and she enjoyed the humor in her life and situation. That did not make her vulgar. The cold anger that normally surfaced when someone tried to insult his family stirred. “You will hold your tongue when it comes to my sisters and—”

  With a thump of her cane and looking fit to swoon, she said, “I will not! Rumor has it another one of your sisters has fought a duel! A god-forsaken duel with a gentleman.”

  “He was a right bastard, and Lizzy did not kill him.” Colin had taught his sisters how to take care of themselves. His family was too large, and his responsibility for them meant he needed to take certain chances.

  The dowager countess stared at Colin as if he were a dreaded creature. No doubt she was regretting that the solicitors had finally found him. Tightening her lips, she continued, “Gossip about town already whispers that your third eldest sister is the mistress of a lord! Or is it the fourth eldest? I cannot even keep track of you all for there are so many in your family! Trust that woman to be crass enough to have twelve children!”

  “You will not insult my mother, madam—”

  She continued her tirade as if he had not interjected.

  “Another of your sisters has a young child hanging about her skirts that you have not given a proper explanation for!”

  “And none will be given.” That little girl was Fanny’s love child, and no one’s business. And she was certainly not chitchat on whom the ton should speculate. Colin loathed that they could turn such a simple love into a matter of scandal for them to tear her character to shreds. The scandal sheets were already picking his family apart with their stories and suppositions. And his family was everything to him.

  “Your family’s reputation is no good and dissolute! The first step in rendering yourselves respectable will be proper marriages; and, that starts with you, the head of the family.”

  He stood with the firm intention of booting the old harridan from his home. A soft sob caught his attention, and he swung his gaze to the sound. His mother stood in the doorway, a delicate hand resting across her chest, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. Sudden fury rocked through him. In the depths of her eyes, he saw shame and a belief that she had not raised her children well. How dare this woman make his mother feel ashamed of her family?

  “Mama—” he began, only to stop when she raised her hand.

  “Please, Colin, listen to Lady Celdon. I believe her to be right in her assessment.” Closing the door behind her, she walked into the room, her movements slightly jerky. “Ever since your father died…I…so many things have happened with our family, and not all of them were good. Surely you are aware of this?”

  No doubt she referred to the many scandals that had followed them like their shadows when they had lived in the idyllic town of Penporth.

  “I will admit my brothers and sisters may be a little…impetuous, perhaps lacking in some smoothing around the edges. However, that does not mean any of us should have to marry until we are ready. If we need polishing, someone can be hired to help us. Surely this is a possible solution?”

  His mother’s chin wobbled, and disappointment darkened her soft brown eyes.

  “Connecting yourself with a respectable family is the best way forward,” she said gently. “Perhaps you might need some town bronze to impress upon the ton that you are an eligible catch. As it stands now, you are a rogue of the first order with money. Why would any respectable lady of impeccable heritage choose to marry you? Without those connections, what chances will your sisters and brothers have for a respectable future? It pains me to admit it, but some of your siblings own to a more dastardly reputation than you, Colin. It might not be all over town at the moment, but the society papers seem quite determined to pry out every tiny detail of scandal about the new earl and his family. All to see if we belong, and they will viciously pick our family to pieces and mock our disgrace.”

  The devil take it! The truth of his mother’s words cut through him like the sharpest of blades.

  His family needed the approval of the ton to belong, to fit in and allow them to establish themselves. At yesterday’s family meeting, while some of his siblings had thumbed their noses and laughed in snide mockery at the very idea, there were some whose eyes had glowed with hunger. Now they had money. More money than they could spend in two lifetimes. And they did not want to return to the small country mining town where they had spent most of their lives.

  His brother Nicholas’s dream was to be a painter and attend the Royal Academy, and that ambition was now within his grasp; Lizzy was indeed having an affair with a duke whose fancy she had caught three years ago. His sister loved the man with her entire heart, but the duke did not see her as the marriageable sort. Perhaps now that her brother was an earl…if he were to become a respectable one, his sister might be elevated to more than a mistress.

  The entire village of Penporth had shunned Fanny from their social gatherings for being suspected of having a child out of wedlock. Though they had cultivated the trumped-up story she had married her fiancé before he marched to war, it was simply a lie that had come apart at the seams. Fanny seemed happy with her lot in life, resigned with the life choices she had made; but, there were times when he caught her with a look of profound sadness and longing on her face. Colin would give anything to wipe that sadness away. Even if it meant he would have to settle down and marry. It was a sacrifice he was prepared to make for his family, but they would have to all work together to show a brave front and knuckle down to making society think better of them as a group.

  He stood and started to pace as this unexpected view of his responsibilities tumbled through his thoughts. Many in their village referred to them as “those very bad Fairbanks” for their wicked shenanigans. He had heard it muttered several times, in accents of reproach and fond amusement. “I can be respectable without taking a wife,” he muttered.

  The old harridan, sensing weakness, circled him closer. “Can you dance the waltz?”

  Why was that even bloody necessary? “No,” he admitted through gritted teeth. He was proficient at a few country stomps, but nothing as refined and elegant as the waltz.

  “Do you have the proper connection to see your sisters accepted by society, many of them are so lovely—”

  “All of them are lovely,” he said coldly.

  The harridan sighed. “All of them supposedly lovely will need the proper guidance to make respectable connections and matches within the ton. Chastity, modesty, and obedience are the pre-eminent female virtues, and it pains me to say your sisters are sadly lacking in those. They must at least assume the appearance of having those virtues if the family is not going to be a nest of scandal. This is something that must be corrected if they are to be successful. And their success will be measured through their marriages. The antics my investigator uncovered will not be tolerated about town.”

  He stiffened. “You dared to have my family investigated?”

  An elegant brow arched. “You dare to censure me?”

  Ignoring her, he turned to his mother. “I understand my new responsibilities, and, even though they were not mine a few months ago, the care of so many properties, staff, and tenants have been entrusted to me. I will do my duty well.”

  By God, a miraculous sound of approval came from the harridan.

  “If I need a wife as the head of the household to set the proper path for my siblings, I will marry. I will, however, choose my own wife.”

  “Absolutely not!” the harridan barked.

  “As I will be the person speaking to the woman and taking her to my bed, I assure—”

  “How unspeakably vulgar. A gentleman does not speak so frankly in the presence of ladies.

  Bloody hell. “Forgive me, madam,” he said, noting the blush on his mother’s face. “A wife is someone with whom I will spend the rest of my life. The decision on who that lady is will be mine alone.”

  “And with my approval,” the old dragon said, advancing on him with narrowed eyes.

  “Certainly I will present her to you before I make an offer,” he said in an effort to compromise. “I am, however, not ready for that wife as yet. As I understand your criticisms, Lady Celdon, I need to be polished. Is that not so?”

  She eyed him critically, as if trying to determine if he was pulling the wool over her eyes. “Yes, you are very rough around the edges.”

  “Very well. It is agreed then. I will hire a tutor to come in and share with me and my sisters and brothers the finer points on how to gain our social veneer. Once our transformation meets your approval, madam, then we will go about finding our matches.”

  He didn’t dare point out to her that some of his siblings, and even himself, would not take kindly to the idea of marrying so soon. In fact, he believed they would very much resent being tutored and shaped into what the dowager countess insisted upon. The transformation of his family into pictures of propriety might take months, if it could be achieved, and he had some doubts over that occurring. They had never had to live with this level of scrutiny and restraint before, and he could predict the difficulties ahead.

  “As for your mistress, this actress—” the countess began scathingly.

  “Will be my concern only,” he said smoothly. “While having a follower in the country might inspire a gaggle of gossips, I was relieved to hear it is even expected of a man of my quality.”

  His mother flushed, and, while the harridan looked fit to argue, she pressed her lips into a flat line and nodded once. Colin dipped into a charming bow. “If you ladies will excuse me, I have to find this paragon who will help this no-good-dissolute family.” With that, he took his leave, able to feel the dowager countess’s stare against his shoulder blades, burning and biting like ants crawling over his skin.

  This season was looking to be a long and frustrating one. However, he reminded himself of the motto he had adopted when his father had died five years ago—Family before self. Stalking toward his library, he faltered as Lily barreled down the hallway, chortling as she ran from her mama. Her little legs pumped, and her midnight black curls slapped her cherub cheeks.

  “Unc!” she cried, her dark green eyes bright with joy. Lily lifted her hands up without slowing her run.

  Colin stopped and swept her into his arms, emotions clutching his throat when she snuggled her face into the crook of his neck. If he was not careful, this sweet child, who was the total joy of his family, might be branded as a bastard, and possibly cut from this society.

  “You’ve caught her,” Fanny said breathlessly, her bright blue eyes, so much like his own, sparkling. “I cannot imagine how a two-year-old can outrun me. It is outrageous!”

  When her mama reached for Lily, she muttered her new favorite word.

  “No, ‘tay with unc.”

  Fanny smiled. “Your uncle is busy and has work to do, and it is time for your nap.”

  He kissed Lily’s cheek and another sweet chortle left her. “I am never too busy for my best lady. She can spend the day with me in the library.”

  Lily snuggled into his cheek and bestowed several slightly sticky and moist kisses there, while tickling his neck. She still had that sweet baby smell, and he melted at her innocent adoration of her eldest uncle. He looked at his sister. Her rumpled, fashionable blue frock picked out the stunning color of the family eyes. They were eyes that were far too knowing for a young girl of her years, and yet they revealed both amusement and sorrow in their depths. Some of her pale blonde curls had escaped from her maid’s attempt to restrain them.

 

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