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In Debt To The Earl
Elizabeth Rolls
‘If you wish, I can take you out of all this. ’In his quest for revenge against a disreputable card sharp James, Earl of Cambourne, discovers the man’s innocent daughter. While her surroundings are impoverished, her dignity and refinement are unmistakable, and James faces an unsettling question – what will be her fate if he brings her father to justice?Although yearning for love and comfort, Lucy resists the Earl’s surprising offer of protection. That is until a price is made on her virginity, and James is the only man who can save her!
‘I must say I envy Hensleigh,’ murmured her unwelcome guest.
Lucy stiffened, but continued polishing so that the table wobbled noisily.
‘Lucky fellow,’ he went on, ‘having a wench willing to clean his lodgings and warm his bed.’
Everything inside her stopped as well as the polishing rag. And the temper her grandparents had tried so hard to curb slipped its leash. Slowly she straightened and faced him, the dusting rag clenched in her fist. ‘Wench?’ She restrained the urge to throw the rag in his face.
His brows rose. ‘A poor choice of words,’ he said. ‘You could do better than Hensleigh.’
‘Really?’ Rage slammed through her, but she kept her voice dulcet. ‘You, for example?’
He smiled. ‘If you like. If you tell me where he is.’
‘They say it’s a wise child who knows its own father,’ she said, her stomach twisting.
James wondered if he’d been hit on the head with a brick as the implications slammed into him. No one had suggested that the woman in Hensleigh’s lodgings was his daughter!
Author Note (#ulink_0dccd1b3-471d-5392-823f-80e93cdaeeb8)
This story takes place a little earlier than the rest of my stories, in 1802. Some years back I wrote a short story called The Funeral, and for various reasons needed an earlier setting. This was the genesis of James and Lucy’s story. A throwaway line about her father’s gambling debts gave me the lead into this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed finding out more about them.
Readers familiar with the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century will recognise James’s godfather, Charles James Fox. Fox’s real-life love affair with the courtesan Elizabeth Armistead is one of the world’s great love stories, and I was delighted to be able to include them in this book.
In Debt to the Earl
Elizabeth Rolls
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ELIZABETH ROLLS lives in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia with her husband, teenage sons, dogs and too many books. She is convinced that she will achieve a state of blessed Nirvana when her menfolk learn to put their own dishes in the dishwasher without being asked and cease flexing their testosterone over the television remote.
Elizabeth loves to hear from readers, and invites you to contact her via email at books@elizabethrolls.com.
For Sharon.
For Sharon. We share a birthday and a love of tea. You share your daughters with me, and we’ve stood beside too many soccer pitches to count, cheering each other’s kids on. This one is for you.
Contents
Cover (#uf3e01ca1-4e74-5b67-8103-5fd87c833b8f)
Introduction (#uaa0162ec-44e6-5bab-81b5-f6ae4ad768dd)
Author Note (#ucecb81a7-d072-5439-af0b-375169041b22)
Title Page (#uf48166e8-1896-55e3-808a-b9772d1e6378)
About the Author (#u2da3fc55-ded4-52fd-b751-269e5aa6df77)
Dedication (#uab2b7fc7-0b65-5108-a764-ed710a2c2b20)
Prologue (#u5ca3929a-838a-507b-aa32-ea557a23be7e)
Chapter One (#u581ecd0c-8c24-5cc4-b8d2-e2e4f7148ded)
Chapter Two (#uf4673599-8525-52ed-ad57-2fba63fb7b64)
Chapter Three (#uc4aa6afd-8ebe-59d4-ba4f-81ea48fcf3cb)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#ulink_1783559e-91cb-5a35-b87a-187d8d5dfbc8)
March 1802
‘Damn it, Paget.’ James, Lord Cambourne, stared down at the battered, unconscious face of his young cousin, Nick Remington. ‘What the hell happened? Has the doctor been?’
Nick’s manservant, Paget, nodded. ‘Yes, m’lord. I sent for the doctor immediately. He’s just left.’
‘And?’
Paget tucked the blankets more securely around his young master. ‘Just bruising, a cracked rib and a knock to the head.’
‘Just?’ James took exception to the servant’s soothing tone. ‘For God’s sake, Paget! You’re taking it mighty calmly! Does the boy make a habit of this?’
‘No!’ Paget glanced at Nick, who shifted restlessly, and lowered his voice. ‘My lord, if we might go into the sitting room? Doctor Greaves said he ought to sleep—’
‘James?’ The voice was barely a whisper. ‘That you?’
The blue eyes, one distinguished by a black eye of impressive proportions, were open, if bleary. Under the scrapes and bruises, his face was nearly as white as his pillow.
‘Yes,’ James said. ‘What the devil have you been about, you idiot?’ Relief roughened his voice.
‘Being an idiot,’ Nick got out through a split lip. ‘Did Paget send for you?’
‘Well, of course I did, Master Nick,’ Paget said. ‘You were attacked!’
‘What?’ James had been assuming a falling out of friends that had got out of hand. ‘Attacked?’
Nick’s gaze fastened on Paget. ‘Tell me you didn’t send for the mater and pater. Please.’
‘No, sir.’ Paget’s tone was soothing. ‘Just his lordship.’
‘Thank God.’ Nick attempted to sit up and the bedclothes fell back, revealing his naked torso, even as he sank down cursing.
James’s eyes widened and he swore savagely. Nick’s body was livid with bruises.
‘Looks as bad as it feels, does it?’ Nick managed a weak grin.
‘Stay on the damn pillow.’ James enforced the command with a gentle hand on his cousin’s shoulder. ‘I can’t blame you for not wanting to see your parents, but unless you wish me to send for them, you will do as you are told.’
‘Bully,’ Nick said with a half smile.
‘Believe it,’ James said. ‘Who beat you?’ Because that was what it looked like—a deliberate and brutal beating.
Nick grimaced. ‘Did I mention that I was an idiot?’
‘You did,’ James said. ‘Unnecessary, but you did mention it. Go on.’
‘Well, I lost a bit of money.’
‘How much is a bit?’ James asked.
‘Er...quite a bit. A couple of monkeys.’
James bit back several choice remarks. No doubt Nick was already thinking them anyway. ‘A couple of monkeys.’ His voice expressed polite interest. ‘You lost a thousand at— What? Cards? Dice? A horse?’
‘Cards,’ Nick said. ‘The thing is—’
‘You couldn’t pay.’ James failed to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. A thousand was more than Nick’s entire annual allowance.
‘No.’ Nick’s voice was weary, his eyes closed. James glanced at Paget, who gestured to the door. On the whole James agreed. Nick was safe and the story could wait. But Nick’s eyes opened again.
‘I couldn’t pay and he sold my vowels.’
‘Who?’
‘Chap called Hensleigh. Captain Hensleigh,’ Nick said.
‘Never heard of him,’ James said. But Captain Hensleigh was going to hear from him. ‘Navy or army?’
‘What?’
‘What sort of captain?’ James asked.
Nick grimaced. ‘Oh. Sharp, I should think.’
A Captain Sharp. Wonderful. Nick had come up to town for the first time, lost more money than he could pay to a professional card cheat and been beaten up.
James glanced at Paget. ‘Is there any coffee?’
‘I roasted and ground beans earlier,’ Paget said. ‘But Mr Nick fell asleep. It won’t take long.’
‘Thank you,’ James said.
‘Sorry,’ Nick mumbled. ‘Should have offered.’
James snorted. ‘We’ll just assume your manners have gone begging in the same place as your wits.’
‘Get the coffee, Paget,’ Nick said. ‘There’s a good chap.’
‘Yes, sir.’
James turned back to Nick. ‘Any chance those bruisers are coming back? Where did this happen?’
‘Off Fleet Street, near the Strand.’
‘What in God’s name took you down there?’ James demanded.
‘Looking for Hensleigh,’ Nick said. ‘He gave me a week and it wasn’t quite up.’ He met James’s gaze. ‘I couldn’t pay. I knew that and I was going to ask for more time.’
