Enticing the Earl

Book 2: Bewitching

by Christie Kelley

Genres: Historical Fiction; Regency Romance; Romantic Suspense

Synopsis

Only His Passion. . . With his estate near bankruptcy, Simon Blakesworth, Earl of Hartsfield already has a perilous secret to keep. Still, when he finds Mia Featherstone badly beaten, he doesn't hesitate to shelter her in his home. . .and offer marriage to protect the lovely healer from her attacker. But Mia is concealing a danger this honorable earl never imagined--and can't resist. . . Can Save Her Love. . . Mia's valuable discovery on Simon's land saved her patients' lives. Now the only way she can help the man she's always loved save his home is to secretly find the rest of a cache of hidden artifacts. But their passion is making it impossible for Mia to ever walk away--even from a love that may not survive the truth. . . Praise for the novels of Christie Kelley "A passionate and sexually charged tale. . ." -- Romantic Times Book Reviews on One Night Scandal "A sexy Cinderella story--racy and romantic!" --Anna Campbell on Scandal of the Season "Rollicking, sexy. . .you'll enjoy this one!" --Kat Martin on Every Time We Kiss "Kelley joins the ranks of Cheryl Holt, Pamela Britton and Lisa Kleypas." --<>I>RT Book Reviews on Every Night I'm Yours 77,000 Words

Release date: October 1, 2013

Publisher: eOriginals

Print pages: 242

Sample

Staffordshire, England, 1814

Mia Featherstone had never been afraid of a man until she met Allan Davies. How foolish could she have been to trust a man like him. She’d barely known him. While attractive with his dark brown hair, blue eyes, and cultured manners, she now knew he held an evil inside him that none of her herbs could heal.

“Tell me where you hid it,” Allan demanded.

Mia attempted to stand her ground but as his hand lifted higher, fear caused her legs to tremble. “I won’t tell you,” she whispered.

The force of his blow to her cheek knocked her back four steps. Even as she stumbled, she couldn’t understand why this was so important to him. She caught herself on the table. Her fright grew into panic. He had only hit her once before today and then had apologized profusely for hurting her. Something had happened to enrage him to the point that it didn’t matter if someone discovered what he’d done to her.

“You will tell me.” He stalked her menacingly. “You will never leave until you do. And no one knows about us so this is the last place anyone would look for you.”

Mia glanced about the small cottage, desperate for a path of escape. She only had to run a short distance to be back on the earl’s land. Allan would never dare set foot on Hart’s lands. For some reason unknown to her, he feared the earl. But how would she outrun him? She’d been a fool to meet him at the cottage. The last time they’d been together, she’d sensed a change in him. She had put that off, believing him when he told her he was just tired from working.

Although to this day, she had no idea what he did to earn a living.

“Where is the treasure?” he demanded again.

“It was no treasure,” she said softly. “The little bit of gold I found, I gave to the tenants. There is nothing left.”

He stepped closer until his hot breath seared her cheek. “Do you think I’m a fool?”

Before she could answer, his fist landed on her belly. Mia doubled over, attempting to draw a breath into her lungs. Pain washed over her entire body. “Wh—Why is this so important to you?” she managed to say.

“That is none of your concern.” As he moved to hit her again, she turned her head slightly to dodge the blow. Instead, his fist landed squarely on her eye.

“Ahh,” she screamed. She slid to the floor and fought the desire to lose consciousness from the pain coursing through her. Giving in to the darkness would mean letting him win. As she curled into a ball to protect her body, he kicked her in the ribs. For a thin man, he packed a terrifying punch.

“If you won’t tell me where you hid your treasure then at least tell me where you found it. There has to be more.”

Mia had no idea if there were any more pieces of gold or not. The last time she dug, she’d found nothing. “On the earl’s land,” she choked out.

“Dammit!” Allan picked up a glass from the table and hurled it across the room. He yanked her up to her feet.

She clung to him afraid if he released her she would fall to the floor again. “Allan, please let me go.”

“Not yet.” He studied her carefully. “Where on the earl’s land?”

“I don’t remember,” she lied. “I was helping one of the tenants plant potatoes.”

He slapped her again. “I want the truth this time.”

She couldn’t tell him the truth. He would get her banished from the earl’s land if Hart ever discovered what she’d done. “I don’t remember. It was last year.”

He shoved her so hard she hit her head against the wall. Tears blinded her. How could she have ever thought Allan was a respectable man? A man worthy of her regard. A man worthy of her body.

This time when she fell to the floor, her hand hit something cold and metallic. She forced the tears from her eyes and noticed the knife on the floor next to her. She slid it under the folds of her skirt.

“Get up,” he said and then gulped down a glass of gin. “We can stay here all day. But you aren’t leaving until you tell me exactly where you discovered the gold.”

“It was only a few pieces, Allan.” Mia struggled to keep the knife hidden as she rose on shaking legs. “I only found a sword hilt and a coin.” She could never tell him how much she’d actually found. The tenants needed the money far more than he did.

“There has to be more.” Desperation lined his voice. “I’ve watched you. You have been giving the tenants more than the price of a hilt and buckle.”

“They were solid gold, Allan. It was a bloody fortune but there is no more. The most likely explanation is one of the earl’s relatives was practicing his swordplay and lost the hilt of his sword several hundred years ago.”

He poured another glass of gin and swallowed it back. “No. There is more and you are going to find it for me.”

Mia blinked as the room started to spin. She couldn’t lose consciousness now. Her escape was possible. She stood between him and the door. She had a knife. Nausea roiled in her belly and the rotating room became dizzying. If she didn’t act now, she might be here all night.

“No.” She lifted her right hand with the knife in it. “I am leaving now and you will not follow me.”

Allan let out a great coarse laugh. “Mia, do you really think you could hurt me with that?”

“Yes, I really do.” There were a great many things Allan didn’t know about her, and she would use that to her advantage, if the room would just stop spinning. “My father taught me to throw knives to protect myself,” she lied. After all, how would he know if that was true?

Well, how hard could it be? Aim, throw.

He took a step toward her with his hand held out. “Give me the knife, Mia.”

“Very well.” She lifted her arm and then flung the knife at him.

“You fucking bitch!” he screamed as the knife reached its target.

Without looking to see where she’d hit him, she raced from the house. She had to run until she reached the earl’s lands and the safety of her home. She squashed the nausea threatening to stop her. She could hear him stumbling out of the cottage, giving chase.

“I’m coming for you, Mia,” he yelled as he tracked her. “If you think a little knife will stop me, you are mad.”

Hearing his voice only made her run faster. Damn these skirts and stays. She glanced up and saw Hartsfield Park through her tears of pain. It was right there. She hiked up her skirts to run faster. She had to make it up the knoll.

She made one mistake... looking backward.

Stumbling over a stone, she fell on the soft grass. Even knowing he was approaching, she wanted to do nothing but close her eyes and fall asleep in this spot. But she couldn’t. She started to scramble back to her feet but Allan yanked her up.

“Did you really think you could outrun me?”

For one minute, she had.

He glared at her as blood seeped from the wound in his shoulder. He must have pulled out the knife before stalking her. “Are you looking at your handiwork?”

She shook her head as a wave of dizziness swept over her. The dizziness was not a good sign. If she lost consciousness, all would be lost. Allan would drag her back to his cottage and no one would find her until he was ready to be rid of her. She blinked and tried to focus on something other than the spinning world around her.

“Come on, we’re not finished with our conversation,” he said, grabbing her arm in his tight grip.

Mia glanced about quickly and realized where she was. Even if it wasn’t marked, she knew where she stood. “No.”

That one word stopped him. He turned to face her and snarled, “What?”

“We are on the Earl of Hartsfield’s lands. If you abduct me from his land, you can hang.”

He only laughed. “Who will see me?”

A distant voice called out, “Miss Featherstone, is that you? Do you need assistance?”

Mia closed her eyes in relief hearing his voice. “Apparently, the earl himself will see you.”

“Goddamn you to hell.” He released her arm and ran back down the slight hill.

She opened her eyes and noticed the earl racing toward her. She was home. Knowing she was safe, she did what she wanted to do before Allan had found her outside. She fell to the grass as blackness overcame her.

Simon Blakesworth watched with dread as Mia fell to the ground. He ran down the hill only to find her facedown in the soft grass. Carefully, he rolled her over. Nausea roiled in his stomach as he saw the marks on her body. Her left eye was red and swelling quickly. By tomorrow, it would be black-and-blue. The left side of her jaw looked as if it had taken multiple blows.

He was going to kill whoever did this to her.

No one touched his wise woman.

He slowly gathered her in his arms and walked toward Hartsfield Park. She groaned in pain with every step he took. He pushed away the emotions eating at him and stormed into his house. “Get Mrs. Featherstone up here immediately,” he ordered his butler, Harris.

“Yes, my lord,” Harris mumbled. “What happened to Miss Featherstone?”

“I don’t know. Someone tried to hurt her.”

“Oh, my lord, who would ever want to hurt such a kind lady?”

Simon only shook his head. “I will place her in the rose bedchamber,” Simon shouted down as he climbed the steps.

Once he reached the rose bedchamber, he entered the room and eased her down on the soft bed. She moaned again and blinked her eyes open slightly.

“My lord?”

“Shh, Miss Featherstone. Your mother is on her way.”

“She is going to be so angry,” she muttered.

No more than I am. “Not at you,” Simon whispered. “Only at whoever did this to you.”

She nodded slowly and closed her eyes again.

Simon grabbed a cloth and poured water from the pitcher on it. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently cleaned the dirt off her oval face. What kind of trouble had Mia gotten herself in to? And who the hell was that man? Simon had been too far away to recognize him. None of his tenants would wish to harm Mia. She was the healer’s daughter and a wise woman like her mother. Everything she did was laced in kindness.

After looking at her eye, he strode to the door and shouted for a footman. “Is there ice left in the icehouse?”

“I am not certain, my lord,” Robert said slowly.

Simon raised one brow at the man without saying a word.

“But I will check with Cook and bring some to you if there is any left.”

“Crush the ice. Thank you, Robert.”

Simon walked back into the room and sat back down on the bed. He turned at the sound of the door opening. Expecting to see Mrs. Featherstone, he was surprised to find his mother standing at the threshold in her traveling costume. “Are you leaving now?”

“Perhaps,” she answered slowly. She approached the bed and stared down at Mia. “What happened?”

“I don’t know yet. Someone beat her.”

“Should I stay?” she asked hesitantly. For a woman with four children, his mother had never been comfortable with the sick or injured.

“There is nothing you can do. Her mother is on the way and will care for her. You should head down to Suffolk and visit Caroline and Richard as planned.” And give him some blessed peace.

She worried her lip. “But if she is staying in the house, then I should remain to chaperone.”

Simon shook his head. “Mother, she needs a healer, not a chaperone. Mrs. Featherstone will stay with her daughter until she can be moved to their cottage. Go visit Caroline.”

“As you wish. But I will expect you in Suffolk by the end of September. You cannot ignore your sister’s country party, no matter how much you would like to.”

She was bringing up this topic now? “Can we speak of this at another time? Miss Featherstone is badly injured.”

“I see that but nothing can be done until her mother arrives. I will hear nothing more on either subject. You will be in Suffolk by the end of September,” his mother huffed.

He returned his attention back to Miss Featherstone and washed her hand. “How many people will be there?”

“I am not certain. Most likely no more than fifty.”

Fifty people. Nothing could drag him to that party. Thankfully, his sister would understand. “I will do my best to remember the party, Mother.”

“Do more than that. Make certain you attend.”

As she walked out, Mrs. Featherstone blustered into the room. “What happened to my daughter, my lord?”

He explained what he had seen. “Do you know the man?”

“Foolish girl. She only told me that she was visiting a friend in the village. I should have known she had no friends there. The new duchess is her only real friend and I wonder how long that friendship will last now that she’s part of the quality.”

The new Duchess of Northrop could hardly be called a member of the quality. A wise woman like both Mrs. Featherstone and her twin daughters, most people considered Selina far beneath the likes of the duke. Simon tended to disagree. He knew that she was a kind woman who had reached through the darkness in Colin’s soul and brought him back to life. For saving his friend, Simon owed Selina everything.

Mrs. Featherstone set to work on her daughter. “My lord, please ask Mrs. Alder to come up and assist me.”

“I would be happy to help you.”

She turned her head and stared at him with those intense blue eyes. “Thank you, my lord, but I would prefer another woman assist me with my daughter.” She softened her voice. “I will let you know how she is once I have attended to her.”

He nodded sharply, knowing he had no rights where Mia was concerned. “I will get Mrs. Alder.”

He looked back at Mia one last time and then left the room. He walked downstairs to his library and then called for his butler.

“Yes, my lord?” Harris said as he entered the room.

“Have Mrs. Alder assist Mrs. Featherstone in the rose bedchamber. And send word to the duchess that Miss Featherstone is injured. I am quite certain she will want to know.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Simon sat down in the chair that overlooked the gardens and waited for word. He hated being useless. And worse, he hated not having the right to stay in the room while Mrs. Featherstone examined her daughter. He was done waiting for Mia to realize that he loved her. Once she was well enough, he would talk to her about it.

And what exactly would he say?

He had no idea. He could tell her that the main reason he stayed at this estate almost year-round was due to her. It was nearer enough the truth for her. She didn’t need to know the real reason he spent so little time in town.

He could tell her that he loved her more than life itself. Unfortunately, she would more than likely laugh at that explanation.

There had to be some reason he could use to get her to understand that she needed to marry him. He pondered that for close to an hour before Harris knocked on the door.

“Yes, Harris? Is there news from Mrs. Featherstone?”

“No, my lord. The Duke and Duchess of Northrop are here. The duchess refused to wait and ran up to the rose bedchamber.”

Simon laughed, imagining Selina pushing Harris out of the way to get to her friend. “Send North in.”

“Already here,” North said as he entered the room. “I’ve decided my lovely wife might have the right idea of just forcing herself into people’s homes.”

“I don’t believe she thinks there is a reason to be announced.”

“Yes, she seems to have perfected that social blunder.” North chuckled. “It is endearing in the country. I will have to make certain she doesn’t continue that tradition when in town.” North sat down in the gold velvet chair next to Simon. “How is she?”

“I don’t know yet. Mrs. Featherstone ejected me from the bedchamber and hasn’t come down since. I’m worried, North. It looked like a man had done this to her. The man I saw from the top of the hill wasn’t anyone I had seen before. I know all my tenants, your tenants and even Middleton’s tenants, and most of the people in the village.”

“A stranger in the village will cause talk,” North commented. “Perhaps if you question a few people, they will know of this man.”

“I plan on doing that just as soon as I hear how she’s faring.”

“It might be too late by then.” North rose. “Come along, we will leave the women to help Miss Featherstone while we question the villagers.”

Simon nodded. At least this would give him something to do to keep his mind off her for a few minutes. He let Harris know to give the ladies the message that they were heading to the village, and then walked out to the stables.

Once they had mounted their horses, they set out for the ride to Cheadle. Simon kept his thoughts to himself and thankfully so did North. The last thing Simon wanted was North questioning him about Mia. No one knew how he felt about the woman and no one needed to discover how deep his feelings for her had become over the past few years.

He had been aware of her from the time he was seventeen. Even though she’d only been fourteen at the time, he could see she would be a beautiful woman. And with large brown eyes that could see into a person’s soul, chestnut hair and her slim figure, he’d been right.

But his attraction to her was more than physical. He’d witnessed her kindness on more than one occasion. When his mother grew ill, the physician had said there was nothing he could do. Mia and her mother disagreed with the man and fought to draw his mother back from the brink. Five years later, his mother was healthier than she’d ever been. Mia had always been there for the servants and tenants on his estate.

“Here we are,” North said, pulling Simon out of his musing.

Simon glanced about the small town and frowned. The clouds were rolling in over the hillside and the rain would be here soon. “We had best make this quick. I do wonder how we are supposed to question people when I don’t have a name.”

“We ask about any strangers in town. Most people know of the Featherstones and they will be angry to hear what happened to Miss Featherstone. If they know something, they will talk.”

“Very well,” Simon agreed as they walked into the local inn.

Two hours later, the skies had darkened to match Simon’s mood. No one had seen any strangers in the area. A few people had passed by the inn but after a night, they had continued on their journey. “Let’s be off before we get soaked,” Simon said as they walked toward the yard.

“As soon as you get a name from Miss Featherstone, let me know and we can try again.” North mounted his horse and led him to the main road. “I will head back to the estate now. I have no doubt that Selina will want to stay the night with Miss Featherstone.”

“Thank you, North.”

“I owe you this much... and more.”

Simon smiled, remembering how only a few weeks ago, he had run off after the man who had shot North and injured Selina too. Just as Simon mounted up, the rain began. “Damn.”

“And now you know why I am heading back to my home,” North said. “I’ll return the mare tomorrow.” North raced off down the road toward Northrop Park.

Simon nudged his horse to a trot. No matter how fast he went, he was bound to get wet so there was no point in possibly injuring himself or his horse. As he rode toward Hartsfield Park, the rain increased, soaking him to the bone. By the time he reached his home, all he wanted was a warm bath by a fire.

Arriving at his estate, he dismounted and handed his reins to the stable boy. “Make sure he gets some extra oats tonight, lad.”

“Yes, milord.”

The front door opened as he approached. Before he even entered the house, he could hear Harris shouting at the footmen to draw a bath and start a fire in his bedchamber. Harris was worth every pound he paid him.

“How is Miss Featherstone?”

“Mrs. Featherstone wants to see you, my lord. She said it was important.”

Important? Oh dear God, Mia must be worse off than he expected. Simon raced up the stairs to the rose bedchamber and knocked on the door.

“Thank goodness you have returned,” Selina said as she opened the door.

“What’s wrong with Miss Featherstone?” Simon walked into the room and cringed. He’d known it would happen, but seeing the way Mia’s eye had swollen and bruised made his anger return.

Mia opened her good eye and smiled. “You look dreadful, my lord. Do you not know enough to come out of the rain?”

Mrs. Featherstone grabbed his elbow and dragged him into the adjoining salon. After shutting the door, she turned to him. “She is badly injured. In addition to her noticeable bruises, she has two cracked ribs. I have bound them but we cannot move her yet.”

“Of course. There is no issue with her staying here. I have plenty of bedchambers.”

“And more importantly, you can keep her safe.”

Simon nodded. “No one will gain entrance to this house unless I know them. Harris will make sure of that.”

“Good. I need to check on Mrs. Smith again. I was with her when you called me up here.” Mrs. Featherstone stared at him with those probing blue eyes. “I trust with your mother here that I do not need to worry about a chaperone.”

The reality of her words slammed into him. Mia would be in his home... alo. . .