A Scandalous Countess: A Novel of the Malloren World by Jo Beverley Read Free Book Online

bow. “Welcome to Herne, your lordship.”
     
    Dracy nodded and went in, liking the feel of that.Hernescroft had arranged for his comfort, and that augured well for making a good deal.
     
    He was in an elegant room with a richly plastered ceiling, and walls covered with paintings. Probably not a drawing room, as they were generally on a higher floor, less easily invaded. This was for more public use. He wagered himself a shilling it was called the Terrace Room.
     
    The footman led him down a corridor, then right and down another, until they’d moved beyond the main part of the house into a plainer part.
     
    They halted before a plain door.
     
    An estate room?
     
    Not so promising.
     
    When Dracy entered, however, he liked it better. This had to be the earl’s office, but he clearly also used it as a comfortable retreat. Dracy’s boots were treading on a fine carpet, and the furniture was all richly made and lavishly gilded, including a monumental desk. The walls here were also hung with paintings, but all of horses and races, alongside other sporting items. A small table might be used for private dining. Two upholstered chairs sat by the fireplace, and a settee nearby could be used by additional guests.
     
    Dracy knew that noting all these details might seem odd, but it was an old instinct. Details were crucial in warfare, and especially in navigating unknown waters. Whether in the temperamental seas of the fashionable world or the more placid lakes of the country gentry, one wrong word could sink a man.
     
    “Come in, Dracy, come in,” said the earl. “Claret, brandy, port?”
     
    “Claret, thank you,” Dracy said, noting that the footman had left and the earl was serving the wine. So, a private discussion.
     
    He’d studied all available information about the Earl of Hernescroft. Though portly and ruddy-faced, he was in excellent health. His heir, Viscount Pranksworth, wasthirty-two years old and already father of two sons,
so the line seemed safe. If that branch failed, the earl had three other sons, one in the army, one in the navy, and one a Town idler.
     
    There were also two daughters, both well married.
     
    Or in one case, widowed, Dracy remembered, and stained by scandal. An image of a laughing face and fiery hair darted through his mind like a shooting star. He blanked it out. This was no time to be distracted by a highborn doxy.
     
    Dracy took the crystal glass and raised it. “To fine horses and fine races, my lord.”
     
    The earl raised his glass and repeated the toast. “Have a seat, Dracy. I’ve a matter to discuss with you.”
     
    Very promising. Dracy sat in one upholstered chair and the earl took the other.
     
    “I play, I pay,” Hernescroft said, “but there are methods of payment. Would you consider accepting a prize of equal value?”
     
    Dracy took another sip of wine so as not to snatch the prize too quickly. “I would be churlish not to consider it, sir. Another horse, you mean?”
     
    “Another horse?” Hernescroft’s pouchy eyes narrowed.
     
    Not another horse?
     
    “What else, to be of equal value?”
     
    “I don’t have another mare to compare with Fancy Free, and I’d not offer less.”
     
    “So you mean a stallion?” Dracy did his best to pretend surprise. “I recollect that you do have two of quality.”
     
    His acting ability wasn’t up to the job.
     
    “Damn me! Was that your game? Gosling-go, I assume.” The earl pulled a face. “Won’t play, Dracy. Took exception to something a few days back and tried to kick down his stall. Broke his hock. Had to be shot.”
     
    “Dead,” Dracy said, trying to conceal the blow. He should have kept himself better informed, but even afew days ago the die had been cast. “Most unfortunate, my lord. I heard nothing of it.”
     
    “I’d moved him to Lambourne to cover some mares there. Perhaps he objected to the relocation. I only heard the news myself yesterday.”
     
    Dracy drank more wine,