Sally James by At the Earls Command Read Free Book Online Page B

that dish is,' he replied.
    Kate beamed at him. 'Thank you! I knew you couldn't be quite as bad as you try to make out.'
    Adam grinned. 'I'm honoured that a goatherd should find my behaviour acceptable. Will you drive with me in the morning?'
    She glanced at him, startled. 'Are you asking me because my grandfather told you to take me about?' she asked suspiciously.
    'No. I thought we might try and get to know one another better.'
    'I can’t. I'm riding with Chloe,' Kate explained, suppressing a pang of disappointment. 'But I'd like to drive with you some other time,' she added graciously. 'Will you teach me to handle the reins?'
    'Would you trust me?'
    She grinned. 'I expect you drive better than you ride,' she said demurely, and laughed as he stretched out a finger to tap her cheek admonishingly.
    'I'll get rid of this monster, then I have to change. I'm meeting some friends for dinner.'
     

Chapter Five
     
    Dinner, with Adam not present, was a much more comfortable meal than on the previous evening, though Mrs Rhydd kept commenting on the strange mood Adam had been in when he had called to see the Earl a little earlier.
    'He does not wish to have to assume the responsibilities that will fall on him,' she said with a deep sigh. 'He'll have to marry, for one thing.'
    'Does he not wish to?' Miss Byford asked.
    'He shows no signs of it. It's his duty to provide an heir, but the life he led in the army was not conducive to settling down. I had hoped, this last year or so, that he would find a suitable bride, but he shows no interest in marriage.' She frowned, and sighed again. 'Now, however, he will have to look around him and make a choice. After all, there are dozens of eligible girls coming out every year, it's silly for him to say he hasn't yet seen one he fancies!'
    'He was in the army for years, I believe. Didn't he come to London when he was on leave?'
    'Oh yes, and you can't believe the number of caps that were set at him then, and since he sold out there have been even more. But he is not interested. He says he will not marry just to satisfy the gossips, or to provide an heir, he means to wait until he finds the right bride. But when the Earl dies he'll have to!'
    'I understood he lived here. It must be difficult to entertain while the Earl is so ill.'
    'Adam does live here most of the time, but he has his own set of rooms elsewhere, and entertains his men friends there or at his clubs. And he's invited everywhere, of course. Prudent mamas make certain of that!'
    Kate did her best to dismiss Adam from her thoughts and joined in the conversation more readily when it changed direction. She replied to all Mrs Rhydd's anxious questions about her doings at home, though she was rather astonished at the detail Mrs Rhydd wanted about their housekeeping arrangements, and what sort of people they were acquainted with. She did not know why it mattered, or why Mrs Rhydd sighed so frequently as though she found the answers unsatisfactory.
    Afterwards they went into the large drawing room which Mrs Rhydd had ordered to be opened up.
    'We rarely used this room even before his lordship became ill,' Mrs Rhydd explained. 'I have my own suite of rooms and the Earl preferred his library. He has entertained very little these last few years. Kate, my dear, will you play for us?'
    Kate went to the pianoforte, and played a variety of music for the next hour, until the tea tray was brought in. She had always had a good memory, and as they had not in any case been able to afford to buy many music scores, she had perforce learnt a good many pieces by copying her aunt and other performers.
    'You are very talented,' Mrs Rhydd said as Kate closed the instrument.
    'Thank you, Ma'am,' Kate replied. 'Aunt Sophie deserves any credit, for she taught me to play.'
    'I wish his lordship could hear you. Your mother played very well and he enjoyed listening to her.'
    'How ill is he?' Miss Byford asked.
    Mrs Rhydd sighed and shook her head. 'The doctors say