The Earl is Mine by Kieran Kramer Read Free Book Online

overlarge feet of the footman against the wall, whose shoes must have carried delicious smells from the kitchen. “Send him away, Brick, and tell him next time to come when he’s been summoned.”
    “But he claims that Mr. Trickle invited him for tonight’s festivities and has agreed to let him marry Lady Pippa,” squeaked the butler.
    “Marry me?” Pippa was outraged. “I won’t marry a vain, bucktoothed stoat. I don’t care how rich he is or how many titles he has!”
    “Heavens,” Mama cried. “Does this mean Pippa won’t get to go to London with Gregory?”
    “What the devil?” Bertie swung his head to Trickle, who sat with an affected innocent expression. “You’ve overstepped your bounds, Wilfred.”
    “But I told you already tonight,” Trickle reminded Bertie, “I’m her stepfather. And I want her to marry now . There’s no turning back. If you’re peeved, direct your displeasure to Lord Westdale. None of this finagling would have been necessary if he’d finally have come up to scratch this evening.” He looked around the table with a sickly smile. “We all knew the chances of that , and I gambled on them.”
    Gregory’s cravat felt tighter than usual, and he’d gladly have thrown Pippa’s atrocious little stepfather out the window at that moment had it not been Bertie’s birthday. But it was, and he would behave as the future Marquess of Brady should. He wouldn’t speak unless it was absolutely necessary.
    Of course, in this case …
    Speaking was absolutely necessary.
    “Lady Pippa is going to London,” Gregory said firmly to the entire table. “If Hawthorne wants to marry her, he can woo her properly during the Season along with myriad other fellows. If you or Hawthorne have a problem with this, Mr. Trickle, we can discuss it over dueling pistols.”
    There was an ominous silence. Trickle sank an inch lower in his chair, but his eyes glowed with fury.
    “Right,” said Brick cheerily. “I’ll tell Mr. Hawthorne what you said, Lord Westdale.”
    “No, Brick.” Pippa raised a hand. “Tell the visitor I’m off to Paris soon, and I’ll be away six months. Oh, and please let him know I’m not interested in marrying anyone at all.”
    Brick’s face crinkled up. “Are—are you sure?”
    “Tell the man to leave. ” Uncle Bertie pounded his fist on the table. His face was near puce. “But thank him for coming,” he added more gently, “and give him a bottle of my best mead. It’s my birthday, after all.”
    “Right,” said Brick, and scurried from the room.
    “Speaking of birthdays,” said Pippa before another awkward silence could settle over the room, “we can eat parts of the castle. The gargoyles are delicious. And the doors are edible, too.”
    She broke one off and took a nibble, and Gregory’s trousers grew unexpectedly tight at the sight of the sugar on her lips.
    “Break me off a gargoyle, then, Pippa,” his godfather said in indulgent tones. “I want the ugliest one you’ve got.”
    “Nothing would give me greater pleasure.” Pippa leaned forward, her ivory beaded bodice strained so that her bosom was lifted high, and broke off the tiny monstrosity. With a smile of triumph, she stood up, her rounded backside so close to Gregory he could caress it if he wanted to, and strode proudly to the head of the table.
    Gregory could think of something that would give her a far more selfish pleasure than watching Bertie sample his birthday treat. But he suppressed his lascivious thoughts and took a discreet breath.
    Tonight’s crisis had been averted. Bertie was happy, and Gregory was still a free man. Only a few more hours and then he’d leave at dawn. He was aware, however, that in the short time he’d visited, his priorities had made a momentous shift. Pippa was the apple of her great-uncle’s eye, so nothing could go wrong there. As Gregory wasn’t going to marry her, he had to make sure she was settled properly. When he returned from the house party to