The Earl's Return (Marriage Mart Mayhem) by Callie Hutton Read Free Book Online Page B

if she’d slapped him. “I cared for your sister.”
    “Indeed? You had a very strange way of showing it.”
    His lips tightened. “I cannot say any more on the matter.”
    “Cannot or will not?” The Redgrave she’d come to know the last few days did not seem the type to callously leave a young lady he professed to care about practically at the altar. For the first time, Mary began to wonder if there wasn’t more to the story. “And now you are seeking another wife.”
    “There is duty to my title.”
    “Which of the young ladies has caught your eye?”
    “They are so young.”
    Mary sighed. “And getting younger every day. There are several ladies who have been out of the schoolroom for more than a year or two, however. Miss Edgeworth, Lady Catherine, Miss Elizabeth Stanton, to name a few.”
    “Ah, the elusive Miss Edgeworth who is having her gown cleaned. These are friends of yours? I seem to remember seeing you all gathered together at Remington’s ball.”
    “Yes. We’ve been friends for some time now. It seems none of us are able to find what we are looking for.”
    “And what is it you are looking for?” His question caught her off guard. What was she looking for? She hadn’t completely given up on a husband, home, and family, but unless she overcame her concerns it would forever remain out of her reach.
    “I’m looking for happiness. Contentment.”
    He bent his head to look her in the face. “Perhaps you’ve been looking in the wrong place.” His deep voice slid down her spine, causing her to shiver. She looked up to meet his gaze and saw something there that moved her. Sympathy, and a sense of commonality. Whatever this man had done to her sister, he had suffered, too.

Chapter Five
    Redgrave slammed the ledger shut and rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb. It had been a long morning of going over the accounts for his three estates. His stomach growled, reminding him it had been some hours since his early breakfast, which he was wont to do when he had estate business to deal with.
    It would do him well to get out of the house, though it was a dark, gloomy day with clouds that threatened rain. Perhaps after a quick bite he would visit one of his clubs for conversation. He stood and stretched his tight muscles. “Mathers!”
    His butler of many years entered the library, his demeanor as stiff and perfect as it had been for the fourteen years he’d served him—since Redgrave had slipped into his father’s place when he’d been a lad of sixteen. Summoned from school on that cold winter day, he’d learned his parents’ death in a carriage accident had catapulted him from his devil-may-care adolescence into the responsibilities of an adult.
    After the funeral he had returned to school, but somehow the experience had not been the same. He’d felt afloat in the world. Although he’d not been close to his parents, nevertheless, their absence had left a gaping hole in his life. His guardian had insisted he go on to university, which had been a more pleasant experience. He returned to take up his estate duties at two and twenty, no longer under the guidance of his guardian.
    “Please have Cook send in a cold lunch and then have my horse brought around.” He moved to the window and studied the dreary day. Much like his own mood.
    The depression and hopelessness that had shrouded him for the years he’d been married to Priscilla had lifted with her death, but his lack of finding a young lady of interest disturbed him. Every time he danced or flirted with a woman, he mentally compared her to Lady Mary.
    This girl’s eyes were not as smoky, that girl’s smile not as captivating, this young lady’s giggle was shrill and annoying, compared to Lady Mary’s deep, sultry laugh. No one’s figure was as good, hair as shiny, lips as kissable. He slammed his fist against the window frame. He had to stop doing this. He was here for the purpose of finding a pleasant wife who would bear him