Lilly Read online

  “Of course he does, he’s rich as Rome and you are short of funds. He needs a wife and you need a husband. Remember your father has no sons, the manor is entailed, and if anything ever happens to him, you’d be out of this house,” Aunt Ellen warned.

  “Yes, I know and Aunt Mary too.”

  “It’s kind you take such good care of her, the old drunken bat.”

  The two sisters really did not like each other and though Lilly was enjoying herself royally, Aunt Ellen behaved like a feral cat against a yard dog, always circling, taunting, and trying to swipe Aunt Mary with sharp claws.

  “Tell me what he’s like again?” Lilly asked, though her aunt had described him many times before.

  “Lord Randall is tall and very good looking, mid-thirties, black hair and eyes, well built and popular with the ladies,” Aunt Ellen slipped out then blushed, for she knew much of this lord’s behavior and most of it was not proper for a young lady’s ears. He was said to be wild and have many women, but she couldn’t tell her niece that. She knew her brother, Lord Castleford was ill and Lilly needed a marriage. She tried to say everything pleasing and hide the rest. She hated doing it, but sometimes ignorance was bliss.

  “Popular with the ladies? You’ve never said that before. That doesn’t sound like a gentleman who would make a good husband,” Lilly said, thinking of loyal Joshua sitting beside his new wife at church.

  “I just meant the London ladies will envy you, catching such a handsome man. Now what else does he say, when is he coming here to see you?” her aunt asked, trying to turn the conversation.

  “Monday, just four days away. He doesn’t say how long he’s staying.”

  “We will have you ready, never fear and once he sees you Lilly, he will love you as we all do.”

  “I hope so, I want to be loved,” Lilly whispered, closing her eyes and letting her dreams surface.

  ……….

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Cad

  Randall Town House

  Residence of the Earl of Suffolk

  Berkley Square

  London, England

  Lord Reece Randall had been busy making merry with his numerous friends the last month. His brother Robert, more serious and studious, frowned on his brother’s lifestyle and criticized the method of his wedding plans. Everyone else in his debauched crowd saw it as the best joke this season and at every assembly and ball, they whispered the news that Lord Randall was marrying a country brown mouse for an heir. Soon, the news slipped out that a solicitor’s clerk was writing the poor soul love letters pretending to be the earl. This seemed especially notorious and amusing to some, to others it seemed cruel. Lord Randall’s two mistresses Bell Nelson and Marlena Sims thought the idea very funny and told everyone they saw.

  “Yes, Reece just needs an heir so he’d wed her, bed her, with his eyes closed no doubt and then return to me,” Bell would brag.

  “He’s paying a clerk to court her with forged letters! Imagine such a thing and the silly hen wit believes they are from Reece. It is the finest joke he’s ever played. I’m betting he’ll have her in the dark, eyes tightly shut while thinking of me. Why, it’s the only way he could perform with this brown mouse,” Marlena told her associates, friends and enemies alike, and she did possess many more of the latter than the former.

  Both women were notorious liars and loose souls, constantly in Lord Randall’s company, on and off with him for years. They believed they owned him as much as he owned them. They lived off his income, spent high and wild, covered themselves with jewels and fine gowns and knew themselves to be the luckiest of women. They knew of each other and the sometimes widows and bored wives he also bedded, but accepted it. A wife however could be a threat, so they strengthened their callousness and spread their vile tales.

  They assumed this wife could ruin their feathered nests, so they spread every rumor that might make the intended bride appear more ridiculous, just to be sure. When they finished with their fables, no lady with any pride would dare show her face in London.

  Two weeks later the name of Reece’s future bride leaked out, she was Lady Lilly Castleford. The mistresses changed it to Lilly Brown Mouse and soon everyone was repeating the title with sneers.

  ……….

  Lord Castleford Manor

  Residence of Viscount Castleford

  Suffolk, England

  Lady Lilly Castleford, secluded and removed, knew nothing of these vile happenings taking place in London. She followed her two aunts suggestions, carried out her daily rounds of caring for the manor, visiting the sick in the village, riding her horse Midnight, and thinking about the pleasant contents of her letters from Lord Randall.

  He wrote in an amusing fashion. He appeared young for five and thirty, filling the pages with sometimes silly stories of himself and his brother. He talked a lot about horses, one of Lilly’s favorite subjects. He sometimes mentioned more personal notes of his longing to have a bride and his desire for a partner and companion, a mother for his children and a pleasant future together. Sometimes vague, at other times strangely detailed, these letters filled Lilly’s mind and heart. By the end of a month’s worth of messages, Lilly had convinced herself marriage to this earl of Suffolk would be an answer to her prayers and offered a future filled with contentment, sweetness, security, and love. She couldn’t wait to see him in person.

  Her aunts would never guess how many times Lilly reread the earl’s letters. She’d run her hand lightly over the pages, thinking of how he’d touched them too. She pressed them all in books, laid dried flowers over each one, and slept with it under her pillow. Lilly’s heart was softer and more delicate than anyone knew, her desire for a grand passion was the light that inspired her very existence.

  Lilly looked into the mirror and smiled. She thought herself much improved. Her new gowns, tailored perfectly with the help of a corset, displayed her curvaceous figure in a pleasing manner. Her hair amassed high and curled, and her kind, happy nature shining in her coffee rich, brown eyes added a sparkle, the village ladies said. She was like a rare brown petal lily with a vibrant yellow center, its shining depths budding deep inside, lighting up her wonderful spirit.

  Lilly was well loved in her area. Always close by to lend a hand, help a less fortunate person, forever saving animals, and enjoyable to be around. She could inspire a chuckle from the glummest of workmen, danced freely with the farmer’s children, and never acted the superior lady. Lilly took such tender care of her father and aunts that public opinion thought Lady Lilly a wonderful woman and wished her only the best.

  There were servants from Earl Randall’s Hillside Park that visited the same village and heard the rumors of their master marrying such a paragon and they were surprised. Why would such a glorious lady marry their despicable lord? How had he deceived her? They wondered, whispered, and went back to the Park telling everyone something sinister was brewing.

  ……….

  Randall Town House

  Residence of the Earl of Suffolk

  Berkley Square

  London, England

  “You caused these terrible rumors to surface you ass, telling those cats of yours about Lady Castleford,” Robert Randall shouted. “She can never come to town without hearing them and being humiliated.”

  “I don’t want her in town,” Reece answered.

  “You have done some despicable things, you support a crowd of lay-a-bouts, whores, and gamblers, you do nothing productive, but this farce is a cruel act even for you,” Robert stormed.

  “What do you care? Do you know this country mouse?” Reece fumed, feeling extremely angry at his brother, because he too felt guilty at the way the rumors had spread.

  “No, and neither do you. You’ve ruined her before you’ve even met her, the woman who is to be the mother of your children.”

  “I never intended for all the facts to be so well known,” Reece confessed.

  “Really?” Robert sneered. “Those whores of yours, Bell and Marl
ena, you thought they could be trusted to support your future wife’s good name?”

  Reece thought of defending his two light skirts, but decided they weren’t worth the effort. He was angry at both of them.

  “I admit it has gotten out of hand, but I intend to marry her, after this I suppose I must, even if she is an ogre or a shrew.”

  “What if she’s beautiful and kind? Will you still use her like a stud service and abandon her in Hillside Park for the rest of her life?”

  “I hear she likes the country, she’ll want to stay there and I’ll financially provide for her and the old viscount. Commons says her father, is a poor recluse. I’ll offer her security and freedom to live her life better than it is now.”

  “You’re so full of yourself you don’t see the harm you can do. I’m tempted to go down there first and warn her.”

  Reece turned on his brother and growled.

  “Don’t you dare ruin this plan. I’ve wasted time and money on this venture and after this story runs around every function in society, I won’t be able to capture another woman in all of England.”

  “At least be kind to her, have some decency,” Robert advised. “Tell me that at least. You won’t go there and roughly mate with her a few times and take off.”

  “I’m not an animal. I do know how to make love to a woman without hurting her. Stay out of it. Remember your income comes through me,” said Reece, feeling sorry for the whole mess and wishing his brother gone.

  “Not all of it. You don’t control me Reece. I’m cautioning you, don’t continue to damage Lady Castleford, or it might turn around and harm you.”

  “Get out. I have to leave this morning. Robert, I won’t be cruel,” Reece added, hating to see the stern judgment on his younger brother’s face.

  “I’ll never understand you Reece. You have everything, fortune, looks, title, standing, and you squander it all on idle pleasures. You’re five and thirty, be a man before you die,” with that parting shot, Robert took his hat and left the Randall’s townhouse.

  ……….

  Lord Castleford Manor

  Residence of Viscount Castleford

  Suffolk, England

  Monday morning soon dawned and Lilly Castleford, dressed by her aunt’s maids, wore her new riding habit of dark brown, trimmed with gold chains and buttons over her bosom. They swayed when she walked, drawing the eye to her exceptional figure. Her hair was simple, piled high and topped with a silly hat. She wore cream kid gloves and matching half boots.

  Excitement ran high inside Lilly, brightening her eyes, adding color to her cheeks, a spring to her step, for this was the day the Earl of Suffolk was to arrive. Lilly was not sure when she would see him, but she had such bright hopes, Lilly released her fears and welcomed her dreams in with a rush of pure bliss. I will be positive and have my grand passion. The earl will love me and I him, Lilly thought.

  Nervous and excited, Lilly mounted her black mare Midnight, and her strong emotions made the horse prance and pull the bridle tightly. Lilly was a stunning vision of youth, sweetness, and promise.

  Lilly rode alone, as was commonly done in the country. She was long used to being independent, having a father closeted away from the world and an inebriated aunt who frequently took naps. Lilly stayed close to their manor and never felt threatened.

  She rode slowly and waved to her many friends. The farmers, Steven and Bill Donaldson always stopped working to watch her go by, then the Gate’s children would run into the highroad and wave at Lilly and she would blow them kisses and sometimes stop and hand them treats. Old Widow Jenkins would stand in her doorway and smile at Lady Lilly. Everyone remembered Lilly’s mother Lady Grace Castleford, her giving heart and gentle nature so alive in her daughter.

  Lilly rode in a great arch around their lands and came to a rise. She gripped the reins and checked her foothold, preparing for a gallop when she noticed a richly appointed traveling chaise coming down the highroad towards her. It was pulled by expensive matching horseflesh, the carriage painted black with red trim. The top was filled with traveling chests and two footmen, a driver, and inside two male faces could be seen. One looked short and fussy, a valet Lilly guessed, but the other man was sharp featured and distinctive. A noble face, with long black hair and dark eyes. As they came closer she saw him grin and his eyes fill with appreciation. He tapped the coach and it slowed to a stop beside her.

  Lilly’s heart sang with joy, he was everything she’d dreamed. Dark, handsome with an engaging grin, immediate attraction surged inside Lilly. Earl Randall was here, they would marry, and he would love her.

  Reece was enchanted by the creature in the road. How beautiful and superb she was. It had been a long time, if ever, since he’d seen a woman he desired this badly by just one look. He would find his dream woman now, when he was all but engaged, Reece thought in dismay.

  He stepped down and approached her horse.

  “Madame, do you live around here?” He asked, his voice deep and pleasing.

  “I do,” Lilly answered, immediately knowing this to be her earl by the descriptions and time of his arrival on Monday, written to her in his last letter. Never introduced, Lilly knew this was her future husband; she felt the connection of his heart. By his question, she thought Lord Randall was playing a game with her, for he must recognize her too.

  “I’m here on unpleasant business, but perhaps I might meet you somewhere. It would definitely improve my trip,” Reece suggested, looking up and running his dark eyes over her long legs and bosom.

  Lilly frowned, ‘unpleasant business,’ what did that mean?

  “Sorry to hear your business is unpleasant. A death in the family?” she hinted, still believing he was in jest.

  “No worse, a planned marriage,” Reece sighed, studying Lilly, as if he meant to memorize her every feature and sketch it later.

  Lilly breathed in the fresh morning air, feeling light headed. She was thrown and tried to keep her face cheerful, but her heart was bleeding. Did he not know her? Think her a stranger?

  “Surely not yours?” She asked, with everything twisting inside her.

  “Alas yes, but that should not detour our fun. What say you we meet here tomorrow morning?”

  He had the gall to walk over and look around, as if he were choosing a place for a rendezvous point already agreed upon. Practically engaged to Lilly, was he making an assignation with a strange woman in the road? Was that the kind of man Lord Randall was? Lilly was so stunned, she shivered from the shock.

  Lilly could not stop the trembling in her hands, and she coiled the reins to hide it.

  “This planned marriage, you don’t desire it?” Lilly questioned, so surprised she thought another cruel word from him would strike her to the ground.

  “Not after looking at you, no,” he laughed, a rich baritone. “Well, truthfully, not before either. An unfortunate necessity. A quick marriage to a plain, brown country mouse. Now back to you, will you meet me sweetheart, I think we could please each other?”

  “This mouse, haven’t you seen her? Written to her?” Lilly asked, forcing her angry hands to still.

  “No,” he grinned. “I hired a clerk to send her a few letters, but enough of her. Who are you?”

  “I don’t wish to say,” Lilly spit out, letting some of the coldness into her voice.

  Lord Randall looked up in surprise and Lilly wondered if no other woman had ever refused him before.

  It was all Lilly could choke out before kicking Midnight into a fierce gallop over the next hill and out of sight from the road. He was so handsome and so vile, everything and nothing. Coming to sacrifice himself to a plain, brown country mouse, while arranging an affair in the road to a stranger at the same time. Was there ever a more despicable creature? Then Lilly also remembered he’d said letters a clerk wrote. Lord Randall had an underling write her those letters? The parchment she slept with, fantasized about, the hopes and love she’d invested into a cherished stack of lies and deceit. He had
not put forth any effort to correspond with her, never read her letters back to him? Lilly rode a few miles and dismounted under a tree. She tore off her silly new hat and threw it into a hedgerow.

  “Thank the gods I met him on this road, or I would not have seen him for a devil until it was too late,” Lilly whispered, trembling in anger. The heat of her new habit, the emotion running through her, the disappointment so strong, she choked back sobs and lowered her head into her hands. Every dream disappeared, every hope dashed, every wish for a grand passion died.

  ……….

  Reece realized he’d been so dazzled by the vision on the highroad that he’d been stupid. What if she was a relative of this Lilly Castleford? Why did he mention his marriage? He climbed back into his coach and continued his journey, thinking about the beautiful young woman on the road and wondering how he could arrange to see her again. Everything about her he admired. She was tall but possessed an enchanting figure. She was young and beautiful with delicate features and a kind smile. She was also rare, for living a life around mistresses and gamblers, prostitutes and racetrack followers, she was a diamond amongst pebbles of rock.

  Reece Randall wished he had acted differently. The more he thought of his words to this enchantress, the more he chided himself for a callus fool. That last look she had given him was full of dislike, even loathing. A stinging glance, new to the handsome earl.

  The thought of courting a country brown mouse now turned his stomach. How could he even act interested in this Lilly Castleford after seeing this beauty on the road?

  ……….

  Lilly crossed the fields and arrived back home, pale but resigned. She would never marry. She would not consider raising her hopes ever again, she could not face this pain, but oh the disappointment was strong. Lilly no longer believed in gentlemen of this realm. Deceivers and cads all. ‘Unpleasant business,’ indeed. She would never be that again.