The Complicated Earl (14 page)

He moved his mouth down to the front of her dress and he heard her gasp. He lifted his head and looked up at her. Her cheeks were flushed and when she opened her eyes to look at him, there was no mistaking what she was feeling. Her eyes were
unfocused with desire, the pupils dilated and she licked her lips as she gasped for breath. She moved forward to kiss him and he responded hungrily to her movement.

He kissed her again and again, while his hands explored her body over her dress. She
responded to his kisses and moved her body, welcoming his hands wherever they touched. He knew he could not stop, she would have to be the one to end this, but she was responding to him in such a way that she was in total agreement with what was happening, there was no turning back for either of them.

Suddenly the carr
iage turned sharply and Tom almost lost his balance. He let go of Isabelle to right himself and tried to look out of the window to see what was happening. “The carriage is turning around,” he said. Both sat up quickly, each was flushed and dishevelled, but it was obvious something was wrong. They looked at each other but without saying a word, neither was capable of thought beyond what had been stopped.

Chapter 11

The carriage turned into an inn that they had only just passed, but neither had noticed it in the moment of their embrace. Jackson knocked on the carriage roof as he turned the vehicle and brought it to a stop. Tom looked out of the window and muttered something under his breath.

“What is it?” Isabelle asked, finally finding her voice.

“We’ve found them.” Came the emotionless reply.

“Tom?” Isabelle asked quietly.

He looked at her, an unreadable expression crossing his face, but not an unfeeling expression. “We’ll talk later, I promise.” He said gently, before jumping out of the carriage.

Isabelle did not follow
immediately. She would not have done even if they had arrived without the last moments happening, as she knew that Tom needed time to speak first with Sophie. But she did not feel able to move anyway. Her emotions were running wild, she could hardly contain the feelings that were running through her body. She had never expected that being with someone could be so powerful. Her every nerve ending had felt on fire, she had thrown caution to the wind, but it had been wonderful. She could still feel his fingers on her and her lips felt bruised where he had kissed her. She knew she should not feel this way, but acknowledged disappointment that it had stopped. If the interruption had not happened she would have abandoned herself to him.

Eventually Isabelle
focused her mind onto the present situation and left the carriage to enter the inn. She was directed to a private parlour by a maid and entered the small room to be met with a tense scene. Sophie was sitting in a chair as far away from her brother as she could be, crying into a well soaked handkerchief. Mr Arnold hovered protectively near Sophie’s side, looking angry and unsure at the same time. Tom was obviously trying to contain his temper, but struggling by the way he was pacing across the floor.

“I cannot believe you still want to carry on this farce Sophie. I have told you I will give you my approval
if he is truly the man you love. There is no longer the need to continue to Gretna Green. Why not return home and do this properly with all your friends and family around you?” Tom said, his voice rising slightly through his frustration.

“By the time you have got me home you will have persuaded me to change my mind. You wanted me
to accept James a few days ago, do you expect me to believe that you would accept Sidney so readily? It is so unlike you Tom.” Sophie looked towards Isabelle realising that she had entered the room and started to cry in earnest once more. “I am so sorry Miss Crawford, I used your brother ill and I am ashamed of it. I don’t expect forgiveness,” she sobbed.

“Don’t be silly, you have my forgiveness,
if any is needed. If you don’t love James I would rather you did not marry him. I would not want either of you to be miserable. Why are you so upset?” The meeting between brother and sister had obviously not gone smoothly and Isabelle could see that she needed to step in to try and resolve this rapidly deteriorating situation for all their benefits.

“Tom wants me to go home and get married in Kent,” Sophie said with a sob.

“Is that not good news?” Isabelle asked gently with a small smile.

“You wou
ld think so wouldn’t you?” Tom said in exasperation, “But it seems whatever I say is not to my sister’s satisfaction. I give my permission for the wedding to take place and she’s still not happy!”

Isabelle s
uppressed a smile. “Lady Sophie, are you not happy receiving your brother’s approval? Is that not news that should have you laughing with joy?”

“Yes, I am
happy with his approval, truly I am, but I’ve always wanted to be married in Gretna Green. It is the most romantic place to be married. Instead he wants me to be married in Kent!”

Isabelle was really having difficulty keeping control,
she was not sure whether she wanted to laugh or scream at Sophie. Instead she turned to Mr Arnold who had been very quiet during the exchange. “Can I have your word that if I take the Earl for a short walk you will not move from this room? I want your assurance that there will be no foolish mad dash to the border. We have already proved that we can outrun you, so it would be in vain, but I would appreciate having your word on the matter.”

“You have my word. The Earl has approved the match, there is no reason to run,”
Mr Arnold said sounding sensible, even if he did not appear totally comfortable with the situation before him.

“I don’t want a walk,” Tom
glared at Isabelle.

“Please accompany me outside.” Isabelle said firmly and offe
red her arm to Tom. He gave her a look that would have frightened a lesser person, but she smiled in return and remained standing with her arm out until he let out an exasperated sigh and took it.

They left the room and went into the yard
. It was busy as any inn yard, with new arrivals pulling in and vehicles leaving. Isabelle led the way not saying anything until the yard was behind them and they had started walking down a lane adjacent to the main road.

“This is
not helping,” Tom said ill-humouredly.

“You needed to leave there for a moment
, but I appreciate you want to return to the room and resolve this,” Isabelle said simply. “Have you any real objections to Sophie marrying in Gretna Green now she is not running away?”

“She sho
uld have her family around her. It should be done properly,” he replied belligerently.

Isabelle turned to him. “Maybe she should
have everyone around her but maybe she wants a small wedding without any fuss. Have you ever asked her what type of wedding she wants? It is obvious she is of a very romantic nature and longs for the perceived romance of Gretna Green more than the usual conventional marriage most girls want. “

“She is being foolish,” Tom
muttered darkly.

“Perhaps, but every girl has secret dreams about the wedding she would like, but
it does not make her foolish, just a dreamer. One thing you need to consider that may influence your final decision is, will you be able to get her back to Kent without anyone finding out about what has happened? The longer she is away there is an increased chance of someone becoming suspicious. Especially as you’ve already been seen by two people you know. What if they see you on the way back with Sophie? They will know immediately what the urgent family business was and the secret will be out.”

Tom
blinked as if he had been slapped when Isabelle had finished speaking. It was obvious her words had hit home. “This is a nightmare!” He finally exploded.

“No it
is not.” Isabelle assured him. “Why not accompany them to Gretna Green and let Sophie have the wedding she desires? That way it will be all the more special to her, you will be there to give her away. Then send an announcement to the Times, let everyone know they are married. Their honeymoon can be the journey home and when you return and tell everyone that you gave your sister exactly the wedding she wanted Sophie will be able to talk about it to her heart’s content and there should not be any scandal. There may be raised eyebrows at the beginning, but if people know you were there and took an active role, it won’t last. Any danger of scandal will have been averted and you will only be seen as an indulgent older brother.”

Isabelle did not
think she had convinced him, she was not sure if her argument was sound enough, but it was the only way she could think of to try and limit any potential risk to Sophie’s reputation.

Tom
was quiet as they walked, he paused and turned to her with a smile after a few moments. “Come wise one, let us go and break the good news.”

They entered the parlour to find
Mr Arnold talking quietly to Sophie, who had finally stopped crying and was nodding in agreement at whatever he was saying. Sophie looked up in alarm as they entered, her eyes immediately going to her brother. Isabelle could not help but feel sorry for the girl, she did seem very young.

“You will get the wedding you want Sophie, we will all travel to Gretna Green tomorrow an
d then return to Kent,” Tom said stiffly.

Sophie
squealed her delight and ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck and thanking him again and again. She then came to Isabelle and thanked her sincerely. Isabelle waved her words away with a smile. She hoped that such a young girl would be happy, she did not seem old enough for marriage.

Tom
secured rooms in the inn. There was no need to move to anywhere else and it was an opportunity for some time out of the carriage, for which they were all grateful. Isabelle allowed herself to be carried along by Sophie’s excitement with planning of what she was going to wear. Isabelle thought it touching how pleased Sophie was that Tom had come around to her marriage and would be giving her away after all.

Mr
Arnold and the Earl spent the afternoon together. Isabelle hoped Tom was not grilling Mr Arnold too much, but she understood they had a lot to discuss. The group came together for the evening meal, but it was a quiet affair. They were starting early again in the morning and no-one relished yet another day in the carriage.

T
om and Isabelle had adjoining chambers, as a married couple this was perfectly normal. As Isabelle stood in her room she tried to decide what the best course of action was. She had considered going through the adjoining door between their rooms when they had retired for the evening. She needed to speak to Tom about what had happened in the carriage and it needed to be discussed in private. After a lot of indecision she finally resolved to go out into the hallway and knocked on his door, using the adjoining door seemed a little too intimate.

She heard him shout enter and she opened the door. The knot had already started to form in h
er stomach. She prayed that the discussion was going to go the way she hoped.

Tom
was sitting in front of a dressing table taking his cravat off. He looked at Isabelle through the glass as she entered but she could not read his expression. She knew this was not a good sign.

“Thank
you for your assistance today, you helped make a difficult situation easier to bear,” he said, turning to face her.

“I only gave you time to calm down, it was obviously an emotional time for
everyone,” Isabelle answered keeping her tone light.

“Well it helped. We have
an early start so I suggest you get some rest,” Tom said rising from the seat.

He does not want me, Isabelle thought with despair. “What happened...” she started but
his unresponsiveness made her falter.

T
om knew what he had to do and it was tearing him apart to do it. “Isabelle come here.” He opened his arms and she almost ran to him. He folded his arms around her and she sighed. “What happened was wonderful,” he said quietly, lifting her chin to look into her face. “But I shouldn’t have allowed it to happen. I took advantage of you for a second time and I’m sorry. I can’t offer you anything, especially marriage and it isn’t fair to let you think otherwise. Nothing else can happen between us ever again.”

Isabelle had for a moment thought that everything was going to be fine, he had taken her into his arms and she had felt at home t
here. They fitted together perfectly, but he was holding her while he rejected her, trying to make the rejection feel less like a rebuff. Her mind reeled at what to say or do to convince him to give them a chance, but she could not think to say anything other than what was in her heart.

“Why can’t it work
? Don’t we have something special, you will never convince me that you don’t feel it.”

He sighed. “
It can’t work because I have responsibility towards Sophie. I need to make sure that I make up for the mistakes I have made over the past few years. I am determined to give them the help they need. I shall be launching Sidney into business and he will need my support. You need to help James through this. It won’t be easy for him to find out that Sophie has married and that I approve. He will feel betrayed, you need to be with him. We each have lives that don’t involve the other and they will remain separate. I told you at the beginning that I was never going to marry and I meant what I said, I shall never marry.”

“Why do you not wish to marry?” Isabelle had to know, it just did not make sense.

Tom looked into Isabelle’s eyes, it would be so easy to carry on where they had left off. If he was honest with himself it was what his heart wanted, but he was not about to listen to his desires. He did owe her some sort of explanation that would help her to make sense of the rejection though.

“It was something I decided a long time ago. I have seen too man
y marriages falter and then the couple tear each other apart. What starts off with high hopes, soon falls into hatred and despair for everyone involved, more so if there are children involved. I would rather avoid so much unhappiness. There have been difficulties enough in my life and I do not want to add to them. I shall not marry.” He did not want to go into details about what he had witnessed when he was growing up. Even now with his reputation of being a hardened rake, thoughts of his childhood could bring out all the insecurities that he had felt then.