To Catch a Countess

Published Internationally by Lachesis Publishing Inc.

Rockland, Ontario, Canada

Copyright © 2013 Patricia Grasso

Exclusive cover © 2013 Laura Givens

Inside artwork © 2013 Giovanna Lagana

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher, Lachesis Publishing Inc., is an infringement of the copyright law.

A catalogue record for the print format of this title is available from the National Library of Canada

ISBN 978-1-927555-32-3 

A catalogue record for the Ebook is available

from the National Library of Canada

Ebooks are available for purchase from

www.lachesispublishing.com

ISBN 978-1-927555-33-0

Editor: Joanna D’Angelo

Copyeditor: Giovanna Lagana

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

Old Sidney, the supervisor. A half-dead, bone-and-fur 14 year-old cat when I found you. You proved the healing power of love, especially when the love was combined with a thousand dollars of medical treatments. You were worth every penny.

Reviews

“Refreshing heroine . . . steamy and passionate love scenes . . . made me laugh.
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“Her characters are a joy . . .”
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To Charm a Prince (Book 2)

To Tempt an Angel (Book 1)

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To Catch a Countess

Chapter 1

England, 1814

“Teach me how to flirt.”

Eighteen-year-old Victoria Douglas gazed out her bedchamber window at her uncle’s, the Duke of Inverary’s, country estate. Hearing her sisters’ laughter, Victoria smiled and walked across the chamber to where they sat on the chaise near the summer-dark hearth.

Twenty-year-old Angelica was drawing an F on the soles of the left feet of Victoria’s new shoes. Nineteen-year-old Samantha was browsing through the morning
Times
.

Victoria knew her sisters were teasing her. “What is so amusing about my wanting to learn to flirt?”

“Why do you want to learn to flirt?” Angelica asked, without looking up from her task.

“Aunt Roxie had one of her otherworldly visions,” Victoria told them, rolling her blue eyes heavenward. “Apparently, I am destined to marry an illustrious earl and she wants me to be ready to charm him.”

“Why do you need to charm him if you are already destined to marry?” Samantha asked.

Victoria became serious. “I need to overcome handicaps like my red hair.”

“Your hair matches your personality,” Samantha said to her.

“I wish I had your black hair or Angel’s blondeness,” Victoria said. “Men adore blondes.”

“Count your blessings,” Samantha said. “You could be bald.”

“Did you know I always wanted yours or Samantha’s hair color?” Angelica picked up another shoe to mark.

Samantha smiled. “I always wanted to look like either of you.”

“I suppose no one is ever satisfied with what they’ve been given,” Victoria said with a smile. Her smile drooped, and when she spoke again, her voice mirrored her desperation. “I’ll never read the
Times
because I can’t read, write, or cipher. If I knew how to flirt, I could find a gentleman and marry him before he realizes I’m stupid.”

Victoria felt the hot blush rising on her cheeks when her sisters stared at her in obvious surprise. She couldn’t imagine why her frustration surprised them. They had known her problem for years, but knowing and understanding were different things. Her sisters could never understand because they could read, write, and cipher.

“You are not stupid,” Angelica said.

“Something prevents you from learning,” Samantha added.

Victoria forced herself to smile but was unable to mask the pain in her voice. “That something is commonly referred to as stupidity.”

When both sisters opened their mouths to argue, Victoria held her hand up. “Most people are stupid because no one bothered to teach them, but I cannot learn in spite of being taught. You see a dog bark, but I see a bog dark.”

“Everyone has a weakness,” Samantha told her. “I limp from that carriage accident.”

“I would switch my stupidity for your limp any day of the week.”

“You have many talents,” Samantha argued. “You play the flute beautifully, and your
joie de vivre
is contagious.”

“What is that?”

“
Joie de vivre
is joy of life,” Angelica answered, and then shifted her gaze to the shoes still needing to be marked. “How many new pairs of shoes do you have?”

“His Grace and Aunt Roxie bought me an extensive new wardrobe, complete with shoes and other accessories,” Victoria told them, wandering back to the window. “A trousseau without a husband. They’re hoping I’ll meet a suitable gentleman and marry.”

Victoria stared out the window. Her brothers-in-law, the Marquess of Argyll and Russian Prince Rudolf, were practicing golf on the large expanse of lawn behind the rear gardens.

“Your husbands are golfing,” Victoria called over her shoulder.

“Is Rudolf swinging those clubs near the children?” Samantha asked.

“No.”

“What about Robert?” Angelica asked.

“Sweeting and Honey have taken the children closer to the house.” Victoria turned around to smile at them. “Both of you gave birth to twins within a year. Do you think I’ll have twins, too?”

“Having a husband would help,” Angelica replied, marking the last shoe.

“Rudolf’s brothers will be arriving tomorrow,” Victoria said.

“Aunt Roxie invited Alexander Emerson for the weekend,” Samantha said, without looking up from the
Times
.

Victoria grimaced. “Alexander Emerson is so boring.”

“Why do you say that?” Angelica asked.

“He is always so serious,” Victoria answered. “Rudolf’s brothers are much more fun.”

Samantha looked up from the paper. “Are you developing a fondness for Prince Stepan?”

Victoria noted her sister’s concerned expression but had no idea what it meant. She glanced at Angelica who wore the same concerned expression.

“Stepan and I are friends,” Victoria told them. “Like cousins.”

“We’ll teach you to flirt,” Angelica said, “and you can practice on Alexander Emerson this weekend.”

“That’s an outstanding idea.” Samantha glanced at Victoria. “If someone as serious as Alex succumbs to your flirting, then you’ll have no problem with any gentleman.”

“Alexander Emerson is a tad elderly, don’t you think?” Victoria asked.

“Twenty-nine years is hardly at his last prayers,” Angelica said.

“The Earl of Winchester is considered quite a catch,” Samantha told her.

“Alex’s title and wealth, in addition to his good looks, have more than a few mamas pushing their daughters in his path,” Angelica added.

Victoria had never thought about Alexander in that way, but her sisters’ words had her seeing the earl in a new light. “I’ll bet all those mamas would be green if they knew the Earl of Winchester was spending the weekend in the country where there was an available young lady, albeit a stupid redhead.”

“If you flirt with Alexander,” Angelica warned, “you can never admit you’re only practicing.”

Samantha nodded. “Men are sensitive about things like that.”

Victoria gave them a mischievous smile. “As the weekend progresses, you can tell me if what I’m doing is correct.”

“That’s a good idea,” Angelica said.

“Well, sisters, I’m ready to begin. Tell me what to do.”

“Stare at Alex intensely,” Angelica told her. “When he catches you looking, hold his gaze for a second or two longer. Then drop your gaze in shyness and blush.”

Victoria burst out laughing. “Alexander isn’t going to believe I’m shy.”

“Trust me,” Angelica said. “Arrogance makes men behave like pinheads around a pretty woman.”

“Stand very close to him when you are speaking,” Samantha said. “Look at him with adoration in your eyes.”

“How do I do that?” Victoria asked, puzzled.

“Imagine that he has conquered the world and placed it at your feet,” Samantha said.

Victoria couldn’t suppress her bubble of laughter. She couldn’t imagine Alexander Emerson or any other man placing the world at her feet. She wasn’t exactly Cleopatra.

“Let him hold your hand,” Angelica said.

“Let him kiss you if he wants,” Samantha added.

“Not too much, though, or he’ll think you’re fast,” Angelica warned.

“How much is too much?” Victoria asked, completely confused. She had never even kissed a man.

“You’ll know,” her sisters said simultaneously, and then looked at each other and laughed.

“Do not let him touch you anywhere private,” Samantha warned, “or you’ll be ruined.”

“Alexander must be very smart,” Victoria said, her confidence waning. “What should I say to him?”

“Engage in light-hearted conversation,” Angelica said. “If he says something naughty, say something naughty back.”

“Ask him a question or his advice,” Samantha suggested.

“Advice about what?” Victoria knew she was destined to fail. “Maybe I should ask him how to flirt.”

“Why, Tory, that is a brilliant idea,” Angelica said, smiling. “If Alex is teaching you how to flirt, he won’t be aware that you’re attracted to him.”

“I’m not attracted to him.”

“If you are a good listener, men think you are a good conversationalist,” Samantha told her. “Men love to share their wisdom with inferior creatures like us.”

“Read me something from the
Times
,” Victoria said. “I’ll ask him about it.”

“Napoleon was exiled to Elba a few weeks ago,” Angelica said. “I heard Robert and Rudolf discussing it.”

“Here’s something,” Samantha said. “The apprentice law was repealed.”

“What is that?” Victoria asked.

“I don’t know,” Samantha said with a shrug. “You’ll need to ask Alex.”

Victoria smiled, and her blue eyes gleamed with excitement. “He’ll think I’m smart enough to read the newspaper.”

“Alex has already arrived,” Samantha told her. “He’s in a business meeting with His Grace.”

Victoria grabbed her flute case and headed for the door. “I’m going to walk to the stream and concentrate on what I’m supposed to do.”

Leaving her chamber, Victoria walked to the end of the corridor. Like an old friend, insecurity caught her at the top of the stairs. She hurried back to her chamber. Her sisters looked up at her entrance.

“Do you think my white gown looks presentable?” Victoria asked. “I mean, in case I meet Alexander in the corridor.”

“You look pretty,” Angelica assured her.

Victoria looked at Samantha for confirmation. When she nodded in agreement, Victoria left the chamber.

While Victoria was learning to flirt, Alexander Emerson sat one floor down in the Duke of Inverary’s study. With them was the Duchess of Inverary, Victoria’s aunt.

Tall and well-built and blond, Alexander Emerson sat in one of the chairs in front of the duke’s desk and stretched his long legs out. He cast a sidelong glance at the duchess, who sat in the chair beside his, and then fixed his hazel gaze on the duke.