The Reluctant Earl by C.J. Chase Page A

and attention from her only parent. He had to separate them, for Maman’s sake. For now.
    On the facing seat the maid interrupted her nap long enough to glance at Sotherton’s manor house. Anna wiped her nose with her sleeve, making him yearn for the days when Nanny had been young enough to travel.
    The coachman reined the horses to a halt, and a footman came to assist Caro with the carriage step. The sun had melted the top layer of snow, turning it treacherously icy for one with Caro’s precarious balance. Julian gripped her arm and waved the maid to take the other side. The trio ambled to the entrance where the butler opened the door.
    “Good afternoon, Hawkesworth.” Julian passed him their coats.
    “I’ll tell his lordship you have returned.”
    “Thank you. I must speak to my eldest sister first. Where is Lady Sotherton?”
    “The blue drawing room.”
    “I’ll show myself in. And Hawkesworth, please inform the housekeeper to have a room prepared next to mine for my youngest sister. Lady Caroline will be here for a short stay.”
    Not even the excessively impassive butler held his surprise in check. His gaze darted to Caroline, then with supreme control, he recovered his composure. “I’ll have Mrs. Anderson make the gold bedchamber ready, my lord.”
    Julian led the increasingly wary Caro by the hand to the blue drawing room where his oldest sister concentrated on her needlework. “Ah, Lizzie. Did you miss me?”
    Elizabeth raised her chin. “So you returned.”
    “As promised.” He offered a brief bow and an infuriating smile.
    “Benedict and Killiane leave for London on the morrow.”
    “Then I will meet with him forthwith.” Julian’s business no longer involved Sotherton anyway—although he’d have to provide his brother-in-law with a convenient excuse for his continued stay. His jaw tightened as he swept Caro forward. “Elizabeth, I’d like you to meet Caroline. Your youngest sister.”
    The warmth of the room brought a rosy glow to Caro’s cheeks that, with her diminutive size, made her appear so much like a porcelain doll. She glanced at Julian through her oddly uptilted eyes. Julian smiled and gestured, and she dipped into a pretty curtsey.
    Elizabeth locked her perpetual frown on her face “What is she doing here?”
    “Caro has come for...a short visit.”
    “How short?”
    “Several days.” Julian wrapped an arm around Caro’s shoulders. “Perhaps several weeks, depending on how long my business lasts and how well Maman fares.”
    “Bad enough you seem to have taken up residence in my house—”
    “Lord Sotherton’s house—and with his permission.”
    “But now you are inviting guests.”
    “Caroline is not a guest. She is your family.”
    Elizabeth rang the bell for a servant. “I understand there are establishments for her kind.”
    Under his arm, Caro trembled. Julian hauled her closer.
    “My lady?” An older woman with a cap covering her graying hair entered the salon.
    “Mrs. Anderson, please show our guest—”
    “Lady Caroline. Her name is Lady Caroline.” Julian folded his arm across his chest and fixed a defiant stare on his older sister.
    “—to her bedchamber.”
    “Very good, my lady.” The housekeeper dropped into a curtsey.
    Julian transferred Caro’s hand to the maid’s grasp. “You and Anna go with Mrs. Anderson.”
    Doubt and confusion and caution darkened Caro’s blue eyes. “Jules.”
    “Go on.” Julian touched her cheek. “I’ll be along after I take care of some business.”
    “Come, my lady.” The housekeeper grabbed Caro’s other hand.
    Caro glanced back one time at Julian before she exited the room.
    Elizabeth’s frown etched new lines around her tight mouth. “She seems quiet enough. I suppose she won’t be too much bother so long as her nursemaid restrains her.”
    “Caro is not an animal that must be caged. She’s a human being, and a far kinder one than many I know.”
    Elizabeth clamped her lips together.