Chapter Twenty-Five
Lord Flynn, Earl of Larsson
Silence greeted me as I entered Larsson House. My two days with Eleanor and Rex were still indelibly marked on my mind. As much as I enjoyed the hours leading up to the big row between them, my realization on that first night continued to haunt me.
While they had worked me into their lives, there was no way I could be a part of what they had. Rex had been unduly jealous without taking my own feelings into account. It was me who had to live with the knowledge that the woman I loved married someone else. I would always be the third person, even though I knew they loved me. It was time for me to decide what I wanted. If I let Olivia go, there was a chance she’d find another man to marry.
I handed the butler my hat and coat. He was an old family retainer who served my family well. “Is Lady Olivia in?”
“Yes, my lord. She is in the blue drawing room with the young mistresses.” He draped my coat over his arm before handing it to a waiting maid. My staff was very efficient and loyal.
“Very good,” I said. The house had been restored the previous decade, and the polished marble floors shone in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. I was the seventh earl, and the house had been part of the earldom since itsinception. Thus far, little scandal has plagued the Larsson name. That could change in a moment if my secret life was exposed.
Although my daughters and Olivia were in residence, Nigel wasn’t. My shoulders slumped until I reminded myself he’d embarked on his own journey. Soon he’d bring his new wife to live here, and they would have children in time. Regardless, it was an odd sensation, and I tried to shake it off. Although he wasn’t my son, Nigel was dear to me. My brother would be very proud of him.
The older I got, the more I realized that people you loved left you in different ways. Mary had left me through death, and my brother had succumbed to an illness way too young. I was the older brother; I should have been the one to go first. Fate had different plans for me.
I tried to shake off the melancholy that seemed to be attached to me lately. If I wasn’t here for a purpose, I would turn on my heel and leave. A night spent at the Apollo Coffee House with men who weren’t interested in deep conversation might be just the thing.
While in a tawdry relationship, I forgot about my troubles and concentrated on the passion. However, I wasn’t sure if I would ever feel the same again after being with Rex and Eleanor. His inhibitions had fallen to the wayside, and the things he had done to me were forever branded on my mind.
Voices sounded from the blue drawing room, the laughter of my girls, as well as Olivia’s more exuberant tones. I had a rich life and wanted to focus on what I had rather than what I did not. The maid on duty opened the door, curtsying to me as I walked through. The rain had ceased and now sunlight flooded the room, the light blue décor reflective of the elegance in the rest of the home.
Every time I walked through the hallowed halls, pride swelled my chest. To be an earl with the world at my fingertipsmade me a fortunate man. And yet something inside me was missing, and I hadn’t found it yet.
My three daughters, ages sixteen, fourteen, and ten, were chatting excitedly. They resembled me in looks but with lighter hair ranging from honey blonde to light brown. Fortunately, they didn’t get my Roman nose. They were all beautiful, and I held my arms out as they ran to me. It was one of the things that made life full, having the love of my children.
“What are you girls up to today?” I made a point to visit with them every day. My two nights with Rex and Eleanor had cut into our time.
My oldest daughter Karen spoke up, her lovely face lit with excitement. Seeing her smiling again after a year of mourning warmed my heart. The death of their mother had hit us all hard. “Lady Olivia was regaling us with details for her trip to Australia.”
Karen was my daring child who wasn’t afraid of anything. Camille, the fourteen-year-old, was more cautious, and Beatrix, the youngest, was the most practical of the three.
The reminder of Olivia’s leaving lessened my smile. I couldn’t show my upset, however. There was something I needed to ask her, and the quicker I did it, the better. If I was successful, she wouldn’t be leaving at all.
Olivia looked up at me, a light of greeting in her eyes. The sun hitting her hair brought red highlights out of the dark mass. She had been a fixture in the house since marrying my brother. The thought of her being gone carved a hole in my chest, and I knew the solution. No, she wasn’t Eleanor or Rex, but she was family, and I loved her in my own way.
“It sounds very exciting, if not such a long journey.” Camille bit her bottom lip, uncertainty in her gaze.
“Think of it as an adventure,” Karen replied.
“You can think of it as both,” Beatrix said in her no-nonsense tone. Unlike the other two girls, she resembled her mother more than me. “Did Harry get off to school?” She and Harry had a rapport and she was one of the few friends the boy had.
“Yes, he is firmly entrenched at Knutchester.” I prayed for his sake and his family’s that he adapted to student life. While I carried affection for him, I wasn’t naïve to his challenges. His parents wanted him to have a normal life, and as the son of a duke, he would have an advantage.
