CHAPTER 1
Sebastian Augustus Darlington, the 11thEarl of Raine, shrugged into his greatcoat and took up his gloves when the grandfather clock in the hall chimed nine. His carriage waited outside to carry him toAphrodite,a carnal and very delightful pleasure palace, and the easy company of his good friends. The night promised illicit diversion; the weather, anything but. Rain hissed along the street in a steady fall, the sky above swollen with dark cloud, most unusual for the summer months. As he reached for his cane, raised voices drifted from the front: his butler Gerald’s pomposity, and a woman’s soft demand cutting through it.
“I do not jest, sir, and I cannot conceive why you should think I do. While it is unseemly to call upon his lordship at such an indecent hour, we were left with no choice. Please allow us entry and spare us from this ghastly downpour.”
Sebastian lifted a brow, slid his gloves into a pocket, and moved down the long hallway toward the commotion. Four ladies stood upon the front step of his townhouse, clutching valises so worn they might have weathered a dozen journeys.Their likeness was unmistakable; he concluded at once they were sisters.
Rain fell in earnest; their pelisses were darkened, hems dragging wet and heavy, water beading upon their bonnet and slipping from the brims in steady threads. Three of the girls wore anxious, hopeful expressions. The fourth—clearly their leader and the eldest—looked prepared to effect a siege by will alone, her gloved hand tightening on her valise as she leveled a glare at his butler. Still, despite the frown marring her brow, her remarkable prettiness sent an unexpected awareness whispering along Sebastian’s senses. Who in blazes were they, and why had they chosen his door for such a nonsensical display?
“I will not repeat?—”
“Pray inform his lordship that I bear urgent business; for the third time, I entreat an audience without delay,” she said, jutting her chin.
“Youdemand,” Gerald returned, puffed up like a pompous old pigeon. “I have already informed you that his lordship is not at home to callers. Thrice, I believe! You may leave your card, though I rather doubt a lady such as yourself possesses one.”
Sebastian could all but feel the disdain dripping from the man.
“We are the earl’sfamily,” she said, narrowing her gaze, “and his lordship would not take kindly to the disregard and contempt you are showing us. If our presence so puts you out, perhaps it is permissible to use the servants’ entrance, and we await his lordship in the kitchens. I suggest you accept this compromise because we are not leaving, sir.”
Gerald sputtered, scandalized. “Family? How presumptuous!”
The rain drummed harder upon the flagstones, and a gust sent a scatter of cool drops across the threshold. The girls shivered, their shoulders quaking beneath tattered pelisses,while his butler, impervious to pity, regarded them with glacial composure.
Sebastian stepped out of the shadowed hall into the light , making his presence known. “That will do, Gerald. The weather is turning, and I have no desire to be known as the sort of barbarian who leaves women to the mercy of the rain.”
“My lord, I was only safeguarding your privacy and safety,” Gerald managed with a sniff. “This miss was rather too strident in her demands.”
“A formidable siege indeed. Pray, stand aside,” Sebastian said lightly. He looked to the ladies and inclined his head. “Come in, if you please. You will catch your deaths if you remain out there.”
Relief and uncertainty flickered over the younger girls’ faces. The eldest held his regard a heartbeat longer, as though measuring his sincerity, then gave a small, regal nod and stepped over the threshold. Rain tapped a quick farewell upon the door as it shut behind them.
Warmth gathered in the entry hall from a banked fire, and the faint scent of beeswax polish rose from the floors. The younger girls shivered violently, and the smallest one sneezed.
“This way,” Sebastian said, leading them along the wide corridor.
He slowed his stride just enough to observe without rudeness. The one who appeared to be the youngest shivered harder, two pressed closer, and the eldest walked as if she shepherded not only her sisters but tiredness itself.
“We… our clothes are very wet, your lordship,” their leader said. “We do not wish to damage your home. Perhaps we could dry by the fire below stairs in the kitchens.”
“Such consideration is not needed. If anything is damaged, it will be replaced. See these ladies to the guest quarters,” Sebastian said to the butler. “Ensure their clothes are launderedand dried, and perhaps Mrs. Clark might find them something dry to wear if their valises are soaked through. Bring hot water and towels to their rooms along with tea and something substantial from the kitchen, Gerald.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The girls glanced at each other, relief evident in their gaze.
“Thank you, my lord,” the leader said, lowering into an awkward curtsy. “I… I am Miss Darcy Whitley, and these are my sisters.”
She nodded to the other three girls who stood with their posture straight, hands folded before them with disciplined calm, yet looking like bedraggled waifs. The eldest delicately cleared her throat, and they dipped into curtsies and stared at him with raw nerves in their gazes. Valises were lifted from chilled hands, and damp cloaks were whisked away. Mrs. Clarke, the housekeeper, came with a pair of maids and ushered the younger girls away.
The eldest’s eyes, amber-brown and keen, glittered with uncertainty. The soaked bonnet, askew upon her head, lost its battle and fell, revealing wet, matted dark hair threaded with honey-gold streaks. Her hand darted to catch the bonnet, and he noted the several holes in her gloves. Up close, the set of her mouth held a softness he found unreasonably intriguing. Sebastian nearly scoffed at himself. She looked like a drowned rat on the verge of toppling; there ought to be nothing appealing about her.
“I was on my way out and shall not delay my departure,” Sebastian said. “Mrs. Clarke will see to your comfort and assist you in any matter you require. I will take my leave, and you will attend me in the library in the morning, where we shall discuss your presence in my house.”
She sank into another awkward curtsy, as though her soaked gown were pulling her to her knees. “I… thank you for this kindness, my lord.”
Sebastian inclined his head, turned, collected his cane with its hidden blade, and stepped out, trusting his staff to see the ladies properly situated. Once inside the carriage, he did not knock upon the roof to send the coachman on. A small restlessness had taken hold, one he had not felt before. He turned over in his mind the scene that had unfolded in the last few minutes.
We are the earl’s family.
