Page 6 of An Enchantress for an Earl

Chapter Three

Violet walked into the breakfast room, stifling a yawn. Thorne looked up from his heaped plate and raised an eyebrow.

“Yawning? It’s nearly afternoon – I’d have thought that, even after a Ball, you’d have been rested after sleeping this late.”

Violet filled a plate at the sideboard, and fixed her brother with a stern gaze as she settled at the table.

“Says he who, from the look of that plate, can only have arrived in this room mere minutes before I did.”

“Ah yes, but I am not yawning – that is the important difference.”

“I seem to remember that you did not dance as much as I did last night – I do believe that I have, thereby, better excuse to be yawning.”

Thorne laughed, and silence fell for a moment as they each attended to the food. Then he lifted his head again, and regarded Violet with an expression which she knew meant a question would follow.

“Dancing... yes, you did, as usual, dance almost every dance. Including one with Merryfield. Who is not exactly known for his love of dancing – or Balls in general, for that matter. What did you think of him?”

“I choose to not think of him. Any man who is so disregarding of the opportunity he has as to get himself sent down is not worthy of my thoughts. He presented no redeeming features – his conversation was lacking, although I will admit that he danced passably well. Why do you ask?”

“My, such intensity! But I should have expected it of you, Violet, given that you would, I suspect, live your entire life in the library given the chance. Still – surely a man is entitled to make a mistake, even if it’s one that gets him sent down?”

Violet half choked on her coffee, then set the cup down carefully and fixed Thorne with her best baleful glare.

“No. Getting sent down is a forever unforgiveable sin.” She hesitated, but that strange impulse which had taken her last night rose again – she wanted to know more about Merryfield, to understand him. “But… what did he actually do? I heard multiple rumours last night, ranging from ‘had an argument’ to ‘ran off with his Professor’s mistress’. Do you know the truth of it?”

“Really, Violet! A young lady should not even know that mistresses exist, let alone ask a question like that!”

“Thorne, you know full well that I am aware of many things in the world that ‘a young lady should know nothing of’. So stop avoiding the question – do you know what he did?”

Thorne chewed thoughtfully, intentionally making her wait. She took another mouthful and another sip of coffee – two could play that game.

Then she forced herself to stillness, lest he realise just how badly she wanted to know.

“I am tempted to tell you the most lurid story I can think of, just to watch your reaction, but that would be to do an unfair disservice to Merryfield. I don’t know the depth of the detail – but I do know that he had an argument with a professor.”

“What argument could possibly be bad enough to get him sent down?”

“I don’t know. If you really want to know the truth, why don’t you ask him?”

“As if I could! That would be so forward as to destroy my reputation should anyone catch a hint of it. I am not so foolish!”

“Then you will just have to languish in ignorance, won’t you?”

“Dear brother, you are impossible! Why did you even introduce me to him in the first place?”

“Ah… that would be because I seem to remember you asking me to find you some gentlemen you had not met before, to be introduced to?”

“Well… admittedly, I may have asked you such a thing – but I did expect that anyone you introduced me to would be reputable. And having been sent down is, by my definition, beyond the pale.”

“You know, you could be a good match for him – on some matters, you can be quite as obsessive as he is.”

Violet glared, shocked – what did Thorne mean?

“You cannot, simply cannot, mean to compare me in any way to a man who cares so little for the opportunity to study as to get sent down!”

“I can, and I do. He is the most meticulously obsessive person I have ever met.” At Violet’s horrified gasp, Thorne shook his head, affecting a sorrowful expression. “Really, you are just as ungrateful as the rest of my sisters. I don’t know why I bother to try to help. Now that you carry the ‘family spinster’ title, you seem determined to keep it for as long as possible.”

With that, he turned back to his food, and left Violet fuming at him, lost for words, but even more determined than before to avoid Lord Merryfield in future. He did not deserve any more of her attention than she had already wasted on him.