Read Online The Earl's Design of Love: The Stenwick Siblings by Kirsten Osbourne, Morganna Mayfair - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kirsten Osbourne, Morganna Mayfair
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use the countess’s chamber as her dressing room, which suited her nicely. She didn’t want to have to try to get ready in front of him. She was self-conscious enough without that.
She’d carefully chosen a dress that had buttons going up the front so she wouldn’t have to struggle to get out of it later when he was waiting for her to change for bed. She’d seen the way his eyes had lit up at the idea of her in a green nightgown, and she knew he wasn’t going to be patient enough to wait long.
Walking through the house with him, she could see signs of where the house had been let go while he’d concentrated on just earning a living and paying down debt. It was nothing major, but there were repairs needed in various places. She wondered if he’d start the repairs now, or if he’d wait until he was out of debt first. She decided to wait and see without asking him. It would be obvious if he suddenly came into a great deal of money, and she knew that if he did, he’d lied. If he continued to live the simple way he did, then his friend was simply mistaken. She had to trust him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He looked at her with a smile. “Do you remember the fountain I was designing when you came here that weekend?”
“Of course. It was beautiful!”
“It’s almost half finished, but I still feel like something’s missing. Would you be willing to take a look at it after supper and tell me what you think?” He truly valued her opinion, but more than that, he remembered something she’d said that weekend about how she could make it right. He had no idea what that meant, but if she could do it somehow, he would allow it.
“I’d be happy to.” She smiled up at him, glad he was asking her opinion on things as if she mattered to him. She didn’t want to keep thinking about what had been said earlier that day.
Percy held out the chair to the right of the one at the head of the table. “I know it’s tradition for the countess to sit at the foot of the table, but it doesn’t make any sense to me to sit that far apart.”
Diana shook her head. “We couldn’t have any sort of conversation at all. I’d rather sit beside you.”
He dropped a kiss on her head before taking his own seat. “I’m glad we think so much alike.” He sighed. “I was raised with all the formalities, and I accepted them all as the way I would do things when I was the earl.” He shook his head. “Everything changed when I realized how destitute I really was.”
She looked at him with understanding. “So when you were worried about where your next meal would come from, you suddenly realized that how mannerly you were while you ate it didn’t matter as much as you once thought it did?” She wished more of the ton would realize that their impeccable manners meant nothing without the riches that surrounded them. She’d seen so many people in London who had very little money, but clung to the silly traditions.
“Exactly.” He shrugged. “And really? Is it mannerly to sit twenty feet away from my wife just so that our servants will think we don’t like each other?” He took her hand in his. “I do like you. I don’t care if they know it.” The affection in his eyes as he looked at her made her heart melt.
She smiled, thinking about what a good role he was playing if he had only married her for her money. At least he cared about her feelings. A moment later the maid brought their soup to them, and Diana carefully spread her napkin on her lap before picking up her spoon. They talked while they ate about what it had been like growing up.
“Father always worked hard, but we were just normal people living in London when I was a little girl. Mother taught me in the mornings, and I ran around in the afternoons. It was glorious. We’d play tag and hide and seek. I swear, I spent so much time on those streets I could go
She’d carefully chosen a dress that had buttons going up the front so she wouldn’t have to struggle to get out of it later when he was waiting for her to change for bed. She’d seen the way his eyes had lit up at the idea of her in a green nightgown, and she knew he wasn’t going to be patient enough to wait long.
Walking through the house with him, she could see signs of where the house had been let go while he’d concentrated on just earning a living and paying down debt. It was nothing major, but there were repairs needed in various places. She wondered if he’d start the repairs now, or if he’d wait until he was out of debt first. She decided to wait and see without asking him. It would be obvious if he suddenly came into a great deal of money, and she knew that if he did, he’d lied. If he continued to live the simple way he did, then his friend was simply mistaken. She had to trust him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He looked at her with a smile. “Do you remember the fountain I was designing when you came here that weekend?”
“Of course. It was beautiful!”
“It’s almost half finished, but I still feel like something’s missing. Would you be willing to take a look at it after supper and tell me what you think?” He truly valued her opinion, but more than that, he remembered something she’d said that weekend about how she could make it right. He had no idea what that meant, but if she could do it somehow, he would allow it.
“I’d be happy to.” She smiled up at him, glad he was asking her opinion on things as if she mattered to him. She didn’t want to keep thinking about what had been said earlier that day.
Percy held out the chair to the right of the one at the head of the table. “I know it’s tradition for the countess to sit at the foot of the table, but it doesn’t make any sense to me to sit that far apart.”
Diana shook her head. “We couldn’t have any sort of conversation at all. I’d rather sit beside you.”
He dropped a kiss on her head before taking his own seat. “I’m glad we think so much alike.” He sighed. “I was raised with all the formalities, and I accepted them all as the way I would do things when I was the earl.” He shook his head. “Everything changed when I realized how destitute I really was.”
She looked at him with understanding. “So when you were worried about where your next meal would come from, you suddenly realized that how mannerly you were while you ate it didn’t matter as much as you once thought it did?” She wished more of the ton would realize that their impeccable manners meant nothing without the riches that surrounded them. She’d seen so many people in London who had very little money, but clung to the silly traditions.
“Exactly.” He shrugged. “And really? Is it mannerly to sit twenty feet away from my wife just so that our servants will think we don’t like each other?” He took her hand in his. “I do like you. I don’t care if they know it.” The affection in his eyes as he looked at her made her heart melt.
She smiled, thinking about what a good role he was playing if he had only married her for her money. At least he cared about her feelings. A moment later the maid brought their soup to them, and Diana carefully spread her napkin on her lap before picking up her spoon. They talked while they ate about what it had been like growing up.
“Father always worked hard, but we were just normal people living in London when I was a little girl. Mother taught me in the mornings, and I ran around in the afternoons. It was glorious. We’d play tag and hide and seek. I swear, I spent so much time on those streets I could go
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