Excerpt and Giveaway: Brave New Earl by Jane Ashford

Series: The Way to a Lord's Heart #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on 7th August 2018
Genres: Historical, Regency
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An Earl mired in melancholy is no match for a determined womanâĤ
Widower Benjamin Romilly, Earl of Furness, has given up hope of finding happiness. His wife died in childbirth five years ago, leaving him with a broken heart and a child who only reminds him of his loss.
Miss Jean Saunders is a cousin by marriage. She doted on Benjaminâs late Countess, and canât bear it when she hears rumors that the Earl is too bereaved to care for his young son. She arrives on the scene to evaluate his fitness as a father, and if necessary, to take his son away.
Jeanâs sudden eruption into the Earlâs household simultaneously infuriates and invigorates him. She may be the only person who can breathe life into his neglected homeâand his aching heartâĤ
Jean searched the parlors on either side of front hall, calling softly and beginning to feel foolish. This was obviously a futile quest. She had given up and turned back when she noticed a line of light under the library door. She went in, finding the chamber still warm, the coals of a fire still glowing. âTab?â she said.
âI beg your pardon?â
Jean started so violently that a drop of hot wax splattered from the candle to the back of her hand. The pain made her breath catch.
Lord Furness rose from the chair by the hearth. âWhat are you doing here?â she asked. âWith no lights?â In her fright, she sounded accusing.
âI donât sleep well,â he replied. âI often come down. And you?â
âI was looking for my kitten.â
âGot out, did he?â Still half in his broken reverie, Benjamin eyed his guest. The lines of her body were beautifully revealed by her thin wool dressing gown and gossamer nightdress. Her hair had been braided down her back, but soft tendrils had escaped all around her face. He imagined what that hair would look like looseâwhat a wild riot of curls.
âI donât see how,â she said, her tone oddly defensive. âBut heâs not in my room.â The candle wavered in her hand. âOh, what if heâs in the kitchen when your cook gets up.â
âThe cook will cope.â Miss Saundersâs unexpected appearance was like a dream, yet so different from the ones that usually disturbed his nights.
âWhy must everything I do go wrong? I had this one small creature to care forââ
âAnd tomorrow we will find him,â Benjamin interrupted. âThereâs no sense looking in the dark. Too easy for him to hide. Weâll turn out the staff in the morning. By then, heâll be hungry and come looking for food.â
âYes.â Miss Saunders startled suddenly, setting the light of her candle dancing over the walls. âThe portrait seemed to move.â
Benjamin looked up at Aliceâs likeness above the mantel. âYes, when itâs dim like this, she does. Seem to.â
âYou loved her very much,â said Miss Saunders softly.
âWe met at a ball in London, fell in love, married, and were parted by death all in a year. Such a short time to encompass so much.â
âA life sliced in half,â she replied. Her tone was contemplative andâĤbitter?
âYes.â Benjamin sank back into his chair. âYou understand that?â
âOh yes.â Absently, she sat down opposite, putting her candle on the low table by the fireplace.
âA love you lost?â
She shook her head, setting the errant curls bobbing. âSay ratherâĤa person who defined my existence.â
It was a striking phrase. He waited a moment. When she didnât go on, he asked, âWho?â
Miss Saunders hesitated before answering, âMy mother.â
âAh. That can be a deep bond.â
âYes.â
The single word dropped between them like a rock tossed into a well. The echoes were odd, Benjamin thought. Not sadness, not regret. âYou miss her a great deal.â
Miss Saunders laughed without humor. âHow I wish I did. She haunts my dreams.â
Benjamin felt as if some mighty hand had reached deep inside him and struck a chord. His whole being resounded with it. He leaned forward and took her hand. It was trembling.
As his strong fingers closed over hers, Jean couldnât look away. Under his dressing gown, his nightshirt was open at the neck. The strong column of his throat rose above a muscular chest. Sheâd never been more intensely aware of another person, much less a man.
âThe past keeps its claws in us,â he said.
The phrase was so exactly right. âIt feels like talons,â she said. âSunk right in. No matter how you fight, they wonât come loose.â
âA mouse carried off by a hawk,â he said.
Lips parted in amazement at his understanding, Jean nodded. Lord Furness leaned nearer. Sheâd moved toward him as well, she realized, irresistibly. For a moment, a kiss seemed inevitable. They grew closer, closer. She could feel a hint of his breath on her skin.
Then, all at once, he seemed to become aware of their proximity, their laced hands. He let go, drew back. In a welter of emotion, Jean did the same. Color flickered in the corner of her eye; the image of her cousin Alice looked down on them from above the mantel.
Lord Furness cleared his throat. âSo, you see.â He took a breath. âPreviousâĤevents make it more difficult with Geoffrey. For me. Despite what I might wish.â
Jean gazed at him.
âThe resemblance.â He indicated the portrait with a gesture. âItâĤflashes out at me. There and then gone. He looks just like his mother, and then he doesnât. If it was one or the other, Iâm sure Iâd grow accustomed. But I find it hard to take theâĤsudden blow.â
She nodded. Her dreams were like that. Some memories as well.
âIâm very glad youâre here to help,â he added.
âYou are?â
âYes.â
âIâd thought you seemed to be doing well. With the pony and all. Perhaps I wasnât needed.â
He sat straighter. âWe agreed to work together, for Geoffreyâs sake.â
âBut Iâm not sure what I can do.â She wanted to help him, Jean realized. She wanted a number of things she hadnât recognized until tonight.
Lord Furness turned away. âI ran today,â he said in a harsh tone. âI had to get away from him. My own son. I hid in this room as Iâve been doing for far too long. I wanted never to come out.â
âBut you did.â
âAnd I was a bear at dinner. Surly and curt.â He turned back to her. âDo you see that hiding is easier?â
Jean couldnât look away from those blue-gray eyes. They were mirrors and temptations and beckoning abysses. âYes,â she whispered.
He blinked. Jean felt as if sheâd tripped on a missed step. She felt Alice staring down at her. In a confusion of emotion, she stood. âIâĤI should go up.â
He didnât argue. Was he finding it just as difficult to speak? Shaken, Jean took her candle and went.
When she entered her roomâminutes, eons, laterâTab was sitting on her bed. He gazed at her in seeming reproach and mewed. âWhere were you?â cried Jean. âI looked everywhere.â
âMew,â said Tab. He kneaded the damask coverlet, pulling a thread of the pattern loose.
âDonât. Oh, Iâll have to ask for a plain bedcover.â She put the candlestick on the bedside table and ran a hand over the kittenâs silky fur. He flopped over and offered his pale belly, tiny paws waving in the air. Jean laughed and petted him.