Enticing the Earl Read Online Free Page A

tenants in danger on my lands.” And he wouldn’t let another person touch the woman he loved. He would find this Allan Davies, track him down and make sure he felt the same pain Mia felt now.

Chapter 4
    M ia groaned as she tried to sit up the next morning. The pain in her ribs was far worse than yesterday. She lay back against the pillows and blew out an agonizing breath.
    “You should know better than to attempt to get up already.” Selina was instantly at her side with the bottle of laudanum. “Here, take more of this to deaden the pain.”
    Mia pushed the bottle away. “No. I will not take any more of that god-awful stuff. I would rather be in pain.”
    Selina nodded. “As you wish. Unfortunately, I must leave. I just received word that one of the tenants needs me. I will try to come back tomorrow if I can get away.” She leaned over and kissed Mia’s cheek. “Take care of yourself. Your mother will be by later today.”
    “Thank you for everything, Selina.”
    “Of course. You took care of me when I needed tending. It’s what we wise women do. Now,” she placed the bottle of laudanum on the table. “I will leave this with you in case you change your mind.”
    Mia gave her friend a small smile but it hurt too much to maintain for long. Once Selina left, Mia attempted to move to a sitting position but once again the pain was more than she could bear. “Dammit.”
    “Tsk, tsk.”
    Mia gasped as she stared at Hart’s smiling face peering around the corner of the door. She pulled the coverlet up over her chest. “What are you doing here?”
    “The duchess informed me that she was needed at home, so I came to see how you are faring this morning. May I come in?”
    She couldn’t deny him entrance to a bedchamber in his own house. Besides, she would go insane without someone to talk with all day. “Yes.”
    He entered the room, which seemed to shrink as he walked near the bed. He pulled the chair closer and then dropped casually into the seat. “How are you this morning?”
    “A little better,” she lied. He didn’t need to know that she felt ten times worse than yesterday.
    “Indeed. That is odd, though.”
    “How so?”
    He shrugged. “Every time I have taken a beating like you did, I felt much worse the next day. By the second day, your muscles have tightened and your cracked ribs feel like someone is stabbing you in the side.” He lifted a brown brow. “Is that really how you feel today?”
    She nodded slowly. “Yes. That is exactly how I feel. Just how many times have you been beaten like this?”
    A long moment passed before he answered, “Twice.”
    “You must tell me. I have nothing else to do today so please entertain me with how you ended up in this position.”
    He smiled deeply. “Very well, but first, do you need some more breakfast or maybe more tea?”
    “Tea would be lovely, thank you.”
    He walked out of the room and quickly reentered. “The tea will be here soon.” He returned to his seat and smiled over at her. “Now, where was I?”
    “Hmm, something about a beating.”
    “Ahh, yes. I was in my third year at Eton and my younger brother, Charlie, was a first year. My brother can be a bit hardheaded and didn’t know enough to give the elder boys a little leave. Instead of taking their teasing, he decided to fight back. He was ten at the time and the three other boys were fifteen. When I came upon the scene, I had to help my younger brother. We both ended up in the infirmary for a week.”
    Mia smiled slightly. “It’s very nice that you helped your brother.”
    “That week in the infirmary did make us closer.”
    “Where is he now? I haven’t seen him in close to a year.”
    Hart looked away wistfully. “London.”
    “And James? I can’t remember the last time I saw him.”
    “He has a parish in Dover he tends.”
    “You must miss him,” she said softly. The three boys had been close growing up. She used to watch with envy as they rode across the fields on