Engaging the Earl. Mandy Goff

      â€œI actually think Emma will probably get along quite well with Chivers,” the marquess said as though he couldn’t bear to leave the subject alone.

      Marcus couldn’t sit down like Nick invited him to do. He was suddenly filled with so much restless energy he thought unless he could pace back and forth the length of the whole house he’d have a fit.

      â€œYes, you’ve made that clear,” Marcus snapped.

      Nick didn’t acknowledge the abrupt change in tone or the way Marcus looked like he might want to bloody Nick’s nose.

      Nick shrugged, the gesture at once careless and calculated. “Actually, I believe Chivers is downstairs, without his mother this time. You may want to go see for yourself how they get along since you won’t take my word for it.”

      Marcus was halfway across the room by the time Nick finished his thought. And Marcus was on the other side of the door by the end of it. And as such, and since he didn’t turn around, he couldn’t tell that his friend was trying … rather unsuccessfully, actually, to muffle his laughter.

      Emma didn’t want to be rude to the guests, but wasn’t there somewhere else everybody would rather be? She understood that, at the moment, she was a curiosity, a stranger everyone wanted to inspect for themselves. But she was weary of the constant deluge of people with their endless questions….

      Are you related to Mr. Albert Mercer, that wealthy recluse from Cornwall? “Yes, he’s my uncle.”

      How long do you plan to remain in Town? “Until I’m needed back home.”

      What musical instruments are you accomplished in? “None. At all.”

      Question …

      After question …

      After question …

      And Emma wanted to scream.

      That would defeat the purpose of being nice to the eligible young men who came calling, however. Olivia sat in one corner of the room, doing her best to keep the most gossipy of the women away from her … a service for which Emma was inexpressibly grateful. That left only a few of the younger women, who had obviously come to see whether Emma was going to be any serious competition.

      The rest were gentlemen, varying in ages and stations in life. There was a viscount, a baron and, if she remembered the introductions correctly, there was also an earl in the mix. It was unusual for such loftily titled men to come calling upon a nobody.

      She supposed she could credit the interest in her uncle’s rather bizarre behavior. But for all his elusive and reclusive ways, the size and scope of his assets had always been sufficient to ensure that Mr. Albert Mercer was well respected in society and would, no doubt, have been well received if he could be bothered to venture to Town. No one knew, of course, that Emma’s father and uncle hadn’t spoken since her grandfather passed away. Her uncle, the oldest son, had inherited the Cornwall estate, and Emma’s father had been given a healthy stipend of money.