Page 49 of Real Earls Break the Rules

The duchess wrinkled her nose as if she smelled a bad odor. “I believe it’s better to mingle with people from our own station than to spend time with the working class who are only as intelligent as the sheep they shear.”

“I find that intelligence is influenced by family history, not whether or not someone has inherited a title,” Amelia said.

Brandon’s lips twitched with humor. The duchess didn’t look amused. No doubt she was thinking of her own daughter.

“They are hard working people, Your Grace,” Brandon said. “Rosehill wouldn’t survive without the rents paid by its tenants.”

“I know the income is important. I just find consorting with those who come from the common classes distasteful,” the duchess said, her eyes resting on Amelia a second too long.

Amelia sat straight. “The fair sounds wonderful to me. Is it true there are jugglers and tumblers?”

Brandon nodded. “There are.”

Their gazes held across the carriage for a heartbeat longer than necessary. A tangible current passed between them, exciting and electrifying. Amelia blinked and turned away.

Brandon became aware of the way the duchess looked from him to Amelia. Her shrewd, dark eyes narrowed momentarily before she pursed her lips. Unlike her daughter, the duchess was no fool and didn’t miss the tiniest of details. Her interests were clear—a match between Brandon and Minerva.

The carriage rumbled to a halt, and a squeak was heard as the driver hopped down from his seat.

“Perhaps you would be kind enough to escort us about the fair?” the duchess said.

Brandon’s cravat felt unusually tight as he looked into the woman’s sharp, dark eyes. “I’d be delighted to escort all the ladies.”

…

Stepping from the carriage, Amelia was excited to see they were in the heart of the festivities. Music drifted across the village green, which was crowded with revelers. Hawkers sold their wares in stalls, on wooden tables, and from their own colorful carts. Everything was offered to tempt visitors—cloth, jewelry, hair ribbons, hats, children’s toys, decorative fans, even litters of puppies and kittens. Laughter carried across a breeze, and torches stood ready to light to continue the festivities long into the evening. The thatched roofs of tenant cottages dotted the horizon.

Amelia followed behind the duchess and Minerva as Brandon escorted them onto the village green. Several tenants waved at Brandon, and Amelia recognized them as the ones she had seen when he’d taken her on a tour of his estate.

“Oh! Can we stop, Mother?” Minerva pointed to a stall where hair ribbons and fans were displayed. Even the dowager was distracted by the delicate fans.

Brandon grasped Amelia’s arm. “Come with me,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to show you something, one of my favorites as a boy.”

Her heart thumped at his touch. It had been difficult to sit in the same carriage with him and not think of last night. She’d feared she’d blush and all the occupants would suspect what had occurred between them. She’d never forget it. As she’d lain in the drowsy warmth of her bed this morning, she imagined she was in Brandon’s arms.

The women were occupied, and Amelia was able to step away without anyone noticing. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “I have to show you.”

Amelia was intrigued by the glint of excitement in his eyes. She glanced behind her shoulder. The hawker anticipated a large sale and had brought out more goods to display for the group. The duchess and Minerva, with avid interest, examined jewelry and straw hats adorned with an assortment of feathers, silk flowers, and ribbons.

Brandon’s fingers wrapped around Amelia’s gloved hand as he led her away from the group.

“I used to wait all year for the fair to arrive, just for this,” he said.

“I’m curious. What could hold your interest so much?”

He steered her through the crowd with ease. “Come see.”

She looked up at him and was struck by his relaxed expression. Unlike in the carriage, the crease between his brows was gone. He looked relaxed…filled with anticipation, and she glimpsed the boy beneath the man. The boy who’d eagerly counted the days until the hawkers had arrived each year for the fair.

“It’s nothing dangerous, is it?” she asked.

He flashed a smile. His excitement was contagious, and she stifled a giggle. They hurried along the colorful stalls. She spotted large wooden buckets for apple bobbing, and wheelbarrows for races, and a pole greased with duck fat to climb. The crowd gathered to watch a juggler dressed in colorful garb toss six balls up and keep them in the air. Onlookers clapped and cheered at the man’s antics.

Pulling her close, Brandon placed Amelia’s hand on his arm and maneuvered through the throng of people. In the tightly packed crowd, no one noticed, but Amelia’s body warmed at the protectiveness of his gesture and the feel of his hard thigh against hers. Even more shocking was the comfort and pleasure she felt walking beside him.

“Here we are,” he said, stopping before a table draped with a red cloth displaying fruits and confections. Sweet pastries, candied nuts, sweetmeats, and fruits were spread out like a lush feast. A short, old man with a thick head of white hair and a beard smiled. “Good afternoon, my lord.”