Page 17 of How to Tempt an Earl

She continued her perusal. Without a coat and waistcoat, his broad shoulders were clearly delineated. She realized he didn’t need the padding that most men required in their garments. Despite her resolve, she felt a sweeping pull in her stomach. There wasn’t an inch of softness about him. He was all hard angles, sinewy and unforgiving.

She stopped circling him. “As I said, entirely inappropriate.”

“Truly? I thought I was appropriately dressed to meet a lady in the middle of the night.”

“How often does that occur?” she blurted out, then bit her lip. “No. Please do not enlighten me.”

He chuckled, and she spotted a teasing gleam in his eye. Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears.

“It’s not just tonight, but what you wore the first evening I saw you at the Raven Club,” she said. “Entirely inappropriate.”

“Something tells me you are going to enjoy insulting me during my lessons.”

Her lips twitched with the urge to smile. “I must receive some satisfaction from agreeing to tutor you.”

“Splendid. I shall have to instruct Jenkins to keep the brandy decanter full.”

She ignored his sarcasm. “Who is your valet?”

His brows slashed downward. “I don’t need a valet. I can dress myself.”

She looked at him in surprise. “All gentlemen have valets.”

“All the men of your acquaintance, perhaps.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “You will need an entirely new wardrobe. You must arrange to see a tailor. It will take numerous fittings over the course of several weeks.”

“Jenkins will see to it.”

She didn’t think that was in the realm of a butler’s duties. “Where did you get Jenkins? He seems a proper English butler.”

“He came with the home, along with a cook and most of the furnishings. The books are my own.”

That explained the artwork and the elegant drawing room. She hesitated, unsure how to broach the subject, then decided straightforwardness was best. “Now that you are the earl, have you thought of living with your mother, the Dowager Countess?” She knew of Lady Castleton, of course. Ian’s mother had been a well-known hostess of the ton when her husband had been alive.

He looked at her incredulously. “No. I’m my own man. I haven’t lived with family for years. I left a decade ago when the old earl was alive.”

“Your father?”

“We never saw eye to eye.”

The bitterness in his voice made her wonder what had caused it. She bit her tongue to keep from asking. It was not her affair.

His brow crinkled. “Although I would prefer for Olivia and Ellie to live with me.”

“Olivia and Ellie?”

“My two younger sisters.”

She tilted her head to the side and regarded him. “I didn’t know you had sisters. Have they had their debut?”

“Ellie is seventeen and will have her debut next year. Olivia turns sixteen next month.”

Something about his tone aroused her curiosity. “You care for them, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

His answer was unhesitant and sure.