Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Two months. It had been two months since William last brought a lady back to his lodgings in town. That was not like him at all. Usually, he experienced a craving for company after a certain amount of time by himself, but ever since he met Lady Katherine Langley, he had not wished to have the body of another woman in his bed. She had changed him, irrevocably. Something he did not know was even possible.

Perhaps if he could banish her from his thoughts for five minutes, then he could consider someone else. But she had utterly consumed him. He was trapped by her, and he did not even mind. It was a lovely place to be. Of course, every so often, he would be reminded of her brother and his unpleasant attitude, but even that was not enough to stop his thoughts. Certainly not long enough for him to spend the night with another lady.

He missed her. He barely knew Lady Katherine, yet he missed having her around him, which was the strangest thought ever. Even William himself could not understand it. Yet, as he lay on his bed in the early hours of the morning, he realized that he enjoyed the feeling of wanting Lady Katherine. Although he would have liked it more if he could perhaps court her, spend time really getting to know her, discovering more about the wonderful golden heart he was sure she had.

He thought of her beautiful face, her sweet, adorable smile, even the way she stood up for him to her brother. Every part of her captivated him. All he really wanted was an excuse to see her again, a chance for them to talk.

"You cannot," he reminded himself in a sad tone before he could get carried away with himself. "Your reputation would never allow it. She is too much of a wonderful young lady to ever be associated with a man considered a rogue."

With Jonathan in the picture, there was no way that Katherine did not know exactly who he was. Her brother would have told her everything and likely made him sound like more of a rogue than he actually was. William could not even begin to imagine what Jonathan might say. Even if William wanted to change that, he could not. It was a hopeless, unfortunate situation.

Lady Katherine made him regret how he had behaved over the last few years because of his heartbreak with Lady Gillian. He wished for the first time ever that he could go back in time and change what he had done. But, of course, that was impossible. All he could do was push these feelings and thoughts about Lady Katherine to the back of his mind and focus on the life he truly did have, not the one that he wanted, but which was out of his reach. And that true life included his business...

William had never allowed his business to slide, no matter what was going on in his life. It never mattered how much time he spent in the taverns or at the gaming dens, his work was always taken care of. William was very proud of that. His work had always provided him with a wonderful distraction. Drawing up ledgers and dealing with imports, exports, deals, and finance was something William could truly bury himself in, blocking out the rest of the world, which was exactly what he needed to do right now.

William climbed out of bed and was dressed in preparation to get to his study. He had a stack of financial documents crying out for attention. He knew that he would feel better once they were taken care of.

A pile of letters also lay on his desk, on top of his financial documents. He had long ago asked his butler to always leave his mail in his study so he could deal with any correspondence once he was in the mood, but that was something he did not want to deal with right now. He picked up the stack and put it to the side, focusing on what he wanted to do, what really required his attention. His business was far more important than some silly messages from people he did not see day to day.

***

William had become utterly engrossed in his work, so the interruption of the butler came as a shock to him. He blinked at the sight of the intruder in his study, trying to remind himself that there were other people in the world.

"I am here to announce the arrival of the dowager countess and Lady Imogen," the butler declared professionally. "I have seated them in the drawing room, and the housekeeper is making tea for the guests."

"Mother is here?" William was shocked. His family did not often visit from Bath without warning. His initial instinct was to worry that something terrible might have happened, but he could not imagine what. "My sister, too?"

"Indeed, my lord."

William rose from his seat and followed the butler through the manor toward the drawing room.

He was nervous to see his mother, though he didn't know why. Perhaps because this was a surprise. Because he had not been given time to prepare himself. He did not even feel like he was dressed properly to receive guests. He hoped his mother would not judge him on what he was wearing. However, even if she was not impressed, he did not need her approval.

Once there was a time when his mother had demonstrated pride in him. She had lauded him on his accomplishments and let him always know that she thought he was a great son, but, since his behavior had started to falter when it came to the expectations of London society, she seemed less and less impressed.

It was a shame it caused his family to fracture further. William wished that he could heal that rift, but he had never known where to begin. All he could be sure of was it would be a long and painful journey.

Not one easily accomplished while she was in Bath and he had so much else that simply needed his attention.

One day, though, he prayed that he could change that.

William spotted his mother and sister long before they saw him. He paused in the doorway for a moment to watch them, to try to work out what they might have come for without asking. They were both dressed very finely, almost as if they were headed out to dinner in one of the finest London restaurants rather than simply coming to see him. His sister had on a dress of the finest lilac silk, which made her look more like a lady looking for a husband than one in the family home.

That caused him to panic even more. The situation had to be more serious than he'd thought, for it had the air of being a prior engagement that he had forgotten about. He racked his brains, but nothing came to mind. He really wanted to work it out before he alerted his family to his presence. He did not wish to cause any unnecessary upset.

"William." His mother finally sensed him watching, and she locked her eyes on him. "You are here."

"And so are you." William smiled, trying his hardest to ease the tension in the room. "I did not know to expect you."

His mother and Imogen shared a quizzical look before she spoke out once more. "I have sent you endless letters about our visit. Have you not received them? I did wonder why you did not respond. I thought you might not have time for me."

William nodded silently while thinking about the stack of letters in his study. He probably should not neglect his mail as much as he did. He was going to have to search through all of those letters later on today. Maybe.

"I am truly sorry. I have been rather busy." He cringed inwardly at his poor excuse. He was sure she could see through him, but she acted like all was quite fine. "Is there a reason for your visit?"

"Surely you have not forgotten about your thirtieth birthday celebration? We are holding a ball."

"A ball?" William did not mind attending parties, but he was not keen on holding one. It hardly mattered to him if it was his birthday. "I do not think we need to worry about that. I am happy for my birthday to pass by..."

William paused the moment he spotted Imogen pouting. He did not mean to upset her with his statement. Perhaps Imogen was counting on him holding the ball so she could socialize. If that was the case then he would let it happen.

Anything for his sister. He always felt like he had a lot to make up for when it came to Imogen. He perhaps should have been more involved in her life since their father died, but it was never quite that straightforward.

"If you had read any of my letters, then you would know that I have been making plans for a while now," his mother continued. "I have come here for your party, so I do not wish to hear that you are not interested. You are an earl, unless you have forgotten, and these social events are expected of you. You know that people will be waiting for their invitations."

William was not too sure about that statement. The circles he spent most of his days in would not be concerned with a ball, and the socialites who did enjoy that sort of thing might not wish to come to an event to celebrate a rogue. But his mother was a determined woman. There was not much that William could do once she had set her mind to something.

"Yes, perhaps you are right," he eventually agreed. "If this is something you are happy to do, then I am, too."

He glanced to Imogen to see if this agreement stopped her from pouting, but it had not. Imogen had her eyes fixed firmly in front of her and was barely interacting with William, which was a shame. Did she want the party or not? He was not sure if he had made the right move by agreeing to it since he'd done so only for her sake.

"It is good news that we shall host a ball." William's mother nodded. "I am pleased to hear it because I have plans. This is something that I have been thinking much on, and I am glad to be here in London so I can take better control. I want this to be perfect..."

William assumed that meant his mother and sister would be staying at his house. Something else he could have been prepared for had he read the letters. Now, he was going to have to ensure the rooms were prepared for his family. It also meant he would have to behave himself for a while and avoid spending nights at the townhouse. His mother would not like him to embarrass her while she was here. As she was an avid reader of the scandal sheets when in London, he needed to keep himself out of them. If only he had someone like Lady Katherine on his arm, someone to whom he could introduce his mother...

All of a sudden, a smile crept across his face. His birthday ball would be the perfect place to see Lady Katherine again, should she wish to attend. She would potentially be chaperoned by Jonathan, who would be an unwelcome guest, but William would manage that. Just to see her smile again. To look into those gorgeous eyes of hers and to again try to work out what she was thinking and feeling. Usually, he was not too concerned with what was on the minds of other people, but he had always wished to know what was on Lady Katherine's mind, even from the start...

"I am glad you like my ideas." William's mother seemed to mistake the smile on his face as a response to her suggestions for the ball. He let it slide and allowed her to think that. He did not mind what the party was like as long as Lady Katherine Langley was present, and he would get to dance with her on at least one occasion. He did not wish for her to pick up on the fact that he had barely been listening in.

"Yes, I am very much looking forward to it. Thank you for everything you have done, Mother. I am sure it will be a wonderful event, and everyone will be very pleased to attend."

There was no need for her to know that he only had interest in one of the guests...not yet, anyway.

"Now, we should have some tea."

His mother waved her hand. "No, we do not wish to interrupt your work. We are quite fine having tea in here."

William felt a strange pull in his chest. Normally, he would have relished the excuse to get away from his mother to overcome the awkwardness, but how would things ever improve if he kept on running all the time?

He did not have the excuse of his family being in Bath for making the rift work while they were sitting right in front of him. This was something that he absolutely needed to take advantage of because the time might not come again soon.

"I have been busy with my ledgers all morning," he declared happily. "I would love to spend some time with you. It has been a while, has it not? Please, fill me in on how life in Bath is treating you."

His mother smiled, surprised and pleased by this. William's statement was enough even to have his sister glancing up at him, albeit only for the briefest moment. It gave William the confidence that he needed to believe that they wished to get closer to him as well.

It would make his father proud, even in the grave, if he could make things better for everyone, so that was what he intended to do. He could use this time to plan a birthday ball he was not too keen on having, to see what improvements he could make.

William listened intently as his mother talked about Bath warmly. Clearly, she was much happier there, but his sister...he could not tell. She was not giving much away.

There was time, though. William would make sure of that.