Lady Amberly's Lessons

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An Excerpt From: LADY AMBERLY?S LESSONS

Copyright ? META MATHEWS, 2010

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.

Chapter One

London, Spring, 1817

Edmund, seventh Earl of Amberly,
leaned back in his chair and stared at the diamond and ruby necklace and matching
bracelet sitting on his desk. They lay nestled in a velvet-lined box in a
setting that brought out the sparkle in the stones. As usual, his secretary
had done an excellent job of choosing jewelry for his mistress. Trust
Robert to know just what Maisie would consider
her due.

His gaze next fell on the neat stack of papers sitting
on the right-hand corner of his desk. He should have been working on those
instead of thinking about Maisie. Now here he
was, the morning half gone, with practically nothing accomplished. He
could, of course, assign all of these details to his man of business, but
he?d learned long ago the folly of leaving one?s affairs in the hands of
employees.

Not that anyone had ever tried to cheat him. Heaven help
them if they had. But his best friend had discovered no small amount of
chicanery going on at his own estate after he?d come into his title last
year. Poor Cyril had experienced the devil of a time getting everything
straightened out.

A knock sounded on the library door. Edmund straightened
in his chair and smiled. An interruption was quite welcome at the moment.
He opened a desk drawer, then closed the jewelry box and placed it inside.
?Enter,? he called as he shut the drawer.

His butler, Hardwick, opened the door and stepped into
the room. ?Excuse me, my lord. I know you said you didn?t wish to be
disturbed this morning, but Lady Amberly has
asked if you would join her in her sitting room. She wishes to talk to
you.?

Edmund?s smile faded but he suppressed the sigh that
would have escaped had he allowed it to do so. There was no sense in
letting the servants know how little he longed for the company of his wife.
With that thought in mind, he forced an enthusiasm into his tone that he
was far from feeling. ?Well of course I?ll interrupt my work for my wife.
Please tell Lady Amberly that I?ll join her just
as soon as I?ve finished adding up the column of figures I?ve been working
on. It shouldn?t take more than another ten minutes.?

?Yes, my lord.? When Hardwick had bowed himself out into
the hallway, Edmund pushed back from his desk, stood, and strode across the
room to the sideboard. A variety of decanters sat on a tray that centered
the flat surface. Choosing the brandy, he poured himself a glass and
carried it to the front window where he stood looking out into the sunny
London street while sipping the fortifying liquid.

What could his wife want with him this time? Not that Melloney had been a nuisance since their wedding six
weeks ago yesterday. She hadn?t, in fact, done more than request that he
escort her to a couple of balls, balls he would have attended at any rate.
And really, he preferred going as a married man because after a couple of
dances with his wife, he?d felt free to retire to the card room for the
rest of the evening.

At the same time, he couldn?t help feeling a bit of
resentment. He really shouldn?t, he told himself. While it was true that
he?d felt pressured into marrying his godfather?s stepdaughter, it was also
true that he could have found a reason not to propose to Melloney if he?d tried hard enough.

The thing was, he owed his
godfather more than he could ever repay. Edmund?s parents were killed in a
carriage accident when he was nine years old, and Lord Reeth
had stepped in to give Edmund a home and to oversee his holdings. Years
later, when the old gentleman had gently hinted that, considering his
health was failing and his remaining time on earth would be eased could he
only know that his stepdaughter was married to a man who would always care
for her, Edmund hadn?t felt that he had much
choice but to propose.

And truthfully, asking for Melloney?s
hand had not been an onerous task. She was pretty enough, with her rich
brown hair and deep brown eyes. In addition, she possessed a good education
and a generous dowry.

Not that he needed her money,
Edmund reflected as he sipped his drink and watched a handsome curricle
pulled by a fine pair of grays roll down the street in front of his town
house. Which reminded him of the time he?d seen Melloney sit a horse when he?d visited his godfather in
the country one summer.

She?d been a treat to watch, as he recalled, handling
her mount with a good deal of talent and finesse. Too bad she hadn?t
brought some of that finesse to the marriage bed. She?d been about as much
pleasure to ride in bed as if she were a fence post.