Free The Unwilling Earl by Audrey Harrison Page B

have come to realise that by keeping her here, we have confined her too much.”
    “You hope she meets someone in Warwickshire,” Daniel said dully.
    “As a mother who wants the best for her daughter I do wish that she meets someone who will cherish the person she is. I will welcome that person with open arms if they love and care for her, whether they are titled or not.”
    “I am sorry to have caused you and your family so much distress Mrs. Hall. I shall trouble you no longer,” Daniel rose and made his bow. Mrs. Hall had made her position ver y clear, she did not wish him to pursue her daughter at all.

Chapter 8
    The two men left the Bridge House and rode back to the Manor in silence. Fred had his own opinions, but waited until Daniel spoke. He had learned over the years that his friend thought deeply about problems before making a decision.
    Daniel offered Fred a brandy in his study and only when both men sat at either side of the unlit fireplace did Daniel start to speak.
    “Mrs. Hall could not have been clearer could she?” he asked.
    “She is a mother protecting her young. Her reaction is understandable,” Fred responded.
    “It is,” Daniel agreed. “But I cannot stand the t hought of never seeing Penelope again. I need to see her even if she throws me out. At least I will know I gave it everything I could to clear the air between us and tell her how sorry I am.”
    “That’s the spirit,” Fred said, slapping his knee. “So, what’s the plan?”
    “It is obvious we won’t receive any help from Mrs. Hall, but we need to find out where her eldest daughter lives. I know it is Warwickshire, but beyond that I have no idea,” Daniel mused.
    “Leave it to me,” Fred replied with a grin.
    *
    The following afternoon Fred interrupted Daniel working in his study. “Well my friend I feel a trip into Warwickshire to visit my Aunt Jane is in order,” Fred grinned down at his friend, as he perched on the corner of his desk.
    “ Your Aunt Jane? I didn’t know you had an Aunt Jane,” Daniel muttered, moving papers further across the desk.
    “I do. She’s a great aunt really, lives quietly with her husband no more than five miles away from Mrs. Margaret Simpson, sister of a certain Miss Hall,” Fred finished, folding his arms and looking extremely smug.
    “How the devil did you find that out?” Daniel asked, his pulse racing as soon as he thought of seeing Penelope again.
    “Best friends know everything, so I made it my business to ‘meet’ Mrs. Clark this morning. Obviously her husband has told her nothing about his discussio n at the assembly, so she did not think it peculiar for me to be asking about Miss Hall. She was very obliging.”
    “Have you really got an Aunt Jane?” Daniel asked, knowing how smooth Fred could be and not wanting to be faced with one of Fred’s past loves.
    “Yes! And what’s more dear fellow, I have been meaning to visit her these past twelve months.”
    “In that case Fred, I think it is time we took a trip to Warwickshire,” Daniel announced, his eyes lighting up for the first time in days.
    As much as Daniel wanted to set off to Warwickshire the following morning, the demands of the estate meant that he was unable to do so. He was determined that he would spend as long as it took to receive Penelope’s forgiveness and to enable him to do that, he needed to appoint a steward to run the estate in his absence. He had intended doing that anyway, but his attraction to Penelope had made him delay the appointment. His conscience would not allow him to just appoint anyone, so he placed an advert and had to content himself with the thought that he would be seeing Penelope in the not too distant future.
    *
    Penelope had felt battered after spending the best part of two days in a carriage with her father. Although her mother had managed to convince him that Penelope needed to visit Margaret and therefore to escort his daughter, she had not managed to persuade him to stem