How to Entice an Earl by Manda Collins

Though understandably upset by the experience, of course.” He did not speak of Maddie’s tears. That was something he knew she would wish to remain private. And he was unwilling to betray her trust in that way.
    Changing the subject, Christian said, “Tinker’s death, coupled with Linton’s flight, makes it difficult to determine which of them was there to meet with the Citizen’s Society. It might have been one or both.”
    “Linton’s departure certainly does make him look guilty,” Winterson said. “Especially when one considers that if they were both members of the society, Linton might have been instructed by his superiors to remove the other man.”
    “But if he were going there with the express purpose of killing Tinker, would Linton have chosen to do so in a manner that would ensure his sister be the one to find his body?” Christian demanded. “My opinion of the fellow isn’t all that good, but I’m not quite sure I believe that he would do such a thing. I know Maddie certainly doesn’t.”
    Winterson shrugged. “That’s to be expected.”
    “True,” Christian said. “But it does make me wonder if Tinker’s death is even connected to the society.”
    “What, you mean it was simply coincidence that Tinker was murdered on the same night you were expecting him to make contact with the society?”
    Now it was Christian’s turn to shrug. “More or less. Simply because I was expecting there to be someone at Mrs. Bailey’s who is a member of the society doesn’t necessarily mean that they would be the ones to commit the murder. In fact, it seems uncharacteristic of them to waste their time and energy on such a killing when doing so would bring the attention of the government down upon them. More so than it is already, I mean.”
    “The way I see it,” Winterson said, “is that no matter the motive for killing Tinker, your number one suspect is Lady Madeline’s brother. Which is going to wreak havoc upon your friendship with her.”
    Unfortunately, Christian had to agree with his friend.
    No matter whether Linton was guilty or not, Christian was in for a very uncomfortable few months.
    *   *   *
     
    Though exhausted, Maddie awoke at her usual time the next morning.
    Checking with the butler at breakfast, she learned that her brother had not returned home the night before. Which was troubling, though he did from time to time stay with friends. She hoped that this was one of those occasions.
    Of more immediate concern was the butler’s news that her mother wished to see her before she left for the day.
    Her appetite gone, Maddie laid down her fork and knife, drank a final gulp of tea, and headed for the stairs and her mother’s small sitting-room-cum-office, where she managed the household business as well as her extensive social schedule. Lady Poppy Essex was as exacting as a general, and every bit as demanding. And though Maddie loved her mother, Poppy could be just the tiniest bit unforgiving when it came to her daughter’s social stature—or lack thereof.
    Cecily’s stepmama, Violet, saw her lack of success as lamentable but not unexpected. Whereas Juliet’s mama, Rose, saw her daughter’s failure to take as something to celebrate, for reasons that Juliet had only recently become aware of. But it was Poppy who was the most displeased by her own daughter’s continued spot among the wallflowers. And though she told Maddie again and again that it wasn’t her fault, Maddie had long since come to understand that what Poppy meant was the exact opposite of what she said.
    From Maddie’s earliest years, her mother had found her wanting. Maddie was too loud, too short, too rambunctious, too outspoken. She was scolded for mussing her hair, for dirtying her pinafore, for playing soldiers instead of dolls. In short, whatever Maddie did, her mother found something about it to correct.
    Only in the past few months had the Countess of Essex seemed to come to the conclusion that despite her