Ladies of Deception 02 - Misleading Lord Martineau by Ginny Hartman Page A

the right thing and marry her, if it comes to that, in the meantime I’ll just face social ruin when word gets out that not only has my daughter allowed herself to be compromised, but I am a man who doesn’t honor his word.”
    Clinton’s head snapped around, his eyes boring into Lord Pemberton. Ignoring the tirade of self pity he asked, “Who did you say compromised Felicity?”
    Rubbing his brows methodically, Lord Pemberton didn’t even bother to look at Clinton as he spoke. “Lord Martineau, a decent enough chap, in line to become a Viscount and inherit a modest amount of wealth.”
    “No!” Clinton nearly screamed, shocking Lord Pemberton to the core.
    “What’s wrong?” He asked Clinton, confused by his sudden emotional outburst.
    Clinton felt himself break out into a sweat at the mere mention of Lord Martineau’s name, a name he just as soon he never hear spoken again. He closed his eyes, a tightening of his chest accompanying the flashback that shot through his mind like lightening, overcoming him and blocking out all of his current surroundings.
    It was the summer that he turned fifteen and his father, Robert Rowley, had just started allowing him to accompany him on the various jobs he acquired to help put food in their mouths and sustain their modest lifestyle. He was a self-trained carpenter and word was just starting to get around that his work was of exceeding quality, opening up for him many opportunities that he hadn’t known previously.
    Lord Spencer Martineau had heard of Robert’s talent and had contracted him to build an addition onto their main stables, a job that would pay almost triple what he was accustomed to making. Clinton had been anxious to trail along, always curious at how the upper class lived, how he would live once he inherited his uncle’s title.
    Though his father had been born the son of a baron, he was the fifth son and didn’t stand in line to inherit the meager estates and title his own father possessed. His sister, Felicity’s mother, had been the only child in the family concerned with climbing the social ladder, anxious to rise above the paltry existence her father’s barony had provided them with. It had been a stroke of vast luck, and a nod to her exceeding beauty, that she had managed to snag Lord Pemberton during her first season, though she had never been as blissfully happy in the union as she had always dreamt she would be. At least she was able to find some solace in the fact that she had risen in society and now enjoyed a wealth her own family had never had the privilege of enjoying.
    Robert Rowley had acquired a devil-may-care attitude about the entire trappings of the ton, falling in love with a mere servant girl, wedding her, and resorting to manual labor to provide for his new family. Clinton had been their first and only child and had been just as shocked as his parents when Lord Pemberton had named him his heir after finally conceding that he would never produce a son after many failed attempts. They attributed the great honor to the fact that Lady Pemberton had a soft spot for her youngest brother, Robert.
    Clinton was instantly taken in by the Martineau’s grand estate—their house was much finer than his own simple dwelling and the multitude of servants anxiously scurrying about seeing to even the simplest of needs intrigued him. How would it be to be treated with such deference?
    His father told him that the Martineau’s had a son close to his age, a year younger in fact, and he had been anxious to make his acquaintance. He never suspected that the young man wouldn’t want anything to do with him; somewhere in his idealistic yearnings he hoped that they would become friends. However, Elliot Martineau was so concerned with his own affairs, Clinton was almost positive that he didn’t even know of his existence. At first that fact rankled him, but that was before he got distracted by one of the comely serving maids.
    Her name was Anne and she was