A Lady unlike any other (four hoydens #1)

Chapter 2

Lord Theodore Fortescue– the Earl Fortescue was at a club, enjoying a few drinks with his friends.

Well, he couldn't really say he was enjoying himself.

Every time he closed his eyes, he thought of a certain blue eyed angel.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Gavin.

Theo was hesitant to talk about it, but maybe he'd be able to forget about her if he shared it with Gavin.

"This morning, I'd gone for my usual morning ride and..." he narrated the incidents of that morning.

Gavin let out a low whistle.

"That's quite a tale," Gavin commented. "You're usually so polished and charming with women, what the hell made you act like a caveman today?" He grinned.

"Damned if I know," Theo muttered.

"You didn't even help her up?"

"No, I can't even call myself a gentleman after today. And yet, I don't really feel guilty. Even now, when I think about the way she was sputtering angrily, I can't help but laugh. It seemed like she was so damned amusing and easy to goad. There's something about that woman, she brings out the worst in me."

"Huh. I've only ever heard you speak like that about horses. Steer clear, my friend. If she's making you think such things, she's clearly trouble," Gavin warned.

Theo chuckled.

"It's not likely that I'll even see her again. I have never seen her before," he shrugged.

Gavin just nodded.

After a while, Theo excused himself and decided to make his way back home.

As he rode his curricle, he found his mind straying towards that woman.

Her caramel hair flapping behind her as she rode forward. The tight breeches she wore showcased her rounded rump as she bounced on the saddle. Just the sight of her back as she confidently rode her stallion had made him forget himself.

Her laughter had been a siren's call. It wasn't the delicate sound that came out of most women's mouths. It was a sound of  pure joy, raw and throaty.

And when she'd looked up at him, her bright blue eyes flashing at him, her silky hair spilling over her shoulders. Her shirt front straining against her chest as she breathed hard due to the exertion, he thought he'd go mad if he didn't reach out to her immediately.

Her lilting voice as she shouted profanities at him.

Bloody hell! He was going mad.

He reached his town house in a bad mood.

"Good evening, my lord," said Buttons, his butler.

Theo just gave him a single nod, too annoyed to speak.

This was exactly why he never got deeply involved with women and kept his affairs casual.

"My lord, your solicitor is waiting for you in your study," said Buttons.

"Thank you, Buttons." Theo said, making his way to his study.

A few minutes later.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Theo thundered.

"It's all there in your father's will, my lord," said Greene, his solicitor trying to pacify him.

Theo had asked his solicitor to check for some funds so he could start working on his stables, his dream project. But Greene had just informed him about the conditions that his father had mentioned in his will.

It said that Theo could not access his inheritance unless he married before the age of thirty. And if he failed to do so, the responsibility to decide on what needs to be done would go to his mother.

His father was trying to control him from beyond his grave?!

"Is my mother aware of this?" Theo asked in a deathly low voice.

Greene just nodded, too afraid to speak.

"MOTHER!" He called out, standing outside her rooms.

"What is it, Theo? I'm not quite that deaf, you know," she sniffed, letting him into her sitting room.

The Countess Fortescue was a beautiful woman, her age not having affected her timelessness. Now her hair was greying, but in her younger days, it had been blond. Her eyes were a peculiar shade of green flecked with gold. Her jaw was strong despite her petit figure. Lucky for him, Theo had inherited her unusual looks that made him extremely popular with the ladies. But he was built like his father-he was above six feet tall and had a muscular physique.

His mother was an elegant creature. Her drawing room was practical and yet tastefully done unlike the rooms of the other ladies of the ton that were overdone with frills, laces and floral patterns in hopes of making it look feminine.

He knew because he had visited a lot of women in their private rooms, being the scoundrel that he was.

"You knew about father's will?"

"Of course, why'd you think I was behind your life to get married?" his mother spoke, her innocent expression not fooling him even for a second.

"Well, you'll have to give me the money for my stables since there's no way I'm going to find a wife," he spoke matter-of-factly.

His mother merely shook her head, no.

"What do you mean?! It's my dream, mother!" He said, his voice rising.

"And if you want to fulfil that dream, you'll have to marry."

"I'm turning thirty in three months!"

"All the more reason for you to hurry up, it's not like you're getting any younger," she gave him a sickly sweet smile.

Theo was fuming.

His mother sighed.

"Look son, you're behaving like a child."

Theo's mouth fell open. "You're treating me like one," he accused.

"I do not enjoy doing this to you, but if this is the only way you're going to get married, then so be it."

"You want me to marry a woman I don't love?" He changed tack.

His mother laughed, "you can't fool me with that, my boy. I know how many hearts you've broken to date. I wouldn't rely on a love match, were I you."

This was impossible.

"So that's it then? You've decided that you're going to force me to the noose?"

"Oh darling, you make marriage sound like such a chore. I think that once you find the right woman, you would enjoy being a husband," his mother said.

Theo snorted.

"I'm serious. Your father was quite a rake himself, but once we were married, he changed. I trust you have in it you to become an excellent husband and father as well."

The prospect of fatherhood didn't sound half bad. He could see himself teaching his son to ride.

"How do you suggest I find a wife?" Theo murmured, a little angry at his parents for putting him this situation.

"You just need to put yourself out there," she smiled.

He just grunted and turned to leave. When his mother delicately cleared her throat, he dutifully bent down and kissed her cheek before leaving.

He didn't really have the intention of following through this atrocious plan. He knew that his mother would come around eventually. But he'd enter the social world anyway because he had nothing else to do until he had the money to fund his stables. And who knew, he might even find his blue eyed angel.