All Chapters of Not Your Average Countess: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Let me make this clear to you, I do not condone what you have done with my house or the idea that you are here? I left you at Blakewood manor for a specific reason.""Which is?"His eyes roamed her face and he pulled away from the wall. Running one hand over his hair. He turned towards her. "To punish you of course. "For a moment, Cole wondered whether she had heard. Her face showed no reaction to his words; she seemed frozen, petrified. Then her brows rose. "I see."Cole was quite certain she didn't see anything. Because punishing her wasn't the only reason he had left her at Blakewood Manor. The earl had discovered he wanted his wife, despite what she did, despite how she tricked him. And that angered him. The idea that he could still want her after all that, after all, she had done, caused him to question his sanity. This series of events eventually led to some hard decisions he made.He knew i

Leicestershire, England.March 1814.COLE FLETCHER sneaked out of the house and into his father's stable. At age twelve, he was already as tall as a young man. A trait that runs in the family.Some days ago, his father had brought in a new horse and the instructions had been it shouldn't be mounted. But being the stubborn lad that he was, he disregarded his father's warning and sneaked in. There had been no horse in their stables he hadn't mounted before. Honestly, he didn't know why his father like to fret about frivolous things. He was as capable as any stable master his father had, if not better, the boy thought as he pulled the stable door open and stepped inside. The cool morning air following him inside.He knew where the stallion had been kept, in the last stall, separate from the other horses. Cole was excited. The thought of stealing his father's new h

London, England.Present-day, May 1831.THE BALLROOM at the duke of Hanton's town house was ablaze with lights of a thousand candles all placed prettily in a glistening chandelier and crystal brackets interspersed along the wall. At one corner of the room stood Emily Bertram with tears in the back of her eyes as she watched the last man she had pinned all her hopes on, take his newly betrothed, to the dance hall. It was official now. She was going to die an old maid, without even being kissed before.The young woman was already three and twenty, and she was yet to find a husband, which meant she was practically on the shelf. One more year, and she would be firmly on the shelf.Mayhap, she could be a great aunt to her brothers' children if they ever got around to marrying one, the young woman thought. But then her lips wobbled, and tears threatened to spill. She wanted to cry out in hysteria, she wanted to sob. She d

THE STRANGER had lingered on by her side in silence for so long and was beginning to make Emily nervous. When she had staggered into the library with the sole intention of crying her eyes out. She hadn't expected to find someone inside, let alone a gentleman who looked at her as if she was a beautiful woman. Not that she didn't enjoy the prospect of being stared at by him or being considered pretty she relished every moment of it. Because It wasn't every day that men of the ton stared at her like that. She had always thought it had something to do with her face she was so certain it was her face. She hadn't the type of face men were enamoured by, or so one of them had told her at one time, the worst something about her height seems to put them all off, but as she watched the man in front of her stare at her as if she was a dashing woman, even with the knowledge of how tall she was.  Against her better judgment, Emily's cheeks flushed ho

The blond man under Cole, during that momentary lapse in time, had regained his strength. He flipped Cole under him and pummel his face until what was left of it was a bloodied eye and a swollen, cut lip.“That's enough!” The brother with the long scar, named Julian, said from behind them. “Brother, I think you would agree with me that this isn't the time to show your physical prowess but the time to act fast before the ton discovers what is going on here. Goddamn it, our sister had just been ruined.”The blond man stepped off Cole, but it seems that not everyone agreed to what Julian, the eldest of them had said, for the man behind them, the one who had been cracking his bones grumbled. “At least he should be made to understand that a Bertram, is not to be trifled with.” when Julian said nothing, he grumbled again and ran his hand over his blond hair. “Bloody hell Julian, I think you are turning soft.”Julian craned his head back a

“Would someone care to tell me what the hell is going on in my library!” Sebastian, the Duke of Hanton, gritted out through clenched teeth.Sighing, Julian rubbed his brows. This was what he was afraid of. It was already enough that the four of them knew what was going on, and now the bloody Duke too? This was too much.From his peripheral vision he saw George step forward regardless of his necktie which has gone askew and his blond hair which seems to be everywhere, he seems not to notice for he walked with an arrogant step, he might as well be the King of England, for the way he walked, ruthless, and fierce as if he owned the bloody world.George stood in front of the duke and levelled him with an equivalent irritated expression. “Well, if you must know, the Earl has compromised my sister, both of them were found in a compromising position.”The Duke's eyes shifted to her and Emily winced. She cowered her head in

THE EARL OF TONFIELD pulled the curtain close as their carriage drew past the last house and skidded out of town, heading to the place where the duel was supposed to take place.One might think his demeanour had improved considerably since last night, but judging by the ferocious scowl which seems to have planted itself firmly on his face, one would have to think otherwise.It had been decided it was for the best if the duel should take place as early as possible before most of the ton got wind of where, and when the duel was to take place. Hence, the reason they were heading out of town at such an ungodly hour.The cold morning air penetrated through the confines of the carriage even though the curtains had been properly closed, and their path were marked by various stops and rutted potholes blighted by the moon which had already begun its descent back to the sky.On a day like this, when faced with an impending, t

COLE SPARED a brief glance along the long field at the brothers, and noticed they were swiftly making arrangements, he noticed the one they called Lucas briefly aimed to his right before he thrust the pistol into Vincent's waiting hands, who quickly turned away and tended to the pistol with his head bent and his hands working intricately as he wiped over the pistol. Lucas patiently waiting by his side.The other two were lunged a few feet behind the others talking about something, and as he watched one of them stopped, and turned his way and then slowly start towards him. Cole turned away and let his eyes drift from the man and onto Sebastian who had just descended from the carriage cradling in the crook of his arm the box that housed his pistol.Turning back again, Cole noticed the brother who had headed his way had reached him. It was Julian, the eldest, staring down at him from eyes set in that crooked face of his.He bobbed on h

Durham, England1831.COLE FLETCHER calmly took Emily's right hand in his own and halfheartedly listened to the vicar. Through cold frigid eyes, he assessed her, standing there before him in a fine white muslin gown and over it was a soft silk shawl, draped over her shoulders, and a small-cap to match, trimmed with lace.At that moment she looked so innocent he had thought mayhap she hadn't schemed to trap him. But then she lifted her face and Cole stared into those knowledgeable emerald green eyes and concluded Emily Bertram wasn't sad, which could only mean one thing. She was in agreement with the marriage. For if she was not, she could have at least fought back, showed some resistance, but now she calmly stood there before him in her white muslin gown and her blond tresses beautifully piled on top of her head.Swallowing bitterly, he stared at her through narrowed eyes, his li

Few minutes later the carriage door opened, and his wife stepped in from the other side. It was customary to have a meal after a ceremony like this, but Cole would have none of it. He wanted to leave, and he wanted to leave now!As soon as she had bundled herself unto the carriage seats, he roughly knocked on the roof, signalling the driver to get going, breaking off her small talk with her brothers.“Bloody hell Tonfield!” Lucas yelled as the carriage tipped forward, bringing Emily who was unaware of the sudden movement crashing back to the carriage seat.She gasped and threw a horrified look at him, but Cole ignored her and looked out the window. As they gradually left the remnants of the manor behind, he could still hear the insistent voices of the Bertram brothers profusely cursing him. He smiled a sardonic smile and twitched the curtains closed. Then turned in his seats and faced his conniving wife.“Pray tell